Mary's Open Background Stitch Tip

Mary of Whimsical Stitch is doing background stitch postings this month on her blog as she's promoting her new book all about background stitches (Mary's Whimsical Stitches Volume 5: Backgrounds).  It's not out yet but Ruth Schmuff has a preview--

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product/marys-whimsical-stitches-5/

In Mary's first posting about background stitches she mentions something important about open background stitches--if you don't like the look, don't worry.  You can still use them and have those holes muted if your finisher or framer puts a thin fabric behind your canvas.  

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2026/07/01

Heck, you can even put a thin fabric OVER your stitches.  I've done that to protect a purse that had embellished stitches I wanted to protect from snags.  I've even put a gauzy fabric over the background section of a canvas only to give it a misty look.  Just because you don't like open stitches, doesn't mean you can't use them.  Add a bead or a cross stitch or tent stitch in the open areas, put fabric behind the stitching, or simply step away from your canvas and give it a look.  Often all it takes to make you like open stitches is the normal viewing distance.

How many of us have people over who look at our stitching as closely as we do when we are creating a piece?  The answer is none. (Unless you invite me, of course.  I am dying to see the clever things you did up close and personal.)

UPDATE:  Mary's posted a bit about Volume 5.

https://www.facebook.com/whimsicalstitch/posts/pfbid02rakmpBFefca9o6k1L25XGPVCR8JqiDbtRf32PsaA4CCEWbb7QcTM3zusbW9rqLw3l

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 2, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Stitch Names Are Confusing

Mary Legallet of Whimsical Stitch talks a bit about stitch names in her weekly Wednesday posting of a stitch diagram.  Bottom line:  the same stitch may have multiple names!  (and multiple variations:  the Chilly Hollow Stitch, for example, has four-five variations I know of)

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2026/03/18

Stitches can't be copyrighted, but the diagrams can be and are, which is why many social media sites don't let you post a stitch diagram without the author's permission.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 19, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A New Book from Mary Legallet UPDATED

Mary Legallet of Whimsical Stitch has a new book coming out in June.  Whimsical Stitches Volume Five is all about background stitches.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2026/04/something-new-for-your-stitch-library/

UPDATE:  Looks like this is a background stitch from Volume Five.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2026/06/03

UPDATE #2:  There are QR codes that you can scan with your phone to see stitched samples of the diagrams.

https://www.facebook.com/whimsicalstitch/posts/pfbid026W3G9hMMocwbYxaEQBabG15KS3dD8qzPcojJubsYwG6EtCH9LG98L4GnsXri4mw7l

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright Apri 22, 2026 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Stitch Diagram Tip from Mary

Mary Legallet posts a new stitch each Wednesday on her blog.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays

Today's stitch has an important tip about counting the threads on the diagram and comparing them to your needlepoint canvas thread count.  Mary says this will tell you exactly what an inch of the stitch will look like.  She claims that once you start doing this regularly, you will be surprised just how small stitches you thought large actually are.

Thanks for the tip, Mary.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com 

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 10, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Martini Glasses with Stars from Mary Legallet

Mary Legallet of Whimsical Stitch has posted a really neat background stitch that I call Martini Glass with Stars.  (She calls it Martini with Snowflakes.)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/340725528079365605/

Mary doesn't do stitch sequences on her diagrams and this is a darning stitch that is open with lots of blank canvas, so I suggest you experiment on scrap canvas to figure out the best way to stitch this to minimize dragged threads that will show on the front.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright January 9, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A Hint About Whimsical Stitch Five

Mary Waldsmith drops a hint on her latest blog stitch diagram posting about the book she's writing.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2023/11/15

Will it be a book of feather/scale/leaf stitches?  Sure sounds like it.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright November 16, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

No One Listens to Mary

Mary Legallet (she of the Whimsical Stitch books fame) posted this on her blog--

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2023/05/31

It's a fun reminder that you can do all sorts of fun variations starting from a stitch diagram.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright June 1, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Breaking News: Mary's Whimsical Small Stitches is Out UPDATED

Mary Legallet's fourth book, Mary's Whimsical Small Stitches, is out.  As the title says, this 6x9 inche spiral bound book covers small stitches.  There are five sections:  Classic, Balanced, Diagonal, Layered and Straight.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsDBOb_NhIR/

Mary's website has a bit about the newest volume in her series of stitch diagram books. It looks like volume four has QR codes so you can go straight to a stitch sample with your smart phone instead of having to type in a URL.  I can't confirm this, however.  I haven't seen the book yet.  But Homestead Needle Arts confirmed this (see Update #2 below).

