Recently NeedlePaint had a post of their blog about custom nautical flag pillows. If you don’t want to order a canvas from them, you can create your own.
I liked the idea of having the name in both letters and signal flags. But I would reverse the order and have the flags be against a sea background.
After you have decided on your canvas size and count, you’ll need to chart out the name. A great source for free charted alphabets in my Pinterest board. You may need to modify your canvas size if the name is long.
Pick out the threads you want to use. You’ll need three or four shades of blue for the sea background, white or cream for the top background, navy or dark grey (softer than black) for the name in letters, and red, yellow, white, blue, and black for the flags.
Plan on putting it slightly above the horizon line which should be between half & 2/3’s of the way up the canvas. Mark this line with a permanent marker made for fabrics, such as a Pigma Micron.
Next chart out the name in flags. You will have to chart your own for flags that have diagonal lines. The only charts I could find were for cross stitch. You can even translate the name into flags on the Web.
You can get some stitching ideas from my lobster mini-sock, below.
The sea background should be a Bargello pattern. You can find many on this blog (here) and on my Pinterest Bargello boards (here and here).
Havingf planned your canvas, you’re ready to stitch your pillow.
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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