About Darning Stitches

SharonG Bra with Darning Stitch Deer Background*

You have probably seen darning stitch backgrounds here and there without really understanding how they are done.  Vicky DeAngelis to the rescue!  Pay close attention to the margins of her canvas where she does little | stitches to turn the thread before stitching another vertical row.
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/still-love-that-man-in-uniform/

SuZy Murphy has a book that is all darning patterns called SuZy's Darn Stitches.
http://www.pfos.com/SalePages/PocketFullofStitchesNeedlepointBooks.htm

Brenda Hart's two Favorite Stitches books and her Stitches for the Millennium all have a few darning patterns in them as well.
http://bristlythistle.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/new-needlepoint-books-from-brenda-hart-june-mcknight/

From personal experience I can tell you to use long lengths of thread as you can't stop in the middle of a row.  Threads that drag from one motif to the next will show so make sure each row is stitched the same way so that the shadows all look the same from the front.

*For new readers of Blog, the camouflage bra and tap pants set is from SharonG.  I stitched it several years ago.  Here are the links to my old articles if you are curious.
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/01/camouflage-bra-and-tap-pants-set.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/01/camouflage-lingerie-threads.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/01/all-beads-are-not-alike.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-size-beads-for-what-size-lingerie.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/01/bead-and-stars-tidbits.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/by-way.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/rushing-around-before-more-snow.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/bra-with-beads.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/bra-beads.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/beaded-bra.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/better-beaded-bra-and-more.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/comparing-beading-techniques.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/now-we-wait.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/camo-tap-pants-done-stars-started.html

http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/2010/02/sharong-camouflage-bra-and-tap-pants.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The SharonG Camouflage Bra and Tap Pants Set

My lingerie set from SharonG is finished.

I hope you can really see the shine of the beads in these photographs.

SharonG, thanks for the idea of beading the entire canvas.  I never ever would have come up with this idea on my own.  Thank you for opening my mind to other ways of handling a canvas.

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

Camo Tap Pants Done! Stars Started!

The SharonG tap pants are done!  I finally finished the last few rows of t-stitched background yesterday.  Hurrah!

Here is the set unframed.  It is supposed to be sunny today so I should get a good photograph of them framed for tomorrow.

I put my Stars for the New Millennium canvas on Evertite stretcher bars last night and recounted the border to figure out where I stopped working this several years ago and where I needed to start to work on Stars again.  I realized after reading the instructions I have not finished the right hand corner yet.  I am undecided whether to do the corners before I work on the top row of borders or not.  I guess I'll make up my mind tonight.

It struck me again sorting through my threads (which I have in labeled floss bags and arranged on large rings with Color A on its own ring, Color B on a ring together, etc.) that Stars is a threadaholic's delight.  I know I worked out what the thirty-six different threads cost for this project before but I don't remember the totals.  So I used Needle in a Haystack's and Alex Paras' Needlearts sites to look up costs for each skein in each of the four sets of colors, using Tony Minieri's own colors as an example.  (The other colorways in the book use various brands, depending on what is available in those colors and types of threads.  But Tony's set is a good benchmark.)

Color A threads total (without tax or shipping charges if you have to mail order) $33.20,  Color B threads total $25.65, Color C threads total $19 and Color D threads total $10.40.  I know I'll need several skeins for some threads but I didn't take that extra cost into consideration.  The total for threads if you buy everything new for this project in Tony's colors will top $88.25.  The Stars booklet itself is $55 or so.  I would think budgeting $150 for the project is reasonable.

But I bought very little new myself for this project. My friends Linda and Mimi sent me some threads and I had most of the colors necessary already.  I even have about 20 other skeins of other thread types in reserve in the basket that holds the Stars threads in case my choices don't work out.

Bottom line:  this is not a cheap project, which is even more reason to stitch each quilt block as separate ornaments in various colors from your stash.

But I'm working the entire project.  It is just too beautiful to take account of the thread costs.

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

Overcast, With Stash Sighted

Last night I worked a bit on the t-stitch background behind my SharonG tap pants but I only got half way through the remaining area.  Somehow I didn't have the energy or focus necessary to get through the last part of the background.  I'll work on it today and try to finish.  I think all the snow shoveling has caught up with me. I am just plain tired.  I even took a nap yesterday, which I almost never do.

