I recently had an email from a reader who was struggling with a stitch for one of the projects in one of my books. She sent a very clear photo so that I could see her work and assess where she might be going wrong.
I was able to advise her on ways she could improve the stitch. Hopefully she will be able to use this advice and make the progress she hopes for.
When I do this, I help one person by answering them privately. I feel that it would be a good thing to be able to answer such questions publicly so that others can learn. Many people struggle with the same things, so if I can help more than one person at a time, that seems to me to be a good idea!
I’ve been watching some videos of an interior designer who shares a client’s room, their inspiration images, and then shows us how she would change their room to make it in line with their desires. It’s fascinating to see what she suggests. It’s informative and instructive.
I’d love to do something like that here for stitch problems rather than room problems (I’m not an interior designer!). If you’re struggling with a stitch and can send a bright, clear photo of it, I’d love to be able to post publicly about how it can be improved, so that many can learn. I don’t know how many requests for this I will receive, so it is possible that I won’t get to them all. But please email them to me and let’s all learn together! yvette at vettycreations dot com dot au (change the words to symbols where appropriate)
For the stitch shown (my work, made poorly to illustrate a point), tension is the problem. Some of the eyelets have tight (though still uneven) tension, and others have very loose tension. They should be worked with tight tension to open up the holes, and make them nicely round. The square filet in the centre is WAY too loose. The bars are a mess and need tight, even tension. For a stitcher to improve on this, it is likely that they will need to practice using much tighter tension. It won’t be fixed immediately, but with practice, it certainly can be.
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Tension is often at the root of stitching problems, isn’t it!
Yes, it is. Much more than most people realise. Although many acknowledge they struggle with tension.