Author Archives: Romilly

Arrow Stitch

Arrow Stitch

The Arrow stitch is a simple combination of two straight stitches to form an arrow shape. It’s a great stitch for borders, filling leaves or straight areas, and drawing attention to something. Things to Try with Arrow Stitch Honestly, there’s not much I can say about this stitch because it’s so simple. You can stitch… Continue Reading

Laying Tools and How to Use Them

Laying Tools and How to Use Them

Laying tools give an amazing advantage when you are stitching with flat threads or multiple strands of threads, all of which can get twisted and make the front of your stitching look messy. Not only that, but they can be another beautiful needlework tool to collect! But there are so many choices! What’s out there?… Continue Reading

Cretan Stitch – Video Tutorial

Cretan Stitch – Video Tutorial

Cretan Stitch is a versatile looped stitch. As you can see by the image to the left, I love using it for borders. In this case, for the waterline. Cretan Stitch in Practice This stitch creates a lovely zigzag line that you can make wider or narrower as you wish. Placing one stitch right next… Continue Reading

Cardinal Needlepainting Progress

Cardinal Needlepainting Progress

So I’ve been working (albeit slowly) on the cardinal needlepainting. The angle of the long and short stitches on the female bird was tricky. But I like the results. Her coloring came out more greenish than originally intended, or than the photo. This is due to using my painting as a source, rather than the… Continue Reading

OxHead Stitch (Tête de Boeuf)

OxHead Stitch (Tête de Boeuf)

Today’s stitch is a combination stitch. It’s a standalone stitch, or you can create a line of them. They make wonderful little motifs by themselves. The Tête de boeuf stitch (Oxhead stitch in English) is usually called by its French name. Or it can sometimes be called “WheatEar” stitch because the finished stitch looks like… Continue Reading