STITCH FOCUS
Master Chain Stitch with Rebecca Reid, then add a sunny message to a picnic blanket
MATERIALS
Blanket or throw
Coton Perlé No.3 thread: 1 skein to coordinate with the blanket (see instructions for further information) Chenille needle
Water-soluble stabiliser – A4 sheet Basic embroidery kit
STITCHES USED
Chain Stitch, Straight Stitch
NOTES
Find the template on p64. You may need to resize this to fit your chosen blanket.
You can work this design on any type of
01 blanket or throw – we’ve used a woven cotton blanket. You need to experiment a little to see which type of thread will work with your blanket. We’ve used Coton Perlé No. 3 for ours as this is the thickest one. It has a slight sheen, which makes your stitching stand out. Threads such as stranded cotton (using all six strands), soft cotton and tapestry wool will all work well to make chunkier stitches.
Blankets often have a textured finish, or are thick, so can be tricky to transfer a design on to. We used a water-soluble stabiliser for ours and traced the design on it.
Stick or tack the stabiliser to the blanket
02 in your chosen position – we placed ours in one corner – and move it around until you are happy with the positioning.
One of the advantages of using a
03 water-soluble stabiliser is that it also provides a little structure and weight while you are stitching and stops the stitches from ‘disappearing’ into the fabric and being pulled through to the back as you work them.
Start by stitching the straight lines outside the writing. As the back of your stitching will be visible and your embroidery will get a lot of wear it’s important to start and finish your stitching securely. Use the waste knot method to start off all your stitching.
Now work Chain Stitch all along the
04 straight line. Make sure you keep your stitches the same size for an even finish. As this is quite chunky embroidery you can make the stitches a little bigger than you would for normal surface embroidery, but make sure they don’t sag across the fabric.
As the blanket will have a lot of wear
05 don’t carry thread from one area to another or these long threads on the back of your blanket will sag and could easily get caught, snagged and broken. Always finish a new thread each time by running the thread through the stitches already worked on the back of the blanket two or three times.
When you’re working the lettering, in
06 order to achieve the tight curves, you’ll need to make your stitches a little smaller. Work the dots on the ‘i’ and ‘!’ as cross stitches by simply working one Straight Stitch crossed over another Straight Stitch.
When all the stitching is finished, place your blanket in warm water and swish it around until all the stabiliser has dissolved. Then rinse it out thoroughly, but gently, to make sure it is all removed.