Gosh, that sure was a fast week wasn't it? Do you suppose the holiday had anything to do with that feeling?
I have often had students ask for assistance in how to correctly execute the basketweave (diagonal tent stitch). Therefore, I thought I'd share that stitch before we progress along much further (is it further or farther?) into our Notebook. (Have you noticed that it is hard to tell what word I might capitalize next? Hmmm. There is probably some deep meaning to that but I certainly do not have the time to explore that path.) It is my blog and I can do whatever I fancy at the moment.
When doing this stitch, it is important to pay attention to the weave of the canvas. The warp, up and down, or vertical canvas threads, and the weft, sideways, or horizontal canvas threads (also affectionately referred to as the 'weft to right' thread), determine how the stitch is to move. When crossing a vertical, warp, thread, the stitch moves diagonally down - sliding down the pole is often used to describe this movement. When crossing a horizontal, or weft, then the stitch moves diagonally up - or stepping up a ladder.
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| Reading the Canvas |
This flow of the stitch is necessary - no, critical - to get the resulting 'basketweave' on the backside of the canvas. The basketweave stitch is always stitched diagonally.
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| Basketweave Front |
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| Basketweave Back |
(If anyone can share with me how to make to pictures line up side by side in this darn program, I would be most grateful!)
The stitch is invaluable for adding strength to designs such as stools, chair seats, garments, etc. Which, is what the stitch was originally used for. It is very durable and long lasting. Anytime you take apart an older piece of needlepoint cover used for these purposes, it is almost always basketweave. Also, the stitch uses much more thread in its execution than does something like the continental stitch.
Today, we consider this stitch a favorite 'go to', fill in spaces, stitch it when you can't think of anything else stitch, etc. It is great for small spaces on canvases. And, I almost 99.99% of the time use it for faces, hands and any exposed body parts. I don't even think about it. If it is a face I basketweave it and while doing so think about what else I want to do with the design. It is my 'pondering' time stitch.
So, now you know how I see the basketweave stitch. Enjoy and have a great week!
Stitch with a Smile!
Sandy
1 comment:
Sometimes--and I stress SOMEtimes because this seems to happen or not at Blogger's whim--if you upload two photos before Selecting and Adding to the text and then select both to add at once you will get them to be on the same row.
I have rarely been able to select Right and Left for two photos and had them line up on the same line. Blogger is very finicky about this stuff.
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