'Tis the Season! (thinking about stitching)

Lest you think I've lost my mind (I probably have, and don't know it yet) - I decided I'm tired of looking at crazy quilts, so "retired" the September heart as a header, as I've used it two years in a row. (See these at my other blog, Possibilities, etc., under "Birthday Crazy Quilts")

I finished this piece last night as a napkin ring, as one of my "tartan adaptability and uses" experiments, and thought it might be suitable to point out that even tho' it's still horrendously hot (at least here in Austin), it's time to think about starting gifts, ornaments, table decorations, etc. for the upcoming gaiety of the seasons of fall into Christmas! (and don't forget Hanukkah!)

My next blog post here will be a new napkin ring motif or two, as these were fun last year, fast to stitch, and great for decorating a table. I'll probably change the header too, and show candy corn or something more appropriate! Meanwhile, there are lots of napkin ring patterns right here on this blog - just click on the label for them.

The illustrated napkin ring is adapted from the Alpine Meadlows tartan, and I have a more complete description on the other blog.

Stitching Gingham/Plaid/Tartan on a Circle (How to)

I used all three names applied to this textile - stripes intersecting at right angles to form a delightful pattern (I explained the origin of the terms in a previous post back a while.)

This one is what we in this country call "Gingham," a woven fabric (replicated in needlepoint here) with even stripes on both warp and weft - and just one color plus white, creating a lighter shade of the color where it crosses.

The arrow is pointing to a place where one has to be careful when stitching on a rounded outline. It's necessary to pay attention!!

Feeling rather lazy the day I needed to start this, instead of cutting a new square of canvas, I Ipicked up a small piece of canvas that already had a 3 3/4" circle drawn on it, and decided it would be a great exercise anyway in stitching needlepoint plaid.
The circle is drawn on an odd count, which meant I couldn't make stripes of 4 threads. Three were too small for the scale of this piece, and 7 were too wide.

There is a lot more to using plaid for needlepoint than just "setting it up." One has to consider the intended use for a particular project, and make sure the scale is also attractive. The 5 threads I settled on look right for the circle.

The next consideration was where to start. On a rectangle, I would have started stitching the warp on the right side - however, on this circle, I began in the center, as I am a perfectionist about symmetry. (The circle is stich drawn for this reason) From the center, I simply worked out toward the right side.

The arrow pointing to the center shows where one could draw a well centered letter or monogram if desired (before stitching). Next, I started stitching the weft - again centering it. The arrows point to the center thread.

After this, it had to be marked for guidance, so I used the Sharpie extra fine Permanent MARKER - never the paint pen, as it's not really safe for needlepoint canvas. I counted backward from the center to reach the top where I began the stitching. The marks on this circle didn't go into the circle itself as I do on squares - it would have made the outline difficult to discern.

The arrows point to a place that looks rather strange - but it's just the white stitches making the "gap." This won't show when it's finished.
The last picture shows the progress toward looking like gingham!! Again, the arrows point to places where it appears that a little bite has been take out of the circle. The tendency would be to want to complete the blue square - but then it wouldn't be correct according to the circle drawing. A round piece this small could be a box top insert - but I think I would have started with a monogram before beginning the stitching!

ADDENDUM: I have several tutorials on the subject of stitching plaid in needlepoint, but for anyone who has missed it; the WARP (vertical) stripes are stitched first, and in basketweave, on every other row. Use the warp threads of the canvas - the thread is on top, forming a slight "bump." Then the weft is worked horizontally on the weft threads of the canvas - where the spaces are left. This is extremely simple, and there is minimal distortion of the canvas.

Using the Tartans

As I have been doing a number of posts about Plaid and Tartans (one and the same in the U.K.) on both blogs, I feel I need to do a disclaimer and explanation of my use of the Registered Tartans. (I've shown the Texas Bluebonnet first on January 3 on Possibilities, etc. and again recently, and the Alpine Meadows, as well as the Millenium Ribbon.)
I have contacted the Scottish Registry, and am told that it is definitely a copyright infringement, and therefore illegal, to make charts of these to sell.

It is O.K., however, to use them as I have on these blog posts to demonstrate how to interpret and set up a tartan/plaid for one's own use. The same method applies to other plaids one sees and wants to convert to needlepoint. I used the Tartans simply because I have loved them for many years.

