Woven Filling Stitch

The woven filling stitch, also called Queen Anne stitch is really more of a technique than a stitch. It starts with a series of parallel straight lines done in straight stitch and then the thread is woven back through to form a basketweave texture. I have a couple of stamped-for-embroidery projects with baskets of flowers and I'm going to try this technique to complete them. It really does look just like a basket!

I used a coarser linen for this because I found it easier to keep the weave even by counting threads. You could mark your fabic first or do it by eye—if it's not absolutely perfect it will look like a rustic basket :)

First make a series of vertical straight stitches, close together but not too close. You'll need enough space between the lines to do your weaving. And use all six strands of embroidery floss for a fuller effect.



Bring your needle to the front just to the right of the last vertical line and very close to the top.



Now weave your thread over the last vertical stitch and under the stitch next to it.



Continue weaving under and over the stitches, taking the needle to the back just to the left of the first vertical stitch and level with the line of weaving.



After pulling your thread through bring your needle to the front just below (I counted three holes) where your thread emerged.



Now start back, weaving from from left to right and working under and over the opposite threads from last time.



Keep going back and forth, going down at the end of a row and up again to start the next. I found that it helped to use the needle to pack the threads in tight against the previous row, like you'd use a shuttle for actual weaving.



Here's what it looks like finished.



I love the texture of this and can't wait to try it on an actual project. Because each row is secured by taking the thread to the back, you can see how easy it would be to have this conform to an irregular shape—like a basket with curved sides.

Wheatear Stitch

The wheatear stitch, which resembles a sheaf of wheat when finished, is usually worked in a short, straight line. Drawing a vertical line on your fabric will help you to keep it even and, instead of working sideways as we usually do, we'll do this one working from top to bottom. As with most stitches, you can vary the appearance by lengthening or shortening the "ears" or by varying their placement.

We'll use gold thread to get the full wheaty effect, but this would also be pretty for a border in other colors, too. Bring your thread to the front to the left of the top of your drawn line. Then take the needle to the back on the line and about 1/4 inch down towards you.



Pull the thread through and come up again 1/4 inch to the right of the drawn line, directly opposite the first stitch. Take the needle to the back using the same hole as your first stitch.



Pull the thread through, forming a V shape. Come up again on the line about 1/4 inch below the bottom of the V.



Slide your needle from right to left behind the previous two stitches at the base of the V, being careful not to pierce the fabric.



Take your needle to the back again using the same hole in the fabric and forming a loop under the point of the V. Pull your thread through and bring the needle up to the left of the loop and in line with the beginning of the first stitch above it.



Repeat, using the hole at the base of the V for the end of each stitch and looping your thread through each time.



Continue working down the line and take a stitch to the back at the base of the final V. Here's what it looks like finished. Cool, huh?



Try this with a V that's less wide if you want a more compact-looking wheat sheaf—the loops and side pieces blend together more.

Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch

This is a variation on the standard buttonhole stitch (which I called blanket stitch—same thing). There are actually quite a few variations (who knew?) and I'll try to show you some of them in the coming months. Here's the diagram from One Hundred Embroidery Stitches (yes, the second diagram is upside down. I should mention that you can hold your work any way you want—sometimes its easier holding it sideways or upside down—do what works best for you):



And now to the photos. Begin on the bottom line as for regular buttonhole stitch and pull the thread through.



Holding the thread with your left thumb, insert your needle on the bottom line and take a stitch straight up and alongside the previous stitch.



Pull the thread through in an upward motion. You'll see the little loop at the bottom tightens to hold the stitch. Take your thread back down through that little loop.



Repeat, and continue along until you've completed your length. Take your thread to the back and finish off.



Here's what it looks like when complete. If you look at this upside down it looks like little tassels—that might be handy for something in the future.

Split Stitch

Split stitch is another stitch that is useful for outlining. I learned recently that this stitch was used extensively in the Middle Ages for embroidering faces because it lends itself to subtle shading when it's worked in rows as a filling stitch. It's also sometimes called Kensington outline stitch. Here's how you do it.

Bring your thread to the front, then take the needle to the back about 1/8 inch away.



Pull the thread through, then bring your needle up in the center of the first stitch, splitting the thread with the needle. This will work best if you use an even number of strands of embroidery floss. I used 4 but you could use 2 for a fine line or 6 for a heavier one. Pull the thread through to complete the first stitch and begin the second.



