Saturday Stitches - Twisted Chain

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Saturday Stitches, where I explore basic embroidery.

Saturday Stitches Tutorials @ My Sweet Prairie

Today I want to show you a variation of Detached Chain (lazy daisy).  Often when I teach this, one or two students will accidentally twist the loop and end up with crossed threads.  OR - you can do it on purpose and call it Twisted Chain!  : )   That is an actual embroidery stitch, so why not use it?

If I keep going, this will look like a purple thistle top!

You can find the Detached Chain HERE.  You can find all Saturday Stitches HERE.  Enjoy playing with this one!  Try it short-looped, long-looped, or make the anchor stitch nice and long and you have grasses! 

Experiment with yarns, variegated threads, even silk ribbon.  (I am using a 12 weight variegated cotton from Wonderfil Threads in this.)

Happy stitching!  Share & Pin if you like.

Saturday Stitches - Feathered Chain

Welcome back to Saturday Stitches!  : ) 

Today I want to show you variation on the detached chain stitch, often referred to as 'Lazy Daisy'.  It's easiest for me to work right to left with this one though I am not sure if that's correct or not.  In truth, I'm turning my cloth around a lot to get this border-effect.  It's pretty confusing at first but it's really pretty once you make a whole row of it. 

You come up at A, then go down again at A.  Leave the working thread loose so you have a loop.  When you come up at B, you essentially hook that loop you made.  That is how it gets anchored.  Then you go down at C, working diagonally down.

It's best not to weave the needle through the Aida cloth like that as it's hard on the threads and can distort the cloth.  I chose to set up the photo like that so you could see where to go down, and where to go up in one image.

The next detached chain will go diagonally up.  See how point C from the diagram above becomes point B for the next set of stitching?  It makes a beautiful row of stitches, especially with variegated threads.  If you can break it up to see each chain & stem, then you can see how it's spaced.  Again - I love practicing on the grid of Aida cloth, especially with something so geometric.

So above, you will go back in at A (don't pull the thread all the way through - leave a loop), and then come up at B, with the needle inside the loop in order to anchor it and create that daisy petal shape.  Then the stitch is put back in at C to create the stem.  From here, I can play and 'get loose' with the stitches... making them look more natural and organic.  You can also play around with combinations and colors to see what becomes of it!  Enjoy.

Thanks for swinging by!  : )  I don't mind if you Pin the tutorial images.  To see all Saturday Stitches, simply click on the Tutorials tab at the top of my blog, or use the search box in the top left corner.

Have a great day - and Happy Year of the Horse : )

Saturday Stitches - Chain

Good morning!  Welcome to Saturday Stitches, where you watch me learn formal embroidery stitches.  You can find all the Saturday Stitches tutorials in the tab at the top of my blog.  And YES - you can Pin these images.  : )

Here is the Basic Chain stitch.  The trick is to have the stitches inside the loop of the last chain, so they link together.  (Excuse these first 2 photos - they are OLD.)

You can also do them on an angle like this:

See how you begin and end the stitches inside the loops?  It isn't recommended that you weave the needle like this.  In my guild (Bridge City NeedleArts - EAC) they suggest you stitch up, stitch down, stitch up... It keeps the stitches cleaner looking.  You have less twisted threads, and you avoid distorting your cloth.

A good way I like to practice new stitches is to use a grid, or Aida cloth.  See the photo below?  It makes everything straight and if you make a mistake, it's easy to see where you when wrong.

Aida cloth is also a great way to practice putting together stitches for crazy quilting border designs.  It's great to try different colors of threads, different weights of threads, and different fibres (silk, cotton, variegated, ribbon).

Below is one more variation of the chain with an open end.  It creates a wider chain that resembles a ladder.

It's like a quilt pattern.  Depending on the colors and fabric choices, you can make completely different looking quilts.

Incidentally, did you notice my needle?  I just got it and I love it!  It's a double blunt-ended cross stitch needle with the eye is in the middle.  It's actually very nice to use.  It was weird fot me to go back to a regular needle.

Here is the beginning of a sampler of detached chain stitches using a bit of everything from my fibre packs.  I started with the heaviest fibres first, and used the thinnest last.  Each cluster has three detached chains worked out from a central point.

Quite useful on quilted postcards or pillows or needle cases...  : )  or ...the backs of mittens, the lower border of a curtain, etc etc.

Have fun!