Start Small

September 13, 2017 whimsicalstitch

I'm not going to lie...composite stitches used to intimidate me greatly. I have a few great books on the subject and would read them with wonder. "How did they think of this? How did they see this?"

I can't speak for those teachers but I realized at a recent teaching event to "start small." I knew what I wanted for a Santa hat, but a. didn't have those books nearby and b. would have been mortified pulling out a book. So I punted.

I started with a group of one of my favorite stitches. And then I proceeded to stare at the sheet for a minute, knowing I wanted space. So I added an accent. And then I was off to the races by simply repeating this pattern, creating this framework.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams. — Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Pinterest account. Visit pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday for a library of all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams. — Click on image to see on whimsicalstitch.com's Instagram account. Visit instagram.com/whimsicalstitch to see a library of stitched samples for select #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Personally, I loved the initial framework but wanted more. So more was added including beads and a metallic accent with the final stitch for the Santa hat below. It combines so many wonderful things that are perfect for the holidays.

This stitch would work well for most areas where you want to draw attention. It would make great clothing, large flower, even water. It would also make very interesting greenery, with or without the bead. It really depends on how much attention an area deserves. Thread choices would be dictated by area. You could combine some wonderful metallics, such as ThreadWorx Kreinik with 1-2 solid colored metallics for a wonderful water. Greenery could include Lorikeet, Very Velvet, and/or Silk Straw. Have fun with it!

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.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 47 guides are currently available and more are in the works!

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Sweetie!

July 23, 2017 whimsicalstitch

It's a baby orange! Three threads. One bead. One small space.

Today's #smallspacesunday is another composite stitch. Part of the magic comes from filling in the open (and not open) spaces with unique threads.

The stitched sample includes City Needlework Silk, Very Velvet, Fyre Werks, and a Sundance Bead. An Upright Cross is added to the intersection where the threads meet. The diamond shaped open space is filled with a single bead and the square shaped open space is filled with another Upright Cross. A trifecta of orange goodness.

Composite stitches offer so many opportunities! Using the same primary design (from the aqua lines), here are just two more possibilities to fill the open areas.

Any one of these stitches work in both large and small spaces. Suggestions include pants, a hat, or a bag. They would make a wonderful architectural element, water, or greenery. It would also be great for a bird body, as you can add multiple colors to bring the feathers to life. It's just such an adorable stitch.

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.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 43 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Stolen Stitches

June 7, 2017 whimsicalstitch

The month of June is dedicated to stolen stitches. These are stitches I've come across on other people's work that I've "borrowed" and made for us to own!

Today's stitch is probably the only stitch that I could find its root source...one of Ruth Schmuff's wonderful iStitch books. Essentially, it is a 3X3 diamond. What I love about what Ruth did was how she offset the center stitch on each side of the diamond.

A little Upright Cross in each of the intersections makes for a perfect sassy accent. The stitched sample uses City Needlework Silk and Frosty Rays. And Scott Church Creative's Easter Duck is ready to rumble!

As with most diamond stitches, there are way too many applications to count so I'm going to ponder thread choices. I would love to see this in Very Velvet (for the diamond) with a matte accent, such as Rainbow Linen or even Lorikeet, for a coat or roof. Using Elegance or Pearl Cotton (for the diamond) with a lightweight Kreinik (for the accent) would make a beautiful sky. This would also make a wonderful water stitch with two metallics, such as Kreinik and Petite Silk Lame. The possibilities are really quite amazing.

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.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides and stitch concepts for Melissa Shirley Designs, Zecca Designs, and Patience Brewster. 41 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Please! Someone "steal" this from me and let me know what you do with it!

I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Enjoy!

Tiniest Changes

December 2, 2015 whimsicalstitch

The tiniest changes make a huge difference. For example, take the Satin Stitch. The generally accepted form is over two or more rows on the diagonal, going from lower left intersection to upper right intersection. If you want to go a little wild, try alternating directions in the columns. It's the perfect stitch standard for so many areas, especially leaves, furniture, walls, backgrounds, or clothing, to name just a few.

Yet, you can take this wonderfully straightforward stitch and make it something that really pops by doing one thing. Add a contrasting row.

The gray lines in the diagram are a high contrast color or thread finish. A color example is City Needlework Silk red for the aqua lines with a blue silk for the gray lines. A thread finish example is using a lighter weight thread for the green lines and a heavier Very Velvet, in the same color values, adding interesting texture to an area. You can also combine contrasting color and finish.

You can also play with it by adding more rows in between the gray rows, or fewer rows. It's up to your imagination and what the space requires.

The first stitched sample on Instagram is a leaf on a Melissa Shirley bird houses canvas and is a highly contrasting color version of the stitch and has two rows in between the contrasting row. The second sample on Instagram is an example of using contrasting finishes (stranded silk and shiny Fyre Werks).

This stitch diagram, along with other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on www.pinterest.com/whimsicalstitch/whimsicalwednesday.

Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, want to learn some very creative decorative stitches, and how to put them all together, whimsicalstitch.com sells stitch guides for seasonal Melissa Shirley designs. 18 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

#whimsicalwednesday blog