Updated June 17, 2022.
I think this patch turned out perfectly, I wanted it to be unexpected, so instead of making the star sparkly, I made the background sparkle. This keeps the star in keeping with the rest of the piece, but makes the patch stand out.
It’s further defined because I put a Continental Stitch border around it using an overdyed thread.
Until I tried to design this, I didn’t know how tricky a five-pointed star could be to make in needlepoint. I started by drawing a star on graph paper. Then I turned it into marks of stitches. But filled in, it was lopsided. My first try at making it even, helped but didn’t entirely work. Finally, I took the best looking of each arm and made the corresponding arm match. That’s what’s graphed above (click for a larger chart).
T Stitch is such a favorite with me. I love the rhythm of it, the way it can look tweedy when it’s a different color than the background, or textured, when it matches the background.
Lately I’ve been making T Stitch in horizontal or vertical rows. The direction of the stitches alternates between Continental and Reverse Continental and each row skips every other intersection. It’s best stitched on the intersections with vertical threads on top.
Here’s a rundown of the sampler so far:
Tuesday will be the last block in the sampler.
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
Congratulations, Janet! Two years… well done.
What do I like best? Knowing your post will be there everyday. Reading about needle artists/designers, tips on improving my needlepoint skills, news on new books and supplies. Christmas ornaments are my primary projects… 4 children, 8 grandchildren. Love all the input I can get here!!!
Thanks for being here everyday.
C
I do not know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everyone else experiencing issues with your site.
It appears like some of the text within your content are running off the screen.
Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is
happening to them as well? This may be a problem with my web browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Many thanks
I’m pretty sure it’s your browser. The template I use is supposed to resize the windows according to the window you’re using and it has in my experience (I just double-checked). So it’s probably a browser problem on your end.
Keep Stitching,
Janet