In planning this Kelly Clark canvas I came across a problem you may have encountered. Look at the dark red. Some of it is inside the rings and some of it is between the rings.
Often when we are stitching realistic designs we encounter the same color in the item as the background. In those canvases we can easily tell background from item because we know what the item is. You would not mistake the inside of the angel’s wings, below, for background, even though the color is the same.
When it comes to geometrics though, we have no point of reference to tell us this. The red inside the rings could be background because the rings are separate and “applied” to a completely red mini sock. They could be additional rings of color, just like the other rings, only in a color to match the background.
Is one better than the other? No, the choice is yours. If you decide it should be background you’ll stitch everything in the same stitch and thread.
If it is not background you have more choices. You could:
- Keep the thread the same but change the stitch, that’s what I did here
- Change the thread but not the stitch
- Change both the thread and stitch
The more different the threads and stitches are from each other, the more different they will look. Just remember that the less-attention-grabbing thread and stitch, if you are using more than one, must be the background.
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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