Updated April 24, 2020.
Sparkly and in Valentine colors, this owl showcases a great technique, Blackwork on canvas, and two straight stitch variations.
You’ll love it.
In this piece I used:
- Nature’s Palette canvas in Rose Quartz
- Pebbly Perle in P19
- Kreinik Tapestry (#12) in3237 and 031L
- Alyce Schroth Fine Silk in Rose Pink (no longer made)
- Dinky Dyes Stranded Silk in Mango Tango (17)
- HIgh Cotton in Cerise (804)
Because I used stash threads, many of these threads are no longer available. Feel free to substitute threads in colors of your choice.
Trace the outline of the owl onto your canvas. Remember that the owls and the tip of the top triangle are represented by dots and transfer them as well. From the middle dot, draw two diagonal lines to make the top triangle.
Stitch the eyes in Jessica, following the instructions in this project. These Jessicas are oval, not round, because I skipped one thread at the top and bottom of each stitch. Three strands of Pebbly Perle were used.
Stitch the triangle in Darcy’s Tent Check, below. I used the Alyce Schroth silk for this. Because blocks of Tent Stitch change direction in this piece, threads that looks different when they are stitched with different slants enhance this.
Stitch the head in Chinois, below. I love this Blackwork pattern, which is based on Chinese screens. All stitches in this pattern go over 2 threads. Kreinik metallic was used for sparkle.
Stitch the left side of the owl in Hungarian with Sparkly Interruptions. This is a really simple variation of Hungarian, below. All you do is leave out one Hungarian unit with each stitching length of thread. Once the area is stitched, make those Hungarians with your sparkly thread. Dinky Dyes and Kreink metallic were used here.
The other side of the owl is stitched in Venetian using High Cotton.
When complete, remember to emphasize the top of the body patches, the line between them, and the outline of the triangle in Whipped Backstitch, below, using the darker metallic.
Follow the entire series on-line:
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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