The Bluebonnet plaid has gorgeous colors - and is also the state flower of my home state, Texas. Green is my favorite color - hence the Alpine Meadows, shown in the picture for progress!

I have shown my little canvas doodles where I worked out the counts, and you are welcome to use those for your own enjoyment - but NOT to make charts and sell. I also have planned tutorials on how to USE these plaids to create actual projects - I've managed to lay out a checkbook cover with this green one, as the pattern elements fit. (These will probably be on Possibilities, etc.)

My daughter says she would like the Burberry tartan for hers. Of course she would. Later. I offered to make also a dog collar for my SIL's big yellow lab, Godzilla, but it was declined, as was a belt for SIL - however, many many people are making plaid belts!! I'll show this process also.

Anyway, the gist of this is that one may replicate a registered tartan for PERSONAL use, but not for commercial. That is to say, not for financial gain by selling charts and patterns.

I do have a book on creating and using Plaid, which also includes quite a number of plaids I've created myself - but these are totally original, and not registered tartans. The book is being revised (in my spare time) and updated, and will be offered as an e-book soon, I hope, on my web page.

A Free "Create Your Own Tartan" Site!!

This is the Anderson tartan - officially registered (I like to show it, as it's my family tartan - a very old one, and the only one with 7 colors) I haven't tackled "adapting" it for my own use, as it's a bit complicated.

Anyway - If you haven't seen my other blog post about it, there is a really great and fun place to go to create a plaid/tartan of your own. It's as entertaining as the Jig-Zone puzzles I play with when taking a break. (creative avoidance).

You can see it at SCOTWEB. From the home page, just click on "tartans" and scroll down a bit - and you can go to the place to design your own.

Tutorial for Tartan/Plaid

If you haven't seen it, and like stitching (or want to learn how) plaid, I have a tutorial on the other blog, Possibilities, etc. It's explaining how to adapt a tartan plaid to needlepoint - Fun!! I have a second one ready to post this morning.

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.

A Project in Plaid for Needlepoint: An Egg

Learning to create and then stitch a plaid is one thing - knowing how to set one up for a project is another. I decided to do an egg with an initial on it - but it's been a while, so I made a few mistakes, which I'll show anyway. Errors in judgment. "Haste is the enemy of perfection" etc.

I decided it needed an oval with the initial - but I miscounted when drawing it on, and it is quite lopsided. On this first picture, I had painted it out and re-drawn it.

Anyway, I consulted, again, my favorite little book on letters - the French book I bought at The NeedleWorks here in Austin. (Colleen keeps this one in stock, and will gladly sell you one if you contact her.)

A word here about the charts in these books - they are, of course, graphed, and intended for cross stitch - but I have used them for many years for needlepoint, as all one has to do to translate is to make a tent stitch for every little square instead of a cross stitch as you would on fabric. Quite simple.

I wanted to put the initial into an oval, so the first thing to do, after I drew (stitch counted for symmetry) the egg outline, was to sketch an oval on tracing paper, ink it when it looked right, and then put it under the egg on canvas.

It was centered on an even count, as I wanted to outline it in Smyrna crosses for a different effect with pearl cotton. Then, the letter was centered on the oval - which was done with a DecoColor paint pen in green. The next thing was to "size" the checks I originally wanted to use - scale is very important on a specific piece, and using tiny little narrow stripes wouldn't look right - so I settled on four threads wide. Then - decided just a plain gingham would be boring, so I did the four thread pink stripes, but put six threads of white, split by two threads of light green in the center - thus creating an actual "tartan."

I made the marks with the Sharpie paint pens so they're easy to work on. By doing this, you can see how a plaid develops, as you add and substract the number of threads - and add more colors if you wish. At this point, you'll start noticing plaids everywhere you go!! - and figuring out how you'd work them into a needlepoint project.

In the photo you can see the stripes as they are stitched - beginning, anyway - and the arrows point to where I was one thread off centering the initial. I cannot count correctly late at night. Those marks around the egg are kind of "hairy" looking - but they'll disappear in the finishing. Just looking at this thing, I started to visualize all kinds of things one could do with an egg shape and fun fibers!! Put things we've learned to good use.

