Continuing from where we left last time, let's take a look at the “non-conventional” placement of colors at needlepainting. A quick recap for those who missed the previous part of the needlepainting tips: The majority of lessons and tutorials for long and short stitching (including the lesson on this blog) show the traditional way of shading, which goes from top to the bottom in horizontal rows of colors. However, when you come to the actual needlepainting you might find out that the directions of stitches, the placement of colors can vary A LOT from project to project. The most confusing part in such cases, is usually the order of work: where to start from, is it better to go row by row switching colors or finish each color area separately, etc. It may not seem that complicated when you look at the project but as soon as you start, the questions keep arising. So, in July we discussed diagonal shading and the order of working it. Now, I have to remind that what was demonstrated is only my way of working such patterns of shading. I actually saw a different approach in a book once (similar to the traditional one, just changing the colors couple of time in one row) so be aware that there are other methods and ways and maybe you will even develop your own preferred way of working it! This time, let's take a look at shading in patches. If it sounds weird, I'm sorry, but that's the only term that comes to my mind when I think about it, haha. What I mean by patches are spots of colors placed randomly in a shape that is supposed to be long and short stitched. For example, look at Euphoria piece. The flower there is shaded exactly in patches. The borders are not that clear because the colors are close in temperature although having different hues. There are yellowish, pinkish and coral colors placed as spots randomly and only the lightest color on the edge of the petals and the brightest coral close to the center of the petal, only these two have the same placement from petal to petal. It was really fun to work it, merging few hues together which made the “base” color of the flower not clear. Is it yellow or light pink? There is no real answer because both colors are present there equally. Now that you have an idea about what shading in patches is, exactly, here are two examples with step by step pictures. First of all, pause, look at the placement of spots and think: how would you work it? In what order would you shade this petal? From the left? From the right? What next? Make a simulation of working the petal in your mind. Done? Now, this is how I worked it. 1-3. Theoretically, I could start it from the right as well, it wouldn't make much difference. 4. We had to work the two top patches first because this one is attached to both of them. That's why we couldn't work the left corner and then this one consecutively. 5. This one is attached to both patches of colors above again. 6. The last one, I guess, is quite self-explanatory? For these examples, I took thread of similar colors, but the hues are a little different. My goal was not to perform a good shading, like from lighter to darker colors, or have some realism. My goal was to work the patches and make them evident for you when you look so that you can tell the colors and patches apart in a finished petal. Here is a look at the petal under natural lighting. The colors merge better here, but you can still the patches here, right? This example is veeery close to how I worked Euphoria :) Now let's take a look at the second example, slightly more complicated. Look at the placement of patches and think how you would work this petal, what would be your order of work? When you are ready, look at my process of working it: 1-3. the first two patches are quite clear 4-5. Now, why did I work the one on the right and not the one no the left? Because the left one goes a little under the right one, so it is attached to it. That's why the right one has to be worked first. 6-7. And the last ones are our good old horizontal rows for traditional long and short stitching. Here's how the petal looks under the natural lighting. Did you guess the order of work correctly? Would you do it differently? I think these kinds of exercises are golden for long and short stitch practicing and they will prepare you for working serious needlepainting pieces, like Magnolia bu Trish Burr that we worked together recently. So, next time you have spare time, draw a couple of petals with random spots inside and try to figure out how to work them, it will be fun!
