Continuing from where we left last time, let's take a look at the “non-conventional” placement of colors at needlepainting. A quick recap for those who missed the previous part of the needlepainting tips: The majority of lessons and tutorials for long and short stitching (including the lesson on this blog) show the traditional way of shading, which goes from top to the bottom in horizontal rows of colors. However, when you come to the actual needlepainting you might find out that the directions of stitches, the placement of colors can vary A LOT from project to project. The most confusing part in such cases, is usually the order of work: where to start from, is it better to go row by row switching colors or finish each color area separately, etc. It may not seem that complicated when you look at the project but as soon as you start, the questions keep arising. So, in July we discussed diagonal shading and the order of working it. Now, I have to remind that what was demonstrated is only my way of working such patterns of shading. I actually saw a different approach in a book once (similar to the traditional one, just changing the colors couple of time in one row) so be aware that there are other methods and ways and maybe you will even develop your own preferred way of working it! This time, let's take a look at shading in patches. If it sounds weird, I'm sorry, but that's the only term that comes to my mind when I think about it, haha. What I mean by patches are spots of colors placed randomly in a shape that is supposed to be long and short stitched. For example, look at Euphoria piece. The flower there is shaded exactly in patches. The borders are not that clear because the colors are close in temperature although having different hues. There are yellowish, pinkish and coral colors placed as spots randomly and only the lightest color on the edge of the petals and the brightest coral close to the center of the petal, only these two have the same placement from petal to petal. It was really fun to work it, merging few hues together which made the “base” color of the flower not clear. Is it yellow or light pink? There is no real answer because both colors are present there equally. Now that you have an idea about what shading in patches is, exactly, here are two examples with step by step pictures. First of all, pause, look at the placement of spots and think: how would you work it? In what order would you shade this petal? From the left? From the right? What next? Make a simulation of working the petal in your mind. Done? Now, this is how I worked it. 1-3. Theoretically, I could start it from the right as well, it wouldn't make much difference. 4. We had to work the two top patches first because this one is attached to both of them. That's why we couldn't work the left corner and then this one consecutively. 5. This one is attached to both patches of colors above again. 6. The last one, I guess, is quite self-explanatory? For these examples, I took thread of similar colors, but the hues are a little different. My goal was not to perform a good shading, like from lighter to darker colors, or have some realism. My goal was to work the patches and make them evident for you when you look so that you can tell the colors and patches apart in a finished petal. Here is a look at the petal under natural lighting. The colors merge better here, but you can still the patches here, right? This example is veeery close to how I worked Euphoria :) Now let's take a look at the second example, slightly more complicated. Look at the placement of patches and think how you would work this petal, what would be your order of work? When you are ready, look at my process of working it: 1-3. the first two patches are quite clear 4-5. Now, why did I work the one on the right and not the one no the left? Because the left one goes a little under the right one, so it is attached to it. That's why the right one has to be worked first. 6-7. And the last ones are our good old horizontal rows for traditional long and short stitching. Here's how the petal looks under the natural lighting. Did you guess the order of work correctly? Would you do it differently? I think these kinds of exercises are golden for long and short stitch practicing and they will prepare you for working serious needlepainting pieces, like Magnolia bu Trish Burr that we worked together recently. So, next time you have spare time, draw a couple of petals with random spots inside and try to figure out how to work them, it will be fun!

12 tools & supplies gifts for cross stitchers Are you looking for a nice Christmas gift or birthday gift for the cross stitcher in your life? When it comes to gift ideas for cross stitchers, it might be difficult to choose if you are not a cross stitcher yourself. That's why we asked a

