For Take a Stitch Tuesday 2023 Week 31, I am introducing everyone to 3 varieties of Chain Stitch that can be used whenever you want a really strong line. I hope they all prove to be fun. For TAST, I am suggesting two varieties of Whipped Chain stitch.
Both varieties are fun and quick. Both stitches use the same hand movements, but produce a totally different look. Double whipped chain stitch 2 is an interesting version.
Whipped Double Chain stitch is also a great linear stitch. It produces a solid decorative line, which, since it is based on chain stitch, will also follow a curve well. It is a handy stitch to use on the edge of items too as it will wear well.
Take a Stitch Tuesday 2023 Week 31 Beyond TAST
I have another interesting stitch for the Beyond TAST crowd. I am suggesting you explore Bonnet stitch. Once, a reader wrote to me as she thought I had invented it, but it is not the case, as Bonnet stitch is an old stitch that has been revived. It was originally documented in a 1923 copy of Embroidery Magazine, then in the 1950s, it was published in Jan Eaton’s Complete Stitch Encyclopaedia which was published in the 1980s. Then when Jan Eaton revamped Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches she included it in that book too. I know…I am being a bit stitch geeky … but I am an addicted stitch spotter! Anyway, it is an interesting stitch and I think readers will find it intriguing. Over past TAST challenges, there have been some great interpretations of this stitch.
You can create patterns if you work this stitch row upon row, or in this case, in rows back to back but Bonnet stitch also looks great worked in circles and spirals.
Visit the Bonnet stitch tutorial for instructions on how to work the stitch and ideas on how to use it. Bonnet stitch looks best in a thread with a firm twist, like a cotton perle. I really recommend that for surface embroidery, people try using some cotton perle thread. If you don’t have a needlework shop near you, there are many online outlets that you can use. Learn to experiment with other threads as often what looks flat and listless in stranded cotton floss comes to life if you use a thread with a firm twist.
If you are new to hand embroidery the challenge is to learn the stitch and share what you have learned. If you are an experienced embroiderer, enjoy Beyond TAST and give your work a modern twist. And of course, share it online so beginners can see what can be done with a little imagination.
If you are looking for past TAST stitch challenges the archives are in the Take a Stitch Tuesday category
Where to Share
If you are doing the design challenge you have a month to work on your design and stitch it up.
So the idea is to stitch a sample, photograph it, share it in the Take a Stitch Tuesday facebook group, or use the hashtags #TASTembroidery and #PintangleTAST on Instagram.
If you need more information the challenge guidelines are on the TAST FAQ page.
I hope you enjoy Take a Stitch Tuesday 2023 Week 31.
Bead Soup
Add zing to your embroidery with Sharon’s bead soup! Check them out in the Pintangle Shop. These bead soups are not for jewelry, I’ve selected the beads specifically for use in creative embroidery and for working in an encrusted embroidery style. The types and sizes of beads are better suited for stitching to fabric, rather than for making jewelry. With the exception of a few feature beads that you can stitch to fabric as a point of emphasis, there are not many large beads in this mix.
