Wheeeeee!

Today's stitch is the Slide Stitch.  There are so many ways to play with this one.  Let's start with the base concept.

It combines an oblique and a diagonal stitch.  The above diagram illustrates how easy it is to flip directions as necessary.  It looks great either way.  As mentioned last week, I like to combine related color values in the same thread.  Depending on the animal, there may be an occasion to add a metallic.  A great example is a bird wing.

The next version doesn't skip a row and adds an angle.

You can also skip a row with this pattern.  If you don't skip a row, I strongly suggest you alternate thread weights.  The diagram on the right illustrates that concept.  Use a lightweight thread for the gray lines and a heavier thread for the colored lines.  Feel free to add metallics for the single stitches.

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.

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.  27 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Oui! Oui! Oui!

It's a very excited title because there are three stitches today.  All of them are related but each provides a different look and all work well for animals.  The common theme is alternating stitches over two and four rows.  And you can play with threads!

The first is the Parisian stitch.

Like the Brick Stitch works for a small animal, this works really well for a larger animal.  The stitched sample on Instagram is a version of the Parisian stitch above, but with two threads.

The next variation is a great opportunity to add a contrasting thread.

I really like this variation.  For an animal, I would use the same type of thread for both lines.  However, I would use a complementary color for the second thread, in a slightly lighter or darker value than the first thread.  

The last stitch isn't a Parisian stitch.  However, as I created the diagrams above, this emerged as another way to play with stitches over four rows.  I like the scale.

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.

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.  27 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Spread Your Wings and Fly!

It is highly likely you already know that leaf stitches make fabulous stitches for birds.  While there are a ton of leaf stitches, I selected two for you.

The first is what I consider a classic leaf stitch and works beautifully on the chest of a feathered friend.    

It's elegant and dramatic.  A lightly overdyed silk or wool works well here.  Pair it with a matching solid colored silk or wool for the face and you are off to the races.

The next stitch is a smaller leaf stitch, perfect for a wing.  It's illustrated in all the possible angles, showing how you can emphasize the direction of a wing.

For a lighter touch, add an empty row in between leaves.  This is a great way to show off the shading.  You can also take it one step further and add a sparkly accent, such as a bead. 

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.

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.  27 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Nothing Like a Fur Coat in August

I'm sure all of our beloved four-legged friends would love to not have fur coats right about now, so let's honor them by talking about stitches that are perfect for animals!  The month of August is dedicated to stitches for animals.  

Before I share today's stitch, I have a confession.  While I agree there are no true rules for needlepoint, I admit I have a very strong opinion about stitches for anything with a face.  I truly believe Plain Needlepoint is the way to go with all faces, whether they are human or animal.  I can and do fun body stitches, but I believe the face needs to represent the animal's (or person's) face, with all the shading that conveys its personality and expression.

The best examples are Vicky Sawyer's animals.  She has back stories for all of her paintings and she is very particular about what personality or emotion her animals are expressing.  You can see exasperation, joy, shyness, and many other emotions in the animals' faces.  Take a look next time before you begin stitching.  It may make you reconsider how you approach their faces.

Okay, with that aside, let's get to the good stuff. Today's stitch offers two versions of a tied Gobelin stitch.   These stitches are great for chests, wings, or legs, especially when you want to add a directional element.

The first is a narrow version.

And the second is a wider version. 

For animals, my instinct is to use two matte threads with similar color values.  A few plies of Lorikeet (a gently overdyed stranded wool) with a solid colored single ply thread would make a great combination.  For certain areas, such as bird wings, the yellow line could be a lightweight metallic.  This is where Kreinik stands out, as they offer (at least) four different weights.  The Kreinik metallics also add a small textures and the thread retains its "round" shape.  

This stitch also makes great greenery.  The stitched sample on Instagram is a bush from a soon to be released Melissa Shirley piece.

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.

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.  27 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Skip a Row and...

...amazing things happen.

Today's stitch is a variation of Alternating Cashmere.  Examples of a small and large Alternating Cashmere are included here and here.  Today's version is different because a row is skipped between the individual rectangles.  By doing so, a whole new world opens up.

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.

In the example, the cashmere rectangle is 3X5 rows.  When you skip the row in between the rectangles, fill that row with no more than the smallest dimension of the rectangle and center it against the adjacent edge of the rectangle (in this case, three rows).  This creates a 2X2 square to have fun with!  In the diagram above, and on the stitched sample on Instagram, I filled the square with a Smyrna Cross.  

You could fill it with beads, a single bead on the vertical over the center hole, or more Plain Needlepoint in a contrasting color.   It is an exceptionally elegant and fun stitch.

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.

If 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 The Essentials, a free 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.

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!

Diamond Columns

This stitch is one of my favorite backgrounds, especially white-on-white.

The background is columns of diamonds connected by straight lines.  It is best to work this stitch vertically by column.

Create the diamond in the diagrammed sequence (numbered steps), illustrated in left diagram.  The next step (the lettered steps) adds the connector.  When done with B, return to A and repeat the numbered steps.  Repeat until the area is full of diamonds.  Add the Upright Crosses inside each diamond to complete the stitch. 

You can adjust the length of the connectors to suit your space.  I've done connectors over three rows, four rows (as diagrammed above), and as many as six rows.  It depends on the size of the space and the amount of open canvas you want to display.

This stitch works for baskets, floors, foliage (with a short connector), or clothing with large areas to stitch so there is room for the pattern to emerge.  More often than not, I use this as a background stitch, as illustrated by the stitched sample on Instagram.    

