Frog Stitch

Everyone makes a mistake now and then, even the most experienced stitcher.  That's when the "Frog Stitch" is invoked to "rip it, rip it."

The most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid cutting the canvas when you're ripping out a mistake.  If you can't remove the mistake by "unstitching" with a needle in the reverse sequence they were stitched, you'll have to cut the stitches.

Using a bent tip scissors lifts the stitches up and away from the canvas, thereby reducing the chance you'll cut the canvas.

Once the stitches are cut,  pull them out with a pair of tweezers.  The kind  you use to tweeze your eyebrows works pretty well.  A tool called "Uncle Bill's" tweezers, available at your LNS and outdoor sporting shops, is also very good.  The points are sharp and you can lift stitches with them without cutting the canvas.

In any case, relax, take your time, and look forward to getting it right the next time.

Ways to Improve Your Stitching

Here are a few simple suggestions for improving your stitching. More to come in the days ahead.

1. Use a new needle for each project. The plating on tapestry needles wears off amazingly fast. If the plating is gone, the needle may leave a black mark when you stitch. Metallics and other rough fibers can nick the needle eye. If this happens, it will rough up your threads and will contribute to pilling.
2. Use the correct size needle for your canvas. In general, use a size 20 for 13 mesh, 22 for 18 mesh, and 24 for Congress cloth. A slightly larger needle can be used when stitching vertical and horizontal decorative stitches.
   
3. Work from light to dark colors. Fuzzy threads like wool pick up fibers from existing stitches. So, if you've stitched red and then stitch around it in white, the white may pick up little bits of the red, leaving a pink smudge.
4. Clip the threads close to your stitching on the back so you don't "pick them up" when you stitch the next area.
   
5. For best results, stitch on a frame. Stretcher bars and scroll bars keep the canvas taut so the stitches don't distort the shape of the canvas.
6. Work with clean hands.
7. Protect your work from animals, spills, and other accidents.
8. Work in the best light you can manage.
9. Choose to stitch only things you're crazy about. There's nothing worse than dreading a project because you don't like the design.
10. Try something new. Take classes. Try new threads, new stitches, new techniques. If you always stitch painted canvas, try a charted design. If you always stitch from charts, try a painted canvas. Try blackwork, Japanese embroidery, bargello, goldwork, stumpwork.

Frame Weight

With the weight restrictions now placed by airlines on luggage, it's a challenge to pack everything one needs for stitching classes and getaways. By the time I get all of my clothes, toiletries and stitching equipment packed, it easily exceeds the 50 lb. limit.

The heaviest item is the floor or table stand. In addition to their weight, they take up a lot of room. I find frame weights work well in a classroom, but a decent one weighs several pounds.

So, I tried to figure out what to use instead. I thought about buying a bag of rice, or beans, or foodstuff from a convenience store when I got to the class city. Then I came up with another inexpensive and completely disposable alternative: a bag of pebbles. I packed a couple of gallon size plastic freezer bags and a flannel bag similar to the ones on heating pads. When I got to the hotel, I went for a walk, picked up pebbles to fill the bag, sealed the bag, put it in another plastic bag and then in the flannel out bag. Presto! A very user friendly frame weight. When class was over, I dumped the pebbles and packed the bags in my suitcase.

Usual Stitching Supplies

Last weekend I attended a class and was embarrassed that I hadn't brought something the instructor expected one to have in their "usual stitching supplies". Here's a list of things I'll take next time. Now all I need is a steamer trunk to put them in! Let me know if I've missed something important.

Category 1 – Absolute Essentials

• Good embroidery scissors
• Tapestry Needle

Category 2 – Intermediate Needs

• #18, 20, 22, 24, 26 Tapestry Needles
• Tweezers
• Needle Threader
• Scissors for Metallics
• Laying tool/Tekobari/Trolley Needle
• Thimble
• Binding tape
• Stretcher Bars or Scroll Frame
• Tacks or Staple Gun
• Magnets
• Everyday scissors

Category 3 – Specialty Items

• Chenille needles
• Curved Needles
• Sharps
• Bouillon Needles
• Milliners Needles
• Stitch Fixer/Do It Tooly/Snag Repair Tool
• Awl
• Bunka Brush
• Boo Boo Brush
• Tape Measure
• Small Hammer
• Needle Nose Pliers
• Dental Floss
  

Category 4 – Beading Supplies

• Thread Wax/Conditioner
• Beading Needles
• Beading Needle Threader

Category 5 – Metal/Goldwork Supplies

• Mellore
• Chipping Box

Category 6 – Writing/Marking Tools

• Pen/Pencil for Note taking
• Note Paper
  
• Pigma Marker
• White Acrylic Paint and Brushes
• Ruler
• Scotch Tape
• Sticky Notes
• HB 4 Pencils
• White Pencil
• Gum Eraser
• Fabric Eraser
• Glue Stick
• Colored Pencils/Pens
• Graph Paper
• Tracing Paper

Category 7 – Just in Case

• Bottle of Water
• Energy Bar
• Mints
• Aspirin
• Eyedrops
• Hand Conditioner

Category 7 – Lighting and Magnification

• Good light
• Magnifier, if necessary

Category 8 - Nice to Have

• Telescoping wand with magnet on end
• Baby Toothbrush
• Thread drops/Floss-aways

Tapestry Needle Eye

The eye of a tapestry needle has a convex side (kind of like the inside of a funnel) and a concave side (like the outside of a glass). Threading a needle from the convex side is a little easier because the threads are "funnelled" through the eye.

Needlepoint Tips - Colors

When choosing colors for your piece, here are a few things to consider:
- Complementary colors on the color wheel instensify each other. For example, yellow and purple are opposite each other. Purple will seem more intense when next to yellow, and vice versa.
- Dark colors receed, bright colors come forward. To create the feel of distance, use muddier colors for the background, clearer colors for the foreground.
- A touch of a "dead" color (dark grey, brown, etc.) makes work more realistic.
- Colors tend to darken when stitched.
- Try to repeat each color in a piece at least once unless you want the color to stand out.
- Some designers say every piece needs a touch of black. Others say every piece needs a touch of purple. Still others think every piece needs a touch of yellow.
- Black may be too intense, especially if used alone. Consider using a very dark brown instead.

Scissors

Reserve your fine embroidery scissors for cutting silks, cottons, and other natural fibers. Cut metallics, rayons, and other synthetics with either scissors that have a serated edge on one blade or with an inexpesive pair of household scissors as these threads dull scissor blades quickly.

A hardsided eyeglass case is just the right size container to hold your scissors, thimble, extra needles, and other "usual stitching supplies."

• Thread up several needles at a time when doing large areas. This speeds things up.

• If you're having trouble threading a needle, use the other end of the thread and/or use the other side of the eye of the needle.