I’m continuing with the linen cover for this year’s stitch journal.
I hardly ever do straight lines intentionally. I used masking tape to keep me on the straight and narrow. Initially I started with lines of running stitch to give some sort of structure on which to build something more complex. I was thinking maybe couching, or columns of embroidery, or whipped running stitch. If ever I don’t know what to do with a blank canvas, I generally find that making a start with running stitch takes it where it needs to go. And sometimes it turns out that running stitch is all it needs. I find I’m really liking the simplicity of it.
Initially it was going to be just blue, but I’ve started adding some greens and some space-dyed threads that give a flash of colour here and there. I’m using fine-ish threads – nothing thicker than perle 12 – and mostly my own hand-dyed cotton and silk. I like the unpredictable subtle colour changes that you get with hand-dyed thread.
The title box is outlined with couched silk boucle. I’m not sure what the title will be yet. The heavyweight linen came from a vintage French shirt, and is difficult to stitch on – I have had to resort to a thimble, which I hardly ever use – but beautiful quality. I can’t imagine it having been a very comfortable shirt, but I think it will be a perfect journal cover.
I love the simplicity of the running stitch, the way you designed the cover elevates a simple stitch to elegance.
More by accident than design, but a very happy accident it was 🙂
ah ha … lines of masking tape … never thought of that (I usually try to follow the lines in the linen, which can be tough on the eyes after a while) …
I scrolled back through other “book cover” posts and confess to being curious about how you are putting this one together …
Aha, yes, masking tape is a wonderful thing… It’s a concertina-type book – there’s a convoluted sentence or two in my last blog post attempting to describe how it will go together. I hope it will work the way I’m imagining.
Such simplicity, but when done with finesse, it looks amazing.
I was pleasantly surprised by how effective simple lines can be
Very soothing.
Yes, the hand dyed colours have a subtlety that standard machine dyed fabrics don’t match, and the running stitch allows them to show off a bit!
Your rows look so straight. I like the mix of colors.
Masking tape keeps the rows straight 🙂