Woven bars are great fun to make. You mainly use Woven Bars in traditional drawn-thread work, where you withdraw the horizontal threads from the foundation fabric. Woven bars are then worked on the vertical threads. Contemporary needleweaving makes use of this stitch too. You can work them in a freestyle manner to great effect.
The demonstration here shows blocks of Woven bars worked on the surface of the fabric, which means they become a raised stitch. You can work them much longer to create depth and interest.
I worked this sample in perle 5, and I used a contrasting coloured thread so that you can see what is happening. Most often, in traditional drawn thread embroidery, the threads match the fabric.
To start a woven bar work, an even number of straight stitches. I have used 6 here so you can see easily what is happening. But you can also use 2 stitches or 4 stitches. Don’t work them too tightly, as these are the foundation stitches that you will weave.
To weave, use a needle with a blunt end, such as a tapestry needle, so that you do not split any of the foundation threads.
Bring your thread out from the back of the fabric to the left of the first straight stitch.
Take the thread over three stitches and then under three stitches. Weave, don’t sew, as you are not taking the needle through the fabric but weaving the foundation stitches.
Turn your needle, and take the thread over three stitches and then under three stitches. Repeat this back-and-forth action.
Pack your stitches slightly by gently nudging them up the bar. When you have worked the bar, take your weaving thread to the back, tie off the thread and trim.
The sample at the top of the page is from my Journal Band Sampler. In 2020, the Eastern States of Australia had a horror Summer of fires. Here is a photo of the sampler, so you can see how I used this stitch in context.
These are woven bars, as you can see. I wove them on the vertical threads of the weave after I removed the horizontal threads. You can create interesting textures and holes in a fabric using this technique.
Thread Twisties!
Experimenting with different threads can be expensive. You would normally have to buy a whole skein of each type of thread. My thread twisties are a combination of different threads to use in creative hand embroidery. These enable you to try out stitching with something other than stranded cotton. For the price of just a few skeins, you can experiment with a bundle of threads of luscious colours and many different textures.
These are creative embroiderers’ threads. With them, I hope to encourage you to experiment. Each Twistie is a thread bundle containing silk, cotton, rayon, and wool. Threads range from extra fine (the same thickness as 1 strand of embroidery floss) to chunky couchable textured yarns. All threads have a soft and manageable drape. Twisting them around a needle makes experimental hand embroidery an interesting journey rather than a battle. Many are hand-dyed by me. All are threads I use. You may find a similar thread twist, but no two are identical.
You will find my thread twisties in the Pintangle shop here.