And the new portion of needlepainting tips has arrived! This time let's take a look at an “alternative method” of long and short stitching! I stumbled upon this method not a long time ago. Frankly speaking, I've never seen it anywhere before (and I've examined quite a number of sources ever since I began stitching) and only accidentally bumped into it in summer, I think. This method was presented as one of the ways for long and short stitching, but, personally, I disagree to an extent and have my own thoughts on this “method”. But let me share the tutorial first and then we will discuss it :) Tutorial To put it simply, in this method you use 2-3 (numbers are debatable, that's just an example) colors of thread to fill a shape in long and short stitch. Then you add extra colors in between the existing rows of colors. So, for example, you can use 2 colors and then add 1 between them. Or 3 colors and add 2 more, each one between the original “foundation” rows. Let's take a closer look to understand better. So, the first thing we do is actually fill the shape with the long and short stitch using “foundation” colors. As you see, the colors here are pretty far from each other in tints, so the border between them is very evident. I already talked about how hues and tints can affect the shading in needlepainting in this post, so check it out if you haven't yet. Next, we need to add a couple of extra colors to the existing long and short stitching, using the tints that fit in between the base colors. Now, a bit of technical side. You know the importance of keeping the same direction when you work long and short stitch, right? So, to not go astray in your stitches, I recommend working a few guidelines first. And then fill in the gaps between the guiding stitches. Now that your stitches are out on the surface and won't be covered by the next row, make sure to vary them well at the bottom. So, here is our first extra row of stitches. I worked the full row with stitches close tight together as I would usually do in typical long and short stitching. But with the second extra row, I just added stray stitches here and there and let them mix in naturally. The reason why I did the two “extra” rows differently, is to show you how the surface of the stitching looks after adding them. The first extra row now kind of “bulges out”, if you know what I mean. It sticks out and you can see well that the stitches were made on top of the previous layer of stitching. While the second “extra” row lies flat and doesn't stick out in any way. Here's the final result. Let's discuss As it is one of the “methods” of long and short stitching, I felt the need to speak about it. But truth be told, I don't see any real value in it apart from a few occasions. Mainly, when you have a difficult shading project in your mind and you know what the “base” colors would be, but you are still not sure about the additional finer hues you're going to add. Like in painting, when you lay some base colors and then add more and more brush strokes carving out the details. But even in such cases, it is probably more of the situation with the second extra row, where you add some stitches randomly here and there to enrich the palette and smoothen the blending. Which, again, I can hardly call an “alternative long and short stitch method”. Just a simple side technique. Otherwise, if you already know the colors you are going to use, if you have the map of shading planned in your head, I would NOT recommend using this method. The cons are: The extra rows you work will probably stick out. It will be difficult to maintain the direction of stitches through all of the rows. If you went just a little astray in your second and third rows of the “foundation”, it still might be not as noticeable. You can let it slide. But if a new row comes in between the two when they are already not perfectly aligned, it's going to make things look chaotic. Lastly, you simply waste your thread? Why would you need to make longer rows of “base” colors which will be later covered, if you can just go row by row in a more organic way and spend exactly as much thread on each row as necessary. Sorry if this post was not as helpful as you'd expect and doesn't have any new tips. But if you look closely, you can draw some useful conclusions from this article for your needlepainting! I guess the main tip of this post would be to pass by unnecessary “alternative methods”, haha. Not all of the alternative methods are useless, though! Just try things out and analyze, think whether this or that technique is worth it. I was pretty excited to discover this method because I've never met an “alternative way” of long and short stitching. But as I tried it, I realized why it was my first time hearing about that and why I've never seen it before, haha. Or another casual tip: try to maintain an even surface of your long and short stitching by avoiding throwing in a “patch” of closely situated new stitches on top of the existing ones. Maybe my images don't reflect it that well, but when stitches bulge out it is really visible and spoils the smoothness of shading. Okay, I promise to make the next post contain the real tips! Meanwhile, share if you have any troubles or questions about long and short stitching and needlepainting. If I haven't written about it before, I might make a post to help you solve it!

How to cross stitch over multiple threads? Cross Stitching over multiple threads Sometimes you read in a pattern: "Stitch over 2, or stitch over 3, over 4, etc. If you are new in the world of cross stitch, or if you always stitched on Aida cross stitch fabric, you might wonder what it means to

🟠 MORE PATTERNS IN MY SHOP: https://www.etsy.com/shop/freesampler This is a cross-stitch pattern. It may be used for your DIY projects and as home or clothes decor, pillowcase customization, tote bags, cushion clothes, or any needle and thread project. All patterns are PATTERN KEEPER App-compatible, but sometimes uploading can be tricky. Please review the app settings or watch this helpful video: https://youtu.be/viP_p6-i2-c?si=WQRA65quK1zVgWZG 🟠 With the purchase, you will get a pdf file. There you will find: - the cross stitch chart - DMC floss color code scheme with symbols 22 colors, full coverage! - The design of your choice in size 170 x 170 stitches, it is 13 in wide X 13 in high/32 cm wide X 32 cm high for 14 counts. For other counts I recommend using an online calculator, like this one: https://www.123stitch.com/aidacalc.html OR If you're uncertain about which fabric count to choose for your embroidery, you can simply print my Cross Stitch Graph Paper to visualize the pattern's real-world size: ✅ https://www.etsy.com/listing/1543939828/printable-cross-stitch-graph-paper 🟠 Important! a) This product is an instant download only. Nothing will be shipped! b) This pattern is NOT for machine embroidery 🟠 What you need in addition to that: - an embroidery hoop (⌀ ≈ 5'', 6'', 7'', 8'' or 13, 15, 18, 20 cm) - embroidery floss DMC - canvas Aida - embroidery needle - scissors Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions before or after your purchase, or even while embroidering, I am always happy to help you :) I also recently started an Instagram and you can contact me there @meme.broidery or on Pinterest @TheEmbroideryDesigner _______ This listing is copyrighted and for personal use only. No sales or sharing in any form is allowed. You will find the license with detailed information inside. Thank you!

