Tutorial Tuesday

This will be the last of the Satin Stitch Tutorials.  And the last Tutorial Tuesday for a while.  I'm trying to decide what to do next, and I'm coming up blank.  If there are any Hardanger techniques you'd like to learn, please let me know in the comments on this post.  Thanks!

So this week is a "sunburst".  This was a lot of fun, and really quick to stitch.  For a review of how to make the base shape, the Star, click here.

The arms on this sunburst curve to the left.  To make the arms curve the other way, do these steps backward. :)  (Text instructions for this are at the end - pictures are limited because this literally stitches so quickly that I forgot to take pictures in between!)

Start with a left-hand diamond - mine starts by covering 2 threads, and it covers 6 at the widest part.

Run the needle behind the stitches, and come up 2 threads away from the right edge of the bottom stitch.  Work a right-hand vertical ship.

(To make a right-hand curve, start with the left-side vertical ship - curve to the right - then work the right-hand diamond.)

Run the needle behind the stitches and come up 2 threads down from the right edge of the bottom stitch (turning the corner).  Work 1 left-hand diamond and 1 right-side vertical ship on each side.  When it's finished it will look like:

If it goes the opposite direction, it will look like:

And a look at the whole Tutorial Sampler so far.  I want to do something interesting in some of the diamonds - instead of cutwork, I mean.  And I need to finish the wrapping and filling on the sides.

Tutorial Tuesday

This week I'll show you how to make a heart-shape out of 2 Ships.  (Again, click on the highlighted "ships" to go to the original lesson if you need a refresher.)  Here's the finished Heart:

Begin by stitching a left-vertical ship.  This time we're covering threads horizontally - begin with covering 2 threads.  Your longest stitch will cover 6 threads, then begin your decrease.  Remember to keep your right side (center) parallel as you're increasing, and your left side (outer) parallel as you're decreasing.

Make that long arm with 5 parallel over-2 stitches.  After the 5th stitch, bring your needle up 2 threads to the right and 2 threads above the previous stitch (leaving that blank).

Fill in your blank with a 4-thread stitch, then do your final 2-thread stitches in the curve.  Now you have a choice.  You can run your needle behind the threads as we've done before, and stitch the other side the reverse of what we've done.  Your other option - stitch from the top down.  To do this, bring your needle up 2 fabric threads to the right, but still parallel to your final stitch from the first ship.  You will then bring your needle down another 2 fabric threads to the right to make your "final" over-2 (except you're doing it first this time.)

Then you'll bring your needle up in the same hole as the edge over-2 from the previous ship.  Cover 2 threads to the right (away from the previous ship).

Now we skip our over-4 and work our top over-2 by coming up 2 fabric threads directly above where we brought the needle down.  On this ship we're stitching from left to right instead of right to left, so this will feel a little awkward at first.

Then work the over-4 we skipped, and stitch your 5 parallel stitches for your long arm

Begin increasing your diamond shape to the left (keep your right - outer - side parallel).  Your 5th stitch will cover 6 fabric threads.  Then begin your decrease on the right - your left (center) will be parallel, and will share holes with the first ship.  (Sorry, I didn't take pictures of all of this because it's the exact reverse of what we did before.)  Again, here's the finished Heart shape:

And the Heart Cross I promised you - you can see that by working up one side and down the other you'll position yourself to easily work the other sides of this motif, without wasting thread.  It also is conveniently 4 Tulips put together, so it would work well in a design that also incorporates Tulips.

And, finally, a look at the Tutorial Sampler so far.  I'm really enjoying putting these shapes together.  Believe it or not, this Hardanger piece was something I started in January of 2007 - I didn't know what to do with the big empty space after I did the Kloster framework!

Tutorial Thursday

Hey, it kind of works.  Today's Ship variation - the Tulip!

Obviously, it gets it's name because it looks like a tulip. :)  You could easily incorporate this shape into cross-stitch pieces to add a little different texture.  I love to do that.

This is really just 2 ships stuck together.  If you need a refresher in creating the left-flat Ship, click on the highlighted "Ship" above.

After stitching the left-flat ship, run your needle under the stitches, and come up 2 fabric threads to the right of the top of your first stitch (remember that these Star-based satin stitches create an open box in the middle).  You will increase each row to the left (toward the already-stitched ship) so your parallel stitches are on the right.

Then you'll decrease on the right, making your left side parallel - this is how we get that nice squared void in the finished picture.  (You may also notice that I painted my nails for you all.)