I suppose all stitchers go through some down times when they lose interest in their current project or can't muster the energy to stitch.  When I hit that wall, I start work on the next project, so yesterday I pulled out my stitch dictionaries and started looking for stitches for the next painted canvas project.  I pulled a selection of threads from my stash and started organizing myself to stitch something new.  You'll have to wait a week or so to see what it is, however.  I am planning to work on the borders of Stars before beginning a new painted canvas project.

That reminds me.  Several folks mentioned they were not working Tony Minieri's Stars for the New Millennium as a project--they were trying out various color combinations for the quilt block stars and making ornaments of the results.  I think that's a great idea!  Anyone who is a bit dubious about their color choices could stitch up a star and see how it looks.  They will make lovely ornaments.

I noticed this morning that Melita is working Gayle Bicknell's Pieces of Eight in sections.  She is making napkin rings using three sections done in a row.  This is another way to stitch those big projects.  If you can break them up, stitching the whole thing doesn't seem so overwhelming.
http://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/pieces-of-eight-octagons-a-b-c/

For those not familiar with Pieces of Eight, here is the original model.
http://www.caron-net.com/sep01files/sep01fea.html

I'm still going to stitch my Stars as a major project.  I just wanted to mention that there are plenty of other ways to stitch it and it might help those unsure of color choices for the big piece to make up their minds.

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

Now We Wait

I have been t-stitching miles of background around my leaping deer on the tap pants canvas.  It is boring work but perfect to do while watching tv.  I am currently addicted to the Weather Channel.  You can get 2-4 rows of t-stitch done while waiting for an update to the D.C. weather!

By the way, Judy Harper has published a diagram for her version of t-stitch which is larger than the version I'm working.  It probably will work up a lot faster than mine.  There are endless variations on stitches and also endless names for the same stitch, aren't there?
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-t-stitch.html

While I stitch, I am thinking about Tony Minieri's Stars for the New Millennium. I want to work on it a little after the SharonG lingerie set is finished.  I have been reading about progress made on Stars at the Scarlet Thread stitching group and planning how I'll work the canvas.  You can read about Sara Leigh's plan of attack here.
http://remedialstitcher.blogspot.com/2010/02/baby-steps.html

I think I will work this top down, which means I will need to do all three borders across the top before I start the first quilt block star.  The order in which these stars are worked in the instructions is from the top row down, working left to right for each row.  (Of course I don't have to follow the instructions' order of stitching but I probably will.  Otherwise you all will rat me out to Tony Minieri!)  That means I can do mix up stitching star blocks, left and right side borders, and sashing sections between the quilt blocks.  That seems a sensible plan to me. I won't be bored and I'll keep my hands and arms off the stitching I've already done.

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

Comparing Beading Techniques

You may remember that I used a single ply of DMC cotton floss from the strand of six to attach the beads on the tap pants canvas.  I stitched beads in place like they were tent stitches, going through each bead twice with my single thread.

For the bra, I tried another technique. This time I cut a much longer single ply of DMC cotton floss and doubled it in my beading needle. Then I took a tent stitch through my bead.  I came up a second time in the original "up" hole and then put my needle down in the original "down" hole.  I pulled the thread down but not all the way.  I left about two inches on top of the canvas so I could carefully separate the two strands.  Holding them apart with one hand and with a finger from that hand on the bead, I carefully pulled the thread down snug.  This is called a lasso technique or a loop.  You essentially tie the thread down and then put in a second stitch that has one leg of thread on each side of the bead.  This makes a little framework around the bead.  Beads are very wiggly things and you do want to secure them as much as possible.

When I looked at the two pieces, the tap pants have a few beads out of position.  I'm not sure if that is because I stitched the tap pants first and hadn't realized it was best to work from the bottom of the design up on the diagonal yet, or if the way I secured the beads was better.  It certainly took me longer to attached the beads on the bra but they do seem a little more secure.

I think it is worth it to experiment on your own with these two ways of adding beads.  If I ever totally bead another large section of a painted canvas, I will probably use the loop technique, but it s very slow.  Whatever technique you do, remember to snug the beads down tightly.  We are used to have a somewhat looser tension in making tent stitches but when you are attaching beads, you have to pull tight so that there is no slack in the threads.  Slack in the threads means the beads will wander.

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

Better Beaded Bra (and More)

Here's a better photo of the finished beaded bra. I finally realized that doing a scan after dark would give better results. Duh.  (Sorry, my brain has been turned to mush by all this snow.)  Looks like we are not going to get another foot of snow, however.  The weatherman is still saying 8-10 inches but so far we have about three.  It is coming down harder, though and we are to have high winds so I probably will not shovel much today.  It'll just blow right back.

