Expert: Henry Babcock - 10/26/2008

Question
I have a canvas with the center worked in petit point and blank canvas around the design.  How do I blend my stitches on the 10 count canvas with the smaller stitches?  There are several areas inside the worked design that need stitches filled in, what I've tried looks sloppy.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Patsy,

I'm assuming you are using a penelope, or double, canvas.  If so, that is the nature of that type of canvas. The 10 count stitches are just going to be larger than the 20 count stitches.  It will sort of look like the background is framing the design in the center.  Using colors that are similar to the design for the background will help, but there aren't any "intermediate" stitch sizes to help blend the two sizes.

As for filling in stitches inside the worked design, you will just need to experiment a bit to find out what looks best.  Maybe try out some different thread weights (different numbers of strands) or adjust the thread tension a bit.

There really aren't any "rules" to follow; you just have to go with what looks most appealing.

Hope this helps,

Henry Babcock
AllExperts Needlepoint Expert