Today’s small…no, tiny…stitch comes from exactly how the canvas is painted. But you can do this anywhere, I promise.

Today’s stitch is a dashing stitch literally inspired by Joanna’s painting. In other words, Joanna painted little snowflakes with four simple stitches with an empty intersection in the center. All I did was add Cross Stitches over the four gold points AND add a 3mm pearl in the center. Voila! I may have followed Joanna’s painting but you can add little snowflakes like this to any piece you’d like.

As you may see on the stitched sample on the far right, there is some visible thread between some of the snowflakes. It shows up more in the photograph than in real life. But, I know this will drive some people nuts, so it was the perfect chance for me to share an alternative sequencing for Cross Stitches. It is illustrated in the diagram on the far left. Add all of the bottom stitches (of the Cross Stitch) FIRST, and then return over each of them in the opposite direction. This offers you more real estate behind the canvas to bury threads under those stitches. Admittedly, it’s not a lot of real estate, so I' recommend burying the thread a couple times. Proceed to the next area and begin anew.

This stitch diagram, 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!

#whimsicalwednesday blog