Recently I bought this glorious canvas from Doolittle Stitchery on Etsy. I fell in love with it and will be doing it as a project to use up my stash.
You can, and I often do, stitch projects like this by picking random threads. However the time you spend planning a Scrap Bag Needlepoint, especially if it is large, can result in a better looking project. The most effective planning comes in thread selection. Once you decide some things about threads, many other things fall into place.
The goal will be, as always, a balanced needlepoint. To get this the elements of color, thread, and stitch need to be in balance. One has to have lots of variety; it’s your large aspect. One needs to have only a few choices; it’s your small, or unifying aspect. The other needs to be in the middle.
Color is clearly the large aspect. There are so many here and if I’m using stash two areas painted the same color on canvas may not be exactly the same when stitched.
Next we should decide on the unifying aspect. We can unify the design by using only a few stitches.We can also unify by choosing only a few threads.
Let’s look at the possibilities here. One thing that attracted me about this canvas is that many patterns are stitch painted on. I can see opportunities for Scotch, Gobelin, Cashmere, CrossStitches and more. So for me, this looks like my middle aspect. Many stitches will get used often, but there are still too many for stitches to unify the piece.
That leaves thread as the unifying aspect. Although I have done Scrap Bag projects that only used wool, or stranded silk, mostly I get bored with one thread. So here I picked three to be my main threads: Dragonfly Lotus hand-spun threads, Vineyard Silk, and Kreinik metallic. The metallics will mostly be accents. When I need a different thread I’ll look in my stash for one. Concentrating on a few threads will unify my design, but still have enough variety to keep me happy.
Another stitcher might decide to stitch everything in Tent Stitch but go crazy with different threads; that would still create a balanced piece.
Because I have edited my threads and made some preliminary decisions, this needlepoint will be a wonderful and relaxing project.
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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