Stitch Serial

[Grimarlon Varner]

Caterpillar Cross Stitch was launched by award-winning designer Sally Wilson in 2015 after she spent 9 months of pregnancy trying unsuccessfully to find a modern cross stitch kit for her new baby's modern neutral nursery.

The name Caterpillar Cross Stitch was chosen because the process of stitching isn't exactly quick. You need patience that slowly, the end piece will take shape as a beautiful, bright piece of art to keep for generations to come.

We're going big! This is the largest in-person event we have ever hosted - expect undisturbed cross stitching time, crafty small business shopping, a quiz, brag table, charity raffle, smalls exchange, and the chance to design your own cross stitch pattern (with experts on hand to help).

Happy Haunting contains everything needed to create a colourful Halloween-themed cross stitch project. You'll also receive 3 other spellbinding goodies - subscribers will be treated to an exclusive witch needle minder, themed ribbon, and a delicious lollipop.

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

Hola Maria, primero que todo gracias por compartir tan lindos conocimientos en verdad que su trabajo es muy hermoso, apenas estoy tratando de aprender, pero se que lo lograre porque sus enseas son muy claras. Que Dios la bendiga

You can see that the stem stitch makes a rope-like line. How heavy the rope is depends upon the thread you use. Stem stitch can be very delicate, and can be used on the most delicate embroidery pieces. Or it can be bold!

Stem Stitch is also used in Casalguidi Embroidery, worked over thick string to create a highly textured, super-raised stem stitch rope. You can find instructions for this Casalguidi embroidery technique here.

And finally, stem stitch can be used to fill an area, by working rows of stem stitch close together. The shading on the leaf above is achieved by switching out different shades of green as the leaf was filled in.

The best way to work through a video-playing problem on your computer (at least with my videos) is to check the Google Video Help Center. For example, you have to have Flash installed on your computer.

I was sewing some flower stems in backstitch last night but found myself liking the back of my work better than the front. Now I know how to stitch that way on the front! Thanks for helping out a very ignorant beginning embroiderer!

Hi Mary can stem stitch be done by the stab method, as I am working on some very close weave at the moment that has not a lot of give in it.

Making it very hard to work in a frame with the normal was of stitching the stem stitch, any help would be great.

Regards Joyce

Yes, absolutely it can. I use the stab method pretty often, when working in a frame without much give in the fabric. Just leave a bit of a loop as you pull your thread through and use your non-stitching hand to hold the loop out of the way when you re-emerge behind it.

If you're "writing" an L that's shaped like a printed L, the easiest way to do the sharp corner is to end one line and start the other, perpendicular to it, instead of trying to manipulate around the corner.

MC, I had never picked up a needle until after I retired in 2003. I took a quilting class at JoAnn Fabrics and I am soooo hooked on about every kind of needlework I see. I have been wishing for someone to move next door to me so I could watch how most things are done. I am terrible at understanding instructions. I have moved you next door to me. Yeahhhh! I love the Internet, it is like going to college for me. Something I could never afford before. Thanks for you generosity in sharing you time and expertise with so many people; I love love love you!!!

Hi Mary,

Thank you! This video just solved all my problems. ? I have been embroidering for years but have never been able to get the simple stem stitch to work. I love the look of it and always want to use it but it nevers works out for me.

Thank you! Your website is very helpful. I just started learning to embroider about a month ago and had bought a book that was of little help. For example, I tried to do a stem stitch with the book and found the results less than satisfactory, but easily mastered it after watching a video. The same with satin stitching.

Mary, I am a quilter but for a change I had a lady in to my quilting group to show us Redwork. The ladies seam to love it but I was only half seeing what was being done as I needed to know the group and the visitors were ok. When I got home I looked on the web to see of I could find out how to do stem stitch as this is what was being thought. Well when I came across you site I was over whelmed with all your clips. So impressed passed it on, we now have ladies as well as my self wanting to do Emnrodary

Just watched the video and read about the S-twisted threads to be used. What about when using 2 strands of DMC which tend to twist and not give such a nice finish. Can anything be done other than constantly untwisting the two strands?

This stitch itself is quite simple. It is a variation of a double crochet two together cluster type stitch. All you do is yarn over, (YO) insert your hook into the designated space, YO, pull through, YO, and pull through ONE loop on the hook. Then, YO, insert your hook into the same designated space again, YO, pull through, YO, and pull through all five loops on the hook. The stitch is complete.

Now, in order to put the BERRY STITCH to work, you have to put it into some sort of pattern. Some books I consulted had you close the berry stitch with a CH 1. I do not have you do that in this pattern, but in case you wanted that look, you may choose to do that.

Row 2: SC into the first SC, CH 1, SKIP over the Chain, SC into the SC of the row below. You are continuing to work the mesh stitch for this row. Same thing as row 1, you will end this row with a SC into the very last space.

Row 4: (BERRY STITCH) SC into the first SC of the row below, now, instead of doing a chain, work a berry. Then work a SC into the next SC, a berry into the chain space. Alternate the SC and the berry stitch across the whole length ending with a SC into the last SC, but CHANGE COLOR back to Rice Paper, just before you finish working that SC and then CH 1 and turn.

Tie off, weave in all the ends and do whatever blocking technique you wish to do to get your blanket straight. (I sometimes just lay it out, use a spray bottle and finger press everything into shape. Sometimes I give them a bath. It depends on how much I needed to drag this blanket around with me to work on it.)

I appreciate you being here on my website! I want to keep it as simple to navigate as possible. So if you do click around, just start at the menu and click a heading. I mostly make blankets, just started branching out to hats, and mittens and I love to make baby sweaters, I just am not the best at writing all that down. Getting there!

If you are new here, in celebration of National Crochet Month, every Friday in March I have been sharing a new crochet stitch with you. What better way to advance our skills than to learn new stitches right?

This week I had a hard time picking a stitch to share with you. I swatched quite a few of them before I settled on the Iris Stitch. This is the same stitch I used on the lace portion of the Petoskey Lace Cowl.

The Iris Stitch is a great one for watching TV and crocheting. There is only a one-row repeat and beyond the foundation row, all your stitches are placed in spaces and not in a stitch. I love crochet stitches like this. They are so relaxing and easy to memorize.

I am using this stitch for a shawl. My foundation rows are dbl crochet (row 1) and half dbl crochet (row 2). I started with the Iris st. on row 3. Do you have any suggestion on how I could decrease gradually?

Juanita

1,000 yards, give or take, in a 4 or 5 weight yarn will work up quickly with this stitch pattern. Start with at least 4 skeins, depending on the yardage of each skein and typically around 1,000 will make a good size couch or throw blanket. More yards, bigger blanket.

Back in January, I was able to look through swatches of yarn colors and when I saw this peach blossom next to the baby grey, I knew immediately that the classic crochet petal stitch would look beautiful!

The petal stitch pattern is a classic in crochet. I have found it in two separate stitch dictionaries and since have been notified that it also is in a Leisure Arts publication as a large afghan with no border.

This blanket is made with several stitches including garter stitch, stockinette, broken seed stitch, seed stitch, and ridged eyelets. Tutorials for many of these stitch patterns can be found by conducting a basic online search. If you would like to adjust the width of the blanket, keep in mind that the center pattern must be a multiple of 2 + 2 extra stitches (excluding the garter stitch edges for the border on each side). To adjust the length, simply knit for more or fewer rows while following the stitch pattern. Finish with the Final Garter Edge.

I love this pattern! How can I make it using straight needles?

When the pattern says 82 stitches to start, will it be 164 total on straight needles? Any input would help from experienced knitters! Thank you!!

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