Long and Short Stitch

Today I will show you the second step I took in my floral picture. I wanted to demonstrate the use of long and short stitches. These stitches are a variation of Satin Stitch and are used to good effect in creating shades of colour to give depth and volume to flowers. So I drew a lilly next to my generic apricot coloured flower and began to fill it in with long and short stitches, in several different colours.

Both Satin Stitch and Long and Short Stitches can be wasteful of thread as you pass the needle all the way under the area being filled to come up on the far side. There is another way that does not use as much thread; that is to bring the needle up again as close to where you have taken the needle down without going back through the same hole, take it back over and across the area to be filled and repeat the procedure on the far side.

That is how I filled in the back petal of the lilly. I have shown you the wrong side of the work in the centre picture on the bottom row, so that you can see the difference. On the right side it just looks the same as the other petals, as you can see in the final picture.

Hi again. Did you try to do the pattern using only Colonial Knots? It is quite a pretty pattern and with the right choice of colours looks quite effective. Even working with self coloured thread as they do in Candlewicking is very nice to look at. How about doing white knots on a blue background? Or white on pink or red, or whatever colour takes your fancy. Combine pastel colours and see what effects you can create with those. The possibilities are endless.

Anyway, today, I am going to begin to take you through the process that I went through in making that completed work of mine. When I began it, I simply drew a flower shape using a fine pencil (actually a Pacer propelling pencil) directly unto the fabric. That is one way to create a pattern or design on fabric.

Another way to transfer a pattern or design unto fabric is to trace it onto paper, go over the lines with a felt tip pen, place the fabric over it and trace it onto the fabric with a pencil. You may need a lightbox for that; or do what I sometimes do and hold it against a window so that the light shines through. Your arms get a bit tired doing that. You could hold it in place with masking tape while you draw it.

In creating that design, I did not even think about the placement of the first flower. All I wanted to do was demonstrate how to do Satin Stitch. Once I had done that I then decided to add another flower next to it to demonstrate Long and Short Stitch. That is the stitch I will show you next.

So you already have the beginning of the process in my lesson on how to embroider Satin Stitch; and today I am giving you the rest of the pattern to follow along. So, Step 1 is to go back to the lesson on Satin Stitch and start with the large flower on the right hand side as I have demonstrated in that lesson.

Candlewick Pattern

The last time we spoke I showed you how to make Colonial Knots. I also mentioned that Colonial Knots are used extensively in Candlewicking. So today I have a pattern for you that uses only Colonial Knots. So you can see how beautiful even simple knots can be.

Colonial Knots for both Left and Right Hands

Today's lesson in How to Embroider is Colonial Knots. I have included images that illustrate how to make these tricky knots with both the right and left hands. Although I had evey intention of illustrating how to make Colonial Knots left-handed, it turned out to my benefit too. My right hand was in pain for a few days, so I used my left hand to finish off my project. It is quite useful being ambidextrous.

I think the illustrations speak for themselves. I hope you can see the second picture for the left hand all right. It is tricky trying to hold the needle with one hand and the camera with the other. Fortunately, it is a nice small camera. The following are step by step instructions in words.

The needle is looped under the thread from left to right for the right hand; and from right to left for the left hand. The thread is then brought up over and across the needle, then down and under the needle again to form almost a complete figure of eight. At this point the thread should be curving out under the needle to the left for right handed people and curving under the needle to the right for left handed people.

Taking the loose end of the thread draw the thread close around the needle to form the knot, but do not hold on too tightly. It will be harder to pass the eye of the needle through the loops if you hold on too tightly. Then pass the needle back down through the fabric using the same hole to complete the knot.

If that is the only knot you will be making, then fasten off the thread on the wrong side. However, Colonial Knots are frequently used in a series along a line - especially when doing Candlewicking, simply bring the needle up where the next knot is to be situated and repeat the process until you have completed all the knots you wish to make.

Candlewicking is a different form of embroidery that originated from pioneer women making use of what materials they had to hand. Therefore it is usually done on unbleached cotton calico (once old flour sacks) with unbleached cotton thread (or candle wicks). The creamy colour of both the thread and fabric together is quite attractive; and is somewhat similar to White Work in that respect.

