This week’s border is a compound border, it’s composed of two different borders that can be used together or separately. The wider upper border looks as if it’s quilted in a diamond pattern. The lower border is a great simple one that can work on many different kinds of designs.
For this border you’ll need:
- overdyed thread
- stranded silk in main color
- accent thread used for diamonds in the first border
Diamond Quilting Border
This border is stitched in Jo-jo, a stitch I discovered in the very first edition of The Needlepoint Book. It is a variation of Pavilion with the Straight SStitches alternating directions in each row. When the stitches are vertical, each diamond is complete, so there are two short stitches next to each other. When the stitches are horizontal, the diamonds meet with their longest stitches. You can see this in the stitch diagram below.
There are five complete rows of Jo-jo in this border and to half-rows that fill it in.
The border does not need to be centered.
This stitch looks best in a thread that has directional light so that stitches in different directions look like different shades. Not all threads have this quality. If your thread has silk, kt should have directional light. This quality enhances the pattern of the border.
Straight Gobelin Border
This border is made up of two rows of Straight, or Upright Gobelin, below, over 4 threads. They are separated by a row of Tent Stitch.
Make the Gobelin rows in the accent thread and the Tent Stitches in the overdyed thread.
Come back next week for another great border!
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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