Today’s stitch is a fun little open stitch from our friend, Ruth Schmuff. In all honesty, I don’t know what I like more…the stitch itself or just the very happy color combo on the piece. I hope this little burst of color helps brighten your indoor day, wherever that may be.
The stitch uses two plies of Soie D'Alger (black lines) for a background on a sweet topiary. I would love to see this stitch on a large window with a lightweight metallic such as Bijoux or a Kreinik Metallic. I think it might be fun to do the single straight stitches in a different color or finish (or both) for a roof or floor.
While the stitched sample is a solid color, please remember how well open stitches enhance any beautiful shading that many contemporary canvases have.
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 has a book for you! Mary’s Whimsical Stitches is a contemporary how-to collection of more than 250 stitches for stitchers regardless of skill level. The book includes updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog, all-new stitches, and a chapter on the basics of needlepoint. For more information, visit here. My favorite needlepoint retailers that carry the book can be found here.
whimsicalstitch.com also sells Stitch Guides and Stitch Concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, Sandra Gilmore, Purple Palm, Maggie, and Penny MacLeod, 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! Have a wonderful #whimsicalwednesday!
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!