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 13: Mountmellick Stitch

Friday is the day to hand in stitch homework to Sunday Stitch School. I have here a free form embroidery using only Mountmellick Stitch.

It was fun to make but I had to stitch at night and the light was not too good. I didn't like the variegated minty green Pearly I had picked so added a few other colours.

Eventually I will turn it into a greeting card but I will add some beads and maybe other stitches.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 13: Mountmellick Stitch

Welcome to Sunday Stitch School.
We have now reached 'M' in this alphabetically arranged list of embroidery stitches. Today's lesson features a stitch called Mountmellick Stitch. It is one of the main stitches of the Irish Mountmellick embroidery. It has an interesting history and no one can tell it better than Nordic Needle. Read it here.

The stitch is not all new to me, in my personal needlework history, I have used it a number of times. Once I found it in a library book and gave it a try. Beautiful result. Then I took part in a workshop of Mountmellick Embroidery at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham some years back. We started on a small panel and completed it at home.

This form of Whitework has no pulled stitches nor any cut areas or eyelets. It should be stitched on sturdy fabric with a strong thread, and be able to withstand harsh washing, even boiling.

I think the stitch is very pretty in itself and can be used for any kind of embroidery, stitched on any type of fabric and with any kind of thread.


Work it like this:

On my Aida sampler it looks like this:

Where you can see I have changed the spacing and length of the 'legs'.

Homework:

You have free hands to do something with this piece of red cotton and variegated mint green #8Pearl.

Unlike the last stitch (Lace Stitch) the Mountmellick Stitch has no other name, to my knowledge. I even doubt it has a foreign name.

Mattia has just told me that it is called Broderie Mountmellick in French, but I think that might refer to the embroidery  style so I guess it would be called Point Mountmellick ?