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

You'll have to order from your favorite shop.  Mary doesn't sell directly to stitchers.

UPDATE:  Just heard the new Small Stitches will start shipping in June.  i of the Needle describes the book this way:

"It's filled with the content you love, with a specific focus on small stitches. 

Content includes:
Just over 200 small stitches, including updated and sequenced diagrams from the #whimsicalwednesday blog and a cache of previously unpublished stitches from class projects and private lessons.
Guidance on overall stitch planning with detailed insight on selecting the right small stitches for your project. 

Upgraded navigation insight. Navigation insight is provided on select stitches to help a stitcher confidently manage the stitch. Insight ranges from open stitch sequencing and tricks to minimize visible threads from the back of the canvas, help with complex stitches, and/or offer explanations on how to approach variations of the same stitch (as needed). 

Five chapters of stitches, including Classic, Balanced, Diagonal, Layered, and Straight.
The popular chapter and alphabetical indexes are included in Volume 4. Full-coverage stitches are called out in the indexes, making them easier to find."

UPDATE #2:  Homestead Needle Arts has a nice mini review in their shop newsletter.  Note that now you can scan a QR code to see the stitch sample of the stitch using your smart phone!  

https://www.homesteadneedlearts.com/new-book-trunk-show-more/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright May 10, 2023 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Size When Choosing a Stitch

Mary Legallet has tips on evaluating the size of a stitch when choosing what to use on your painted canvas.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2022/07/13

I often stitch a sample in the margins of my canvas, just to see.  It also helps to make sure the space you are going to fill will allow at least 3 full repeats of the stitch.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright July 13, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Breaking News: Whimsical Stitch 3 is Shipping

Breaking News!  Mary Legallet's third volume of Whimsical Stitch is shipping!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cds74ypMvhR/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&fbclid=IwAR0l_T6KYmbgBWl-NirQRBNBxKpmciM-DA_8Lih6yye9TO4nR0d5hObgSZY

It has been delayed for around six months due to a paper shortage but at last it is printed and ready.

https://www.facebook.com/stitchdashstash/photos/a.2099861286731162/5409337289116862/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright May 18, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

More Delay for Whimsical Stitches Three

Theresa at Homestead Needle Arts reports that the third volume of Mary Legallet's Whimsical Stitch series is still delayed due to a lack of paper.

https://mailchi.mp/c2ad31ea4423/kirk-and-bradley-trunk-show-is-here?e=810b807e3a

You can see more about the latest volume as well as see a bit about the first and second book on Mary's website.

https://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

UPDATE:  Mary's still waiting as of April 21, 2022.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright March 3, 2022 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary Legallet Interview About New Book

Most of us have heard by now that Mary Legallet's second book will be out in January 2020.  Shops are starting to take pre-orders already.  Needlepoint.com has a brief interview with Mary about the second volume of Mary's Whimsical Stitches.  In in you learn she will have a free digital download of the beginning of the first book and that the second has a section on beading.

https://needlepoint.com/blogs/needlepoint-know-how/mary-s-whimsical-stitches-volume-two

If you are curious to know more about the book, here is my review of Volume One.  I'm assuming the format will be the same for the second volume in Mary's collection.

https://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2020/04/marys-whimsical-stitches-review.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright December 9, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Breaking News! A New Whimsical Stitch Book! UPDATED

Great news!  There will be a new Whimsical Stitch book out in January 2021.

https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2020/11/new-book-coming-soon/

UPDATE:  According to Needle Nook of La Jolla, there are six chapters on Balanced, Diagonal, Layered, Oblique, Small, and Straight Stitches plus a beading ideas chapter.

https://www.needlenook.com/product/marys-whimsical-stitches-volume-2/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright November 30, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Books with Stitch Diagrams AND Photographed Examples UPDATED

A lot of people would like books of stitch diagrams to have accompanying photos of the stitches.  Because of the cost, this is rare, but I've assembled a list of books and sites that do have photos and found links to show the covers and titles to help you find a copy.  Do a careful search.  Copies are available at a variety of price points.  Be very careful of Amazon offerings as sellers there often charge a premium price for needlepoint books.  You'll almost always find them cheaper at a needlepoint shop.

