Long and short stitch direction

My long and short stitch is far from perfect.So, in order to improve on this stitch and to learn more on needle painting, I did some research on the internet and found an exciting article on stitch direction for flowers and leaves.Please click here   to read the article.

  

Although it stated the need to draw circles, that’s not necessary.Just find the point of attachment between the flower/leaf and its stem (point O) and draw straight lines from this point to the outline of the petal/leaf.These are the directional lines when working the long and short stitch.

  

After reading the article, I knew I had to experiment and find out myself if it really works.My first attempt was to embroider a simple leaf and the result is what you see in the picture above.I’ll show you the step by step pictures of this leaf in my next post.

 I found some more great tips from the same website :

*Parallel veined vegetation is the largest exception.(I’m not really sure what it means but I think for leaves with parallel veins, you can’t follow the stitch direction rules and the stitch has to be worked parallel to the veins)

*For turn-over leaf – slant the stitch from the edge in the direction which would reach the center IF THE LEAF WERE LAID OUT SMOOTH.

Well, I’ll love to hear from you.How do you work your long and short stitch?

Flower stitch 3 - Part 2

I’m sorry for the delay in publishing this post.I’d to deal with a personal loss – the death of my beloved puppy, Blackie.I’ve yet to recover from the shock, waiting for the day when I will be strong enough to say – ‘This too shall pass’.

Below are a few more examples of Flower stitch 3.Please click here for the tutorial.

This is another variation of twisted chain flower.Here, the loops were made at the tip of each petal.

This one is done with smooth purl, using 2 strands of silk thread.A reader asked me where she could purchase purl(zardosi thread) in Bangalore.I hope that someone who lives there can help her.If you want to buy it online, try ebay.

Here is another example – ribbed wheel method.Since 2 different threads were used, it’s easier if you work all the straight stitches first and then embroider the buttonhole wheel by inserting the thread under the straight stitches.If you use a single thread, work it continuously, like in the tutorial.After finishing this part, proceed to work the ribbed wheel on the straight stitches.

This stitch can also be used to fix sequins.8 sequins were needed here but don’t reduce the number of spokes on the buttonhole wheel and work the wheel and sequins continuously.

These sequins are quite wide, so I needed only 6 and I’d made an 18-spoke buttonhole wheel.Use your imagination – it’s really simple.