When I assembled today’s stitch, it was going to be a #smallspacesunday. The reality is its size belies its impact. There is a lot of eye candy in this stitch, so #whimsicalwednesday it is.

The stitched sample is me playing on plain 18-mesh canvas with blue Elegance (black lines) and red Petite Silk Lame (turquoise lines). Stitch all of the black lines before you add the second group of stitches (turquoise lines). I used what I call a modified back stitch to create the tiny octagons. The sequence followed the shape of any given single octagon. Your first stitch may go right to left; your next stitch will go from left to right. And repeat to create an octagon. That said, I obsessed less about dragging threads on this because the layer of octagons on top was very forgiving.

This stitch is perfect for areas where you want to add interest but not so much that it obliterates everything around it. I’m considering using it for the chest of a bird as it will add said interest without overwhelming where I want the real attention to go…the wings. It will make beautiful wallpaper or floor covering. I think it is important to use two lighter weight threads (both in literal size and relative to the canvas mesh) so the stitches on top do not create the effect of burying the first layer of octagons. The two threads can be different colors, different finishes, or both (as the stitched sample illustrates).

This stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here.

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If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells Stitch Guides and Stitch Concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, Sandra Gilmore, Purple Palm, Maggie, and Patience Brewster, and many more. Click here to see the newest guides and click here to see the entire collection.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch!  Please enjoy!  

A Note about Diagrams
I use color in diagrams to make them as clear as possible.  The primary function of different colored lines is to illustrate a stitch sequence.  For example, layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order.  They can also provide ideas on how to integrate additional threads (one line for each color).  Or, you can use the same thread for all color lines.  That's where I encourage you to use your imagination for the space you are stitching!