A Six-way Bargello, Plus More Optical Illusions

8-way Bargello Pillow Top

This post, I'm trying to make good on some projects I promised earlier this year. The first one was to give you a pattern for a 6-way bargello design. We have already done 4-way bargellos and an 8-way bargello (above), but a 6-way is different because the design is based on 60-degree angles, rather than the familiar 90-degree and 45-degree ones. I have designed several of these, but we will be starting with a very simple one. There will be others next year, but they will be a little more difficult. I suggest that you study the posts on 4-way (December 22, 2014) and 8-way bargello (April 22, 2016) before you begin a 6-way project. You may find that you want to try one of the others first, but I assure you this one is probably easier. I'm going to take you step-by-step through this project. Let's begin with the design, which you can download.

Click here to download Pattern for 6-way Bargello

Since this is a 6-sided design, it makes sense to start with a 6-sided figure, the hexagon. I began by finding the center of my paper and marking it with a dot. Then I constructed a hexagon with the dot at its center. I then made 6 more hexagons, each starting from a point, not a side, of the original one. (If you are constructing a design like this, rather than using a pattern, you may want to make a cardboard template of the center hexagon to draw around as you progress.) You will notice that each of the spaces between the outer and inner hexagons — as well as between each outer hexagon and its neighbor — is a triangle. Where the bases of two triangles touch, they form a diamond-shape. Finally, I divided the central hexagon into 6 equal triangles. This gave me a choice of triangles or diamonds to stitch. I then made several copies of the design and began to work it out in various color combinations. You can see some of the results below.

Four alternative color schemes for 6-way bargello project

As I worked on the design, I told J.D. that I could see an optical illusion forming in one of the designs. He said he could see one, too, but that he would have to erase some of the lines in the design to make it. I suggested that we each draw the design we imagined to see if we had different illusions in mind. When we compared our results, we had indeed seen different illusions. (We were delighted, because another of my promises was to provide more optical illusion designs!) This “game” continued for some time. Below are two of the more interesting ones, for the benefit of those of you who have taken up this pursuit.

Annake's (left) and J.D.'s floating block illusions derived from the 6-way bargello  pattern

In the meantime, I prepared my canvas for the demonstration I'm going to show you now. For more information about preparing a canvas, see the post for May 11, 2014. I began with the triangles in the central hexagon. There are several ways to approach these triangles. An obvious one is to do two sets of triangles in two colors. That is, alternate the two colors as you move around the hexagon. To use three colors, work two adjacent triangles in the first color, the next two in the second color and the last two in the third color. Finally, you can use a different color for each triangle — 6 in all. I decided to do two shade of one color in the hexagon, two more in the ‘star’ and a final three in the hexagons. Since it is autumn, my favorite season, I chose yarn in autumn colors.

You are probably going to look at the triangles and think, “This is going to be hard:  the triangles point in different directions and I will have a lot of slanted stitches.” No, they are just triangles with equal sides. They don't point anywhere. They don't do anything but sit there and wait for you to fill them with stitches!

I began with the triangle in the bottom center of the hexagon with yellow yarn. I started at the base of the triangle and stitched from the base to the side line of the triangle, increasing the length of the stitch each time until I reached the triangle's upper point. From there I decreased each stitch until I reached the end of the base. My first and last stitch may go over only one thread of the canvas. The other two yellow triangles form a ‘Y’ with the first one. Then I reversed the canvas to work the gold stitches. The most important thing is to have each gold stitch begin on its base line, but end in the same hole as the yellow stitch it meets. Don't leave any bare canvas. Any bits of the pattern line that show through or any irregularities in stitches meeting will be covered later with top-stitching. Your stitches should cover both sides of the canvas. Don't pull them too tight or you will deform the shapes of the triangles.

6-way bargello, Step 1

I am working on #12 cotton needlepoint canvas with tapestry and crewel yarns. You will have more or fewer stitches than mine, depending on the type of material you are using for a background and the yarn you are using. If you have a stitch that looks thin and doesn't cover the canvas, put another stitch right over it and pull it down firmly. No one will ever know … and I won't tell.

Now that Step #1 was complete, I moved on to Step #2. Here I was concerned with the triangles outside the center hexagon — the ones that form a 'star' shape when they are completed. “Okay,” you will say, “now the triangles are pointing in different directions!” No, they aren't. Hold the canvas in the same position that you used to begin the center hexagon. This time work the triangle at the top. Be sure the stitches start in the same holes as those of the ones they are touching in the hexagon. Work that triangle the same way, followed by its companions at bottom right and left. Reverse your canvas again and do the other three triangles. All of your stitches at this point will be straight up and down. Didn't I say it was easy? When I finished the ‘star’, I took the time to top-stitch the sections of the center hexagon with dark brown. Step #2 is complete.

