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[amalnahurriyeh]

Thanks, everyone, for the super-nice comments on my first post. I just finished working the lion for my son, and wanted to show it off. :)

From yarncrafts

Here it is from the front! I ran out of stash floss at one point and needed to buy new (this was floss that was over a decade old! I think it might have changed color with time), so there are color changes, but I don't think it's too awful.

And to give you an idea of how bad my technique is...

From yarncrafts

Here it is from the back. Eep. I'm just telling myself nobody will ever turn it over once I glue it to a backing.



In terms of all of your advice, I got a hoop while I was at the craft store. It did help with the wrist pain, but I actually had a sizing problems; I got a good-sized hoop (8 inches), but I'd already trimmed some scrap off my piece of cloth, so the part I was working wasn't 8 inches across! This meant it was hard to stretch. I'm going to be starting my next piece on a bigger piece of cloth, so I won't have that problem this time.

And working with shorter pieces of floss when dividing is definitely easier. It does mean I have to rethread more often, which can be annoying, but not ending up with terrible knots is much more important.

If I can pick your brains again: I'm starting work on this tonight, which I'm working for my son's cousin. (There was a LOT of debate about whether Cousin should get A LION JUST LIKE ME or A WHALE.) The pattern has big swatches of a single color at the center, and then smaller stripes above and below. My instinct is to work it linearly, starting from the left-hand side and working the tail first. But should I start with the big, medium blue shape of the body, and then add in the above-and-below bits? Would that make it structurally stronger?

Comments

[explorer0713]

One way to neaten up the back is to do a loop start. All this means if you pattern calls for an even number of floss strands - 2, 4 - use half that number and thread the two ends through the needle. When you take your first stitch, stop pulling earlier than usual. Now put the needle through to the back of the fabric and pull it through the loop that you now have on the reverse side of the fabric. Pull through as usual. I find this simpler an neater since you only have to hide one piece of floss instead of two. This only works when using an even number of strands though.

Also, to end a thread, run your needle under several adjoining stitches - 5 or 6 will do - and then trim off the excess to about 1/4 in (1cm). That will also make things neater.

Regarding the needle threading issue, some people like to thread several needles at the start of the day's stitch time instead of rethreading several times during stitching.

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Just remember, there are no stitching police that will come knocking at the door if you don't do something exactly as the books or someone else tells you to. Try different things and then stick with whatever is comfortable for you and gives you a look you are happy with. Just make sure the top leg always goes in the same direction.