Birds are becoming very popular in needlepoint. I’m always faced with a dilemma when I think about stitching them. From the discussions I see many of us also face these problems.
The big question is how to stitch feathers. How realistic do we make them? How much detail do we put in? Do we pick a stitch that looks like feathers? And so on.
I am still working on this. When I start to think about birds the first thing I consider is how realistic they are. Vicki Sayer’s lovely birds, for example, are very realistic. It would harm the design not to take this into account.
In fact in a stitch guide last year I developed new techniques to mimic the painting of some feathers.
But other birds, such as Charley Harper’s works and my birds, are simplified. This opens o=up possibilities for stitching because I’m not seeing the pattern of the feathers. I can pick stitches that give me the feel without necessarily the look.
I’m stitching the robin first. I’ve picked for his belly a stitch from Stitch Landscape with lots of texture. This stitch will continue in the white are near the tail. Except for the wing where feathers are defined, I’ll pick a bigger but subtle pattern.
I hope I have enough of him stitched to show you next week.
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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