Tips for Better Backgrounds

I really should have titled this tips for better horizontal stitches but that doesn't sound as good, doesn't it?  Just remember that the tips below aren't just for background stitches, ok?

The photo on the left shows the split pavilion background stitches on each side of the Rabbit Geisha canvas and the basting thread I used to make sure that the two sides line up properly.

The best way to do a background stitch is to work from the middle out to each side so that you know the sides match up, but most painted canvases have things painted in the middle that make this impossible.  So I worked the background on the right side, then did a full row on the left and used basting to make sure that the two sides lined up.  You can also just drag your needle across a ditch to see if things match but I have trouble doing that so I baste a thread.

You'll notice that I turned the canvas on its side for the picture.  This is because when I am doing a fancy stitch made up of long straight horizontal stitches, I like to work these stitches vertically.  Turning the canvas on its side allows me to stitch vertically, which I think makes for smoother stitches.

I also use a laying tool for long straight stitches, whether they are horizontal or vertical.  Long lengths of thread will twist as you stitch them and a laying tool will deal with this tendency.  You'll end up with a smoother look to your background.

Here's a close up of the image above.  In it you can see the three rows of tent stitch that surround the perimeter.  See how I am working my current row one thread outside the blue paint of the background?  Always extend the background if necessary to make your stitch look good.  I could have compensated the background and shortened the split pavilion but it looks better if you don't.

My needle is stuck in the canvas so you can see that I like to work the stitches from the bottom of the row toward the top.  (Or from closer to me to further from me, however you want to think of it.)  Susan Portra says this ensures a smoother stitch.  She also advocates taking a pin stitch occasionally underneath a light coverage stitch to keep the threads snug.

I've noticed that if I tie a knot in the end of a new length of thread and start stitching, the first stitch will often be loose.  I have been careful to run my knotted length of thread under a few stitches on the back before stitching to keep the first stitch taut.

Once I finish the row I'm working in the close up photo, I will turn my canvas the other way so that I can do the other half of the split pavilion with my needle coming up in an empty hole and going down in a full hole.  This is often called the clean/dirty hole rule.  The general principal is to bring the needle up in a hole that hasn't been stitched into if possible and when you have a hole with a thread in it already, go down into that hole with your thread.  If you go down into a hole that has thread in it already (a "dirty" hole) you have less chance of disturbing the thread already in the hole.  Make sense?  Anyone who has stitched a metallic thread into a hole already stitched with silk who disturbed the silk threads will know why this is an important rule to follow whenever possible.

I hope these tips help you with your stitching.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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