Work your 5 parallel over-2 stitches to elongate the arm UP, then begin your curve.  The curve goes away from the square-void, toward the center of what would be the star.  Remember to bring your needle up 2 threads to the right and 2 threads above the edge of your previous stitch.

Then fill in your space and complete your curve, and you're done!

Next week - Hearts!  And a very cool Heart Cross, and another look at the Tutorial Sampler!

Tutorial Tuesday

I hope you all enjoyed practicing the Ship last week!  If you haven't looked at last week's lesson, you will need to read it before attempting this week's.

So, I think I invented this variation.  I'm not sure.  I haven't come across anything like it on any Hardanger websites.  I was thinking about the idea of a scroll border, and pulled out my trusty graph paper to think it through.  Then I stitched it, and L-O-V-E-D the results.  I love it so much that I'm going to give you a look at the finished motif BEFORE I give you the stitching instructions.

See how much I love you guys?  I think it looks like a Viking ship on the ocean, thus the name.

Okay, so here we go (nervous typing).  I started by stitching the standard left-side, flat Ship (instructions here).  After completing the curve of the first Ship, I started the curve of the Ship that is reversed and to the left.  (Note: you could start with the "upside down" one if you were doing a whole row and didn't want to stop and start your thread.  I did that on the other side of the Tutorial Sampler.  But for teaching purposes, this is easier.)  To make it easier to understand, the "Ship" is in light blue, and the "wave" scroll is in dark blue.

Counting from the bottom of the final 2-thread stitch of the first Ship, bring your needle up one thread down and to the right.  Cover 2 threads (this will parallel the "outside" stitch from the first Ship).  Bring your needle up one thread UP and to the right and cover 2 threads (parallel the last stitch of the first Ship).

Then we do our skip to tuck the carrying thread:  Bring your needle up 2 threads down and to the right of the bottom of the previous stitch, cover 2 threads.  Then comes our 4-thread "fill-in-the-blank" - bring the needle up one thread down and to the left, and cover 4 threads.

Now we begin our long arm (working the Ship upside down).  Bring your needle up 1 thread down and to the left of the bottom of the previous stitch, cover 2 threads.  Make 5 parallel stitches.  Increase like a normal satin stitch diamond.  The final stitch of the "arm" is the first stitch of the diamond; increase each column by 1 fabric thread.  The fifth stitch will cover 6 threads.  Decrease in the same manner - your final stitch in the diamond will cover 2 threads.  You can stop here, or you can work another arm and curve to continue the scroll.

When designing with this border, remember that it is deeper than just the normal Ship or Star.  Count carefully to make sure you have enough room!  I love that this actually looks like the rolling waves of the sea.  I want to stitch this all the time, now!

Next week's variation - the Tulip!

A chart for yesterday's tutorial

Somebody's in charge of her computer this week, and I think that somebody is me!! :)

I know some of these things are probably easy to figure out, but I finally figured out how to get a PC Stitch chart into another format, so I can share my charts on my blog (or in other electronic formats)!  Combine this with figuring out how to add text to the pictures, and watch out, world! LOL

I hope this is helpful in figuring out the text and image directions from yesterday.  If you're like me and you need to see the whole thing at once to understand, then you may like this.  If it doesn't help you, then I'm sorry to confuse you!

Please let me know in the comments if it helps or not!

Tutorial Tuesday

It returns!  I have at least 3 weeks of pictures ready to go!

This week I'll expand on the satin stitch shape called the Star, and show you the next basic shape, the Ship.  It's called the Ship because it reminds people of the prow of a Viking ship.

There are a lot of variations in how to make the Ship.  I'll show you some of those, too, in the next couple of weeks.  I had fun yesterday playing with shapes AND the camera!  And then today, with the photo editing - adding text to the pictures for the first time!  I hope that will be helpful.

To get ready for this lesson, you may want to review the Star lesson.

The Ship follows the same increase and decrease pattern, and then has a longer "arm".  I always do things from left to right, so I'll show you how to do the left, flat Ship.  So we'll be stitching vertically, not horizontally.

Begin by covering 2 fabric threads, bottom to top.  (Remember to secure your thread end with each of these satin stitches).  Bring your needle up one thread to the left of the bottom, and cover 3 fabric threads (bring your needle down one row above and to the left of the previous stitch).  Continue to a total of 5 stitches (fifth stitch covers 6 threads) - each stitch should line up along the bottom, and increase along the top.  Decrease each row in the same way, but line up along the top, decreasing the bottom.  Again, your shortest stitch covers 2 threads.