Instead, I'll work on adding t-stitches to the tap pants background.  I have all the leaping deer finished!  Hurrah for me!  Can you tell any difference between the all Medici deer on the bra's background and the mix of Medici and Burmilana deer on the tap pants' background? In person I can sort of see differences, but that is because I know there is one.

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

The Beaded Bra

One funny byproduct of all the snow here is that I'm finding it hard to get a good scan of my canvas progress. The snow reflects the light into the room with the scanner, which effects the end result.  You'd think on an overcast day you wouldn't have this effect but this is the best photo I could get of the finished beaded bra.

For those of you who thought the background too dark, I like it but if I decided I agreed with you, I would probably not pull out all those stitches.  Instead, I'd probably put another row of tent stitches on top of the cross stitches that make up the leaping deer, using my light ecru Burmilana that is used in the t-stitch background around the deer.  Sometimes you can avoid ripping out by adding more thread.

I have started the leaping deer background around the tap pants.  This time they are all tent stitched.  I'll go back and top stitch a \ to make a cross stitch once the deer are in place, using either my Medici that I'm running out of or the Burmilana that is a close match.  The thread change won't be noticable that way.

Another foot of snow is expected starting this afternoon which means we will have four feet of snow covering the hillside driveway.  I expect to be trapped here again for at least a week and almost certainly nearly two.  One would need a front loader to clear the driveway of that much snow.

Well, I am probably going to get a lot of stitching done!

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

Bra Beads

Until the snow stopped falling, I stayed inside and beaded my ShraonG camouflage bra.  I didn't finish it, but I came close.

I like how the beaded bra dominates the background but you can't see the icy sparkle, which is way too much like the icy sparkle outside now that the sun has come out in Chilly Hollow. The ridge line in the background is the Blue Ridge Mountains.

More plowing and shoveling today.  We only have until Tuesday to dig out the driveway as more snow is predicted then.

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

Bra with Beads

I have some beads on the lower left side of the bra now.  This is an enhanced photo, so you can see everything better.

We have 18-20 inches of snow on the ground and it is still snowing hard so I expect we'll have more than 2 feet by the time it stops tomorrow.  So far we still have power although the tv is off.  I imagine the satellite dish is blocked by all the snow on the roof.  Think good thoughts that the power lines hold!


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

Rushing Around Before More Snow

Today's going to be hectic as another foot of snow is expected here starting tomorrow morning, but I did want to let you guys know I did not finish the leaping deer background behind the SharonG camo bra. In the photo above you can see I fixed the deer legs that were too long, added some of my dwindling skein of Medici to the right hand column of deer, and worked my way up almost to the top of the canvas with t-stitches.  Judging from last night's progress, I will finish the background tonight.  I have about 20 rows to go to reach the top.   I can't wait!  I am dying to see how the beads look with the background.

The image above is not color adjusted.  Lots of you thought the background is too dark for the canvas so I omitted my usual step of enhancing the colors to make details more visible.  This photo maps to the actual colors better.  You probably thought the whole thing was darker than it actually is because I was artificially darkening the photo.

You may still think the background too dark (or too crowded or too something else) but that's ok.  There is no one "right" way to stitch a canvas.  It's all a matter of personal taste and my tastes could differ a lot from yours.  Suit yourself when you stitch.  You'll be happier with the end result if you express yourself, not someone else's ideas.

Now for the News portion of this blog entry.  Remember I mentioned yesterday that Anna-Marie Winter plans to add an article about doing photo transfers to her website? It's there now and is a fabulous guide to trying this technique.  Click on Transfer Printing on Canvas and enjoy!
http://www.annamariewinter.com/tips.htm

I've also discovered that Rainbow Gallery is now selling their Petite Treasure Braid ("petite" is the right size for 18 count canvas) in a set of silver and gold shades.  I love this stuff!  I hope my LNS gets some of these color sets in. It's a lot cheaper to buy a color selection than one card of each of six colors when you don't use very much of any one metallic on your stitching.
http://www.theneedleworks.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4814

Finally, Robin has located more Medici for me if I need it for the leaping deer background for the tap pants, but I probably will mix what I have left of my skein with my Burmilana.  I am enamored of the idea of having to camouflage the fact that I'm running out of a color on the backgrounds of the SharonG camouflage bra and tap pants set.

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

By the way....