Jo I. Christensen's The Needlepoint Book - all three editions have small black and white photos. 

https://www.thefrenchknot.com/books.htm

All of Gone Stitching's books have color photos of their stitches.

https://www.gonestitching.net/product-category/books/

https://www.facebook.com/stitchboutiqueboston/photos/a.1994170923973080/4810713555652122/

Instagram's "Needlepoint Notebook" is all colored photos of stitches with a note as to the book and page number where it was found. There are NO diagrams.  You have to look them up in the book where they were found.

https://www.instagram.com/needlepointnotebook/

Sherri Lantz's Pageant of Pattern - now out of print, has black and white stitched examples of many (but not all I don't think) of the stitches in the book

http://www.newneedlepoint.com/content-product_info/product_id-2268/a_pageant_of_pattern_for_needlepoint_canvas_by_sherlee_lantz.html

SuZy Murphy's books (now out of print) have stitched examples in the back, some in color, some in black and white.

https://www.threadneedlestreet.com/booksndptstitches.htm

Whimsical Stitch's blog posts a stitch diagram each week (sometimes more often) with a colored photo of the stitch.  Mary Legellet also has now written a book called Mary's Whimsical Stitches that includes the blog stitches and others that have not appeared on her blog but no photos. Stitches that came from her blog have a URL for her Instagram account however, so you can type that out in your browser to see an example of those.  

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays

http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

If you know of stitch diagram books with photos of the stitches worked, please let me know so I can add them to the list.  Email me at chilly hollow at hot mail dot com.  Thanks.

UPDATE:  Another book with diagrams and stitch photos is Susan Sturgeon Roberts' Complete Guide to Needlepoint Stitches.  There are 400 stitches included.  It is out of print but a newer book is called the Needlepoint Dictionary of Stitches.  It has 250 stitches and photos and is available as a Kindle ebook (second link below).

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Needlepoint-Guide-400-Stitches/dp/0873417933

https://www.amazon.com/Needlepoint-Dictionary-Stitches-Sturgeon-Roberts-ebook/dp/B00CCTYSFK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=19XW95VUZXV19&dchild=1&keywords=susan+sturgeon+roberts&qid=1605218822&sprefix=susan+sturgeon+ro%2Cdigital-text%2C152&sr=8-2

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright October 26, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Creating Glass on Size 13 Canvas

Mary's latest stitch diagrams in her Whimsical Stitch blog are for small areas.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays/2020/08/09

I particularly liked her use of Reverse Basketweave for glass in a pair of glasses, but note that the canvas she is stitching is on 13 count.  If your piece is on 18 count, try using size 4 Kreinik braid or something even smaller, like Accentuate.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 10, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary Talks Or Nue' UPDATED

Mary Legallet's latest blog posting talks about or nue' on needlepoint canvas.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/about-me

Or nue' as we do it on needlepoint is more similar to a couched, patterned stitch than classic or nue'.  If you want to see what that's like, you should explore Rachel's Slow Stitching TV on Vimeo.  It's done on linen and the gold is completely covered in places and bare in others.  
https://vimeo.com/virtuosewadventures

UPDATE:  I just discovered Jane Zimmerman has posted free information about Or Nue on her website.  Click on the links to read the two articles.
https://janezimmerman.com/Site/Techniques.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright July 22, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

A New Podcast from The Wool and the Floss

The Wool and the Floss has started a podcast.  It's called Pointing It Out! and it is available on YouTube.  Here's the first video I found, an interview with Mary Legallet, famous needlepoint teacher and author of Mary's Whimsical Stitches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUI0pZvmaYc

Here is the Wool and the Floss's YouTube channel so you can watch more of their videos, which include interviews with needlepoint designers Kate Dickerson and Anne Fisher.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy_j6EACao1N0fxgpk5GKgQ

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 21, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Mary's Whimsical Stitches: A Review

Mary's Whimsical Stitch, by Mary Legallet

Recently I was gifted Mary Legallet's brand new book, Mary's Whimsical Stitches, Volume 1.   As you can see from the above photo, it's a rather small but heavy book, spiral bound, with a plastic cover and back for durability.  Inside it is 287 pages, with three of them a short introduction, plus two stitch indexes.  More on the indexes in a bit.

Each page has one stitch diagram, so you have a lot of stitches in this book.  It's fat!  It's probably 3/4 of an inch thick.  It's small enough to put in your suitcase or tote bag if you travel much but it is heavy.

Sneak Peak inside Mary's Whimsical Stitches

Here is a peek inside the book.   As you can see, the diagrams are in colors and are numbered to help you follow the path to create each stitch unit.  That's actually my biggest quibble with the book.  I'm not sure the diagrams (mostly in black, gray, goldenrod and teal blue) are always legible if you have eye problems.  However, Mary's made a real effort to make them clear and the colors are more restrained than in the original diagrams Mary created for her blog.

