Embroidery Course 2012 in review - Counted Thread Embroidery

The second module of the year was Counted Thread Embroidery, with sub-topics of counted cross stitch, Assisi work, blackwork, Hardanger and pattern darning

I've been doing counted cross stitch since I was five years old, so I wasn't anticipating much from that section. We covered the basics very quickly and moved onto some variation stitches, and talked about design. Our project for this topic was to make a name badge - design it, stitch it, assemble it. I knew that stitching my entire first name in cross stitch could make the name badge relatively big, so I did the first letter as a decorative capital in plain cross stitch and the rest of my name in backstitch.

My counted cross stitch assignment name badge

We had to show several variations, so I used long-armed cross stitch for the borders (with one corner on a diagonal) and double cross stitch in the other corners. The decorative 'stars' or 'flowers' are interwoven cross stitch.
The core of the badge is template plastic - better than card, as that makes it washable. I used a decorative double knot stitch (a stitch from surface embroidery) to cover up the joins, and used buttonhole to add the brooch back. Buttonhole is the best stitch for adding these sorts of things - press studs, too.

Double-knot stitch acts a near finish to the stitched seam.

Blackwork is another topic where I had some experience, but I picked up so many good tips on making my Holbein (double-running) stitch look more even.  We had to work the given pattern, to show the way stitches can be gradually built up to give a depth and intensity. It isn't reversible, which is a shame, as that is part of what I really love about blackwork, but I do like it.

The blackwork pattern worked in class. 

 We were asked to finish it as a bag. I didn't add a drawstring to it, and I'm currently using it as a bag for my Kindle!

The blackwork design made up into a bag. 

Assisi work combines the previous two techniques, and is basically where you work the background in cross stitch, leaving the motif, outlined in black, in the background fabric. Traditional Assisi work is very ornate and tends to be religious or floral patterns. The order matters for formal Assisi work - the first step is to do the outlines in double running stitch. Lots of modern Assisi patterns say to do it in backstitch, but double running doesn't give a shadow. Then you fill in the background, and then you stitch the ornate borders. We didn't have a lot of time for Assisi in class, and I stitched only a few small examples.

The small bird is very traditional, with its border. The bow is my attempt at a modern Assisi design.

The two techniques that I hadn't done at all before were pattern darning and Hardanger.
Hardanger I'd seen before, of course, as it is very popular, but I'd never tried it. I liked the stitching process itself- lots of precision counting - but the cutting of the threads was nerve-wracking. I discovered my scissors are not as good as I'd thought - or my scissor technique sucks. I was working in colour on white for our work in class, but switched to white on white for my assignment piece, because that way the tiny threads that remained weren't so obvious.  I made a bookmark, and placed a white grosgrain ribbon behind the design. That way I got some contrast, to show the design, but still white, so didn't make the threads obvious again.

My hardanger bookmark assignment.

I liked this technique, but unless I had a specific gift in mind I don't think I'll be doing a lot of it again. Not my favourite.

Pattern darning is awesome. You create a pattern by weaving a thread in and out of the fabric to create a reversible design. Our class project was a bookmark made on a piece of aida band, which was easy as each line of the band took its own threads, and they ended in the fringe (anchored with a buttonhole stitch).

Pattern darning bookmark front.

Pattern darning bookmark back.

Many other patterns are far more intricate and complicated, and I've been experimenting a bit with this technique and fully intend to do more.

So while I entered this module expecting to get a limited amount out of it, given my prior knowledge of counted thread work, I'm very happy with how much I learnt.