Nessie's Brim

There are different philosophies on the best place to begin on a canvas.  In traditional Japanese Embroidery, we are taught to begin with items in the foreground.  For canvaswork, there are some that like to work the background first then the design.  Others just chose an element and have a go.

I like the idea of working the background first but my problem is that inspiration for thread and stitch doesn't seem to come until the rest is done.

One of the reasons that I chose this canvas is to do some really fun surface work.  For that reason, I need to work the areas that will have super imposed or stitching on top of other stitching completed first.  So the brim and hat will be where I begin.  First the brim.

The stitch is Herringbone variation.  The variation is that it is worked horizontally, rather than vertically or top to bottom.  My name for it will be "Sideways Herringbone" (is there someone who has already invented it? I've not found a source).  I'm working it Bermilana in coal black.  Above is an up-close image - click through and zoom in for better detail.

This stitch is being worked right over painting and I've only used one strand to make it very light and airy.  

Remember in the last post, I had talked about making a 1:1 copy?  This is the reason why.  So that when an area is stitched over, you will have a reference of what was originally painted.  I've circled the hair that I stitched over.  You will also see the beads are stitched over as well.  

Here's a different view point of the stitching:

Publishing Schedule:
Sunday - The Story of Nessie
Monday - The Hat

Source:
Herringbone Stitch - "The Needlepoint Book: A Complete Update of the Classic Guide" by Jo Ippolito Christensen, page 256











Christa,Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.blogspot.com and www.lilystitch.com