Happy New Year To All Of You!

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 

Psalm 65: 11

Chicken Scratch/Gingham Embroidery: The Stitches -1

1. Cross Stitch
2. Double Cross Stitch (Smyrna Cross)
3. Straight Stitch
4. Woven Circle Stitch

Cross Stitch

Double Cross Stitch (Smyrna Cross)

It is a variation of the cross stitch.

First a cross stitch is made and then continued as shown below.

Straight Stitch

 Straight stitch can be horizontal or vertical

 

Woven Circle Stitch

1. Start by making four straight stitches.

2. Get the needle up at a point as shown ( in  fig 2)

3. Take the needle under the remaining three stitches  ( as shown in fig. 3 and 4)

4. Go under the first stitch and the remaining stitches once more  ( as shown in 4, 5 and 6)

 

 7. Finish the woven circle stitch by going down at the same point where the needle was brought up.

8. Completed woven circle stitch.

We will make a pattern with these stitches in the next post

Chicken Scratch / Gingham Embroidery : An Introduction and the Stitches

Chicken Scratch embroidery is also called as Tenneriffe Lace, Snowflaking & Amish Embroidery. It is worked on gingham or checkered cloth, hence also called as Gingham Embroidery. It gives a lacy finish to the fabric/ work. 

Most commonly used fabrics for chicken scratch embroidery are the 1/8-inch or 1/4-inch checks. The 1/8-inch gingham is used mainly for small projects – pincushions, jar lids, bookmarks, and sachets. The 1/4-inch is used for larger projects – pillows, quilts, clothing, place mats, and tablecloths.

Materials Required:

Gingham or checkered fabric

Embroidery floss 

Needle ( sharp needle with large eye preferred) 

Scissors

Embroidery Hoop

The number of strands of floss used in chicken scratch embroidery depends on the type of fabric used. 

• 2- strand floss is used in 1/8 - inch checkered fabric, and  

• 3- strand is used in 1/4 - inch checkered fabric.

Counting the squares :Using a scale count the number of squares per inch on each side. Sometimes the checks may not be same on each side. 

Counting the squares help in deciding upon a pattern and placing it well on the fabric. Thus. reducing wastage of fabric.

There are many different kinds of stitches used in chicken scratch embroidery.

Click here for Stitches used in Chicken Scratch Embroidery

The Love Sock Kitties

 Aren't they lovely?

The instruction to make these kitties can be found at Craft Passion 
But the imagination is yours........

Merry Christmas To All

Lots of Love and Goodness .............

A Look Back

I started using yarn and needle around 4 years back when my son was to be born. Now my little Jo is three and a half years old. I had a desire to make something warm for him as he was to born just before winter.
I started crocheting which seemed easier to me than knitting as I had to use only one needle. 

You can see in the pictures below my first ever doily with worsted weight yarn, booties, sweater and blanket made for my son.

There are many more the pictures of which are not available. But looking it at these brings back the memories of days when I started to crochet.

Basic Embroidery Stitches: Cross Stitch

Find all the cross stitch posts here
Cross stitch is one of the oldest and most widely used embroidery techniques that consist of two slanting stitches that cross each other in the center. The term “cross-stitch” refers to both the type of embroidery and the stitch itself. It is a popular form of embroidery throughout the world.

The most common base fabric for cross-stitch is a balanced plain weave or the Aida fabric.

The size of the weave is measured by how many stitches can be made in one inch. This is called the fabric's count. 

•  Aida cloth with 8, 11, 14, 16, 18 and 28 stitches per inch are available.

• The most commonly used Aida Cloths are 11 and 14. 

• The higher the number, the smaller the stitches will be, because there are more stitches in each inch. 

• Beginners may  start with 11-count or 14-count Aida Cloth, as it is easy to see where to place the stitches. 8- count Aida cloth may be used for teaching kids. 

• Stitching on fabric that is 28-count or higher requires good lighting and careful counting.

 Floss Used

• 4 strands on 8 count

• 3 strands on 11 count

• 2 strands on 16 & 18 count

• Back stitch  with 1 strand less than that used for the cross stitch

( only suggestions and can be varied)
 
Needles 

 Blunt tapestry needles are used for cross stitching. 
20 or 22 tapestry on 8 and 11 count
24 tapestry on 14 count
26 tapestry on 26 and 18 count

( only suggestions and can be varied)

Various uses of cross stitch

• Assisi embroidery uses red or blue cross-stitches to create a pattern in negative, similar to black work.

•  The most widely used variations are herringbone and fish-bone stitch.It can be used to join pieces of fabric or in ornamental variations commonly used in patchwork crazy quilting. Fishbone stitch is worked with the crossovers in the center like a spine and is used to create leaves in crewelwork embroidery.

• Chicken scratch  / Gingham embroidery

Types of Cross stitch

•  Cross Stitch
• Half Stitch
• Quarter Stitch
• 3- Quarter Stitch 
• Back Stitch  

Stay tuned...... More to come..... 

Miracle Garden in Dubai

A wonderful place in the middle of the desert. A place which shows the whole world that nothing is impossible. The saying  " Determination is the wake-up call for human will " by Anthony Robbins comes true here.

Day time visit is the best to see the beautiful colors. 

See a world full of flowers.........
 

This is one of the entrances.

It is 5: 30 p.m. and the sun had already started to set.

At the exit with lovely peacocks and the pole star shining bright ( Can you see it in the below picture) .

Travel : Dubai Global Village - November 2013

I am posting few pictures from the Global village.