Continuing from where we left last time, let's take a look at the “non-conventional” placement of colors at needlepainting. A quick recap for those who missed the previous part of the needlepainting tips: The majority of lessons and tutorials for long and short stitching (including the lesson on this blog) show the traditional way of shading, which goes from top to the bottom in horizontal rows of colors. However, when you come to the actual needlepainting you might find out that the directions of stitches, the placement of colors can vary A LOT from project to project. The most confusing part in such cases, is usually the order of work: where to start from, is it better to go row by row switching colors or finish each color area separately, etc. It may not seem that complicated when you look at the project but as soon as you start, the questions keep arising. So, in July we discussed diagonal shading and the order of working it. Now, I have to remind that what was demonstrated is only my way of working such patterns of shading. I actually saw a different approach in a book once (similar to the traditional one, just changing the colors couple of time in one row) so be aware that there are other methods and ways and maybe you will even develop your own preferred way of working it! This time, let's take a look at shading in patches. If it sounds weird, I'm sorry, but that's the only term that comes to my mind when I think about it, haha. What I mean by patches are spots of colors placed randomly in a shape that is supposed to be long and short stitched. For example, look at Euphoria piece. The flower there is shaded exactly in patches. The borders are not that clear because the colors are close in temperature although having different hues. There are yellowish, pinkish and coral colors placed as spots randomly and only the lightest color on the edge of the petals and the brightest coral close to the center of the petal, only these two have the same placement from petal to petal. It was really fun to work it, merging few hues together which made the “base” color of the flower not clear. Is it yellow or light pink? There is no real answer because both colors are present there equally. Now that you have an idea about what shading in patches is, exactly, here are two examples with step by step pictures. First of all, pause, look at the placement of spots and think: how would you work it? In what order would you shade this petal? From the left? From the right? What next? Make a simulation of working the petal in your mind. Done? Now, this is how I worked it. 1-3. Theoretically, I could start it from the right as well, it wouldn't make much difference. 4. We had to work the two top patches first because this one is attached to both of them. That's why we couldn't work the left corner and then this one consecutively. 5. This one is attached to both patches of colors above again. 6. The last one, I guess, is quite self-explanatory? For these examples, I took thread of similar colors, but the hues are a little different. My goal was not to perform a good shading, like from lighter to darker colors, or have some realism. My goal was to work the patches and make them evident for you when you look so that you can tell the colors and patches apart in a finished petal. Here is a look at the petal under natural lighting. The colors merge better here, but you can still the patches here, right? This example is veeery close to how I worked Euphoria :) Now let's take a look at the second example, slightly more complicated. Look at the placement of patches and think how you would work this petal, what would be your order of work? When you are ready, look at my process of working it: 1-3. the first two patches are quite clear 4-5. Now, why did I work the one on the right and not the one no the left? Because the left one goes a little under the right one, so it is attached to it. That's why the right one has to be worked first. 6-7. And the last ones are our good old horizontal rows for traditional long and short stitching. Here's how the petal looks under the natural lighting. Did you guess the order of work correctly? Would you do it differently? I think these kinds of exercises are golden for long and short stitch practicing and they will prepare you for working serious needlepainting pieces, like Magnolia bu Trish Burr that we worked together recently. So, next time you have spare time, draw a couple of petals with random spots inside and try to figure out how to work them, it will be fun!
These astounding needlework pieces are by self-taught embroiderer Trish Burr from Cape Town. She has written several books on the technique, contributed widely to magazines and teaches throughout South Africa and overseas. Trish lives in Cape town, South Africa with her husband and three children. Trish willingly shares her knowledge with fellow embroiderers, and in her own words she says, “We need to keep hand embroidery alive - if we hug our ideas to ourselves, they will become lost and worthless in the future. If I give you a gift, I no longer have it, you do. However, if I give you an idea then we both have it, and if you share this idea with others then we have expanded on it and can watch it grow.” Little Bee Eaters Australian Sacred Kingfisher Green Bee Eater Hornbill Lilac Breasted Roller Chinese Flower And Bird
This morning, I thought it would be nice to slow down a bit and just look at some beautiful pieces of embroidery. To that end, I’m going to share with you some needle painting embroidery projects worked by Margaret Cobleigh. Margaret’s the gal who will be teaching needle painting class here on Needle ‘n Thread ...
We humans have the unique ability to take something ordinary and add a little extra to it.
