Stitchalong - a new pulled thread stitch.

Another stitchalong sample finished!

I love pulled thread work - have I said that before? I am not sure why but I feel a real sense of peace and contentment whenever I start this work. Maybe it is working in monochrome? Maybe it is the repetition that I enjoy? Whatever it is - it really doesn't matter but it is wonderful that it happens.

I have a TIF challenge piece to do as well as some dressmaking to finish. However the other day while rifling through Edith John I came across a stitch she calls Chinese Stitch which is basically just two vertical stitches crossed over the single horizontal stitch. The temptation was too great. The two top sections are in perle cotton #12 and the bottom section in filasil - a machine rayon thread. I tried the fine thread for my last stitch sample and have decided that it is interesting to see how each stitch looks in a very fine thread.

I think I prefer the two rows slightly separated as the first and the third. However,I am sure there will be a use for the closely worked kind.

Also I have only tried the regularly stitched version - there are a number of "what if"s that occur to me. What if I make longer horizontal stitches and use more verticals for each one? What if I make regular changes eg. one with 3 vertical stitches, the next with 5, another with just the two again? These could be arranged symmetrically or assymetrically as the mood takes. What if the verticals are different lengths? I could probably come up with a few more variations - just need the time (and good light) to try these out.

Chinese Stitch is an interesting name - I have looked in my other stitch dictionaries and cannot find it. However Mary Thomas uses Chinese Stitch as an alternative name for Pekinese Stitch - quite a different beastie! Interesting to realise that not only weavers like to confuse eg. the weave that is honeycomb and waffle, depending on the country of origin!

I have also finished the third cushion piece but that is another post. Another reason that pale stitching is agreeable - I have discovered one CAN have just too much pink!