Updated March 26, 2021.
Tuesday we covered the preliminary steps to take to make shading a face realistically. Today we will cover the technique, needleblending, needed to stitch the face.
Needleblending
The definition of needleblending is straightforward. Two or more colors of stranded threads are put together in the same needle. This creates intermediate shades. These may be used to create colors that do not exist in your thread, or the threads may be used to blend one color into another seamlessly.
My method of shading divides the area to be stitched into solid and shaded parts. The solid parts are all stitched so that they never touch. Then all the open areas are stitched with blends of various kinds.
While the process is simple, it works better if you follow a couple of simple rules. First never allow more than three stitches in the same color to line up in a row or column, always add bumps or holes. This keeps a pattern from forming and prevents your eye from interpreting shading as stripes.
Second, never allow two areas of solid colors to meet for more than a very occasional stitch. This allows the blended thread to create a smooth and natural transition.
Once the solid areas are stitched, you will begin stitching the blended areas. Blended areas happen either when the color on the canvas changes or to create a narrow buffer area between two colors.
Two-color blends are always made of the colors on each side of an open area. The number of possible blends depends on the number of strands you use. Because the detail on many faces means they will be on 18 mesh, you’ll use four strands. This means there are five possible blends (AAAA, AAAB, AABB, ABBB, and BBBB).
The first blend to use is a 50/50 blend, with two strands of each color, AABB in the list above. This type of blend will be used in every narrow area; three open threads or less. It will also be used in the center of wider open areas.
If the area is wider than three threads wide you will need to use all three of the intermediate blends, Begin by counting the width of the open area. Look for the average width. Divide this by 3 (the number of blends). If the result comes out even, stitch that many threads of each blend. If the remainder is 1, add the extra thread to the 50/50 blend. If the remainder is 2, add 1 thread each to the areas for the other two blends.
If you are using more than 4 strands of thread, adjust the number of blends and division accordingly. Your results will look better if you use an even number of strands when shading.
Needleblending with Three Shades
Often in stitching a face, you’ll use three-color blends, which are far less common in other subjects. For example, a two-color blend on the face’s lit side might become a three-color blend on the shadowed side.
Combining two different shades results in colors that are between the two component shades. Combining three or more shades results in more complex colors that work great for transitions and shadows. This is particularly apparent when complementary or near complementary colors are blended.
Below, there are small transition areas where three colors (green, orange, and yellow) appear to meet in the pear. Because we analyzed our canvas before we started to stitch, we know these are there. We have isolated them by stitching both the solid areas and the two-color blends around them.
When three shades are in the needle instead of two, two-color effects happen. First, there is a greater ability to create subtle blends and gradations of color. Second, the colors become more intermediate and less clearly one color or another because more individual hues blend.
You see the same thing in many overdyed threads. Between areas that are clearly one color or another, there are areas that aren’t much of any color at all. These happen when the two dyes merge and mix on the thread.
There are two strands of the main color in three-color blends and then one each of two accent colors. You can then blend these toward the solid colored blocks by replacing one of the main color strands with a second strand of one of the accent colors. It sounds much harder than it is to do.
Begin by looking at the open areas on the canvas; which of the shades of thread comes closest to this color? This will become the primary color of the blend. If there are more than three strands for this three-color blend, you may want to shade it more subtly by using two different dominant colors.
With colors A, B, and C and four strands, the blend would be 2 strands of A, and one each of B and C near where A is dominant. The blend would change to 2 strands of B and one each of A and C on the other side where B is dominant.
When more than two shades are in the needle the blending and the resulting color become even more subtle. This is because there are more individual shades to blend and these different shades influence each other. The resulting colors are more muted because there are quantities of the complements or near complements of at least one of the shades. These muted colors also become more interesting because there are more individual components in them. The different shades of thread add richness to the stitching.
This picture of the stitched pear above shows how three-color blending looks when stitched. Notice the area just above the green area on the left. See how the shades of green, orange, and yellow interact to create a transitional color?
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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