Here's a little sneak preview of my latest stitching project. While it may look simple, I've put a lot of effort into getting it to line up just right. The stitches on the outer circle are more widely spaced than the ones on the inner circle. To be precise, there are exactly the same number of stitches in each circle, fifty of them. What's more, they are carefully offset from each other. The inner stitches begin and end on the blue radial lines. The outer stitches cross the radial lines. This is important to achieve a well balanced Herringbone Ladder Stitch.
The end result is pretty cool:
The end result is pretty cool:
Where do I learn some of these nifty stitches? Well, I have a book that I frequently refer to when I'm stitching, The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barden. But another reference I adore is a website offering fantastic stitch tutorials, Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials at Rocksea. When I reference a stitch in a pattern or here on my blog, I will link to one of Sarah's wonderful tutorials whenever I can.
If this design looks a little familiar to you, maybe you've seen my post over on Craftster. I made a set of napkins for my sister-in-law last Christmas, but I fudged the stitches and cheated a lot to make them line up. It bothered me because I knew I could do better. I just needed to get it done in time. But I've gone back to the design and reworked it until I got the spacing right.
If this design looks a little familiar to you, maybe you've seen my post over on Craftster. I made a set of napkins for my sister-in-law last Christmas, but I fudged the stitches and cheated a lot to make them line up. It bothered me because I knew I could do better. I just needed to get it done in time. But I've gone back to the design and reworked it until I got the spacing right.