Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Threads for Your Tree Branch

I finished the tree branches last night, but the photo shows them partly done so you can compare the wispy lower painted branches to my stitched ones.

The photo makes the branches look green although they are actually a dark gray that is a good match for the paint colors.  Mysteries of the Camera strike again!

I used Pure Palette's dark gray Empress wool/cashmere/silk blend to stitch the trees so that there would be a slightly fuzzy look to the branches, which I thought would look best.  But you could also use a #12 perle cotton or silk for a slightly smoother look.  Pliable cotton or silk floss would give you an even more delicate look.

A strand of Appleton crewel wool or one ply of Trio would look about like my Empress branches do, but plying Paternayan and using one ply would make the tree branches look a bit craggier.  Using a strand of Vineyards Silk or Impressions will make them more prominent still.

It all depends on just how close you want the tree branches to seem to Luna.

It's amazing how different something can look if you just play around with different threads in the same stitch.  I choose what I thought best brought out the slightly craggy look of the branches but there are many threads available today.  You could play around with threads from your stash and choose whatever thread brand gives you the emphasis or de-emphasis you want here.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow