May Blossoms Stitch Along: Part 2

 

Hello, everyone! Here's the second part of the new Stitch Along.

I hope working on the first part went well for you all. You can send me your results no my e-mail aminakdesigns@hotmail.com, or tag me on Instagram @stitch-floral.

Today's portion may seem small but it involves long and short stitching which can be a time-consuming technique depending on the experience.

So I thought it would be enough to do just one full flower for this week: if you work one petal a day and the folded parts of the petals for one-two more days, it should be an easy and undemanding process.

Part 1

The stitches we will need today are:

Long and short stitch

Padded satin stitch

Outline stitch

Split stitch

French knots

If you're not familiar with them, please take a look at these links. Also, the flowers in this Stitch Along is worked similarly to the Cecelia Rose one, but we elevate it just one step.

Working a petal

1) Divide each petal in half horizontally and mark with a pencil right on the fabric. Take 1 strand of thread A and work outline stitch on the left part of each petal.

2) I actually worked two rows to separate the petals from each other a little better.

3) Next take 1 strand of color B and fill in the upper half of the petals. Please, remember to work the edge in the right corner of each petal. It is a small detail, but it will look better if stitching is worked over an edge there. Use guiding stitches if needed, in my case, I also used the method of stitching by sections.

4) At this stage there is no need to use shorter stitches, we can work the whole row in the same length ending your stitches at the middle mark.

5) If there's a need, you can long and short stitch the left corner (not just place parallel stitches) because that place is tricky.

6) Next, take 1 strand of thread C and work long and short stitches from the bottom of the petal to the middle. Now is the time to vary the length of your stitches in length, but remember to continue with the direction of the stitches form above.

7) Add some more stitches in thread C on the border between the current petal and the next.

8) Lastly, add a row of long and short stitches in thread D, using 1 strand.

Folded parts + center

1-2) Take 2 strands of thread E and work split stitch edging of the folded part of the petal, filling it in afterwards.

3-4) Then, take 1 strand of the same color E, and start satin stitching over the padding we did previously. That will increase the volume of this detail, raising it more over the fabric. When satin stitching, remember to start somewhere away from the edge, maybe even in the middle. Then, fill one side of the area with parallel stitches, before turning to the other side of the area and filling it the same way. Please, be aware that I'm stitching this design after transferring it directly from my sketchbook. The shapes of the folded parts in the pattern you downloaded have been changed a little.

5) Let's work the center starting with French knots in color F: use 1 strand of thread and 2 wraps around the needle making a circle in the middle of this area. Or, you can randomly scatter them around the center, works both ways.

6) Fill the rest of the area with the same kind of French knots (1 strand of thread, 2 wraps around the needle) in color G, and then place smaller knots (1 wrap around the needle) right on the petals. Place them in a zigzag manner: one higher, the other lower.

That's all!

Hope you enjoy this part of the Stitch Along and I'm looking forward to seeing your works!

Take care :*