No! I’m not talking about that honking huge stone in the ring on your finger. Nor am I talking about the diamond as big as the Ritz (although it’s a great story by F Scott Fitzgerald). I am talking about diamond shapes in your hand painted canvas needlepoint.
For many people these are hard shapes to stitch. You think since they are diagonal, diagonal stitches should work great. They don’t.
If you want true diamonds in your stitching, go with straight stitch pattern. You’ll get true diagonal sides, easy compensation and wonderful patterns.
The smallest diamond is the Hungarian Stitch. It can be horizontal or vertical and can fit in pretty small spaces. I love it as clothing or floors.
Expand the units some and you gest Pavilion. It’s another great stitch and makes an outstanding background when done in a thread like Silk & Ivory.
You can combine and vary Pavilion to get stitches like Jo-jo, or the Darmstadt pattern which is shown on the Rittenhouse Needlepoint blog.
Stitches like these are a perfect solution when you want to stitch diamonds instead of wearing them.
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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