Loving Bargello as I do fairly early on in my stitching life I decided it would make a great background if stitched in a single color.
My first attempts went well, largely because the main part of the design was the same Bargello pattern. Mynext attempt was one of my worst ever stitching disasters. I decided to do a Hungarianpoint background in solid red for a wall hanging I was making for my intended. I was clearly working from ignorance because I hadn’t stitched enough Hungarianpoint in colors to understand how the stitches interact. Nor was intelligent enough to realize the whole process went better if you stitched in lines as you would if it were different colors.
Even this did not quell my love of Bargello backgrounds. I like them because they are easy to stitch, have a lovely rhythm, and look great in a single color.
I have discovered several small tips that will make your Bargello backgrounds look great:
- Pick a Bargello line with more than one stitch on most steps. The areas with one stitch per step look like Giant Brick. This is fine if they are only part of the background. To look like Bargello, though, you need steps with multiple stitches.
- Stitch your Bargello in lines. Just because every row is the same color does not mean it’s harder to stitch in rows. It’s easier to keep things lined up if you do this.
- Avoid patterns where every step has the same number of stitches. This is just an expansion of the first tip.
- Avoid fill patterns. Bargello where you make shapes and fill them with stitches are called fill patterns. They get their shape primarily from different colors used. Making them in asingle color removes that. Save yourself trouble and use a line pattern for single-color Bargello.
- Unless you are very comfortable with these patterns, avoid four-way, uneven steps, and Hungarianpoint. All of these move differently than regular Bargello. If you can’t do them well in several shades, you’ll mess them up in a single color.
Try it for a project soon, you’ll love it!
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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