Learn how to cross stitch with five basic cross stitches from a single stitch to a three-quarter stitch with this simple guide.

It's finished, done, complete. I will miss the slow pace of the work, the richness of the gold and black, that wonderful experience of doing something new for the first time. However... Ta Da! (imagine trumpets playing a fanfare here...) Here's a close up of the wrapped pearl purl and the

Mini hafty zdobnicze, mini cross stitch patterns, darmowe wzory, diagramy, mini embroidery

Although the basics of cross stitch are pretty easy to get the hang of, these hints and tips should help make it even easier and give your work a professional look.

November is coming to an end, so it's time for a lil freebie to make this month a bit more exciting ^^. This time it's the Grace embroidery design that you might already be familiar with from my previous posts. I'm excited to share not only the pattern and stitches I used but also a bit of guidance and tips. Hopefully, it will make the stitching process easier for you! This design features 3 key elements: Rope-looking lines and outlines for the leaves Filling of the leaves Lettering Lines All of the lines are worked in stem stitch. You can see some additional tips on stem stitch in the following posts: Changing direction of stem stitch and the 6 faces of stem stitch. Long story short, as you are stem stitching, keep bringing your needle up to the left of your stitches. This will help you achieve the “rope” appearance of your stem stitch. Given that the direction of lines keeps changing throughout the whole pattern, be careful to not mix up the sides of where the needle should come up. If you are confused, rotate the hoop or embroidery frame so that the line faces upwards and make sure the needle comes up to the left of the line. When I stitched I worked the outline in portions. Let's say I completed 25% of outline first, then filled in some of the leaves, then worked the next 25% of outline and so forth. It helped me to keep a steady path. But, of course, it might be more convenient for you to work it in another way. Maybe you'd like to complete all of the outlines first and only then fill in the leaves. It's completely fine! Decide for yourself the order of working this embroidery pattern and work it in the way that makes you comfortable! I used two strands of floss for the box around the word GRACE, and one strand of floss for the rest of the lines. It made the plant motif look finer and helped the box to stand out. Leaves All of the leaves are filled with the fishbone stitch after the outline is already complete. The leaves are not always conveniently “straight” and with even edges. Their form changes here and there and sometimes they are not complete or cross with other leaves. So, yes, although the fishbone stitch itself is quite easy to pick up on, this design might still present a challenge. As a result, it will be an excellent practice of fishbone stitch for you ;) The order of working the leaves can be whatever you want. Just like with outlining I did it in portions, but it is possible to fill all the leaves with one shade of floss first, and then another and so on. I used two strands of floss when I embroidered the leaves in this pattern. Also, in some places leaves “fold”. These small areas are worked by satin stitch using one strand of floss in the needle. I didn't do any padding here. Just stitched the outline the same way as the areas of the plant motif and covered the “foldings” with parallel satin stitches. Lettering I used an easy and quick approach to lettering for this design. Take two strands of floss and outline a letter in back stitch first. Then “wrap” the letters in satin stitch. Because the letters are not that big and we use two strands of floss, there is no need for any padding. The letters look dimensional enough and pop out of the fabric surface. That's pretty much it. In case you have any questions left, you're always welcome to leave them in the comments below or send me a DM through the contact form :) DOWNLOAD THE FREE PATTERN HERE Have a nice stitching!

Free up your hands with a Embroidery hoop stand - check out this curated list of options for embroidery lap stands and standing embroidery frames.

Kantha quilts are made by stitching together flattened layers of old saris or old discarded clothes together. They look kaleidoscopic with a collection of vivid colors and designs that make …

Well I am finally getting around to presenting my Framing Tutorial it only took one year so I hope the information will make up for ...