Open Squares

I created* today's stitch for a beginning student.  It was a great way give the student practice with the Continental stitch, stretch them a little bit with an easy decorative stitch, and add an element of style to the piece.  Win, win, win!

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.

The student used this stitch for the background of a cute little animal.  You could add a Rhodes square in the 3X3 intersection for a smoother corner. The stitched sample is a background on a Scott Church Creative piece (in progress). It includes DMC Perle Cotton, Flair, and Trebizond Silk. This stitch is wide open.  Use that openness to exploit beautiful canvas painting.  This stitch could help define a grassy area or help highlight the painting in a beautifully shaded tablecloth.  Don't be afraid to use a contrasting color for any of the threads.  Have fun with thread finishes and color!

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, including the brand new Decisions, Decisions, Passion Flowers and Royal Peeps, and more are in the pipeline.

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

* Note on "creating:"  This stitch may very well exist in a book or on another site.  I can't pretend that I'm the first person to think of any stitches I share with you.  I say "I created it" because I haven't stumbled across this stitch anywhere.

Going in Circles

Circles are the most difficult pattern (for me) to replicate.  Most traditional circle stitches are never perfect circles.   The yet to be named stitch remains a current favorite.  Today's stitch is a very close second. 

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.

The stitched sample is a sky stitched with Rainbow Gallery's Glisten from a Scott Church Christmas piece.  It's sweet, simple, and allows other elements of the piece to stand out.  A variation I would like to try (but have not yet) is to add a single bead in the center of the small diamond in between the circles. 

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 pipeline.

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

Stolen Stitches

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.

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.

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!