Introduction to Four-Way Bargello, Part 2

Stitch sampler

I'd like to show you how to develop a four-way pattern based on the simple peaks we explored in “Bargello Basics, Part 2 (March 21, 2014). The basic peak is shown at the upper left in lavender. Remember that the basic bargello stitch is an upright one crossing over four canvas threads. (Always count threads, not canvas squares, to make a stitch.) To ascend the peak, skip the first bottom thread and begin the next stitch one thread higher up. To descend the peak, skip the first top stitch and begin the next stitch one thread lower down. Now look at the lower lavender peak. This one is made by skipping two threads at each step. Two threads are also skipped in making the top dark blue peak. However, this one has three identical top stitches, instead of one. This gives it a flat top I'll call a plateau. The final peak also has a plateau, but the ascending and descending stitches are doubled. Practice this last pattern, because it is the basis of the four-way pattern.

I've been doing bargello for many years, but I still practice my patterns on plastic canvas before I do them on needlepoint canvas. If there are going to be problems with the design, I will find them at the practice stage. If I'm going to make mistakes (as I probably will), I will make — and correct — them there. I strongly suggest you practice on plastic canvas, too. You will want your first four-way to be special, and “practice makes perfect.” You can file your plastic practice piece for future reference. Here is my practice piece for this project. 

Start with a square piece of plastic canvas that has an odd number of squares each way (49, 51, 63, 75, etc.) Find the center vertical row of squares and mark it with a permanent marker. Do the same with he center horizontal row. Starting with the center square each time, carefully put in the four diagonals from the center to the corners of the square. It is important that they be exact. Count up from the center square (number 1) to the eleventh square of mesh and mark it. Do the same for the eleventh squares down from the center, to the left, and to the right.

Baseline stitching in four colors, showing miters

Bring your needle up through the marked square above the center, cross over the four threads above (represented by the bars on the plastic canvas), and push the needle down through the next empty square. You have made the center stitch of the first plateau. Now make the identical stitches on each side — plateau made. Make a descent, using pairs of stitches with a two-thread drop. You will make two complete pairs, but the third cannot be complete because it is interrupted by the diagonal line. The first stitch of this shortened pair will cross over two threads and end in the square on the diagonal line. The second stitch will cross over only one thread and end on the diagonal. Push your needle under the completed stitches on the back of the canvas and return to the plateau. Make an identical descent to the diagonal on the other side. Run your needle under the stitches on the back again and cut your yarn. Turn your canvas 90 degrees. And repeat the pattern. I have done each quarter of the pattern in a different color to make the directions easier to understand. You will do all four quarters in the same color. I recommend that you use the darkest color in your color scheme.

Working inward from the baseline

Now that you have all four quarters of your pattern connected, you have the baseline of your bargello. Working in from the baseline to the center of the canvas, notice how your shortened stitches form V's at the diagonals. Corners made by two stitches at right angles to each other that meet in the same square (the diagonal) are called mitered (or mitred) corners. In this sample, the second (green) row has a plateau with a complete pair of stitches and miters (mitres) on each side. The lavender row has a plateau with miters on each side. The center square (orange) is made up of four tiny triangles, each with a center stitch over two threads and a stitch over a single thread on each side, which forms a miter with the corresponding stitch on the next triangle. Practice this until you know your center is correct.

Working outward from the baseline

Now you are ready to work outward from the baseline. From now on you can simply work outward from each stitch with an identical stitch, mitering at the diagonals. You do not need to work back and forth across a quarter the way I had you do in establishing the baseline. As you move outward from the baseline, you will add a complete pair of stitches on each side of the plateau (see the green stitches). The plateau and the miters stay the same. As you near the edges of your canvas (lavender and orange stitches), you may not have room enough to do complete stitches. Do as much of each stitch as the canvas permits. Once you are confident of the pattern you have worked on the plastic canvas, go ahead and start it on needlepoint canvas. (Again, I recommend that you turn your canvas 90 degrees each time the stitches change direction.)

Finally, here is my completed canvas, “Midwinter Blues”. I used a light blue, a medium blue, and a dark blue, with the dark blue as the baseline. I wanted the design to have a frosty twinkle, so I top-stitched the middle of the finished canvas with metallic silver floss.

