Sunday, January 23, 2011

A New Dimensional Lazy Daisy Stitch and a Brazilian Outline Stitch Leaf

The lazy daisy stitch is a favorite needlework stitch, whether worked in rayon, cotton or any fiber. Here's how to do a dimensional lazy daisy stitch that you can use in your Brazilian dimensional embroidery.
I'm still working on the little Hummy Art Quilt and using Iris #209 for the petals of this flower (I have teeny little pressed glass flower beads from Beadcats that I'll use in the center).
     For sword-shaped leaves with parallel veins such as the iris, gladdy or this flower, I like to use the Brazilian Outline stitch (floss held below the line of stitching with Z-twist rayon floss) and work lengthwise along the leaf. For leaves made with this stitch, my favorite weights are Frost or Lola because of their tighter twist which makes a prominent vein.
     By the way -- an idea just popped in, so I thought I should write it down -- you might want to try stitching a regular oval or heart-shaped leaf with Iris and the alternating satin stitch (leaf stitch), and then threading up some Lola and adding center and side leaf veins with straight or B.E. outline stitch. This little extra touch will add dimension to simple leaves, and a darker outline stitch along the bottom of the leaf will make it stand out even more.

OK.  Now it's back to writing about the dimensional lazy daisy stitch. If you look the petals, you'll see that we have a reverse lazy daisy. The first stitch is tiny, in the center of the petal, with a slightly longer tacking stitch.
Work 3, 4 or 5 additional lazy daisy stitches, always bringing the needle out at the tip of the petal, but slipping it through the tacking stitch and going back down and out at the tip again. Each next stitch is worked one thread higher on the petal.
       The stitches pile up around the center and straight stitches can be added at the sides for extra width. 

I'm still stitching, but I might add a little straight stitch in the center of each petal, like a flower ray (a flower guide for those little hummingbirds, directing them right to the center of the flower).

The hummingbirds are almost ready to fly into place. I think I'll use metallic threads and beady little size 14° seed beads, hex cut. I usually attach eye beads on birdies and other creatures with white thread. The white flash is an artist's technique for adding "life" to eyes. 

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