Now we elongate the arm - work a total of 5 stitches over 2 threads (this includes the final decrease stitch).  It should look kind of like a shelf with a slide.

The next 2 stitches you can do in any order.  (I do them this way to avoid carrying thread on the back on top of my stitches.)  Counting from the bottom of the previous stitch, go down 2 threads and to the left 2 threads.  Make a 2-thread stitch from bottom to top (top of stitch is on the same row as bottom of previous stitch, with a space between).  Next, we're going to fill that space with a 4-thread stitch - bring your needle up one thread down from the bottom of the previous stitch and one thread to the RIGHT.  Bring your needle down one thread UP from the top of the previous stitch - you're filling in the space and completing the angle.

Just 2 stitches to go!  We continue working our way back from left to right.  Bring your needle up one thread down and right of the bottom of the long stitch.  Cover 2 threads.  Bring your needle up one thread up and right of the bottom of the previous stitch.  Cover 2 threads.  Done!!

Run your needle down the underside of the stitches to secure (if only stitching this part) or set up for more stitches.  To stitch a right, flat Ship, the instructions are the same.  Your diamond lines up along the bottom first, then the top, and the arm will elongate to the right, then curve back to the left.  If you want to stitch them together, skip 4 fabric threads before starting your other side:

Here's another way I like to stitch this shape - I think it kind of looks like a more complete "ship", with sails.  I just stitched the center portion like a normal Star.

Next week - how to use this flat shape to make a scroll border!!

Tutorial Wednesday

It just doesn't sound the same, lol.  I am feeling much better, thank you.  I even had a fun stop-in at my LYS, looking for the elusive blue and orange yarn.  She will order them for me, and I should have them by December 1.

In keeping with last week's Hardanger theme, here is a link to a post I did in the past about the star motif common in Hardanger.  This motif can be incorporated in any number of designs.  I know I promised a tutorial for the ship, and as I'm sitting here trying to write it, I realize I don't have the pictures for it that I was sure I'd taken.  So I will show you some examples of how I've used this motif instead.  A ship is basically a star with 4 funky arms.

This was my first attempt at understanding the directions I found.  You'll see that I put them together to make a cross shape.  To make an actual ship-shape, the "funky arms" should be on the side portions, with the star points at the top or bottom.

This shows another use for those "funky arms" - flowers!  You can also see what can be done by making only half of the star motif.

I am motivated now to stitch a ship and take pictures of it - I can't believe I lost those!!!

Tutorial Tuesday

Thanks to everyone who expressed sympathy over my foot yesterday.  It's feeling much better.  A bandage really does make it better!  Also, if you haven't yet, please go sign up for my giveaway!

Now, on to the tutorial(s).  I'm providing links to the Hardanger tutorials I've done over the past few years.  You can start from the beginning, or jump in wherever you'd like.  As I've learned different forms of needlework, I've discovered that many techniques cross over.  Enjoy!

Lesson #1 - Hardanger Background and Shopping Info

Lesson #2 - Can You Count To 5? (Klosters)

Lesson #3 - Larger Kloster Diamonds

Lesson #4 - Cutwork

Lesson #5 - Wrapping Bars

Lesson #6 - Woven Bars

Lesson #7 - Basic Filling Stitch

Lesson #8 - Filling Stitch #2 - Twisted Cross

Lesson #9 - Edging Technique - Satin Stitch

Lesson #10 - Edging Technique - Buttonhole Stitch (part 1)

Lesson #11 - Edging Technique - Buttonhole Stitch (part 2)

Laura's Garden

I took yesterday away from the sewing machine, so I don't have time for blogging. But here I am. I just wanted to post this - I stitched this about a year and a half ago for Laura M (dragonflymystic). She saw the yellow and lavender one (below, finished into a pillow), and asked me to do one for her in colors of her choice. The original colors were very "Laura Ashley" to me, but since Laura loves this pattern so much, it's now "Laura's Garden" - kind of a deconstructed rose garden, at various levels of magnification. It can be dangerous to let my imagination run wild! I'll be stitching this pattern again, so I thought I'd post pics while I was thinking about it.

New filling stitch - the Twisted Cross Stitch

This is a really easy way to fill in the blank spaces in your cutwork. (Please ignore the weird color combo - I had to place a contrasting piece of paper on my scanner so the stitch would show.)

