Friday, February 20, 2009

Stitch Explorer - Trellis Stitch

I'm taking part in Sharon B's Stitch Explorer Challenge. Find out all about it here.

This month it's Trellis Stitch. I've used this stitch before in stumpwork, needlelace and for the tops of tassels. I find it very difficult to keep an even tension, but I like the stitch because it has a nice rhythm to it. Here's what I used it for this time:








(Click on photos for bigger images)

I made these little dolls and I buttonholed around the faces, but I decided they needed some kind of headdress. I worked rows of trellis using the buttonhole stitch as a foundation. By working the first row towards the face, and the next couple of rows away from the face, the stitching naturally curled around itself away from the centre of the circle.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

One of us had 'flu

I was the one still standing and any noisy activities were somewhat curtailed for a couple of weeks. While I was being quiet and comforting, I had fun doing this:


(click on photo for bigger image)

I 'layered' jungle print chiffon on top of a piece of synthetic felt and ran it through the needlepunch/embellisher machine. I didn't realise how fragile that would cause the chiffon to become until I came to make up the body. Then I wished that I had machine stitched all over it too. A lesson learned for next time!

The plan was to try to be looser, less neat and more 'arty'. Well, I managed to be a bit of some of that!