Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 11 - 15

Before we move on to a new stitch, let's revise the five most recent stitches, Knotted Satin, Lace, Mountmellick, Norwich and Open Chain Stitch.

Here is a summery. Click on the headline to learn the stitch and read more.

Knotted Satin Stitch
It didn't take long to learn this stitch, but it was a struggle to get it right. These Satin Stitches need to be crowded, and the shorter the leg, the nicer they behave.

Lace Stitch
This row of triangular stitches was a pleasure to work, meditative and easy, and gave a very pleasing result. I like both the pulled-tight version that opens holes in the fabric 

and the version where the thread stands out.



Mountmellick Stitch
The main stitch in the Irish Mountmellick embroidery style is a favorite from the past and was nice to use once again, here in colour and on thin red fabric.

Norwich Stitch
This is a Canvas stitch and I learned the hard way that such stitches really should be worked on CANVAS and not on any limp fabric. I also learned that if you mark plain fabric and choose your thread well you can get stunning result.

Open Chain Stitch
This version of Chain stitch was easy and enjoyable to play with, and I am very grateful to CrazyQstitcher for suggesting tying the rungs of the ladder together into bunches.

Homework:

Put SSS stitches 11 - 15 to good use on yet another Sunbonnet Sue design.

Now do you remember the name of this stitch? What kind of design of Sunbonnet Sue is it, do you think?

Friday Homework for Lesson 11: Knotted Satin Stitch

Time to hand in the homework for this week's stitch - the Knotted Satin Stitch.
It looked so innocently easy and simple, but I found it was a willful stitch, behaving well until it suddenly started misbehaving. The 'knot' is not a proper knot, but a loop, and frets along the straight stitch it is looped around. It will not sit still! I renamed it the Naughty Knotted Satan Stitch!

When I introduced the stitch on my blog last Sunday I had worked the sampler on Aida and THAT was my first mistake; the holes in Aida are spaced wide apart. For this stitch you need a much tighter woven fabric.
My second mistake was that while working I forgot that this is not a variation of Buttonhole stitch, but a Satin stitch that needs to be crowded and stitched tightly so it is kept in check. Look at the sloppy orange heart. Aren't those horrible Buttonhole stitches worked backwards?!

After a number of false starts I got a better result. By keeping the stitches this crowded, each one supports the next one. The 'knot' is hidden underneath and pads the edge of the Satin stitches, just like it should do.

Just for fun I worked one set of widely spaced stitches over another to create the two coloured half wheels. These stitches had even more 'ants in their pants' and did not sit still, not until I tied them down with the red edges.
On these red edges and the red stem the stitches are so short they create a cord like line as the knot underneath lifts the whole stitch.

Annet, who has a wealth of stitch knowledge, pointed out that Knotted Satin Stitch is Rope Stitch worked at a different angle. She is right of course, and while working I realized it is also a cousin of Coral stitch, which is why I made the two red bows with Coral stitch.

(This flower is to be made into a greeting card, and I took the liberty to add some other stitches, too, Stem, Lattice, and French Knots.)

Finally I just had to see if naughty stitches can behave better when the environment (the fabric) and their character (the thread) change:

I used a piece of slightly fuzzy cotton and experimented with yellow floss (three strands), pink Pearl and light blue wool thread. I stitched the Knotted Satin Stitch, the Rope Stitch and the Coral Stitch,

and they were not only obedient and compliant, but refined and polished.

The Naughty Knotted Satan Stitch became the Silky Knotted Satin Stitch of whom I am happy to have met.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 11: Knotted Satin Stitch

Welcome to another new stitch, the Knotted Satin Stitch. It was made known to me by CrazyQstitcher who found it in Anchor's book on Crewel Embroidery.

The knots are hidden behind the Satin stitches and lift the stitches a bit at the bottom edge.

Knotted Satin Stitch is worked like this:

Take the needle out at 1, make a straight vertical stitch 2-3 and loop the thread over and under the needle.

 Continue in the same way.

This is how the stitches look on my Aida sampler.

Homework. 

Make something 'Crewel' with this pattern and the Knotted Satin Stitch, and turn it into a greeting card.