Catch this sneak peek to my first ever e-course on needlepainting for beginners! :) The e-course is going to consist of several modules: Materials, instruments and general tips Long and short stitch basics and common mistakes Exercises Final project And today you can see a preview of the exercises module :) UPDATE: The course is launched! Enroll now The best way to master and polish any skill is to train it over and over. That's just the way it is. Books and theoretical knowledge can only bring you this far. At some point, you might catch yourself at the state where you can see in your mind how your needlework is supposed to look, you can imagine clearly how you would lay the stitches on the fabric... but when it comes to the actual stitching the result is not what you had envisioned. That's why I decided to focus more on practice and make it as efficient as possible while still treasuring your free time. Each exercise is suitable for working in one day. Of course, if you're ready to dedicate more time to your practice, you can work several in one day or maybe you can work some of them twice or thrice in different colors until you're absolutely confident with the shape. There is also certain logic with the order and type of shapes that you see here. I will be revealing it gradually so that you are more mindful of what exactly you are doing and what we want to achieve at the particular moment of the course. But long story short, they do go from basic to more complicated but that's not all. You practice working up to 5 colors in your shading, various directions of stitching, multiple rows of solid color, adding extra details on top and fuzzy finish like on animals' fur or birds' plumage. And all of that doesn't go strictly uphill in terms of difficulty. Actually, to not strain you too much, it kind of bounces up and down so that there are times where you can relax and take it easier. Most importantly, I'll be there with you, working all of the shapes by your side! You will see the full process of me stitching each of the shapes with commentary and tips. If there's anything better than practice, it is definitely guided practice where you can see, learn and repeat while being conscious of what you're doing. After completing all of these exercises the final project will be a walk in the park for you! But that's another story for another day :) Stay tuned! ❤
Hello everyone It has been some time since we last spoke, hope you are enjoying your summer holidays overseas – we are freezing here in Cape Town! While you have been basking in the sun I ha…
How to blend colors in needlepainting effortlessly and... do you really always need the perfect smooth color blending?
Today I offer you a new case study! So if you ever wondered about the correlation between the number of layers (rows) on long and short stitching and the quality of blending, today's post might answer some of your questions, The task when stitching these 3 shapes was to make a transition from yellow to blue. The first example has only 2 colors: yellow and blue. The second example has 3 colors: yellow → green → blue And the third example has 7 colors: yellow → 2 mid shades of yellow-green → green → 2 mid shades of aqua green → blue. RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Long and Short Stitching Needlepainting Color Blending Tips My opinion None of the examples is worse than another, they are just 3 different situations and each has weak sides and strong sides. 1. When you have an abrupt transition from one color to another, I think it can look very powerful and catchy. For example, when I showed my Mom all three examples the first one caught her eyes immediately and she said it was her favorite. One tip for sich a scenario would be to increase variety in the length of your stitches. You might want to have literal “spikes” there that stick out a lot and then add shorter stitches (still of various lengths) in between. 2. Well, if I'm completely honest, this is my least favorite example among these ones. But just because of the colors! I would say, that when you are ready to use only 3-4 colors, it is better to avoid transitions like these: yellow → green → blue, red → orange → yellow and so on. Basically, avoid 3 neighboring hues on the color wheel. Instead, I would suggest to either go for lights (like pink → light pink → lighter pink) or shadows (like green → dark green → very dark green). Or take very close colors and build a bridge between them (yellow → yellow-green → green) 3. When you want a really smooth transition between colors that are not neighbors on color wheel, you will need 5-7 colors. That means that each row of color will not have THAT much space (although it will depend on the shape), and that means that you don't have as much freedom in your long and short stitching. Making “spikes” like in previous examples will hardly be possible (again, depends on the shape). As a solution, you can stick to what I call “bricky” long and short stitching. It's when you have two levels of stitches – one is long, one is short – and you alternate between them. When you are limited in space, this will come in handy. Although I would recommend to try and add variety to your best ability. Well, even if you don't, the fun part is that these 7 colors lumped together in a small space are likely to “eat up” some mistakes and imperfections. So don't be scared to increase the number of your rows if your long and short stitching is “not perfect” yet! What do you think? :)
