Last night I finished the tunic the Rabbit Geisha wears, did a little more background around her head, and tested a lot of stitches for the brass colored lining of her inner sleeves and hem. The photo shows everything except her head. My scanner bed is only 8 1/2 by 11 and the Rabbit Geisha is 13 inches tall, so this is the largest close up photo I can do.
Tent stitch is the stitch I finally choose for the hem and inner sleeves lining. There are seven brass-colored areas, all fairly small, but in a strong color. I have stitched the two hem sections in this photo. The tunic hems and the inner sleeves are unstitched.
I tried using a variety of stitches instead of tent, but only plain tent stitches worked. Decorative stitches like alternate cross stitch made the lining come forward, when it should recede visually. Only a calm and plain stitch like half cross stitch (the variety of tent stitches I used) recedes next to the very busy stitches of the tunic and lower skirt.
Here's how you do half cross stitch, along with comparisons to continental and basketweave stitch, all of which we call "tent stitch."
http://www.needlepointnow.com/online_classroom/online_pt6.html
By the way, I am not using basketweave, although generally I basketweave everything except the smallest areas, because of the thread chosen. I am using Gloriana silk (2 plies) in Lacquered Gold #045. This is an overdyed color that goes from bright brass to tarnished brass. Since basketweave is done on the diagonal, stitching Lacquered Gold in basketweave would leave diagonal streaks of color on the linings.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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