Updated March 19, 2021.
When you use companion stitches in needlepoint you have an easy way to coordinate your stitches and create depth and dimension in your stitching.
What Is a Companion Stitch?
Companion Stitches, a name coined by June McKnight, are stitches that are similar in shape and construction but differ in size. Put together in order by size, they make a continuous gradation.
As you can see by the stitches above, this set of stitches goes from Genny’s Scotch (largest), to Tent Stitch (smallest). Tent Stitch covers a 1×1 square. Mosaic Stitch covers a 2×2 square. Scotch and Giant Scotch are 3×3 and 4×4 respectively. Genny’s Scotch is 6×6. If needed you could add more stitches on the larger end to make an even bigger series of stitches.
Although it’s easy to see the progression with Box Stitches, other series of stitches also work as companion stitches. Think of a Cross Stitch series of Needlepoint Cross Stitch (1×1) Smyrna Cross (2×2), Rice (3×3), Giant Rice (4×4), and so on.
By making the length of Brick Stitches or Diagonal Gobelins longer, you get other companion stitch series.
If you need a small series of companion stitches, often there are smaller versions of the same stitch with shorter stitches. For example, Tiny Knitting is a smaller version of Kalem Stitch.
Why Use Companion Stitches?
Companion Stitches are great to use in three circumstances. The first is when you want a series of stitches for your design that is similar in shape. Depending on your project stitches in many different shapes may give your project a patchwork or sampler feel. This can be minimized by picking stitches that are similar in shape. This works because your eyes will see the similarities in shape as being more important than the difference in size.
The second reason is to create a more obvious distinction between folds or draping in a stitched object. Think about how you might stitch pleats in a skirt or the different faces of a pumpkin. You can have changes in color or thread or changes in stitch direction. Companion stitches give you another option for making these distinctions.
The third reason for using companion stitches, creating distance, is discussed in the next section.
Perspective & Companion Stitches
If we think about how our eyes perceive distance, we’ll notice that as items get farther away from us, they get smaller, bluer, and less detailed.
In this picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can easily see this. While you can see individual plants on the closest hills, the distant ones are just shapes. And you can also see the color change, although that is not relevant here.
Companion stitches shine when you use them to show the increasing distance to the most distant areas.
In this needlepoint of a Japanese woodblock, you can see this in action with smaller versions of Box Stitches making the distances clear. The choices of stitches (described in the Art & Needlepoint Book, How to Stitch Japanese Woodblocks, available here), enhance the feeling of distance.
The beets, pictured at the beginning of the article, show another application of this principle of distance. Here companion stitches combine with characteristics of directional light (see last Tuesday’s post for more about this) to create a rounded shape.
I love using companion stitches to create distance and rounded shapes in my needlepoint. Not only is it effective. It’s also easy to do. Pick your largest stitch, know how many companions you’ll need and you can start to stitch.
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
Leave a Reply