Friday Revision Homework - Stitches: 141 - 145

 Sunbonnet Sue has lost her bonnet - it blew out to sea when she was on-board a cruise ship. 

Sue's Chopstick Stitch dress took a long time to stitch. I marked the even weave fabric with erasable pen as there were no holes or grid in the weave to guide me. I like how the unevenness in the pattern make the dress flutter in the wind.

As for the life buoy, well the Raised Daisy Stitch is a real glutton, gobbling up both thread and time.

Personally I love Sue's stylish hair, the Feathered Zig-zag Stitch is upside down, but looks great as windswept hair. Thank you, Rachel for this stitch.

A linear stitch was needed for the railing and I was happy to have  the Ainu Running Stitch, Ieshininninu Chieshirokochu for that. 

Roll Chain Stitch became a belt.

Outlines for Sue's body and dress, and the shoes, were made with Stem Stitch.

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 141 - 145

Time to have another look at the last five stitches, and make a summery Sunbonnet Sue sampler.

Click on the titles to see my instructions and homework for each stitch.

141 Feathered Zig-zag Chain Stitch

This is a good example of how we can invent new stitches. Rachel of Virtuosewadventures made this useful and funny one - linked paper clips or plants, maybe.

142 Ieshininninu Chieshirokochu Stitch 

This is a good example of how we can learn from other cultures. The indigenous people of Hokkaido, northern Japan, the Ainu, use this stitch for their costumes, as I learned from this book, by Sanae Ogawa.

143 Chopstick Stitch

This is a good example of how we can benefit from reading stitching blogs. Shannon of Badasscrossstitch posted good instructions for this beautiful canvas stitch.

144 Raised Daisy Stitch

This is a good example of how to play with stitches. Mary Corbet of Needle 'n Thread's section of Stitch Fun is full of inspiration for how to play with and transform basic stitches.

145 Roll Chain Stitch

This is a good example of how good photos and videos can bridge language barriers. The Japanese text on Miharu's　'えっ？こんな刺繍ができちゃうの！？' blog or the Indian narration on several YouTube videos cause no barrier when the images are clear.

Homework:

Make another scene from one of Sunbonnet Sue's adventures using these five stitches.

Friday Homework for Lesson 141: Feathered Zig-zag Chain Stitch

This stitch is both easy and fun to make. Give it a try! Click here for the instructions.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Here I worked the two lines going in opposite directions. 

I think they look like a chain of paper clips that have been bent open! A scene from a dull day in the office?!

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 141: Feathered Zig-zag Stitch

In my constant search for stitches to add to the Sunday Stitch School collection, I turn to many sources. I go over my books and stitch dictionaries, I check out Youtube videos, and of course I take a great interest in fellow bloggers' work.

Rachel of VirtouSewAdventures is a blogger whose work is always inspirational.
She is skilful at many different techniques and one of her trademarks is the great number of stitches she incorporates into a single freeform embroidery project.
For example, Rachel has  made shawls, coats and tablecloths where a wealth of stitches feature - a treasure trove for me!

Today we will look at a unique stitch found on Rachel's blog. It is surprisingly easy, but has that complex look that will enhance any  work. Rachel calls the stitch Feathered Zig-zag Stitch and you can read here how it was born.

Stitch it like this:

Make a single slanted Chain Stitch.
Then to the side of the Chain,
insert the needle to make
a Feather Stitch arm.
Make sure to come out outside the
loop of the Chain Stitch.

Insert the needle in the Chain Stitch
loop,

and make a new Chain Stitch,
slanting in the opposite direction,
to get the zig-zag look.

Make a single Feather Stitch
arm on the outer side.

Continue in the same way.
Chain, Feather, Chain, Feather...

This beautiful stitch makes me think of cereal - wheat, barley, rye... Anyone for breakfast?

Thank you Rachel, for letting me add your stitch to my collection of Sunday Stitch School stitches.

Homework:
Take a handful of seeds and sow some cereal on these samplers.