Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 51 - 55

It is Sunday and I am presenting my Friday homework late.... well, never mind, here is my Sunbonnet Sue Stitch Sampler for Sunday Stitch School's stitches 51 - 55

51 Tent Stitch
52 Underside Couching
53 Sword Edging Stitch
54 Tramming
55 Tailor's Buttonhole Stitch (two versions, Reader's Digest and Yorkshire Tailor's)


Sue is busy with spring cleaning, so busy her house dress is coloured in with crayon rubbed over a molding mat and not embroidered.

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 51 - 55

Welcome to another revision lesson at Sunday Stitch School.

Below are the five stitches, click on the heading to learn them and see the old posts.

51 Tent Stitch
An old stitch most suitable for canvas.

52 Underside Couching

A smart way to use expensive thread economically and beautifully.

53 Sword Edging Stitch
Oh, so easy, and with great potential!


54 Tramming
I learned from blog readers that this technique was used to mark the design instead of painting the canvas or referring to a chart.
It also gives a very nice raised look to ordinary Cross Stitch and Half Stitch.


55 Tailor's Buttonhole Stitch
This is were I learned the most during these last five stitches. SO many variations and SO enjoyable to watch professionals at work. Check out the videos!



Homework:
As usual the task is to make use of the five stitches on a Sunbonnet Sue design.
Crayon, rubber pad and stranded floss must be included

Friday Homework for Lesson 52: Underside Couching

At first it was hard to work the Underside Couching on the orange plain weave, but then I changed to a really thick needle that made large holes in the fabric. Large enough to let the thick thread duck under the surface. After that it was easy-peasy - but time consuming.


I also worked the Aida sampler

and the Sunday Stitch School reference chart.

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 52: Underside Couching

Welcome to an evening lesson at Sunday Stitch School where we will be learning another ancient way of using precious thread in a thrifty way.

Underside Couching was used to embellish the surface of fabric, while saving both the thread and fabric from wear and making the most of the expensive gold or silver thread.

French name: Point de Couchure (Thank you, Mattia)

I found the instructions in A-Z of Embroidery Stitches 2 to be clear with good pictures.

Still I wanted to add my own pictures where I have couched down a brown thread with a yellow one on a piece of Aida.

 Working from underneath, take the yellow thread out and into the same hole over the brown thread until you have a 'lasso'.

 Give the 'lasso' a bit of a tug until a bit of the brown thread enters the back.

continue in the same way.

Here you can see the Underside Couching on the back of the fabric.

Ha, that was more difficult than I first thought!

Here is perfect proof that Aida is not the best fabric to do the couching, and that the two threads should match in colour!

Lesson learned? Prove it by doing your homework properly!

The homework will be to:
Add a couple of rows on the SSS Aida sampler (be careful!)
Add Underside Couching to the SSS Reference Chart
Fill in a shape on the orange piece of fabric.