Today’s guest post comes from Brenda Stimpson of Needlepoint for Fun. Her newsletter is so often filled with the most useful information. I always been irritated when stitching curves, I never thought of this and I can’t wait to try it.
We are often asked what the best way to stitch a curve is. When planning out how to stitch this South Pacific design I thought that an interesting and effective way of stitching all the curves could be with the Spiral Satin Stitch.
The Spiral Satin Stitch is a very handy stitch to have in your repertoire because it creates nice flowing curves in any direction and eliminates the stepped look of basketweave when curving to the left.
How to Create a Spiral Satin Stitch
It’s easy!
The only thing to remember is that some of the holes will be shared with more than one stitch and you want to make these holes on the tighter or inner side of the curve. So, always bring your needle down in these shared holes. See in this photo all the even numbers of this stitch, where the needle is pushed to the back of the canvas, occur in the inner curve where the stitch might be shared with another.
The stitches don’t need to all be the same length as you curve around.
Where to Use a Satin Spiral Stitch
Anywhere you have a thick(ish) curved pattern like you see with this design. Also, flower stems, tree trunks.
Thanks for reading and Happy Stitching from Brenda!
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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