Developing Plaid in Needlepoint - more on the Egg

The egg is moving along, but slowly, as I've had too many other things going on this week.

For the white on this plaid, I've used the DMC floss #3865, which is not the bright white, the "Blanc" we're more used to, but just barely "off white." Very nice! The Smyrna Cross frame around the oval is the blanc pearl cotton, as I wanted it to stand out and make a statement.

While working on the egg a few days ago, I remembered another piece I was doing several years ago, in which I was bored and tired of the project, so decided to see what would happen if I worked the weft horizontals in the plaid with beads instead of thread - the results were amazing, and put me on a whole new path in my work with beads and needlepoint!


See that post on the other blog, (Possibilities, Etc.) If this hadn't been about creating plaid and using it for something specific, I would have used beads on this egg. I was so enchanted with this "beaded solid" look, that I used it for yet another plaid - this time one I saw as an upholstery fabric in a magazine. It's actually one with stripes of equal width, but separated by very narrow stripes of gold - perfect for an evening bag.

This picture is a photo of a scan of the original sample, (I lost it long ago) so does't really show how striking it is with the beads. - but you can get the idea. Also, this demonstrates another small variation one can do to develop a plaid.

The next picture shows what we would normally think of as "gingham," but with an extra color added. Such an easy thing to do - just one little change creates a new look. The blue and green "tartan" is another one created by simply starting with some favorite colors and playing with widths of stripes. I added the dark blue, as it needed something for accent to keep from being dull.

After you start playing with this yourself, you will certainly begin to notice plaids everywhere - make little sketches even at the supermarket if you can. I always enjoy the challenge of working out a new one - but remember that using these on a specific project takes more planning as to scale, etc. - width of stripes, and their placement. A great creative endeavor, it is.

ADDENDUM: These plaid swatches are from my book on PLAID for NEEDLEPOINT, which is available - and soon to be offered as an E-book also. There are many more, as well as instructions on how to set them up for use on specific projects - and also how to design your own. This is on my web page, Elegant Whimsies.