I have two stitches to share with you today because, well, I’m indecisive. I had a lot of fun yesterday playing with stitches and color combos for some clothing and couldn’t choose between them for today’s post and, frankly, the project.

Both stitch samples are me playing with two plies of a very lovely light blue Soie D'Alger and a size 8 green Kreinik on 18M.

In unsurprising news, I’m leaning towards the first stitch simply because I love the lightness of it, which will enhance the shading in the area I’m stitching. Going forward, I can’t help but think of using it for a basket with two shades of brown Straw Silk. It will also make a beautiful vase with Silk Lame (yellow lines) and Flair (black lines). I’m also toying with the idea of adding a layer of horizontal straight stitches from edge to edge as the first step for a very interesting layered stitch.

The second stitch is full coverage, as far as I’m concerned. I’m really digging the ratio of blue to green in it, even though the area to be stitched doesn’t need that much green. I think this will make a fantastic tree trunk with a Bella Lusso Wool for the yellow lines and an overdyed wool (such as ThreadWorx) for the aqua lines. I am also looking forward to using it for clothing with a Vineyard Silk for the yellow lines and a bright metallic such as Kreinik or Fyre Werks for the aqua lines. For extra bling, consider replacing the tent stitches with seed beads.

Click on image to see the **whimsicalstitch.com Stitch Library** on pinterest.com. Includes all #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams.

Just a reminder about how to evaluate stitches for size on your project.

As you are auditioning stitches (from any stitch source), count the number of canvas threads on the diagram that match your mesh size. And there you have what an inch of the stitch will look like. Evaluate that against the area where you plan to use the stitch and make your final decision. If you start integrating this step into your stitch selection process, you may be surprised at how many stitches you think are large are much smaller than you realize. (Or, in today’s case, the stitch is much larger than it looks.)

By (sometimes) including this step in my own process, I find I am now integrating much longer stitches than I ever thought I would. I used to think a stitch six rows long was super big. I have very much changed my tune, which has helped me expand my creativity, especially for large-space stitches.

Today’s stitch diagram, along with all other #whimsicalwednesday and #smallspacesunday stitch diagrams, can also be found on a Pinterest board here. Be sure to follow whimsicalstitch.com on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you like what you see on this blog, there's more. Mary’s Whimsical Stitches is a series of three books offering contemporary how-to collections of more than 250 stitches (in each volume) for all stitchers, regardless of skill level. All books include updated and sequenced diagrams from this blog plus a collection of all-new stitches from private lessons and other class projects. Visit here to find a needlepoint retailer that carries my books.

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I hope you have the perfect spot for this stitch! Please enjoy! Have a wonderful #whimsicalwednesday!

A Note about Diagrams
I use color in diagrams to make them as clear as possible. The primary function of different colored lines is to illustrate a stitch sequence. For example, the layering of colors demonstrates you add them in that order. They can also provide ideas on integrating additional threads (one line for each color). Or, you can use the same thread for all color lines. That's where I encourage you to use your imagination for the space you are stitching!

#whimsicalwednesday blog