Applied Design
Back in issue 5 of Fashion 4 All different surface
decoration techniques were covered, areas such as batik, tie-dye and
stencilling. A few embroidery stitches were also briefly touched on.
What follows is a more detailed look at a further 6 stitch types which
could be used in the embroidery of floral work. The stitches range
from simple chain stitch to a more complicated fishbone stitch, all
showing how the stitch can be adapted for leaf and flower decoration.
CREATING FLOWERS DIFFERENT STITCHES
TO USE
SIMPLE
CHAIN STITCH
1. push needle into fabric at 1. and
out at 2, wrap thread around the needle.
2. pull thread through to form 1st chain
3. insert needle back inside 1st chain at
2. then back out again 3 remembering to wrap yarn around needle, pull
through to form another chain then repeat
Do the same to form in a circle as a daisy.
STRAIGHT STITCH-can
be used to create flowers quickly and easily.
By marking out the area such as a circle work the
stitches as follows.
BULLION KNOTS
1. put the needle in at 2 and out at 1 don't pull
through.
2. start to wrap yarn around the needle
3. the number of wraps determines the length of
the bullion knot.
4 & 5 pull through the yarn
6. complete the bullion stitch.
Hints · the distance between 1 & 2
determines the length of the knot, the idea is to wrap the thread
around to cover this distance. · If you add a few more wraps then
you will be able to achieve a curved bullion stitch.
COMBINE
A BULLION STITCH WITH A CHAIN STITCH TO CREATE A FLOWER.
1. begin as you would a chain stitch
2. wrap the yarn around the needle as you would
do with a bullion stitch
3. pull yarn through
4. repeat to create a flower
RIBBON STITCHES
Flowers can also be created using ribbons of different
thickness.
Thread up a needle with the chosen ribbon and create
a flower with looped petals as follows.
1. form loops with
the ribbon by coming up at point a -loop the ribbon to the desired
length and go back down at point a again.
2. & 3. repeat
this until all the petals are complete.
4. to stop the ribbon from pulling out ,
stitch with a thread at the base of each petal to secure in place.
COUCHING-
is a quick way to achieve outlines and is good for stem work.
1. Use one strand
or a number to achieve different thickness of lines
2. Secure the line
down with small stitches
use this same technique to create a centre to a
flower. Create a lattice with a second thread secure each cross section
with a tiny cross stitch. Continue until all sections are complete
FISHBONE
STITCH- another way to
create a leaf is by using a stitch called a fishbone stitch.
1. produce a long stitch down the middle by coming
up at 1 and down at 2.
2. come up at a point 3- go in at point 4 and back
out again at 5 forming a loop underneath the middle stem
3. go down at 6.
4. by repeating these steps and working down the
leaf shape you will completely fill the shape.