Learn how to fix a shape in long and short stitching and needlepainting
This woodland field mouse embroidery pattern is perfect for anyone wanting to learn how to thread paint animals! You don't need any experience with thread painting to complete this pattern. However, some general embroidery experience and knowledge are recommended due to the size and complexity of the design. WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE ------------------------------------------------------------------ This listing is for a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD only. Upon purchase, you will receive 2 PDF files. 🧵 11 page PDF file for getting started 🧵 19 page PDF file with step by step instructions to complete the embroidery INCLUDED IN THE FILES ------------------------------------------------------------------ 🧵Supply list with a couple of product recommendations and DMC colors used 🧵 3 pages of thread painting basics/techniques + helpful tips 🧵 Instructions + photos for each embroidery stitch used in the pattern. 🧵 Some recommended ways to transfer the embroidery pattern to fabric 🧵 Step by step photos for completing the embroidery RETURNS ------------------------------------------------------------------ I do not offer returns on digital products. If you have any questions before purchasing, please send me a message! DOWNLOADING ------------------------------------------------------------------ Upon purchase, you will receive 2 PDF files. If you are unfamiliar with how to download the file once you have purchased it, here are some instructions: https://www.etsy.com/help/article/3949 PRINTING ------------------------------------------------------------------ Prints best in portrait mode on print size "Letter" with standard size printer paper. USAGE RIGHTS ------------------------------------------------------------------ This pattern is for personal use ONLY. Please do not replicate, copy, or sell the contents of this file or the resulting embroidery from the pattern. VISIT THE SHOP FOR MORE PATTERNS ------------------------------------------------------------------ https://www.etsy.com/shop/CrewelGhoul?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=1056790527§ion_id=38064090 Have fun stitching!
Inspired by the works of the old masters, textile artist Maria Vasilyeva creates accessories that evoke the style and fine workmanship of the Renaissance.
Needlepainting – the art of “painting” with a needle and thread – is one of the most complex forms of hand embroidery. Realistic needlepainting is an art mastered by Chinese embroiderers in Suzhou, China. In this region of China, embroiderers create the most amazing masterpieces by hand using tiny silk threads. I recently had cause ...
All my paintings are full improvisation and artistic fantasy. The "April sky" is hand felted and embroidered on a wooden frame hoop. So you can hang it on the wall in a hoop. It is inspired on space sky and created in perspective.This can be a great sentimental gift for your friend/soulmate. *** I hope this painting inspires you, awakens positive emotions. It is a portal to another world that belongs only to you ✨ *** DIMENSIONS: Hoop area: 14 cm Embroidered & felted area: 13,5 сm *** Please handle delicately and keep dry. Protect from dust. Protect from direct sunlight.
Continuing from where we left last time, let's take a look at the “non-conventional” placement of colors at needlepainting. A quick recap for those who missed the previous part of the needlepainting tips: The majority of lessons and tutorials for long and short stitching (including the lesson on this blog) show the traditional way of shading, which goes from top to the bottom in horizontal rows of colors. However, when you come to the actual needlepainting you might find out that the directions of stitches, the placement of colors can vary A LOT from project to project. The most confusing part in such cases, is usually the order of work: where to start from, is it better to go row by row switching colors or finish each color area separately, etc. It may not seem that complicated when you look at the project but as soon as you start, the questions keep arising. So, in July we discussed diagonal shading and the order of working it. Now, I have to remind that what was demonstrated is only my way of working such patterns of shading. I actually saw a different approach in a book once (similar to the traditional one, just changing the colors couple of time in one row) so be aware that there are other methods and ways and maybe you will even develop your own preferred way of working it! This time, let's take a look at shading in patches. If it sounds weird, I'm sorry, but that's the only term that comes to my mind when I think about it, haha. What I mean by patches are spots of colors placed randomly in a shape that