This is the finished cable plait stitch outline of the opening lily.
This is the back of the lily so that you can get an idea of how spaced apart my cable plait stitches are. A long time ago, I used to pack them in quite close, and then I realised that if I spaced them out a little more, the effect was much neater and more attractive (on the front, that is!).
This photo shows how easy it is to mess up cable plait stitch. Because we have worked it quite wide, with just a few simple flicks of the stitching with my fingernails, I’ve made quite a mess of the stitching. It all flattened down nicely again after I took the photo, but it shows you just how unstable the stitch is when it is wide. If this continues to bother me, I’ll show you how we save it. Otherwise I’ll just leave it as is.
That’s all for today – I’m trying to give time for people to catch up!
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
This stitch is very beautiful..
can you please tell me how to do this stitch? Any online tutorials are there? ..thank you
Hi Lakshmi,
As far as I know, there are no online tutorials for this stitch, but you can find good step-by-step instructions in the books listed in my post from a couple of days ago. I agree – it is a beautiful stitch!
Hi Yvette, thank you very much..really I was smitten by the beauty of the stitch and the way it was done so neatly with whites..
I can see me graduating to white-on-white one of these days.. Much as I love colour, the single shade allows the texture of the stitch to show properly!
That’s one of the things that I really love about whitework. Sometimes people ask whether they can do Mountmellick in colour. But I don’t think Mountmellick needs colour. Its all about pattern and texture and the stitches. If we had colour as well, it would probably crowd the others out a bit.
Your mountmellick work is exquisite. I am in awe of how even your plaited braid stitch is.
Thanks Shirley! I have had a LOT of practice with plaited braid stitch!
Years ago I used to find it difficult to teach (measured by the fact that my students had difficulty with it) but with time, my instruction improved greatly and now my students don’t have trouble with it either. So its possible for anyone to do!
What country does this stitch originate from and is it popularly used in Mountmellick Embroidery?
Thanks,
Aoife
I am Irish mysel so its a bit of research!
Thanks again
Aoife
Hi Aoife, Cable plait stitch is said to be one of three stitches that are unique to Mountmellick embroidery. Where did it originate? That’s a very difficult question. It could have been in a number of places because that sometimes happens. And while it is known as cable plait stitch in Mountmellick, there is another stitch, braid stitch, which is pretty much identical. You can read more about Mountmellick embroidery on my website: http://www.vettycreations.com.au/me.html and of course in our book “Mountmellick Embroidery: Inspired by Nature”.
Hi again,
Thanks for the information. I was wondering if you had any information and photos of Mountmellick embroidery. Thanks again.
Aoife
Yes, Aoife, I do. As I suggested previously you can see more on my website, and in our book. 🙂