Just embellished a flower pot with perle cotton cross stitches and outlined it in a chain stitch. Next, I'll add some veins to the leaves. Everything is whip stitched down in the bunny block below, awaiting embellishment.
Why whip stitch?
A friend recently brought up the subject of whether whip stitching wool appliqué pieces is necessary or if it makes more sense to just tack everything down with embroidery stitches or other means. Here's why I like to do a tiny whip stitch first with one strand of embroidery floss:
* It holds everything very neatly in place, with no pokies.
* It allows me to embellish with embroidery without having to worry about catching in the edges of the appliqué to hold them down. I also don't have to worry about being stuck with appliqué pins.
* It tends to "gather in" each piece so it looks almost like trapunto, especially after it's surrounded by embroidery.
* Most important, to me, is that it's mindless and meditative. I love whip stitching as much as I do embellishing. Sometimes the mindless, no decisions needed part is even better than thinking about how I want to embellish.
Not trying to change anyone's mind, just offering my reasons for loving the often overlooked little whip stitch.
Have a colorful day
2 comments:
Makes perfect sense to me.
I remember when I was a girl, I was given the hand-work (hemming, etc) to do when my mom made clothes. I soon began to like the work, and even now like doing hand stitching. So it's part of the enjoyment for you, and gives you the results you want, which are beautiful! Definitely makes sense...
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