6-way bargello, Step 2

By this time I really liked the triangles because they each took very little time. I decided to do the outer hexagons in the triangles, but I wanted each hexagon to be in a single color. I removed the canvas from the hoop and drew the triangles lightly in pencil. (I am using a hoop because the canvas is very flexible and needs to be stretched taut.) Then I worked all 6 triangles in each hexagon in a single color and top-stitched the junctions in the same color. If you are doing all the hexagons in a single color, or in 6 different colors, you are free to start with any hexagon you like. If you are using 2 colors, your hexagons will form a ‘Y’. If, like me, you are using 3 colors, you will have 2 hexagons in each color, and they will be directly opposite each other. With the hexagons complete, I top-stitched around the ‘star’ points and the edges of the hexagons. Step #3 is done.

6-way bargello, Step 3

If you want to expand the design, you might fill in the triangles between the hexagons or make them into diamonds. You might add another ring of hexagons to the outside of the existing ones and proceed from there. Since I am preparing my design to be a round pillow-top, I am simply going to fill in the background to the outer edge of the circle. A sample of the background stitch pattern I am going to use is shown below. The finished pillow will be shown on a future post.

Background stitch  for 6-way bargello pillow top

Until next time, have fun with this six-way design.

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

The World of Crewel Embroidery

Part of the crewel embroidery mushrooms in progress

First, let me apologize for writing fewer posts this summer. The farmers' market season, which occupied so much of our time, is finished here in the high country. Although we are still very busy, harvesting, transplanting, getting gardens ready for winter and “weather-proofing” the house, greenhouse, and out-buildings, my thoughts are turning to completing unfinished projects and planning new ones. My fingers are eager to work with yarn — whether for rug-making, crocheting, knitting or embroidery. One of my first projects to finish is a rectangular crewel embroidery piece featuring fanciful mushrooms done in wool yarn on rather coarse linen. One of these motifs was featured at the end of the August 31, 2015 post.

Detail of Bayeux Tapestry from Wikimedia Commons

One of the oldest (and largest!) pieces of crewel embroidery still in existence is the Bayeux Tapestry (not a real tapestry because it was embroidered rather than woven), probably embroidered by needlewomen of Normandy to celebrate William the Conqueror's victory over England in 1066 A.D. The piece is believed to have been completed about 1100 A.D. Besides land and sea battles, it shows many details about costumes, artifacts, techniques and customs of the time.

Crewel embroidered handbag (modern)

Crewel embroidery became popular in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The queen loved roses and native wildflowers, so these motifs were widely used, along with leaves and vines like those on the 20^th-century European handbag shown here. One of the major functions of this type of embroidery was to provide warmth. The embroidery added weight and thickness to bed curtains and canopies, draperies, and wall coverings made of linen or wool. The work was usually done by groups of needleworkers, supervised by an experienced embroiderer, who may also have designed the motifs. Lovely examples of this work are exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Crewel embroidered pillow cover (modern)

Crewel embroidery reached the peak of its popularity during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I's successor, King James I. Work from this period is also called Jacobean embroidery. The designs were heavily influenced by the Chinese and other Oriental fabrics, porcelains, and lacquer-work which were beginning to be imported into England at that time. This Jacobean influence can still be discerned in much more modern crewel embroidery like that on the 20^th-century European pillow cover shown here. Dragons, gryphons, and other mythical creatures were also popular in the 17^th century.

Another section of the mushroom embroidery

The word “crewel” refers to the type of yarn they used, a loosely twisted 2-ply (2-strand) wool yarn. I prefer Paternayan® crewel yarn and a 3-ply Persian yarn (used for the mushrooms) that I separate as needed. Unfortunately, these have become more expensive and harder to find in recent years. We have talked previously about dividing 3-ply and 4-ply yarns (May 29, 2015 post). You will find some of these synthetic yarns easier to embroider with than others. Practice with them to make your choices. You can also use novelty yarns and silk, linen, cotton and rayon flosses. You just can't call your work crewel embroidery unless it is done with wool yarn. (I recommend calling it “crewel-style” embroidery.)

More crewel mushrooms

Early colonists brought crewel patterns and techniques to the New World, where they became quite popular. We have already discussed several of the stitches widely used in crewel embroidery, such as cross-stitch, back-stitch, running stitch and double-running stitch. (If you are new to this blog, check our search feature.) We've also shown techniques such as whipping, lacing, interlacing, etc., which embellish these simple stitches. You may want to review some of these on the January 16, 2015 post before we begin a crewel project. (Use our Archive to find it.) You can see some of these techniques used on the completed mushroom motifs.

Hot-iron transfer for mushroom embroidery

I made separate hot-iron transfers for each section of the mushroom design. (See the post for October 6, 2013.) You can see what the transfer looks like on this unfinished motif. Some red lines from the transfers will show around the finished embroidery. To remove them, I will gently hand-wash the embroidery in cool water and Woolite®, rubbing until the red lines disappear. A quick rinse and the entire piece will be ready to be pressed or blocked. I'm looking forward to our first crewel project together. I hope you are too.