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.  25 guides are currently available, including three new Debbie Mumm Santa guides, and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Horizontal Brick

Not the most clever of blog post titles, but it's early here.  :)

Today's stitch is one of those universal solutions.  Depending on the thread combination, it can be clothing, a background, a tabletop, a piece of fruit (as illustrated on Instagram), or foliage.

It's really simple.

As I mentioned earlier, the thread combination defines its use.  For an area you'd like to recede a little, I recommend a lightweight pearl silk or cotton, such as Elegance, Thread Gatherer Silken Pearl, DMC (or Anchor) Pearl #8 for the gray lines and a lightweight metallic for the yellow lines, such as Neon Rays, Shimmer, or Kreinik Metallics #4 or #8. 

For a more intense area, such as a coat, Very Velvet, Pepper Pot Silk, Vineyard Silk, or a multi-ply wool are great alternatives.  Flair, Frosty Rays, Kreinik Metallics #12 or #16 balance these threads well.  

On a separate but related subject, I would love to receive feedback on whimsicalstitch.com.  Please visit this link to fill out a short survey.  Thank you!

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.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!

Layered Squares

Today's stitch is what I call Layered Squares, as the final look appears as squares with alternating corners tied down.  

Create the squares by laying the base threads in two adjacent rows, skipping two rows in between pairs.  In the diagram, I added the vertical pairs first, followed by the horizontal rows on top (creating the layers of the layered stitch).  Follow up with the 3X3 crosses on top of alternating intersections.  

The truth is the order you use to lay the base threads down doesn't matter.  Honestly, I didn't think about it when I stitched it.  In hindsight, I am very happy with the order I chose because the eye sees the horizontal lines more than the vertical.  And, for that space I used it in at the time (more about that soon), that is appropriate.

Thread choices are important for this stitch.  In my opinion, the base thread should be a single strand thread.  The single strand provides definition and texture for the base layer.  For a strong, well-defined base, good matte base thread choices are Very Velvet, Vineyard Silk, Pepper Pot Silk, or DMC or Anchor Pearl Cotton (especially size 3).  Good choices for a metallic base thread are Kreinik Metallics Medium Braid (size 16), Kreinik Metallics Tapestry Braid (size 12), Crystal Braid, or Silk Lame.  Plied threads will work, of course, but it will be a vastly different look than what you will see on the stitched sample on Instagram.

Conversely, have fun with the metallics!  As they are the top thread, their only responsibility is to be pretty!  The stitched sample on Instagram uses Shimmer Ribbon by YLI.

This stitch is ideal for areas requiring symmetry.  As an example, the Instagram sample is the front door of Melissa Shirley's Halloween House.  The symmetry, provided by evenly spaced threads on the horizontal and vertical axises, keep the appearance of the door as, well, a door.  In my opinion, an openly diagonal stitch (such as Diagonal Mosaic) would distract the eye and prompt the viewer to try to reconcile the actual use of the space versus the stitch chosen.  I would use this as a table top or floor covering (perhaps with lighter weight threads), a roof, or clothing areas with large spaces, to name a few.

This stitch diagrams, 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.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy! 

545

I remember a lot of stitches simply by their stitch sequences, hence the name 5-4-5 for this one.  This is a fantastic background stitch, especially when you want the background to recede just a little bit, but not too much.  It's perfect for many Mary Lake Thompson canvases by Melissa Shirley.

This stitch is easy and quite fun, mainly because it goes so quickly.  I like the wide open feel.  It is ideal for a background, a sky, or a tabletop.  Typically, I do the dark gray lines first, followed by the light gray lines.  My typical thread combo is matte for the dark gray lines and metallic for the light gray and yellow lines.  I like to use two different metallics to define the elements.  I prefer Kreinik Metallics for the light gray lines, largely because they have a variety of braid sizes, allowing me to control the overall impact of the stitch.  For most of these scenarios, I like to use threads with similar color values.

The stitched sample on Instagram provides a work in progress.  It is a background stitch for a Mary Lake Thompson piece using similar color values with matte and metallic threads.  I suspect the end result will include a bead in the intersections.  

With one more step, this stitch changes completely.

By filling the stitch, you expand its possibilities.  This would make an excellent Santa coat or bag, floor, or wallpaper, to name just a few. You can play with the color combinations, especially for Santa, for the different elements.

These stitch diagrams, 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.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy! 

Cross My Heart...Again!

Today's stitch is Tied Oblong Crosses.  As I diagrammed this stitch, I quickly realized I could have added an indefinite number of variations, so please consider these nothing more than thought starters!

Scalability and versatility define this stitch.  The three possibilities illustrated below include oblong crosses five rows high and two rows wide.  You can make it as small as three rows high and literally as tall as he space.  

The chart on the left includes three base patterns that differ based on their accent stitches (the gray lines).  You can center the accents on the vertical, horizontal, or both.  To make the vertical accent work, the underlying cross (the aqua lines) needs to be at least two rows wide (as illustrated).  The diagram on the right illustrates how a base pattern is put together to create the overall look.   

Generally speaking, I prefer a matte thread for the crosses and a metallic thread for the accent stitches.  If you use the bottom pattern with two accent threads, be sure to use threads with enough color contrast between them to distinguish the look.

The stitched sample on Instagram is from a roof on piece I'm currently stitching.  It would make a great border stitch, especially on clothing.  There is so much you can do with this...let your imagination go wild!

On a separate but related subject, I would love to receive feedback on whimsicalstitch.com.  Please visit this link to fill out a short survey.  Thank you!

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.  22 guides are currently available and more are in the pipeline.

Enjoy!