Stitching on linen

[bolshiegirl]

Hi Everyone

As a newbie stitcher, I've been using Aida for most of my projects, just to get the hang of the whole thing. At the moment, though, I'm working on a sampler on 32 count linen and am worried about the whole tension issue. My stitches look very 'flat', instead of that nice, slightly raised look that I see on other peoples' blogs. I can also see holes at the edge of my stitches where I've inserted or pulled through the needle (no. 26 needle).
Do you think I'm pulling too tight? Is my tension all wrong? Are there any tricks to working with linen that can give my stitches that lovely 'plump' look?

Many thanks
Zeta x

[Lessa54]

It sounds like it might be a case of pulling the stitches a little too tight. Are you using a hoop/frame/q snap, or are you working in hand? It's harder to get correct tension when working in hand, but some people (like me) find it easier to hold the fabric and stitch. If you're working in hand, perhaps try using a hoop or q snap.

Also, to help with plumpness, are you ensuring that your threads are flat when you pull the stitch through and not twisted? If they're flat then you'll get better and fuller coverage. Railroading is a good technique here - it's listed in the glossary I think on the sticky at the top of the tips and tricks section.

[Angel]

Sounds like you're pulling your thread a little too tight. My best advice for linen is to practice on a small piece first. Also, if you use a 28 needle it won't make the holes around the edge as big.

[coffee_freak]

was going to suggest the same..smaller needle, and not pulling so tight..and railroading..which is sooo time consuming at first but worth it.

[Busy_B]

I've been railroading on a project I'm working on that has a lot of blended colors, and it really does help with everything laying flat. I'm working with a stand, so it's easier for me to pull the needle through the back with my right hand and use my fingernails on my left to seperate the threads as I pull them through to make them lay flat.

[Angel]

What's railroading?

[Busy_B]

Angel, I think the normal way to do it is to use your needle or another tool to seperate the threads in the stitch so they lay next to each other instead of twisting. It helps with blended threads so you see both colors. Sorry, not sure if I'm explaining it right.

[Angel]

Oooh ok

[bolshiegirl]

Thanks everyone - great advice!
The sampler I am stitching just now uses 1 thread over 2, so railroading doesn't really work unfortunately.
Should the stitches look raised as you're going along? I'm always worried that means that they are loose - si it normal to leave a bit of slack? Feel like I'm never going to get the hang of this!

[Angel]

The more thread you use, the more raised your stitches are, so you could always try stitching with two threads in future.

But yeah, it's a nack learning to get that stitching tension just right, not too tight or too slack.

[Lessa54]

Don't worry, of course you'll get the hang of it. From what you've said, I suspect part of the issue is that your design isn't meant to give great coverage of the material but to give a lighter effect. Stitching 1 over 2 on 32 count linen is like stitching with 1 thread over 1 on a 16 count fabric like aida. If it's normal DMC floss, then it's likely to look lighter in texture than a lot of the projects on here.


Angel - if you scroll down on here to the bit that says railroading, there's a link to a handy picture of what is meant. It is a bit more time consuming and I don't do it on every stitch when the thread is already behaving itself, but it's good for even the small kinks that somehow appear in thread whilst stitching.

http://www.scarletquince.com/tips.php?s ... ing+neatly" target="_blank

[Angel]

Thank you