I worked a panel with some examples of stitches from each of the five stitch families. I used this as an opportunity to try out some stitches that I had never done before. A variety of threads was used including Perle 5 and Perle 8, quilting thread, polyester machine thread, white wool, composite wool/synthetic yarn, stranded cotton.
Here is a view of the entire panel:
Now let’s look at each individual stitch family.
9.1 Flat Stitches
Top Row, left: pattern darning (running stitch); right: double cross stitch (Smyrna cross)
Second row, left: triple back stitch (Hungarian stitch); right: Chevron stitch combined with double back stitch
Bottom, left: leaf outlined with stem stitch, then filled with leaf stitch; right: fern stitch
9.2 Looped Stitches
Top row: buttonhole stitch variation
Row 2, left: spiral stitch (two rows of feather stitch facing each other), right: variation of closed buttonhole stitch
Row 3, left: Cretan stitch; right Vandyke stitch
Row 4, left: scroll stitch; right: fly stitch
9.3 Chained Stitches
Top row, left: long stemmed zigzag chain; right: Basque stitch
Centre: Rosette chain
Bottom row: square chain
9.4 Knotted Stitches
Top left:combination of French and bullion knots.
Right, row 1: coral knot; row 2: Palestrina knots with beads inserted between stitches; row 3: long armed and long legged Palestrina knot; row 4: knotted cable chain; row 5: Sorbello stitch
Bottom left (vertical line): knotted cable chain variation with “tails” giving buttonhole effect
9.5 Composite Stitches
These are formed by working one layer of stitches first, then working a second layer into the first layer.
Row 1: Pekinese stitch
Row 2: Laced Cretan (over running stitch), also known as Interlaced Band Stitch
Row 3 (vertical, left): Twisted zigzag chain
Row 4 (right): Raised chain band
Row 5: Threaded herringbone
Row 6: Guilloche stitch
9.5 Stitch Effects – Formal Rhythm
This sampler shows variations of Cretan stitch worked with a formal stitching rhythm. The examples illustrate the wide range of effects that can be achieved with this versatile stitch. It has a nice, easy rhythm which makes it appealing to the user.
The top row shows examples of working in a linear pattern, varying the spacing of the stitch, making marks with individual stitches and changing the size of the stitch from medium to very small to very large.
The second row shows examples of varying the direction of the stitch, dovetailing the stitches to form a pattern, building up blocks of stitches by overlaying them in different directions.
The third row shows an example of varying the stitch direction to form a circular pattern, then several combinations of thick and thin yarns overlaid to form textured blocks.
Next (row 4) are two examples of using Cretan stitch to couch other items - left is a silver cord and right a strip of chenillle fabric couched with a variegated yarn. On the far right of this row is Cretan stitch worked in Perle 8 thread and then some of the arms wrapped in wool.
The bottom row shows on the left, the effect of working the stitches very loosely, and on the right the row of stitching has buttons threaded onto the arms of several stitches in an irregular fashion.
9.6 Informal Stitch Effects with Cretan Stitch
In this sampler a more relaxed approach was used for the stitching, with different types of threads overlaid in different directions. This produced some interesting and pleasing effects, stretching my thinking in terms of the ways Cretan stitch could be used.
Top left: stitches worked with kitchen string, then partially wrapped with gauze strips and overlaid with additional stitches worked with twisted gauze strips.
Centre: combination of rows of informal stitches made with 3 types of thread – Perle 12, white wool and synthetic yarn
Top right: Two rows of different sizes of curved Cretan stitch which crossed over. These were worked with white quilting thread, with two types of beads (bugle beads and multi-sized imitation pearls) threaded onto the stitch arms.
Bottom left: Curved stitches of different sizes and spacing worked with 3 types of threads dovetailed together (Perle 8, stranded cotton, polyester machine thread).
Bottom right: Individual stitches (Perle 12 and 8) worked in an irregular fashion, partly overlapping, and with different tensions.
9.7 Rubbings from Relief Surfaces
From my experiments I found the best combination to give reasonable rubbings was a white Reeves pastel on black tissue paper. I also tried wax crayons and chalk, but decided not to pursue these because the marks they made were less clear.
The following pictures show the rubbings and the source reliefs. Four rubbings were taken from the paper reliefs and six from the fabric reliefs.
Rubbings from paper reliefs
These rubbings differed considerably in the marks and textures they conveyed. I thought number 1 would not be very successful because the starting surface was fairly diffuse. However I think it gave an interesting pattern. Number 2A was a mixture of two different materials, one stiffer than the other. This showed up in the rubbing as darker and lighter patches.
Rubbings from fabric reliefs
Most of these rubbings worked fairly well because the surfaces they were taken from had well defined textures, especially A, B D and F. The marks in samples C and E were more diffuse as the surfaces were less well defined. Overall I felt that I developed some good samples that would be useful sources of stitching ideas for Chapter 10.
References
Enthoven J: “The Stitches of Creative Embroidery”, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen PA,USA, 1996.
Beaney, J: “Stitches: New Approaches”, BT Batsfod Ltd, London, UK, 1987.
Christie, Mrs A: “Samplers & Stitches”, BT Batsford Ltd , London, UK, 1985 (paperback edition). First published in 1920.
