Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 89: Chequered Chain Band

Today I have a nice, but tricky stitch. You might feel you need three hands to manage the four threads and the fifth, the foundation stitch.

I came across Chequered Chain Band in two of my books, Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches and Reader's Digest Complete Book of Embroidery.
A search online led me to Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials and needle crafter.com
In all four sources, the instructions are similar, and to me, rather confusing - it IS a complex stitch.    After having tried them all, I saw a pattern arise and decided to make my own photo instructions with hints in the form of a star ★.

Let's have a look:

You need to stretch the fabric in a hoop and stitch a column of Straight Stitch, with good spacing:

Then thread two needles with a loop of thread each, you need two different colours, I used green and purple:

Let one thread (in my case green) out above and in the centre of the column of basic stitches.
Spred them to the left and right.

The other thread (purple) comes out below the first base stitch, make sure you spread them left and right.
In your head, number them like in the picture and note that number 3 is the star player ★.

Pull the star ★ out to the right.

 When you start the Chain stitching, slide the needle with the top thread (green) under the SECOND base stitch, as well as 1, 2 and 4.
Make sure the needle goes over the star ★.

Pull the thread through, and you have your first (green) Chain Stitch.

                            

Now the green thread on the right becomes the star ★.

Pull it out to the right.

Use the purple thread under the THIRD base stitch and the three threads on the left hand side,
while taking care to go over the star ★ on the right.

Pull, and repeat in the same way, alternating the green and purple thread.

When you have gone over the last Straight Stitch of the column, anchor the last thread to make a final (mock) Chain Stitch.

Anchor the (mock) Chain Stitch with a short stitch just below.

You should now have a nice Chequered Chain Bar.

Give it a try. It is tricky at first, but when you understand the alternating of the two coloured threads, and keep the star ★ to the right, it becomes very easy.

I hope you will have fun.

Updated:

I have got reports that this stitch has caused a lot of problems in the form of knots. Be sure that the needle is taken only through the pink loop (picture B), and not through the green loop as seen in picture A.

Updated:

Mattia tells me the French name is: point de chaînette deux tons en relief

Homework:

Working this on Aida will be easy, I hope.

Friday Homework for Lesson 88: Zig-zag Cable Chain Stitch

This homework was fun, and easy once you get the stitching going.

Aida Sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

WIPW - New Beginnings

Work In Progress Wednesday. I have to hurry up and post before Wednesday turns into Thursday here in Tokyo!

What progress have I to report today?

Well, I have been busy writing up blog reports from the quilt show in Tokyo Dome. Before that I completed the Cathedral Windows bag and the navy/pink crazy quilt block.

With those projects out of the way, I decided to tidy up my work space, put thread and fabric back into their boxes.

While I was rummaging in the fabric stash, I pulled out these pieces for the next
Crazy for Crazy
block.

I will use purple as the accent color.

HINA
Girls Festival is in less than a month's time and it is time to display the Hina dolls. That also means that I needed to make three more ornaments, just as I do every year.
This time I made, a butterfly, a decorative Japanese hairpin and a macaroon (girls love sweets?).

My next job is to add them to the mobile

18th Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2019 - 8 Take Away

When you are too busy to cook a meal, you can have a Take Away; Indian, burgers, Chinese, Pizza, 'obento' (lunchbox) or whatever.

Now what can you Take Away from a quilt show? Not food, not a packed meal, but inspiration, ideas, shopping, gifts,  and friendship.

Inspiration:
The fluffiness of these quilts made me think it is time to do some slashed quilting or Punch Needle embroidery.

Takako Makino (牧野孝子)

 

Cecile Franconie's fluffy embroidery (detail)

I can lighten my stash by making a pile of 'not-so-pretty' fabric, stitching them together in parallel lines, then slashing the top layers open.... I have the fabric as well as the slashing tool. I also have the punch needle set slumbering in a drawer. Time to wake them up!


Ideas:
Another way of using up small pieces would be to copy this kind of Boro quilting (rag quilting?) - sprinkle smaller pieces of scrap over a foundation fabric, then quilt with small sashiko stitches and finally lace the stitches, a kind of Cloud Filling quilting....

Chieko Okamura (岡村智子), 

Shopping:
I bought some plastic cupped discs for the Circle challenge
and some dove blue wool and blue braid/tape for a wool embroidery I am about to embark on.

Gifts:
Look what my friends showered me with

• a book on cotton and indigo - I will have to look closer at indigo quilts in the future 
• a knitted hat - perfect for the cold of Tokyo
• a butterfly handkerchief bag - beautiful on the outside and slippery on the inside - the silk lining makes it so easy to slide things out and slip them in
• a journal bound by hand - I have already started to record 'Queenie's Needlework 2019'

Friendship:
Thank you
Julie, Tanya, Jenni, Pamela and friends, master quilter Chikako Ueno, the lovely German shopkeeper we had coffee with, the many ladies who commented on my bag, the old lady who helped me on the way out, the festival staff who took our photos...

 

With Chikako Ueno (上野知佳子) in front of her beautiful quilt.