Wednesday, 13 September 2023

WIPW - More curves á la Dresden Plate


Work In Progress Wednesday. Luckily I managed to snatch a bit of stitching time. I completed the two sets of Friday homework, as well as some work on the

Mandala

More curves á la Dresden Plate.



Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

Two coaching/filling stitches were used: #82 Bokhara Couching (in orange) and #264 Romanian Couching (in brown).  When using a fabric with a clear grid, these two stitches look much neater than they do in free form embroidery.







Sunday, 10 September 2023

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 264: Roumanian Couching

Lack of time this week means that I need a quick fix for the Sunday lesson today. 

A long time ago I did the #82 Bokhara Couching, found in The Embroidery Stitch Bible. On the next page in that great book is Roumanian Couching - the two stitches have similarities, so it feels right to include the Roumanian Couching Stitch now.


Work it like this:

Imagine that you have four vertical lines.

Then follow the picture instructions.


The thread comes out ABOVE the horizontal stitch


and it goes in BELOW and to the left of the horizontal line.


If you strain your eyes you can see the slanted couching stitch.
Repeat.





Neat, quick and easy.

Homework: Add here. Together with last week's homework for Six-Pointed Star.








Friday, 8 September 2023

Friday Homework for Lesson 263: NOT DONE YET!

Sorry, I haven't managed to do my homework for today. Once I have been able to allocate some time to #263 Six-Pointed Star I will post it here on the blog.



Thursday, 7 September 2023

What's in a Quilt - The Green Man - Part 6: Buttonhole Appliqué

Today I want to talk about raw edge appliqué and Buttonhole appliqué.

How many stitches are there in the Buttonhole Family? Well, there are MANY, that's for sure!

In TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday, the stitch tutorial and stitch challenge held by Sharon Boggon of Pintangle) I learned 25! variations of Buttonhole, or Blanket Stitch, not including the beaded versions. 

In my own Sunday Stitch School project I have introduced 14.

Now, not all of these 39 stitches are suitable for along-the-edge appliqué. Actually, many stitches with 'Buttonhole or Buttonholed' in the name feature detached buttonhole stitch, i.e. a Buttonhole Stitch has been worked over a THREAD, and not biting any of the foundation fabric, for example, a Cable Chain Stitch, as illustrated below.



Most of the other Buttonhole stitches can be used, though. Here are a few examples:


The point with Buttonhole Appliqué is that you don't need a seam allowance. Instead of turning in the allowance, needle turn, you can anchor the raw edge with a line of Buttonhole stitches. 
To keep the fabric in good condition, why not fuse the patches to the background first, then stitch along the edge?

Raw edge appliqué has its disadvantages of course. Eventually, the edges will fray, especially if the quilt is washed and handled a lot.

Many sewing machines have a Buttonhole Stitch, so it is also popular for machine quilting.

My Green Man looks like this:

.....................................................................
To see the Buttonhole Stitches in my collection you can find them in the lists below and by clicking these tabs:



TAST
#2 Buttonhole
#17 Crossed Buttonhole
#22 Buttonhole Wheel
#25 Bonnet
#26 Up and Down Buttonhole
#36 Knotted Buttonhole
#40 Buttonhole Wheel Cup
#46 Buttonhole Eyelet Flower
#55 Buttonholed Herringbone
#61 Up and Down Feathered Buttonhole
#64 Top Knotted Buttonhole
#65 Buttonhole Bar
#69 Buttonhole Double Chain
#71 Bullion Buttonhole 
#87 Buttonhole Picot Bullion
#88 Buttonhole Picot Chain
#94 Reversed Buttonhole Bar
#101 Triangular Buttonhole
#104 Buttonholed Cable Chain
#105 Alternating Buttonholed Cable Chain
#126 Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole
#128 Interlaced Up and Down Buttonhole
#136 Knotted Buttonhole Band
#141 Fancy Bobbin Edging

SUNDAY STITCH SCHOOL
#27 Buttonholed Buttonhole
#48 Detached Up and Down Buttonhole
#55 Tailor's Buttonhole
#66 Berwick
#96 Buttonholed Fly 
#134 Slanting Blanket 
#167 Fried Buttonhole
#176 Buttonhole Cross
#197 German Blanket
#207 Plaited Edge
#214 Threaded Blanket
#215 Up and Down Crossed Buttonhole
#247 Scallop Blanket


There are still Buttonhole stitches that I have not introduced in Sunday Stitch School yet!