Many folks have seen Mary's weekly online stitch diagram series.  If you haven't, here's a link—
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays

I know some folks are thinking why should they buy Mary's book when they can just look at her stitches online? The reason is that browsing her blog, although fun, isn't easy when you are looking for something specific.  The book has those indexes I mentioned.  They help you find a stitch for something quite easily.  The Stitches by Chapter Index lists all the stitches by chapter.  Since Mary organizes her stitches by Essential Stitches, Balanced Stitches, Border Stitches, Diagonal Stitches, Layered Stitches, Oblique Stitches, Small Stitches and Straight Stitches, if you are looking for stitches for a border, the index helps you locate anything that might work quickly.

The Decorative Stitch Index lists all the stitches in alphabetical order but it is in chart form.  The chart lists stitches by page number and by chapter,  but also by the sort of usage that Mary thinks the stitch is good for.  The usages are:  Animals (except for birds), Backgrounds, Beards, Birds, Clothing (Large), Clothing (Small), Floors, Flowers, Glass, Leaves, Roof, Sky, Snow, Tabletops, Trees, Walls and Water.  As you can see, that's most of what you will find on a painted canvas unless it's an abstract design.  So you can just flip to the back and look up Glass and find 38 different stitches that Mary uses for windows, drinks glasses, etc.  I think these indexes are really useful.

Another Peek, This Time at a Page with a Link

Another reason to buy the book instead of just browsing Mary's Instagram page or her blog is that there are a lot more stitches in the book than she's posted online.  However, probably half of the pages have a URL listed under the diagram.  These are stitches Mary has posted online. If you type the URL into a browser window, you'll see the diagram stitched.  Here's the URL for the diagram above.  
https://www.instagram.com/p/BK7KBpZDGi9/

This is invaluable for those who want to see a stitch sample in color.   Most books cannot provide this because it raises the price of printing to more than stitchers will pay, but Mary's found an ingenious way around it.  Typing the Tiny URL is a pain, but it does help you figure out if this is a look that will work for your canvas if you have trouble visualizing stitches from a diagram.

I do have another caveat for those who might be considering buying this book.  Mary likes open stitches.  If you object to canvases not being totally covered with thread, this book is not going to be as useful to you as to someone who likes having a bit of the original painted shading showing.  You can make most stitches more or less full coverage by adjusting the thickness of the thread but there is a limit as to how much coverage you can achieve with many of these stitches.

But if you like the idea of stitches organized by effect with clear diagrams that have a bit of color, and if you want to be able to look at colored photos of the stitches in action at least some of the time, this is a very useful book!  Mary doesn't sell directly but any shop can get a copy for you.  Just ask your favorite store for assistance.  If you don't have a favorite store, this is the first one that came up in a search for me.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product/marys-whimsical-stitches/

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright March 29, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

An Interview with Mary Legallet of Whimsical Stitch UPDATED

Needlepoint.com has a fun interview with Whimsical Stitch's Mary Legallet for us this morning.  You can learn a bit about Mary's background and read a mini review of her first book, Mary's Whimsical Stitches.
https://needlepoint.com/blogs/needlepoint-know-how/all-about-mary-s-whimsical-stitches

Here's Mary's website.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com

She posts a new stitch on her Blog weekly.  There are links to her Pinterest and Instagram accounts in each posting if you want to explore Mary's world further.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/whimsicalwednesdays

Mary's book is on back order at Needlepoint.com, but it looks like Bedecked and Beadazzled has it in stock.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/product/marys-whimsical-stitches/

UPDATE:  Here's another interview with Mary, this time from The Wool and The Floss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUI0pZvmaYc

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright February 25, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Reviews: Mary Legallet's New Book UPDATED

Ruth Schmuff has a quick review of Mary Legallet's new book, Mary's Whimsical Stitches.  I understand Needle Bug in Montgomery, Alabama also has copies.
https://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/2020/01/mary-wrote-a-book/

Here is a bit about it from Mary.
http://www.whimsicalstitch.com/marys-whimsical-stitches

UPDATE:  Here's a review from Amy Bunger.  I didn't realize URLs were included for at least a few of the stitches in the book so you can see colored photos of stitched examples online.
https://www.amysgoldenstrand.com/uploads/7/2/3/6/72364657/0220.pdf

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 18, 2020 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.