Today’s post reflects current stitching and some work I’m doing with a customer. And they all involve larger squares.

I like to add borders to squares to have a finished edge, especially if they are surrounded by other squares. My most common border is a Satin Stitch over two rows around the outer edges. Depending on the size of the square, it could be three (or maybe more) rows wide. So that’s the easy part as far as I’m concerned. The challenge is how to fill the square center. An easy solution is a Scotch Stitch, but that isn’t always satisfying. (The Scotch Stitch is represented by the black lines in that link.)

Today’s post offers three different ideas for you. All of the stitches are from the Small Stitches chapter in my first book.

The stitched sample is one of Alice Peterson’s adorable gingham ornaments. Reverse Basketweave fills the center, offering a smooth and elegant touch to the squares. The pink squares are stitched with Petite Silk Lame (turquoise lines) and three plies of Splendor (black lines). The white squares are stitched with two plies of Mandarin Floss (turquoise lines) and Petite Silk Lame (black lines).

These squares are filled with Oblique Crosses and the fun comes in with the two thread colors for the Cross Stitches (yellow lines). The insides of these squares are stitched with Shimmer Ribbon (turquoise lines) and green and white Vineyard Silk (yellow lines). As you can see, the border is over three rows and I used Jessicas for the corners.

One of my long-time go-to stitches (Woven Hungarian) fills the squares above. It uses Shimmer Ribbon (turquoise lines) and Vineyard Silk (gray lines).

These stitch diagrams, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here. Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

IIf you like what you see on this blog, there's more: Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 1 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; Mary’s Whimsical Stitches Volume 2 features chapters on Balanced, Beading, Diagonal, Layered, Oblique, Small, and Straight stitches.

Also, you can download for free the first chapter from my first book which covers basic needlepoint stitches and stitch compensation techniques along with new top-line information on needlepoint materials and tools, how to handle threads, and other helpful needlepoint resources.

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!