Happy Trails
As you may know by now, I love diamond stitches created from all angles, including straight stitches, diagonal stitches, or tent stitches…as beautifully illustrated by today’s stitch.
Click image to see the whimsicalstitch.com Stitch Library on pinterest.com. Includes all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.
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The stitched sample is a background from a sweet and whimsical Halloween piece, Agatha Hated Brooms, from the Plum Stitchery. It uses three plies of Soie d’Alger (black lines) and Petite Silk Lame (yellow lines).
I love the delicateness of this stitch and how it can stand alone, yet it also recedes into the background, allowing Agatha and her balloon to take center stage. Clearly, it makes a great background (or wall) stitch. It would also make a great floor, tabletop, or bedspread with two different colors of thread. I would love to see it in all metallic for a floor. If you want to really dress it up, consider adding beads, whether Traditional Beading or Brick Beading to the empty diamond centers. That would make one gorgeous and showstopping vase. (Fun fact. The brick beading link takes you back to the very first #whimsicalwednesday blog post.)
Click on image to see the whimsicalstitch.com Stitch Library on pinterest.com. Includes all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.
Just a reminder about how to evaluate stitches for size on your project.
As you are auditioning stitches (from any stitch source), count the number of canvas threads on the diagram that match your mesh size. And there you have what an inch of the stitch will look like. Evaluate that against the area where you plan to use the stitch and make your final decision. If you start integrating this step into your stitch selection process, you may be surprised at how many stitches you think are large are much smaller than you realize. (Or, in today’s case, the stitch is much larger than it looks.)
By (sometimes) including this step in my own process, I find I am now integrating much longer stitches than I ever thought I would. I used to think a stitch six rows long was super big. I have very much changed my tune, which has helped me expand my creativity, especially for large-space stitches.
Today’s 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.
If you like what you see on this blog, there's more. Mary’s Whimsical Stitches is a series of three books offering contemporary how-to collections of more than 250 stitches (in each volume) for all stitchers, regardless of skill level. All books include updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog plus a collection of all-new stitches from private lessons and other class projects. Visit here to find a needlepoint retailer that carries my books.
New to needlepoint or looking for a refresher? Please download a handy how-to guide covering 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.
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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, the layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order. They can also provide ideas on integrating 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!