A Finished Item

Welcome back. Well, here it is. When I drew the outline for the apricot coloured flower on the right, I was simply drawing an outline on a spare scrap of fabric in order to illustrate how to do Satin Stitch. I gave no thought to where I placed the flower because I had no intention of creating a finished piece; but here it is. This is what that apricot coloured flower grew into. It just shows that you do not need to start out with a predetermined pattern or design. A little imagination is all that is needed.

During the course of the next few posts, I will take you step by step through the processes to illustrate how that happened.

Coming soon

Greetings. That little satin stitch flower has led on to bigger and better things. Come back tomorrow and see what it grew into.

Welcome

Welcome to all of you who visit my site; and especially those of you who have come back again. Today I have 3 new posts for you; and here is my flower, finished.

Are any of you left handed? Do you find it difficult to find instructions on how to embroider that you can understand?

Many years ago at a camp we were learning how to candlewick. A friend of mine could not understand the instructions showing her how to make a colonial knot. She was left handed. I said "Oh, here. This is how you do it," and simply changed hands and did it left handed for her. I am somewhat ambidextrous and had no trouble reversing the instructions, but she was very left handed and could not do the same thing.

If that is your problem, please leave a comment below this and let me know. I am going to try to reverse all my instructions so that left-handed people will be able to learn how to embroider too.

And, "Please", keep coming back to visit me. I have a lot more for you. In time I will have a better website and will develop a range of kits for your instruction and enjoyment, and an e-book of instructions too for both righties and lefties. So if you are enthusiastic about learning how to embroider, this is the place to come.

Satin Stitch

Satin stitch is the stitch most often used to fill in outlines. It forms a lovely satiny cover over an area and is good for leaves, petals or any other open area that needs to be filled in. It has its limitations though. It is best suited for smaller areas. When an area to be filled becomes too large it is harder to keep the stitches evenly parallel to each other and gaps begin to appear, or as the fabric bends gaps will appear. If you look closely at the centre picture bottom row, you may be able to see what I mean, and that happened in a small area. Other stitches, such as chain stitch are better for filling in larger areas.

Satin Stitch is formed by placing the needle through the fabric on the edge of an outline. Then bring it up again on the other side of the outline right next to where the thread come up. Repeat this again and again until the whole outline is filled being careful to keep the stitches as even and parallel as possible.

The orientation of satin stitches varies according to what you are embroidering. In my flower I have chosen to change the direction of the stitches slightly for each petal to create contrast and increase the interest of the flower. Continue working in that manner until the flower is complete.

Back Stitch

Back Stitch.

Back stitch is a hand sewing stitch most usually used to sew the seams of garments together, but can be used to good effect in embroidery.

Back Stitch is also very good for creating outlines.

• It is formed by bringing the needle up through the fabric and down again a millimetre or two back from the thread along the line you wish to follow
  
• bring it up again through the fabric a millimetre or two in front of the thread
  
• draw the thread through to form a stitch
  
• then bring the needle down through the same hole as the end of the previous stitch.
• Once that is done bring the needle up a millimetre or two in front of the thread and bring the needle back and down through the same hole as the end of the previous stitch.
• Continue is that manner until you have completed the line.

Stem Stitch

Stem Stitch.

This stitch is used, as the name implies, for stems; and also for anywhere else that requires an outline. It forms a smooth straight, or gracefully curving line. It becomes difficult if you try to use it in too tight a curve. That is, it is not very good for small circles. I find Back Stitch better for tight curves.

Stem stitch is created by bringing the threaded needle up through the fabric, then down again a couple of millimetres further along the line what you wish to follow. The needle is then brought up through the fabric again back a little from the point where it went down and close beside the line just formed. The needle is again pushed down through the fabric a couple of millimetres further along the line bringing it back up again close to the line and back a bit from the point where the needle went down again. Continue in this manner until the line is completed. Return the needle to the wrong side of the fabric and fasten if off neatly with a small knot.