When I started my needlepoint adventure, I was oh so confident about two things. There must never be any naked canvas (never!) and Christmas was the only holiday that really made sense as far as needlepoint ornaments went. I’ve never been more wrong.

Wendy Harwood at Aristeia introduced me to many things, not the least of which was open stitches. She also taught me about autumn stitching. Halloween stitching is quite possibly my favorite but I have a soft spot for Thanksgiving pieces as well…which brings us to today’s sweet bargello from a Thanksgiving collection that Wendy put together.

Wendy integrated beautiful Bargellos with exquisite thread choices into more than a few dresses and skirts. For example, today’s stitched sample uses Super Suede (yellow lines), Flair (gray lines), and Sundance Beads (yellow circles). I love how she used a band of bargello and filled in the rest of the skirt with a darning stitch. It brings more attention to the skirt and doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the otherwise discreet piece.

Taking my cue from Wendy, I still use bargellos mostly in clothing, especially skirts, aprons, and coats as I love how bargello enhances the clothing with its elongated stitches. The Santa on my home page uses a more compact bargello for his pink coat. (That bargello may not have beads in it but he still rocks the look, by the way.) The pink Santa’s bargello uses two shades of silk floss and Crystal Braid.

I want to acknowledge that bargellos are more commonly known for their integration of multiple colors into their pattern. The two bargello examples I mentioned share a common theme…a mostly monotone color palette with distinction added via thread finishes. Both examples use an outlier (beads in this post and a different color thread for a small portion) to mix it up a little.

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!