is supposed to be long and short stitched. For example, look at Euphoria piece. The flower there is shaded exactly in patches. The borders are not that clear because the colors are close in temperature although having different hues. There are yellowish, pinkish and coral colors placed as spots randomly and only the lightest color on the edge of the petals and the brightest coral close to the center of the petal, only these two have the same placement from petal to petal. It was really fun to work it, merging few hues together which made the “base” color of the flower not clear. Is it yellow or light pink? There is no real answer because both colors are present there equally. Now that you have an idea about what shading in patches is, exactly, here are two examples with step by step pictures. First of all, pause, look at the placement of spots and think: how would you work it? In what order would you shade this petal? From the left? From the right? What next? Make a simulation of working the petal in your mind. Done? Now, this is how I worked it. 1-3. Theoretically, I could start it from the right as well, it wouldn't make much difference. 4. We had to work the two top patches first because this one is attached to both of them. That's why we couldn't work the left corner and then this one consecutively. 5. This one is attached to both patches of colors above again. 6. The last one, I guess, is quite self-explanatory? For these examples, I took thread of similar colors, but the hues are a little different. My goal was not to perform a good shading, like from lighter to darker colors, or have some realism. My goal was to work the patches and make them evident for you when you look so that you can tell the colors and patches apart in a finished petal. Here is a look at the petal under natural lighting. The colors merge better here, but you can still the patches here, right? This example is veeery close to how I worked Euphoria :) Now let's take a look at the second example, slightly more complicated. Look at the placement of patches and think how you would work this petal, what would be your order of work? When you are ready, look at my process of working it: 1-3. the first two patches are quite clear 4-5. Now, why did I work the one on the right and not the one no the left? Because the left one goes a little under the right one, so it is attached to it. That's why the right one has to be worked first. 6-7. And the last ones are our good old horizontal rows for traditional long and short stitching. Here's how the petal looks under the natural lighting. Did you guess the order of work correctly? Would you do it differently? I think these kinds of exercises are golden for long and short stitch practicing and they will prepare you for working serious needlepainting pieces, like Magnolia bu Trish Burr that we worked together recently. So, next time you have spare time, draw a couple of petals with random spots inside and try to figure out how to work them, it will be fun!
Painting with thread is my dearest passion and most loved art form. It allows you to create realistic effects by using one single strand of thread, this technique is often referred to as needlepainting, threadpainting or silk shading. You can create beautiful colour gradients, magical details and flowing stitch directions that are perfect if you want to embroider animals, people, flora and fauna. I have been stitching every day since I fell in love with embroidery in 2013, and you can follow my journey on Instagram @emillieferris If you have been considering learning the art of needlepainting but are unsure where to start then this tutorial is for you! Its full of illustrations, diagrams, step by step photos and a printable pattern ready to transfer to your 6” hoop. Now lets get to the specifics! THIS GUIDE INCLUDES: + A4 pattern to print and trace + 25 pages + Materials list and explanations + How to trace and transfer your pattern with diagrams + Illustrated colour guide of the pansies + Detailed photographic and illustrated stitch diagrams + Beginners starting to stitch guide (threading the needle, anchoring the thread) + Step by step photographic instructions + How to finish your hoop LEVEL: Some embroidery experience would be beneficial, but it is not necessary as I have designed this tutorial for all skill levels. EXPECTED COMPLETION TIME: 15-20 hrs WHAT YOU'LL NEED: Embroidery hoop, needle, fabric, thread and scissors (this pattern gives you brand recommendations and advice on choosing your materials) HOW TO ACCESS YOUR DIGITAL FILES: Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed. Please follow the instructions in the link below https://www.etsy.com/help/article/3949 GENTLE REMINDERS: + You will receive no physical items with this purchase. + Due to the electronic nature of this pattern, all sales are final. + This pattern is for personal use only + I am only a virtual message away, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further help, I promise I will try my best to assist you <3 I’ve spent many hours testing and creating this product so that you can enjoy this timeless craft, please do not re-sell, distribute or replicate this pattern. If you love the pattern, please point your friends in the direction of my Etsy shop, don’t give it to them please :( If you support me than I can support you in your stitching journey <3 © 2019 Emillie Ferris. All rights reserved. Find me on Instagram @emillieferris