Finished "Midwinter Blues" four-way bargello, 12" x 12", tapestry yarn and metallic floss on #10 mono canvas

Good luck with your first four-way. Have fun.

 This post by Annake's Garden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

A Big Bouquet of Roses

The background photo for our summer posts is of a lovely old scarlet rambler which overhangs three paths in our perennial garden, as well as a rustic bench where we can sit and admire it. When we bought this home thirty-five years ago, there was a dying tea rose at this spot in the garden. I found that it was grafted onto another root. (I recognized it because I had grafted young fruit trees with my dad.) I cut away the dying rose and decided to leave the grafted rootstock to see what it might be. Every summer since I have been rewarded with this beautiful and fragrant display. The flowers dry easily once they are past blooming and make a great base for potpourri.

In the post for August 1, 2013, we offered a free rose pattern for you to download. I did samples in counted cross-stitch, conventional tent stitch, and latch-hook. Since then, I have done the same pattern in these media at different scales. The basic pattern has remained the same, while materials and color schemes have varied. All of the projects to date will be shown in this post. My purpose is two-fold: a) to show the results of widespread differences in scale; b) to show the versatility of a pattern that can be adapted for a wide variety of uses. The pattern was not always followed exactly, so you will see some differences in the finished works. Additional rose designs, not derived from the pattern, will also be shown, as well as photographs of some of the roses that were my inspirations. For those of you who missed the original pattern, you can download it by clicking on this link:  Rose Pattern Download.

This sample was designed for an 18-inch (about 46-centimeter) square quilt block, but was destined to become a pillow top instead. It was done in counted cross-stitch with embroidery floss on quarter-inch checked gingham.

The second sample from that post was this yellow rose done in tent stitch on #10 mono canvas with tapestry wool. The finished needlepoint is 9 inches x 11 inches (about 23 centimeters x 28 centimeters). A black, dark blue, or dark green background will enhance most rose designs.

Also seen in that post was our Heritage Rose rug, a latch-hook rug with a central design based on the original pattern, but with each square in the original design represented by approximately four latch-hook knots. This was done on conventional rug canvas.

This picture shows an orange rose done in counted cross-stitch on monk's cloth with embroidery floss. The motif is 7 inches (18 centimeters) in diameter, not counting the frame. The off-white background works well with this vivid rose, but might not be as good for a paler one. This one made its debut in the post for April 30, 2014.

Here is another latch-hook rose (shown as a work-in-progress). This one is done on #5 quickpoint canvas. Each square on the pattern has a corresponding latch-hook knot. As shown here, the motif --- destined to become the center of a pillow top --- is currently 8 inches (about 20 centimeters) square. As you can see, the same pattern can be used in projects of various sizes, color schemes, and stitching techniques.

This floribunda rose, first shown on July 15, 2013, was done in tent stitch on #14 canvas and then embellished with surface stitching. It is in the same size frame used for the orange rose above. We showed it along with the rose from our garden which inspired it, and the tutorial illustrated the steps I take when I convert one of J.D.'s or J.J.'s photos into an embroidery design. One of J.J.'s rose photos was featured on our last post, worked as a latch-hook pillow top on grospoint canvas (June 15, 2014).

Here is another floribunda rose done as Assisi work. The rose was outlined with gold craft thread, letting the monk's cloth background represent the petals. Then the background was filled in solidly with cross-stitches in red embroidery floss. It is 7 inches (18 centimeters) x 9 inches (23 centimeters). For more on Assisi work, see the post for May 21, 2014.

The final rose in our 'bouquet” is another work-in-progress. (Yes, there are a lot of those around my workshop!) It is a French long-stitch rose based on the newest hybrid tea rose in our garden. This one is named after singer Barbra Streisand and is a marvelous combination of purple, lavender, and pink. It is very pretty, even as it fades. Long-stitch is is a satin stitch technique, done with yarn on needlepoint canvas. The stitches may be made horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and all three may be combined in the same piece of work. For more about long-stitch, see the post for November 3, 2013.

We will leave you with some of J.D.'s roses. We hope you enjoy this bouquet, sent to you with our compliments.

 This post by Annake's Garden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.