Today I have another smallish pattern with yet another variegated thread. It's been nice going through some of my thread stash and pulling out ones I hadn't used in a while. Someone in a stitching group asked me how I stitch with variegated thread, and I thought the first few projects I worked on this month are a good demonstration.
For the first flower, I specifically chose what colours would go where in the larger flower to give it an alternating appearance:
Carrie's Creations Berry Bliss
For today's project, I'm fussily using one colour for the shamrock area and sort of trying block stitching with the rest of the variegated thread:
Shamrock by Erica Michaels, found on Rainbow Gallery freebies
stitched 2 over 2 with Morning Glory (forget which company)
on 28ct white Monaco
I hope I have enough thread left on this one. I will likely use up the rest of it to finish. I like the look of it and it's a fun design. I hope it turns out well in the end. Again, I'd like to add a length or two every day to get it finished. That's 3 in a row now? I doubt it will happen.
Back to variegated thread, when I have a lot of stitching to do, I try and stitch in 2x2 blocks, so I stitch 2 stitches in a row, then the next 2 on top of it, then the 2 beside the first 2 stitches, and the next 2 on top of those and work across or up, however the pattern demands. I think you can tell that most easily on my Butterfly project.
I hope you've all had a good Friday! Happy stitching and stay well,
Tiffstitch
Great examples of how to use variegated threads. I change how I stitch depending on what the design is and whether I want the striped effect or not.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I prefer blending two colours rather than a variegated, especially for grass or fur.
That is a nice effect with blending. There's one aspect I didn't mention, when you take one strand and double it over, so that gives another look as well. I'm trying that on another new start right now. Thank you!
DeleteLovely new start and interesting use of colours! I, too, change the way I stitch depending on the design, if I want some special colour gradient, blocks, striping...it's so much fun to experiment!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! And there are so many pretty colours out there to experiment with.
DeleteDo you know, it had never crossed my mind to stitch with variegated thread in anything other than rows! But now that you've mentioned it, your 2x2 method is quite obvious!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I'm not keen on the stripy look either, so tend to use variegated for patterns without blocks of stitching. Having said that, we already know what happened in July/August! :)