Today’s stitch is fun, easy, and cute. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The stitched sample is me playing with three plies of Soie d’Alger (black lines) and Flair (yellow lines) on a little skirt (on 13M). To minimize visible threads between the rectangles (in all directions), I added the rectangles starting at the upper left, moving diagonally down towards the lower right. The X’s covered any visible threads between the rectangles in that path. I followed a similar path for the X’s, burying my thread in and behind the pre-existing rectangles to get to the next open space (as needed).

I created this stitch for a background on an upcoming Stitch Concept. I wanted something interesting but nothing too dramatic as the background is behind some lettering. This will add interest and will also be very easy to compensate around the letters. Since I want to keep it really simple, I’ll most likely recommend a single strand matte (such as DMC Perle Cotton, Rainbow Gallery’s Elegance, or a single strand of Impressions) for the black lines and Neon Rays for the yellow lines. (I want to keep the background as flat as possible.)

As with a lot of my stitches here of late, it’s another great all-purpose stitch. I’m looking forward to using Vineyard Silk for the black lines and a Silk Lame for the yellow lines for more substantial clothing, such as a jacket or a pair of slacks.

You can replace the “X” with any of your favorite 2X2 stitches. Also consider replacing the X with four single beads for a glammed-up look, say for a dress or a vase. One other consideration is to fill in the remaining open rectangles at the top, bottom, and sides with smaller Cashmere stitches to fit with either a contrasting metallic (red would be adorable above) or a second blue metallic.

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!

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