Again, take the needle to the back 1/8 inch away.



Pull the thread through and emerge in the center of the second stitch. Continue working your stitches in the same manner. Hide the thread at the back when you're finished with the line.



This is the first time I've done this stitch and I found it very awkward. My line looked better as I went along, but I still think it looks too much like chain stitch. And I don't think it's supposed to. So I think I need to practice this one a bit more. I'll revise these directions and pictures if I come up with an easier way to do it.



Last week I showed you how to do satin stitch with a drawn line. Another way to do it, and one that maintains a sharper line, is to outline your shape first with split stitch. Then work over the top of it, taking your thread over the outline so you're covering it completely, and angling your needle slightly towards the center. Like this—



I usually show examples from vintage linens that I own but I couldn't find any that used this stitch. Split stitch is not something you see that often and I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's underneath all the satin stitch :)

practice makes perfect

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Caron Lage asking permission to link to my French knot post from her blog. She gets a lot of requests about French knots for a very special reason. A couple of years ago she started a fiber art installation project to commemorate those who have lost their lives in the Iraqi War. The project involves making a six-inch square quilt for each American military death with each square having 212 embroidered French knots to represent the Iraqi citizens who have died.


The French knots are designed to form geometric patterns.

She's gotten a lot of help from family, friends, and embroiderers all over the country but needs to finish the last 600 blocks by Memorial Day. You know how I'm always telling you to practice your French knots? What better way to do that than by making 212 of them!


The blocks are completed with black knots on solid colored fabrics.

Read more about the project on Caron's blog And Still Counting? There are lots of photos to look at here. And, if you'd like to help with a block or two she has requirements and instructions listed in the right sidebar on the blog.

time for tea

I recently helped out Susan at The T-Cozy by drafting a pattern from a very cute tea towel in her personal collection and she's now offering the pattern for sale on her Kitsch Encounter blog. The design is mostly cross stitch with a few outline and lazy daisy stitches so would be perfect as a first embroidery project for a beginning embroiderer. I used the colors from the original for the pattern (except for changing the leaves to green) but you could easily change that up to match your own kitchen decor.

It's $6 for the pattern and you'll receive a black and white traceable version, a color version that you can follow to count your own stitches (on open weave linen or cotton), a stitch guide, an instruction sheet on how to transfer patterns, and a color reproduction of the original tea towel, all packaged in a plastic sleeve. And shipping is included in the price!

You might also like the Home Sweet Home pattern I did for her a few years ago. But be warned—this one is pretty difficult. Lots of color changes, more variety of stitches, and hundreds of (or at least it seemed like) little flowers but great practice for French knots and lazy-daisy stitches!

couching

In embroidery, couching is a technique for attaching a length of thread to a base fabric by taking tiny stitches over it at regular intervals. The word couch comes from the French verb "coucher" which means to lay down, so it really applies to attaching just about anything (embroidery floss, thin cord, wool, or even ribbon) as long as it uses stitches over or on top. You can couch a length of ribbon with a row of French knots running down the center or by laying a row of herringbone stitches over the top. I'm going to talk about the traditional embroidery stitch today but don't be afraid to think outside the box and use the technique for attaching other things besides thread.

Couching looks really pretty when worked in two colors and is a nice alternative for working outlines, especially ones that form loops and have lots of curves. I discovered a few examples where it's used this way in my linen stash. The first is from a runner with embroidered flower bouquets and ribbons and each of those ribbons is done with couching—the base thread is dark blue and the couching stitches are pink.

In the second example it's used as a substitute for outline stitch and is done with black stitches over blue.

This is a super easy stitch. Bring your base or foundation thread to the front and lay it on the fabric. I worked a straight line but you can use it for curves as well. In fact, it works very well as a freeform technique if you don't quite know where you're going.

Now bring your couching thread to the front just above the thread you’ve laid down.

Take a tiny stitch over the base thread and pull the thread through to the back.

Bring your needle up a short distance from the first stitch and repeat.

Here’s what it looks like finished—

And here are some examples using different foundations. The middle one uses several strands of needlepoint wool and the bottom one uses thin satin ribbon.

