Let's start the new set of five stitches with a classic one - Shadow Stitch.
Mary Corbet of Needle 'n Thread has an interesting article with several pointers. It is well worth reading. There are no instructions, though.
So either check out a book like Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches or the online instructions of Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials.
Actually, there are two ways to work this stitch - from the front or the reverse side of the fabric. The front will show you two lines of Back Stitch, and through the sheer fabric, you will see a shadow. You see, almost by magic, these stitches will, on the back, create a line of Closed Herringbone Stitch.
Now, if you work the reverse side with Closed Herringbone Stitch, the front will give you two lines of Back Stitch, and in between you will see a faint shadow of the Herringbones peeping through the sheer fabric.
Which stitch do you prefer, Back or Closed Herringbone? I like the latter far better than the former. My photo instructions will therefore be stitching the Closed Herringbone from the back of the work:
Start by selecting a sheer but strong fabric.
I used light blue nylon salvaged from a cheap ball gown.
Stretch the fabric tight in a hoop. Mark the design.
Place a waste knot far away (so you have a long tail
to fasten discreetly afterwards).
Work a line of Closed Herringbone Stitch
along the marked line.
Remove the waste knot you started with and
With practice, the stitches will be more even, I hope.
5 comments:
That is such an interesting stitch! A good way to use sheer fabric.
Now that is a challenging stitch isn't it? And fun!
You're going to use appliqued sheer fabric on your samplers, that will give interesting results. I'm going to enjoy seeing how this turns out.
I have never seen this before, or if I did, I didn’t recognize it as this. You find so many different stitches!
I used this stitch back when I was making new clothes for my babies. It works well on fine voiles and cottons.
I used this stitch on most of the little jackets I made when my children were born. It works well on fine cotton fabrics.
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