One thing I failed to mention - that you can see in this last picture, is that I made a decision to center the pink stripe. I made a sketch to scale on drawing paper first, and placed the canvas over it - adjusted it to see which would be most effective as the center motif. If you count them, you can see that there are seven pink stripes (including the very edges) and six of the white/green/white stripes. As pink is the predominant and stronger color, I wanted to use the format of 7.

Stitching Plaid: A Gingham Variation in Needlepoint

If you came here from the other blog, you are probably totally confused now about the terminology of this thing - I'm going to revert to what we call things now, which is much easier - I was fascinated with the information as I researched it, so had to pass it along.

Anyway, the first picture is a swatch of needlepoint I stitched from a really pretty fabric I saw on a quilt. This is where I get the plaids I like to adapt to needlepoint. I find them in decorating magazines as upholstery fabric, and in all kinds of other catalogues and magazines, on the internet, of course, - and at the grocery store where people are wearing them.


When you start creating your own, you'll start seeing them everywhere, and be more aware of them. This one is so simple, I thought it would be a good one to illustrate setting it up. I decided on this scale - a small square of 18 mesh canvas - to make each stripe just four threads wide. On a larger project, I would increase the width of each stripe. Correct scale is very important to the look of a piece of needlepoint incorporating a plaid, and it's so easy to create.

I used to use the black Pilot pen to make the markings, but the Sharpie drawing pens in color have made life easier, as it's now less confusing in the stitching. Here, I used blue and yellow, of course, and left the white stripes with no marks at all. Started in the first photo with just the blue to show how it's done. I did use the black pen to draw a corner as a guide.



The second picture shows the yellow stripes marked, and also blue and yellow down the side where the weft will be worked - just as with weaving a fabric. The loom is warped, then the weaving is done with weft. I chose, on this swatch, since the blue/yellow/blue stripe is visually heavier than the b/w/b, to center it for symmetry. (I'm picky about this, even on a little demonstration.)


Stitching is begun on the vertical stripes - always first - and worked on the WARP threads, as that is the strength of any fabric, including needlepoint canvas. Starting with the weft - going across - would distort the canvas. Only basketweave is used here, but "skipped" to use every other stitch, leaving the weft stitches bare for filling in the horizontal stripes.
The last picture indicates beginning the warp - and the arrow points to the weft stitch. This is where the fun begins, as the stripe goes on across, filling in and making little solid squares, etc. - and where it crosses another color, it's a different look.


In doing a multicolor plaid, it never gets boring!! I plan to have an actual project - even if it's only a simple egg shape with an initial or space for silk ribbon flowers - to show how to actually USE a plaid you've created yourself.

If you look at this little plaid a bit, you can see how easy it would be to make a new pattern (your own Tartan, perhaps) by just widening a stripe, adding a line of another color, etc. etc. - it can be very addictive once you get started!

A New Year Already

An explanation for this header - I still haven't finished the January Crazy Quilt Heart for this month. I'm working on it, and trying to remember what I was going to do with it besides the required silk ribbon carnations. I'll have it up in a few days, hopefully - at least with the garnets and flowers.

Anyway, the header is from a plaid piece I started several years ago and had to put aside for lack of time and lots of other plaid things I wanted to do. I am a great fan of Emily Dickinson, and have always loved this quote of hers - which is why I named my Needlepoint Now article "Possibilities," and also my other blog - Possibilities, Etc.

She also said, "To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else." She might have said "to stitch needlepoint leaves little time for anything else."

I've been planning for over a month to do a detailed tutorial on my plaids - how to set them up for specific projects, etc., and how to stitch them freehand, as I do - very very simple. I already have the book, which I did about five years ago, but now am working on an update to offer as an e-book on my web page.

This close up of the upper left corner of the unfinished pillow shows the vertical stripes stitched already on the warp, which is always done first because of the strength of the weave - and you can see, where the arrow points, the background (pink) being stitched horizontally. this is what makes it so entertaining to do - it's wonderful to see the difference it makes to have it solid.

Also, see the yellow horizontal stripes. This is an unusual plaid, in that it only has the yellow elements, and not repeats of the verticals, as in tartans. (which composes a sett). I don't remember where I saw this plaid, but do remember loving the colors - so I manipulated it to fit around the quote. We'll deal with this another time.

In this shot of the lower right, you can see where the yellow stripes have started across the verticals, and where they cross the green, a new color is formed - this is also one of the delights in working plaid without paint!!