...I pulled out the deer legs that were too long last night and restitched them to the proper length.  (Many thanks to the folks who pointed this out.  Otherwise I never would have seen it.)  Then I continued working my t-stitch background around the deer and the bra and coat hanger.  I have about 2/3 of it finished.  Given the view out my window this morning, I'm likely to have some stitching time today and I hope I finish the background.  I'm eager to put beads on the bra so we can see how dominant the background really will be.

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

What Is Wrong With This Background Part Two

I really appreciated all the input I received in the Comments when I asked Blog readers to try and find the problem with the background of the bra canvas.  You guys found a problem I didn't know about--I never realized that some of the deer have longer front legs than others!  (I'll fix that tonight before I continue the t-stitches around the deer.)  For folks with dyslexia, the deer legs all look alike until someone points this out.  I'm grateful for your sharp eyes.  I suspect I made the mistake on one deer and didn't catch it, then looked at the long-legged deer and copied his stitching on his neighbors.  The moral is to do your counting from your chart, not from the motifs you've already done.

However, this isn't the problem I know I have and I am quite pleased you didn't see it.  The end vertical column of deer on the right hand side is stitched with a different thread and a slightly different color than all the other columns of deer.

The bulk of the leaping deer are stitched in Medici color #8505 which is tan.  I had a full skein of this and thought it should be enough for the deer.  I think it would have been except that I decided to use cross stitch instead of half cross stitch.  Somehow the fact that I was going to use twice the amount of thread than I originally planned didn't register in what I laughingly refer to as my brain!

So I rummaged around in the stash and found a similar tan in Burmilana #3744. It is slightly more yellowish in hue but a good match.  I did the right hand column deer in it using tent stitches instead of cross stitch except for the top partial deer which is in cross stitch with the top \ stitch done in my Medici to camouflage the fact that I am using a different color.  The bottom / stitch is in my Burmilana.

You may be able to see the color difference in the third deer from the top in that right hand column.  Working from the bottom up, I added the top \ stitch in Medici but the top half of the deer is just Burmilana in underlying / tent stitches.

Of course I could have posted an SOS here and on the ANG email list and someone would have scrounged up a skein of Medici 8505 for me, but there are other ways of coping when you run out of thread, especially when you are using cross stitches.  It seemed a good idea to go another route here in case you find yourself in the same fix in the future.

When I get to the tap pants' background, I'll probably stitch all the deer in tent stitches and then randomly top some of those / stitches with Medici or with Burmilana.  That will hide the thread change even more.

Since no one spotted the color differences and I can barely tell myself even knowing where to look, this workaround will do well.

Besides, isn't it fun to know that a canvas with a camouflage theme has camouflaged thread in the background?  LOL

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

Monica's Background Question

Yesterday Monica posted a question in the Comments section.  It is worth talking about at some length but I decided I would do that here instead of putting my answer in the Comments with her question since a lot of folks don't look at Comments.  Here is what Monica asked:

"Jane, I have a question. I have tried to search your blog and got several good ideas on this topic but I am wondering about the philosophy you have adopted of stitching the background first before the rest of the piece. Is it overall because you do not want to inadvertently disturb the decorative stitching you have done while working a background last? Is it because you want to have an outline done to follow as you stitch and so that decorative stitches that edge up to the background will not be “taken down” by having to stitch a background stitch in the same hole after they are done? I was always taught to do it last, especially if it was a light thread but I am now hearing different schools of thoughts and I want to venture to try this on a major piece I am about to work on and want to try to wrap my head around the reasoning before I start, otherwise, if I am not committed, I will not follow thru with it that way. Can you help me by sharing this thought process? Thank you so much."

Monica, I like to stitch the background first because I like to stitch from the background to the foreground.  But that is sort of like saying that I like to eat my vegetables entirely off my plate before eating my meat.  It is my personal preference.  I feel that it helps me keep the background in its proper place (which is less dominant) by doing so.  I also like not having tons of background to stitch at the end.  If I do as much background as I can stand early, the canvas seems not to drag on and on after the more interesting foreground is stitched.  I do occasionally abandon a project, but not often these days as I am not bored to tears by miles of background before I can finish a piece.

Sometimes there are good reasons for stitching the background first (or last).  I deliberately stitched my tap pants canvas before I did the background because I hadn't found a good frame yet and didn't know how much background to cover.  But I'm reverting to my more normal practice of Background First with the bra canvas in the set because I have my frames now and know exactly how much background I need.  

All the reasons Monica stated are good ones for doing the background first.  There are also often reasons for doing the foreground first.  I remember when I taught myself to needlepoint in 1988 that almost everyone did the foreground elements of the design first and then tackled the background, but it seemed to me at the time to just be habit.  After I while I started doing background first  unless there was a good reason not to, as that just suited my personal preference.  