I mentioned earlier that you can attach just about anything this way. Artist Megan Jeffery uses couching to attach wool yarn with embroidery thread to felt—and you can see some examples of her work here and here. And embroidery artist Debra Spincic has some beautiful pictures of her work on Flickr, many of which involve couching with ribbon and alternate stitches over the top. Be sure to follow her photostream to see lots of examples of the stitches we've already learned.

overcast stitch

I found this stitch in a vintage (1964) Coats & Clarks booklet called "One Hundred Embroidery Stitches"—the illustration is reproduced from that book. Called overcast stitch (or trailing) stitch it's kind of a cross between couching and satin stitch. It resembles a fine cord and would be perfect for stems instead of outline stitch. Here's how to do it:

Start by bringing what we'll call the laid threads up to the surface. I used six strands of floss because I wanted a nice thick cord; use less for a more delicate one. Rethread your needle with a second thread in the same color (I used three strands) and bring it to the front using the same hole as the laid threads.

Hold the laid threads in position on the line of your design with your left thumb.

Work small satin stitches very closely together over the laid threads. You're doing the same technique as with couching but with that stitch they're spaced farther apart.

When you come to the end of your stem, rethread the laid threads onto your needle and take it to the back. Then take your overthread to the back in the same hole. If you're working a short line it might save time and be less hassle to use two needles and keep the first threaded with the laid threads. Either way is fine.

Here's what it looks like when you've finished. My line is kind of wavy—I think I need to practice keeping it straighter :)

monograms

Some beautiful examples of vintage embroidery can be found on monogrammed linens. It was very popular in the 1940s to embroider ones initials onto household linen—dinner napkins, sheets, and towels, and also onto handkerchiefs. This was done in two basic styles—tiny cross stitch (often done in redwork) and satin stitch (often in white on white or a pale color like light blue or pink). Some examples of monograms:

A redwork towel with monogram "MO" done in tiny cross stitch:

Cynthia's Antiques and Linens

An elaborately-embroidered handkerchief with the letter "H" surrounded by scrolls:

DeWitt and Co.

A light blue elaborate script letter "L" done in satin stitch:

Ebay

A monogram "G" done in a combination of stitches—outline, french knots and lazy-daisy:

Ebay

A two letter monogram done in a chunkier style. I believe this is done in tiny closely-spaced chain or Pekinese stitch:

Ebay

You probably noticed that some of my examples are from Ebay and that's a great place to find monogrammed linens, either to just look at examples or to buy some for yourself. Search for "French linen sheets" and you'll find beautifully-embroidered linen sheets with monograms done in both cross and satin stitches.

Em's Heart has some lovely linens and handkerchiefs for sale.

Cynthia's Antiques and Linens has beautiful linens for sale including many towels and handkerchiefs with monograms.

Some of my fellow craft bloggers have done posts about monograms. See Redwork in Germany's post Vintage Monogram Stencils. And from Kimberly at Niesz Vintage Home, monogrammed linens with tons of pictures of things in her collection.

To read more about the history of monograms see Monograms & More and Love Those Letters at Embroideryarts.com

And finally, some free online patterns for monograms—

Two sets of large initials that you can cross stitch on a variety of projects.

Some designs with roses.

A vintage linen handkerchief pattern.

And do check older needlework books at your local library—many of them will have alphabets that you can adapt to your work.

ladder stitch

Ladder stitch is worked back and forth between two parallel lines and forms two chains with longer threads in between—just like a ladder! Here is the step-by-step diagram from my embroidery book in case the photos aren't clear enough. And when I refer to a letter in the directions it's this diagram that they correspond to.

First draw two parallel lines on your fabric. Bring your needle up on the left side (A). Insert the needle directly across on the right side (B), then up again to the left and slightly above the connecting line of thread (C).

Insert the needle again on the right side directly below the end of the first stitch (D). See how the thread crosses over the end of the first line?

Now come up on the left side slightly below the beginning of the first stitch (E). You'll want to leave just a bit of space in between and you'll see why in the next step.

Keeping your thread below the needle come up over and then under the first thread (F), forming a small cross like you see on the other side.

Now, on the right side, pass your needle from right to left under the first cross (G). Take care to not catch any threads from the last stitch when you do this.

Continue in this way, working back and forth, with the needle passing under the cross on each side to form the braided edges.

Finish on the right side by taking your thread to the back, forming the last cross on that side.

My biggest problem with this stitch was keeping the sides even and I didn't do a very good job of it. I found it really hard to keep the right tension—if you pull too tight the sides bow in; too loose and the long thread in between looks too loose. I'll need to practice this some more (see, even I need to practice). A slightly stiffer fabric might be a good idea, too.