I actually started stitching this character first. I think she is so cute—and I love that she is the only character looking at the full moon.Her hat is composed of upright crosses in Kreinik #12 braid. The band is also Kreinik #12 braid in 2 colors—the purple stripes are basketweave and the orange ones are long upright crosses to give the band more depth.
Petite Peluche in two colors using a random long and short stitch creates her hair.
Her skirt is one of my favorite parts of the piece. I stitched the highlights with Kreinik light lavender using the tent stitch. Then, using a Kreinik braid appropriately called “Brocade”, I stitched the skirt in a diagonal cashmere stitch, reversing the slant for the other side. The picture doesn’t do it justice—the effect is truly the look of a glistening brocade. (I had originally tried the diagonal cashmere stitch on Dracula’s cape, but the angle of the stitch did not match the angle of the cape.)
For the entire piece, I referred to the 3 volumes in the “Stitches for Effect” series, books I consider essential to my needlepoint library.
My tools included stretcher bars and Japanese tacks, my floor stand, a Dazor magnifying light, laying tool and the Bugz Eye.
Tip: when thread ends come to the surface with the thread you are using, take a needle threaded with Kreinik braid and go through that hole from front to back. The Kreinik catches the loose thread and magically pulls it to the back side.
This canvas is adorable. I'm lusting for it already. What do you plan to do for the sky? It looks so ominous and I can see several shades of blue grays to bring out the contrasts. Maybe some Accentuate blending filament also?
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Becky
Actually this canvas doesn’t have a lot of “bling”—it is sort of dark and ominous. I added glitz where I could to spark it up. For the sky I’m stitching a darning stitch with one strand of floss in only 2 colors. The shading definitely shows through.
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