My own opinion is that unless there is a good reason to alter one's usual way of working, you should stick to it.  Obviously whatever order you normally stitch in --background first or foreground first-- works for you and you are comfortable with it.  You may find it makes sense to alter the way you approach a specific canvas, but I believe that in general stitchers can work either way.  I just like to start with the background because it seems logical to me.  

It might not seem logical to you, or you may have a canvas where this doesn't work.  It all depends....

I'd like to know what everyone else thinks about this topic.  It might change my mind and it certainly will help Monica clarify her thinking about how she approaches a painted canvas.  

Monica, thank you for the thought-provoking question.  I hope you don't mind that I quoted you here for everyone to read but I couldn't reach you to ask permission first.

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

What's Wrong with This Background?

I've finally finished the leaping deer sections of the background around the camouflage bra piece and have started working t-stitch to finish the background.  In the above photo, you can see the t-stitch starting to fill in the background. I'm using one strand of Burmilana (color 3660 which is a pale ecru with a grayish cast) for the t-stitches.  The leaping deer are done in cross stitch with Medici #8505, which is tan.

See anything wrong with this background?

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

Bra Background

I posted a photo of the bra and it's memory thread coat hanger yesterday.  I'm reposting it so you can compare a Before and After photograph to see how a background changes the design.

I used a crochet filet lace pattern I found on the Internet for the background.  Whenever I want to use a darning stitch-type pattern I look at SuZy Murphy's Darn Stitches first.  If there isn't a pattern there, I look at Brenda Hart's books as they usually have a few included. If all else fails, I use Google to search for "free filet lace crochet" designs. You'll find many such patterns, including "small deer" which is what I used, here.
http://crochet.about.com/library/blfreecharts.htm 

I still need to finish the top partial row and then do another column down the right side.  Hopefully I'll finish that tonight.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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Beaded Tap Pants

Here is a photo of the totally beaded tap pants.  Don't they look great?!  It's a unique look to have a canvas covered in bead "ice."  I've put this aside for a bit as I am working on the bra's background.  More on that tomorrow as hopefully I'll finish Step One of the background tonight.

I like to do backgrounds first but on this project I didn't have a frame yet so I beaded the tap pants while looking for frames.  I intend to frame these two canvases separately in identical frames.  Once I found frames, then I decided on a background for the pieces and started working it around the bra.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
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Selecting A Canvas to Bead All Over

My SharonG canvas looks pretty good covered in beads but it is rather detailed with some of the realistic shading the artist is known for.  Look at the center of the tap pants.  See how the ivory shades into ecru there? I used ivory and ecru threads to attach the beads in these areas, but you really can't see the shading very much at all with the beading on top, despite my using clear beads and matching thread colors.  The "ice" effect of the beads mutes the color difference.

See the dark green camouflage spots?  They are actually two shades of green, with a slightly lighter shade of green around the perimeter and a very intense and dark green in the center.  You can barely see this in the photos.  I only used one green thread to attach beads over the green areas since I could barely tell the two greens apart before I stitched the canvas. I was pretty sure I'd not tell the difference after all the beads went on.

If you want to try this yourself, I think you should look for canvases without much very subtle shading.  However, this is what I think, and not a Rule.  After all, SharonG's canvas is gorgeous even though I can't see the ecru and ivory shading well!

Your canvas doesn't need to be cartoon-like, but if you have more than 2-3 shades of a color in it, these may not show well under clear beads.  Even then it'll be best to have distinct color differences.  A canvas with a very light blue and a light blue may not have enough oomph between the colors for this to show up.  Let me show you some examples to help see what I mean.

There are quite a few Melissa Shirley canvases on this shop website.  See the tiny ornaments at the top?  They will look great beaded.  The colors are strong and will show up through bead "ice" very well.
http://www.stitchtherapyneedlepoint.com/newreleases.php

The stockings further down the page are lovely and if they were smaller, would look nice "iced" but I think they are a little too big to bead.  An 11 x 22 inch stocking covered entirely with beads would be way too heavy.  Just bead the top perhaps, or maybe bead some of the ornaments.  In other words, size matters as much as shading when you are selecting a canvas for this technique.

Don't go too small, though.  You'll miss the subtle details if you cover them up with beads.  The four inch round Pond Ornament is really darling but if you "ice" it, the man and the Christmas tree he's carrying might look so muddled you can't tell what it is.  The wooden stakes marking the edge of the pond and the pond itself might disappear.