Before we start, an important announcement! I'm having a SALE in my Etsy shop: everything is down 15% until the end of March. Hurry up to make your purchase, especially if you already have my designs in the cart! Now, let's get back to the topic :) When you work long and short stitch, one of your main goals should be the correct direction of your stitches. As long as you achieve that, the surface of your stitching will be smooth, and the blending will be easier. Here are two examples. On the left is what my long and short stitch looks like nowadays, and where I'm paying attention to the direction of stitches. On the right is the result of me channeling my former confused beginner self, where I would easily put stitches in the wrong direction. To get my point across better, here are both of the examples with “guiding lines” drawn over the stitching. Take a closer look yourself, first, and try to see the difference in stitching. {ay attention to the direction of my stitches in both examples. Now, a large part of the improvement is due to practicing, of course. But even when you are a beginner and don't have big baggage of worked long and short stitching, there are still some tips for you! Tips for correct direction of stitches 1. Drawing guiding lines First of all, you can draw the guiding lines right on the ground fabric. Often times, authors of embroidery designs already provide you with directions of stitches in their diagrams. But you can also draw it yourself. I usually draw them myself with a standard pencil because it leaves me with more freedom – I can draw as many guiding lines as I need. And sometimes, the way I “feel” the shape, would be slightly different than how the author sees it so I may draw them differently. And I think that's valid too. If in your mind the “strokes” of stitches lie differently, I would recommend following your guts. It would be easier for you to work because otherwise, you would have a slight dissonance between what you see on the diagram and in your mind. 2. Guiding stitches When you gain a bit more experience, you will probably start choosing only one: either drawing guiding lines, or working guiding stitches. However, in the beginning, you might make use of both, actually. The more detailed is your “planning” of stitching, the less confused you will be about the direction of stitches. Then you start filling the space between the guiding stitches. You can make the guiding stitches for each of the rows of long and short stitching. Another way of working guiding stitches is to use running stitching as your guiding lines. It works just as well. Except, that it would be more convenient to work in 1 color, of course. And if you plan to use several colors to create a blending effect, that might be a problem. Otherwise, if you're using long and short stitch as a filler in 1 color, or if your blending is more “vertical” and you don't mind throwing some colors here and there, then there is no harm at all. 3 Pulling the working thread to find the right direction When you are confused about where you should insert the needle for your stitch to lie perfectly in line with the one from the previous row, you can pull the working end of thread and then insert the needle at the suitable point. I constantly use this method, it's like a norm. And because of that I don't always draw guiding lines on the fabric. This way of pulling thread is quite enough. However, there can be different situations. This method largely suits the situation when you need to lay your stitches along straight lines. But the shape could have some curves, it can be round or oval, and then this method would be less helpful. Nevertheless, it is still a great habit to develop and make use of! So here is the finished result of the heart with “correct” direction of stitches. How about seeing the process of working the other one? Here is me, not using any guiding lines, but just working some stitches over the outline. At first glance, it might not seem too bad. But if you look closer and try to continue the lines of the stitches in your mind, you would notice how some of them are bound to cross. Which is not very good. When you start working the second row, the problem becomes more evident. You see how the direction of stitches is changing all the time? Well, I put myself a goal to complete the shape no matter what, while still imagining myself a confused beginner stitcher, and here is the result. Take a closer look at the stitches' direction to understand the difference with another heart. I mean, it actually isn't that bad. The shape is complete and the colors are there. If you look at it from a distance you might not even notice any problem. But there is still room for improvement too. So, I hope today's tips will be helpful in your next project! Check all the previous posts under the tag “needlepainting tips” for more advice!