To create this stitch, weave or wrap your bars. In the picture, you'll notice that these bars are wrapped - I was feeling lazy tonight. :) The filling stitch starts by coming up in the center hole of the remaining fabric threads at the corners of the bars. With your needle on the top side of the fabric, go diagonally across the open space to the corresponding remaining fabric grid. Go down through the center hole of that grid, and loop back to your starting hole, twisting your needle around the working thread twice - finish with your needle on top of the fabric. Go down through your starting hole, and needle under the wrapping to finish your cross. Come up again through the center hole of the fabric grid, go diagonally to the final unused fabric grid - either over or under the first pass, it's your choice. Go down in the center hole, and pass back along the path of your thread. Twist around your working thread, making sure to catch the "cross" point of your cross stitch. Finish twisting with your needle on top of the fabric, and go down through the center hole again.

It's much more difficult to explain than to do. If the picture doesn't help, let me know and I'll try to take pictures of the thread path as I do them. If you look at the larger image, you'll see I still have 3 more to do on this piece - it shouldn't take me more than 30-45 minutes to finish the piece (including bar wrapping).

Hardanger SAL week 5

Buttonhole edging this week - blue and gray squares. The gray squares are the outside corners. If you need a tutorial, you can search under the "buttonhole" labels on the left side of the page. I'll give 2 weeks to finish this, since I'm swamped with other projects.

New Hardanger stitches I'll be covering soon

I'll be adding tutorials for eyelets and more things to do with satin stitches - stars and ships. These motifs can/may be worked into your SAL piece, but they also make a great addition to your stitch repertoire - they make everything look more finished.

I used a star as the center of my "Baroque" piece (on the left), and there are eyelets between the buttonhole edging and the Klosters of the same piece. I often use the ship motif to make an interesting looking flower.

Hardanger SAL week 2

Here is the next piece of the pattern. Remember, last week's part of the pattern is in pink, and the new part is in black.

The squares represent one Kloster block - 5 satin stitches over 4 threads. Pivot in the shared corners. Any questions, ask!

SAL week 1

Okay, so I can't wait until tonight - I'm posting in the afternoon so I can get started!

Welcome to week 1! This is the top center of the design - leave at least 8 fabric threads above for buttonhole edging (coming much later).

Each week the new part of the pattern will be in black, while the previous sections will be in pink. This will allow you to see the whole thing being unveiled, and allow anyone to "catch up" without searching the whole blog.

Edited to add: I realized I didn't explain something about the pattern. The squares are Kloster blocks - 5 satin stitches, 4 fabric threads high. Remember to pivot at the corners. It is easier for me to represent the Klosters as squares than individual stitches. When I get to the center part, squares will be cross-stitches, and I realize this can get confusing to cross-stitchers who are used to reading cross-stitch charts.

SAL starts next Sunday night!

Here's your shopping/stash-search list:

Pattern stitch count is 188 down by 216 across.

I did the math for you - (thread count:finished design size)
22: 8.5" x 9.8"
28: 6.7" x 7.7"
32: 5.8" x 6.8"

You'll need a full skein of perle cotton (probably size 5, unless you do a higher thread count, like 32-count, then you'll want to use size 8) and a ball of the next size down. Your color choices. Remember, in Hardanger the idea is to let the design "sing", so fewer colors are better. It's nice to do have your main color (satin stitches) be a contrast to the fabric, while the filling stitches are nearly the same.

You also need very sharp scissors!!!

I should be done with my 3 Ladies RR round 4 by the end of this week, and I'll be stitching along with you. This is a brand new pattern, I've had it kicking around in my head and on paper for about 18 months. I'll be unveiling it in pieces starting next Sunday night. The first page will be at the top center of the design, but be sure to leave at least 8 threads above for buttonhole edging!

If you have any questions, ask away!

Filling stitches - the web or dove's eye

The web (or dove's eye) is the most common filling stitch in Hardanger embroidery. It is what gives a sturdy, serviceable piece of stitchery it's lacy look. It seems a bit daunting at first, but with practice you will find that it is a fun way to finish a project.

It is easiest to complete a web when you have woven the bars rather than wrapped them, because you will need to come up in the middle of the fabric threads, and it's easier to see the middle in a woven bar. So the first step in completing a web is to weave 3 and 1/2 sides of a square (see picture 1). This is where you want to keep careful count of how many figure-8s you make when weaving, so that your web will remain in the center. For the purposes of this tutorial, I will assume that you made 6 figure-8s (as I did in the sample).

