![]() Is your ground fabric transparent to any extent?Ģ. If the back of the embroidery is not going to be visible in the finished work (think: a framed piece, a pillow cover, a quilt, a finished item of any sort with a backing behind the stitching), then ask yourself:ġ. Trim the tweakers! When you’re finished with the piece, go over the back carefully and trim any tweakers, or little thread ends that are poking out beyond your embroidered lines and edges. You can even work a little half hitch around the last stitch you whip around or pass under, if you need your thread to be extra secure (for laundering items, for example).Ħ. To end your threads when there’s nowhere left to work some tiny tacking stitches that will be covered by other embroidery, either run the thread under the backs of your nearby stitches or whip the thread around the backs of nearby stitches. If you end up with a slip knot on the back of your work that you don’t notice until much later, this tutorial will show you how to remove the slip knot, secure the ends, and neaten the back of the work.ĥ. Here are some tutorials for working isolated stitches like French knots:Ĥ. ![]() If you need to work isolated stitches like scattered French knots that are a considerable distance apart, start and end the thread for each isolated stitch. Here’s a tutorial on traveling a thread to a new starting point.Ĥ. Carried threads can become loose and snag on things, so it’s best (and it looks neater) to secure them by whipping them into adjacent stitches on the back of the work. If you do need to carry a working thread a short distance, and there are other stitches in the area, whip around the backs of other stitches to travel your thread to a new starting point, instead of carrying a thread any distance with no anchoring. Avoid carrying threads to a new starting point across the back of the work in areas where there is no other stitching.ģ. ![]() And, similarly, tacking stitches can be used to end a thread, by working them in an adjacent area that will be covered with embroidery.Ģ. The same principles apply to filling an area of embroidery. Here’s a tutorial for using a waste knot and tacking stitches on a line of embroidery. This will eliminate bumpy knots and their subsequent tails on the back of the work. Consider using a waste knot and tacking stitches to start lines or filled areas of embroidery. If the back of the embroidery will be visible in a finished item (think: tablecloth, towel, hankie), you’ll be much more pleased with your finished result if you’ve taken some pains to keep things neat. When it comes to the back of embroidery, a few guidelines can set you up to achieve a neat back – especially when it’s necessary – and can increase your stitching pleasure considerably by eliminating too much worry over what’s going on on the other side of the hoop. On the other hand, there are those who never give the back of their embroidery a second thought, which can sometimes lead to disappointment in the finish. There are those who contend that the neatness of the back of embroidery indicates a good stitcher or an inferior stitcher. There are those who believe that you can never use a knot. There are those who believe that the back should always look as good as the front. Perspectives and opinions on how the back of embroidery should look are numerous and varied. If you’ve been out and about in the needlework world, you’ve probably met stitchers who are obsessed with the back of needlework.Ĭheck the back every few stitches! they cry.Īpproaches like this can be pretty disheartening, can’t they? ![]() Today, let’s chat about the backside of hand embroidery projects – perspectives and opinions, circumstances that might change your approach, and practical tips! I have a rule about the back of embroidery – and it’s pretty much the same rule that applies to… well, underwear. ![]()
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