Continuing from where we left last time, let's take a look at the “non-conventional” placement of colors at needlepainting. A quick recap for those who missed the previous part of the needlepainting tips: The majority of lessons and tutorials for long and short stitching (including the lesson on this blog) show the traditional way of shading, which goes from top to the bottom in horizontal rows of colors. However, when you come to the actual needlepainting you might find out that the directions of stitches, the placement of colors can vary A LOT from project to project. The most confusing part in such cases, is usually the order of work: where to start from, is it better to go row by row switching colors or finish each color area separately, etc. It may not seem that complicated when you look at the project but as soon as you start, the questions keep arising. So, in July we discussed diagonal shading and the order of working it. Now, I have to remind that what was demonstrated is only my way of working such patterns of shading. I actually saw a different approach in a book once (similar to the traditional one, just changing the colors couple of time in one row) so be aware that there are other methods and ways and maybe you will even develop your own preferred way of working it! This time, let's take a look at shading in patches. If it sounds weird, I'm sorry, but that's the only term that comes to my mind when I think about it, haha. What I mean by patches are spots of colors placed randomly in a shape that is supposed to be long and short stitched. For example, look at Euphoria piece. The flower there is shaded exactly in patches. The borders are not that clear because the colors are close in temperature although having different hues. There are yellowish, pinkish and coral colors placed as spots randomly and only the lightest color on the edge of the petals and the brightest coral close to the center of the petal, only these two have the same placement from petal to petal. It was really fun to work it, merging few hues together which made the “base” color of the flower not clear. Is it yellow or light pink? There is no real answer because both colors are present there equally. Now that you have an idea about what shading in patches is, exactly, here are two examples with step by step pictures. First of all, pause, look at the placement of spots and think: how would you work it? In what order would you shade this petal? From the left? From the right? What next? Make a simulation of working the petal in your mind. Done? Now, this is how I worked it. 1-3. Theoretically, I could start it from the right as well, it wouldn't make much difference. 4. We had to work the two top patches first because this one is attached to both of them. That's why we couldn't work the left corner and then this one consecutively. 5. This one is attached to both patches of colors above again. 6. The last one, I guess, is quite self-explanatory? For these examples, I took thread of similar colors, but the hues are a little different. My goal was not to perform a good shading, like from lighter to darker colors, or have some realism. My goal was to work the patches and make them evident for you when you look so that you can tell the colors and patches apart in a finished petal. Here is a look at the petal under natural lighting. The colors merge better here, but you can still the patches here, right? This example is veeery close to how I worked Euphoria :) Now let's take a look at the second example, slightly more complicated. Look at the placement of patches and think how you would work this petal, what would be your order of work? When you are ready, look at my process of working it: 1-3. the first two patches are quite clear 4-5. Now, why did I work the one on the right and not the one no the left? Because the left one goes a little under the right one, so it is attached to it. That's why the right one has to be worked first. 6-7. And the last ones are our good old horizontal rows for traditional long and short stitching. Here's how the petal looks under the natural lighting. Did you guess the order of work correctly? Would you do it differently? I think these kinds of exercises are golden for long and short stitch practicing and they will prepare you for working serious needlepainting pieces, like Magnolia bu Trish Burr that we worked together recently. So, next time you have spare time, draw a couple of petals with random spots inside and try to figure out how to work them, it will be fun!
And Peony is finished! This is the last preview for my Needlepainting for beginners course. Now I will drown myself in editing and compiling videos, texts, patterns, etc, haha. via GIPHY UPDATE: The course is launched! Enroll now But before I go MIA let me tell you a bit more about the Peony design :) First of all, one of the things that may surprise you is that Peony is not that small in size for a “beginner” project. It actually measures ~11.5cm in width and ~14cm in height. The reason for that is because, from my own experience, bigger shapes are a bit easier to work in needlepainting when you are a beginner. One of the most important factors that decide how smooth and neat your long and short stitch is going to look is correct direction of stitches. And in smaller designs if there are several colors in one little area to be used and if the shape of this area is even a bit quirky, it can be very confusing to find the correct direction and lay your stitches right. On the contrary, the bigger the area, the easier it is to lay your stitches correctly even if there are many colors to be used. Yes, a bigger design will take a bit more time to work. But since it is more straightforward in the strategy of laying your stitches, I believe it is more likely to leave you with a nice result and in the end, the time you spend embroidering it will be worth it :) Besides, you will have a video of the process of me working it, so there will be even less confusion. Lastly, it will be worked after the exercises which are smaller in size. So you will already train yourself on smaller-scale shapes and having larger areas to work with in the Peony pattern will be basically a relief. I'm really sooo excited about the course! I've got questions about the approximate price and even though I still can't say for sure right now (it will be more clear once I have everything ready), I can tell that I'm targeting 50-60$ ;) The course is due to be released before September ends so stay tuned!
