SAL: opening lily flower

Today, after a little break to hopefully help those who need to catch up to do so, we’re back to our Mountmellick embroidery stitch along. We’re moving on to the opening lily flower. I’ve decided to work this one in cable plait stitch.

Cable plait stitch is one of three stitches that are said to be unique to Mountmellick embroidery. The other two are Mountmellick stitch and Mountmellick thorn stitch. I actually don’t think that cable plait stitch is really unique to Mountmellick – its extremely close relative, braid stitch, is found in other embroidery. They are basically the same stitch, just worked slightly differently.

Cable plait stitch is a highly textured stitch that involves lots of thread and needle manipulation. It can take a little bit of practice to get right, but it is so worth the practice, as it is a gorgeous stitch.

As far as I know, there are no instructions for cable plait stitch anywhere on the internet, so you will need a copy of a book which has step-by-step instructions in it. I recommend:

• Mountmellick Embroidery: Inspired by Nature
• The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion – for all the lefties out there!
• The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion
• A-Z of Whitework Book 1 – though in my opinion they show it worked much too wide.

I’m starting off with the left side of the left petal. Begin at the top, VERY narrow, and increase the width of the stitches with the width of the petal outline. I choose to insert the needle and bring it out again just inside the guidelines, as when you’re stitching cable plait, those points are not the very edges of the stitch. Because of the loops of thread that sit further out from the entry and exit points of the thread/needle, if you enter and exit right on the guidelines, the stitch ends up being too wide.

One of the things worth knowing about cable plait stitch is that if it is worked wide, it becomes unstable. The narrower it is worked, the more happily it will stay put where you want it. Some of our stitching for these petals is getting towards the widest I would possibly want to do, so just be nice to it!

Here’s what I mean by inserting just inside the guidelines (and you can see that I am left-handed from the direction I am stitching – inserting on the left, bringing out on the right).
The completed cable plait stitch.
The left side of the petal completed.

Tomorrow we will look at starting a new thread in the midst of cable plait stitch, as no doubt that is something that you will have to do!