See you again soon,

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

All-Over Bargello Designs with Top-Stitching

Bargello stitch sampler from April 10, 2014 post

Last weekend a regular reader reminded me that I had promised articles about all-over bargello designs and optical illusions done in needlepoint. She asked when she was likely to see them. I told her I would get started on the all-over designs right away. Here is the first article on the subject that some of you have awaited patiently (or impatiently). To follow along, you will need a piece of plastic or fabric needlepoint canvas, several colors of yarn, a tapestry needle and scissors. I will be referring to a sampler of stitches from the April 10, 2014, post. You can click on the sampler to see the stitches enlarged. We will begin with the sample in the lower left-hand corner. We will be making rows of these “peaks” and “valleys” stitches, but ours will be all the same height.

I'm going to make the sample on #7 plastic canvas with acrylic yarn so that the stitches will be easy for you to see. I'm using a light, a medium, and a dark green, in that order. I'm working from left to right, but you may work from right to left if you like. I start in a square of mesh at least 9 down from the top edge. I bring my needle through from the back of the canvas, holding the last inch and a half (3 ½ to 4 cm) against the back of the canvas with a couple of fingers, and work the stitches over it to secure it. My first stitch goes directly upward, skipping 3 of the bars (plastic canvas) or threads, and going down in the next square of mesh. (Remember that we count this way; we do not count the squares themselves.) The next stitch begins and ends 1 square of mesh higher than the first stitch. I continue in this way until I have 7 stitches and have reached the top of the first “peak”. The next stitch will begin and end 1 square of mesh lower than the top stitch. I will continue in this way until I reach the “valley” (6 stitches) and repeat the pattern at least 3 times. This lightest row is your base row. All “peaks” and “valleys” should begin and end in the same rows of mesh. Check with a straight-edge if you are not sure. If you make a mistake here, you will carry it throughout the design.

Secure your base row by running an inch and a half of your yarn under completed stitches and cutting it close to the back of the canvas. I worked the second row with the medium color and the third row with the dark color. No canvas is left bare. The tops of the second row of stitches share the same squares of mesh as the bottoms of the first row of stitches. I continued until I had used the lightest color 4 times. I then stitched partial rows of the other colors to complete the rectangle and cut away the excess canvas. With a heavy white yarn, I top-stitched over the top and bottom stitches of the light-colored row each time it appears in the pattern. These stitches really stand out against the darker background. This would be an attractive pattern for place-mats, book covers, tote bags or similar items.

Next, I repeated the pattern with tapestry wool on #14 needlepoint canvas, an action which – by itself – will greatly change the dimensions of the pattern. This time I used only 5 stitches for each “peak”, instead of 7. My colors were closely related oranges in a dark/medium/light/medium sequence, and the top-stitching was done in a dark brown. This time I top-stitched both the dark and light rows, but not the medium ones. Each time you use needlepoint canvas, you are creating a fabric. This one is a herringbone-like fabric which would be nice for small items like cellphone covers, but could equally be used for a garment like a vest. You can top-stitch all the rows and get a fabric with vertical stripes. When working with dark colors, I usually top-stitch in white or a light color; when working with light backgrounds, a black or a dark color. Medium colors may require either dark or light accents. Experiment by placing strands of different colors of yarn on top of your finished background to find an effect that pleases you.

Our next all-over pattern is derived from the group in the upper right-hand corner of the stitch sampler. The pattern consists of 2 stitches over 2 bars or threads, followed by 2 stitches over 4 bars or threads, repeated across the sample. The second row uses 2 stitches over 4 bars or threads, then 2 stitches over 2 bars or threads, repeated across the work. The rows fit together like the cogs on wheels. (See the examples on the sampler.) I used a seafoam green, a sky blue, and an aquamarine. Each color will sometimes begin with the 2 short stitches and sometimes with the 2 long ones. Once I had an adequate sample, I filled in the partial stitches at the top and bottom of the work. Then I top-stitched with white yarn, making a short stitch over the vertical bar between the stitches in each pair, across the top and the bottom of each 2-stitch group. I used straight horizontal stitches. You can back-stitch these, but it requires both more yarn and more time to do so. The “loops” that you think you see in the pattern are an optical illusion. Turn your completed sample over and you can see another neat pattern. Can you figure out how to make this appear on the front of the sample, rather than the back?
 

Finally, I did the same pattern on #10 canvas – finer than the #7, but not as fine as the #14. Because of the strong color contrast, the “toothed” effect of the pattern is more obvious. Technically, this one is not top-stitched, since the metallic copper yarn is just woven over the short stitches and under the long ones. I would only use metallic accents on decorative items which would not get any hard use. Besides metallic yarns, there are metal threads, threaded crochet cotton, metallic braid and rick-rack, ribbons, and shiny metallic-colored embroidery flosses.

The colors you choose for a pattern have a tremendous effect on its appearance. For example, look at the two identical stitch patterns below, done in a monochromatic color scheme and in a wild, rainbow-colored one. What a difference! Have fun playing with patterns!

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