After completing the 3rd figure-8, pass the needle back through (pnbt) the middle, over the top, and come back up in the middle, making half a figure-8. Then bring the needle to the center of the bar to the right of your working bar (see picture 1) and come up in the middle of the threads. Pull the working thread through, but not too tight. Pass your needle under the working thread (see picture 2) to the center of the bottom bar, and pull snug. You should have a loop around the bottom of your right bar. Repeat the process, always looping under the working thread. After you complete the loop on the left side, bring the needle back to your half-finished bar. Pass the needle over the first side of the web and bring the needle up in the midde of the bar, needling to the left of the web and completing the bottom half of your figure-8. Finish weaving to the end as before (see picture 3).

There are many other possible filling stitches available. As I said, the web is the most commonly used, and should get you started with our tutorial SAL piece. If you would like to learn some others, you can check out the links at the bottom of the page. As I try them and learn them, I'll add them here, too. Yay!

Woven Bars

The most common finishing stitch for Hardanger work is the woven bar, because it sets you up to do all the fancy filling stitches later.

The starting procedure for the woven bar is the same as for the wrapped bar. Secure your thread in a Kloster on the underside. Bring your needle up in the middle of the 4 fabric threads (see picture). You will be weaving in a figure-8. Again, I work from right to left, and I start by weaving over the top thread. I hope the pictures are helpful in illustrating this. Once you have a little bit of practice, this will seem so easy to do!

So, you've brought your needle up through the middle of the fabric threads. Go over the top 2 threads, and pass your needle back through (pnbt) the middle of the threads. Then go over the bottom 2 threads and pnbt the middle (see picture). This completes one figure-8. Depending on your fabric count, the gauge of thread, and your tension, you should be able to comple 6-10 figure-8s on one side of a square.

Just like in wrapped bars, when you finish a side, pass your needle from the underside. So when you complete your final figure-8 on side 1, pnbt the middle and bring it over the top before coming up in the middle of the threads on side 2. This will ensure that your weaving on side 1 stays snug and keeps your thread path invisible.

Wrapping bars

If you need a refresher on how to do the basic Hardanger stitches, you can go there from here:

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2007/09/hardanger-background-and-shopping-info.html

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2007/09/can-you-count-to-5.html

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2007/11/edging-technique-1-satin-stitch.html

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2007/11/edging-technique-2-buttonhole.html

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2008/04/edging-technique-2-buttonhole-part-2.html

http://andreaholme.blogspot.com/2007/10/cutting-up-and-pulling-out.html

Okay. Now that you remember how to do everything, we're going to address what to do with those 4 threads left in the middle of your cut spaces. The easiest way to finish them is to wrap them. It's exactly how it sounds - you will wrap the perle cotton around the fabric threads. You will want to use one size smaller thread for wrapping than you did for Klosters (i.e., if you used size 5 for your Klosters, use size 8 for your wrapping and "fancy" stitches) - that will give you the look of lace.

Start on the underside of your fabric. Decide which bar you want to wrap, identify the closest Kloster, and on the underside, pass your needle under a couple of satin stitches on the far side from your bar (see picture). Hold the end with your thumb, and wrap the thread around the last stitch, then pass back under the last stitch and the next one. Repeat a couple of times to secure your thread. Turn the fabric to the right side to begin wrapping.

To wrap your bars, you must maintain even tension. If your tension is too loose, there will be gaps between the passes and you'll be able to see the fabric threads and it won't be pretty. If your tension is too tight, it will "shrink" your bar and put tension on the rest of the piece. Begin wrapping which ever direction you choose. I like to work from right to left, passing the needle from bottom to top on the front of the fabric threads. I use my non-dominant thumb (my left) to hold the wrapping stitches in place and snug them together (see picture).

When you finish one bar, move on to the next side of the square by turning your fabric. Be sure that you start your new bar by passing the needle from the underside of the first bar to the underside of the second. It's a good idea to work in a "grid" - finish one whole square before moving on. When we get to weaving and web work, you'll see why.

As always, if you have any questions, please post them here. This sounds a little confusing as I read it, but I'm not sure how else to explain it. This really is a simple procedure, and if you try it as you read it, it should all make sense.

Next Hardanger lesson will be weaving/wrapping bars, and then the more delicate "lacy" looking web work. I think I'm almost to an unpacking place where I can stitch, photograph and type guilt-free. I have been working on a pattern for when we are ready to SAL - I hope it isn't too ambitious. I think it's very pretty, though!

What do we want to do next?

Do you want me to cover filling stitches now (in the spaces of your cutwork), or do you want to try a pattern? Post a comment here and let me know. That will also tell me how many people are interested ;)