This ornament, the same size and on the same 18 count, might be a better choice.  If the details blur, they still will look like a jewel under ice.  By the way, it's from this page.
http://www.stitchtherapyneedlepoint.com/newreleases.php?page=8&

Overall, I think something with high color and contrast that isn't too large will work better entirely covered with clear beads.  Try something small like the 6x5 inch Dog Tribe above the next time you have a canvas you thought you have to tent stitch.  Go head and tent stitch it, but use beads and cotton floss!
http://www.stitchtherapyneedlepoint.com/newreleases.php?page=9&

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

Frosty Pants

I have almost finished beading my SharonG tap pants.  Don't they look nice?  In person the canvas looks as if it is coated in ice.  This technique takes a lot of beads.  See the right leg?  I worked it from the bottom of the leg up to the black spot when the leg bends using one tube of Sundance beads. That is a little less than 2 square inches of 18 count canvas.  I estimate that this small canvas (4 inches high and 5 across at the widest point) will take 4 tubes of Sundance beads.  The bra will take another tube and perhaps a bit more.  All these beads are certainly increasing the weight of the canvas, too.

The scan above shows bare spots but I think the beads were just moved aside by my hand pressing down on the canvas to take as good a scan as possible.  The bare areas weren't there when I looked at the canvas just now.

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

All Beads Are Not Alike

Before I started this project, I thought of beads as items that are attached to needlepoint a few at a time, preferably with a doubled strand of silk (for strength).  Judy Harper uses beads on her canvases as accents, to bring sparkle or a bit of shine to her designs.  Her way of working is similar to the way I've used beads in the past.  You can read about Judy's use of beads on her blog.  This entry is a good explanation of how she works.
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2009/11/beads-on-jeweled-bracelet.html

But like anything else in needlework (or in Life), there are many ways to go about beading.  I decided it was time to take a serious look at the beads themselves.  With the help of Nandra at Sundance Designs and Pat in North Carolina, and a few visits to bead sources in my area, I collected a ton of clear beads to examine.  What you see in the photo above are beads from Sundance, from Tojo, from Mill Hill, from SJ Designs, from Miyuki and from unnamed sources.  Each is different.  Some are larger than others; some have different finishes; some are different shapes.

Generally speaking, beads come in frosted, regular, or iridescent finishes.  Beads also come in various shapes such as faceted hex beads, square cubes, oval drop beads with holes near one end, round glass beads, or column shaped beads that are rounded cylinders like a cut up length of spaghetti.  They also can have their holes lined with paint, sometimes with silver and sometimes with gold (the gold lined ones seem to be called Gilt Lined).

I knew I wanted clear beads that would allow the painted canvas below to show and also that would allow the threads they were attached with to show.  That removed frosted beads and beads whose holes were lined from the equation.  Since I'm working on size 18 NP canvas, I knew I wanted beads that were size 11 or the smaller size 14.  So I tossed out all the beads that didn't meet my criteria and ended up with three contenders.

Here they are, with a photograph and then the description of each below.

Sundance hex beads #250 (size 14) with an iridescent finish -  The 250 beads are very sparkly because they are six sided and the sides act as facets, reflecting the light from the iridescent coating.  An area stitched with them looks a bit like candied fruit.  If you haven't seen sugar-coated citrus slices, or coated grapes with egg white, rolled them in a dish of sugar and then frozen them, here is a link-
http://www.mattplappert.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/fruit2.jpg

Sundance round beads #160 (size 11) -  These are completely clear glass beads that are round.   An area stitched with these looks like it is covered in a coating of ice.

Miyuki Delica beads #4054 (size 11) with a slight iridescent finish - These are not as iridescent or sparkly as the Sundance #250 beads, probably because they are cylinder-shaped without facets.  Their shine is intermediate between the two other bead types.  An area stitched with them looks icy but reflects the light more than the Sundance 160s.

I decided using the Sundance #160 beads (the round glass ones) would give me the look I wanted but I probably will also use a few Miyuki #4054 beads on the dog tags and belt buckle to give that area a bit of a special shine.

If you are interested in seeing more bead colors and finishes, explore Sundance Designs' website.  First, head to the link below.  Then using the drop down menu header, choose Beads as the "Product Type."  The clear 160 beads in size 11 I'm using are at the bottom of the first page.  Click on any photo to see a larger image and the list of sizes that color is available in.
http://www.sundancedesignsonline.com/catalog.php

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