Background ideas – Dense Darning Patterns

I lost track of the Erica Wilson piece again (I think it does not like me). Until I find it again, Sundays will be devoted to background ideas. Today we are going to show two darning patterns. These are fast, almost completely cover the canvas, and add a subtle texture that’s lovely for backgrounds.

The Large Canvas

On the Tish Indian lady seen above, I behan with colored canvas. Because the canvas is a bit bigger and the stitch used for her robe is bold, i wanted a background that would be a bit larger. I wanted it to match the canvs color so it would add texture instead of color. I chose 3-1 Darn below using a single strand of crewel wool.

If you have a bigger canvas, you could also use below, which will give you a similar feel on a bigger scale.

The Small Canvas Canvas

For the new Danji minis pictured below, I took a different approach. Once again, I wanted texture to shine. The pattern needed to be small. I also wanted some color along with the texture. By choosing a ense darning pattern along with a pale color, I was able to achieve both, below.

Because the ornament was small, I used Tiny Darn, below and a single strand of Moonglow Watercolours.