You can also see the marks I made for guidance in stitching. I have since discovered the joy of using paint pens for this step - it's much easier than making the black marks, and less confusing.

I plan to do several projects - in detail how to plan and set them up, and where to find good ones for inspiration. Even belts and dog collars! I don't use numbers for this - I developed my own way about 35 years ago, so that's a new one for me - never heard of it until recently. I'll also deal with Scottish tartans at a later date - wonderful things, they are!

An Ad for Plaid!

I don't usually do this, but the response to my plaid has been rather enthusiastic again, so I'll call attention to the fact that I do have a book available on my web page - "Elegant Whimsies." There are so many many things one can do with plaid - it's like painting with a needle on bare white canvas, and never gets boring.

You can easily just plot your own with your preferred colors, or work from a piece of woven plaid fabric - a simple thing to do. I've used it over the years for covers for footstools (even on 10 mesh canvas), pillows, borders for names and quotes - lots of good stuff!

I'm hoping to find the time in the near future to put this book, which I did several years ago as one of the "Coloring Book" series, in two installments as e-books - but the second one on "LACE" has to come first.

The illustration shows a few of the plaids demonstrated in the book, and there are also instructions on how to set up individual projects.

A Mini-Plaid tutorial: Gingham Checks

When researching the origins of plaid several years ago, I was not surprised to learn that it originated, of course, in Scotland. I still visualize, however, in pre-history, some ladies weaving grass mats for their homes, and noticing that the different colors of grasses, when they crossed each other in warp and weft, created a definite pattern - and this probably led to further experimentation with plant dyes.

Plaid, in it's simplest form - the gingham checks - is one of the first woven fabrics I sought to replicate in needlepoint many years ago. It's just a matter of using a color plus white (in it's simplest form) and a symmetric count - that is, on this one, four threads blue and four white. Where they cross, a third value is produced. (When using two colors instead of the white, a third color is made.)

In the second picture, I used two colors plus white, and a different format. Same number of threads (4) but it looks entirely different from the simple gingham. This illustrates the many many possibilities for re-arrangeing thread counts and colors and creating an endless variety of plaids!


To begin a plaid, the canvas needs to be marked for ease in stitching - and the WARP must be stitched first, as needlepoint canvas is a woven fabric, and the warp of any fabric is the strongest element. I have seen people start stitching across - on the weft, but this is like doing continental stitch on mono canvas - it will warp badly.

You can see on the marked canvas that I have marked the four threads for color only - as this makes it easier to see where to insert the white. Just stitch in basketweave down as far as you want on the four threads vertically - using ONLY the "bumps" of the warp threads. Make the stripes of color and white BEFORE stitching the weft. (which also should be marked at the sides to avoid confusion).

I really enjoy using this to frame names and monograms - or quotes, and made a door hanger for my first grandson with "crayon" colors - full intensity! The white "background" was reduced to three threads only, and the color stripes are five.

Ihad an interesting development several years ago, as I decided one day I needed a very small scale plaid for a patch on a crazy quilt ornament - so I used two threads of each color - and to my surprise, houndstooth check appeared. Happy accident!!

Another happy accident happened when I was stitching the little pink and orange gingham heart, and was bored that day, - deciding to do the weft in beads in the same colors to see what would happen. To my amazement, it looked beaded solid!
There are many many uses for plaids - and I enjoy them so much, as starting to stitch on a bare white canvas is like painting with your needle - and as the plaid emerges, one wants to just keep on going to see what the next repeat is going to look like. It never gets boring. I have done a book on this, which goes into much more detail and shows many more uses for it - but meanwhile, this should give you some ideas to get started.

The next two charts will show the progress of stitches, beginning with the vertical stripes of the plaid worked on the warp threads - the "bumps" when the vertical threads are on top. Then the weft (where the horizontal threads are on top - the "dips") I used blue ink to show what would be white on the blue and white gingham.
The arrows point to the warp threads as they lie on top in the weave.
The second chart illustrates the plaid being formed as the weft is stitched horizontally. Notice where the green crosses the white (blue on this) that a second element of color is formed.

I hope you will use this and enjoy it - and create some new ones of your own. You'll find yourself closely examining clothing on people at the supermarket, and noticing the structure of plaids in upholstery materials - Fascinating!!