Counterchange Mindy Mini Free Stitch Guide

This month’s Mindy mini is a charming shaded blue flower in the Arts & Crafts series. It showcases another way to shade without needleblending and a lovely technique for making realistic flowers.

To stitch this canvas you will need:

Materials

Mindy mini canvas 12D
1 skein each Gentle Arts Sampler Thread

• 0940 Island Blue (deep bright blue-green)
• 0910 Peacock (blue-green)
• Deep Sea (dark pine green)

1 card Neon Rays N39=6 (dark blue-green)
1 card Grandeur G817 (dark old gold)
1 skein Pepperpot Silk 105 Limoges (light blue-green)
1 skein Belle Soie Butterscotch (light old gold)

Stitching Instructions

Stitch the two single-thread borders in Continental using Neon Rays and Grandeur.

Stitch the stem and outline of the flower’s center in Needlepoint Cross Stitch, below, using Neon Rays.

Stitch the center of the flower in Dense Dotted Swiss, below,using Grandeur.

Stitch the corners’ backgrounds in Four-way Continental, below, using either four strands of dark pine green (deep sea) Sampler Floss or one strand of Pepperpot Silk.

Stitch the decorations in each corner in Needlepoint Cross Stitch, above, using the same threads.

Stitch the background around the flower in T Stitch, below using one strand of Belle Soie. This is a very simple form of Shadow Stitching. Because the thread is thin and the stitch is open, it allows the shading painted on the canvas to show through. This technique works well if used for backgrounds or over the entire canvas.

The flower petals are stitched in three passes to give them colored edges and a realistic shape. Bgin by stitching the petals in Petal Gobelin using four strands of blue-green (peacock) Sampler Threads. To get a gradual change in colors, reverse the direction of two of the strands. The steps of Petal Gobelin are pictured below. The process is simple, the petal is defined with three stitches, one on each side and one in the middle. Additional stitches are made splitting each area in half until the petal is stitched.

Once the petals are stitched you will add the darker blue edge to them. Use two strands of deep bright blue-green (Island Blue) for this. Use Backstitch to outline the outer edge of each petal. This creates a darker outer ege of the petals. It also creates a shadow to raise the petals from the background.

The final step uses overstitching using the same thread to create a darker center of the petals. You will also use two strands for this step. You will be using the same stitch as Petal Gobelin, but the stitches are shorter and cross over some of the petal stitches.

How many of these stitches you make for each petal is up to you, I made 3 or 5. Make them in varied lengths and slants. Stop when you like the look of each petal. The close-up picture below shows how the finished flower looks.