We gotta start somewhere… how about the stems??

For this lesson, I’m sharing one of my new favorites - the wrapped stitch. This technique of wrapped stitches can be done in many different ways, on many different base stitches - here I’ll show how to wrap a backstitch and a chain stitch in three different ways.

(watch the video at the bottom of the page for a description of these) 

Feel free to mix and match these methods, try them out on other stitches, and create your own versions! You can do two tone as shown in the video, or wrap your stitch in the same color thread for a smooth, uniform effect.

You don’t HAVE to use the wrapped stitch - this email includes a few other examples of stitch options you have for your stems, but its really your choice how this all goes.

(below, a recent embroidery I made using the wrapped stitch for a stem - the main stem is in chain stitch, three strands of thread; and the root is in backstitch using three strands of thread as well - keep scrolling for a closeup view)

We’ll be discussing more about color in the next session, but something to keep in mind (as I shared in the example of Mary Delany’s papercuts in the last session) is that stems and foliage comes in many other shades besides green.

Consider first the 50,000 shades of green, and then branch out from there to all the other colors that could be used for foliage.

The above embroidery is a mix of lavender and olive, and below is another example from a piece I stitched recently, using mauve for the stem and foliage (this stem is stitched with a diagonal satin stitch, btw)

As you’re thinking of what stitches to express your stems in, consider the weight of the stem and how that could be expressed. 

I love this detail below, from a quilt by Jane Kaufman (an artist of the Pattern and Design movement) the stem has been outlined in two different shades of green, allowing the background color to be a part of the design. 

This isn’t really a method I would use with the wrapped stitch, but just providing other ideas in case the wrapped stitch doesn’t work for your style / project.

Lastly, I love nerding out on plant compositions, and bringing that knowledge into stitches - for example, in researching for this stitchalong, I learned about plant inflorescence, which is a flower that is technically made up of many flowers (these are the kinds I’m focusing on during the supporting and accent flowers lessons).

Check out these examples of types of inflorescence below!

You can learn more about these in this article which is where I stole this image from - but what I really want to share here is how many beautiful compositions nature already provides us with to be inspired from.

Ok, phew! Hope you enjoyed!