#institchescreative2020 - everyone needs a comfort blanket

It's still pretty weird out there in the big wide world, but at least when we are in the studio we are surrounded by the familiar and the colourful.   The studio may be student less at the moment but it's still a hive of activity as we busily wind, dye, process and label miles and miles of threads!

As we mentioned last week we have taken the bull by the horns/ risen to the lockdown challenge/gone where the angels fear to tread....take your pick!  and have finally stopped prevaricating and decided that now was the time was right to open an online shop.  After all if you can't come to us at the moment then we shall have come to you!

Hold on!

Before you stop reading and rush, clutching your credit card in hand, to find the shop link you will have to wait just a teeny weeny little longer - we had no idea how much time and effort it would take to set up.  Fingers crossed all will be ready for a launch sometime next week!   

Until then,  get yourself a nice cup of tea, pick up your stitching and join me as we explore blanket stitch.

Blanket or open buttonhole stitch is another very easy and versatile stitch.  I think I have said that for every stitch so far! But if you mastered fly stitch then you will have no problems with this stitch either.

How to make a blanket:

1. Bring the needle and thread up through the fabric and insert further along and at the height of the required stitch, as in the photo above.
2. Pull the needle down over the looped thread. Repeat these steps to continue.
3. Finish off with a tie stitch over the final loop.

Going round in circles...again.  I do like seeing how each of the stitches works when stitched in the round.  Here I've worked a relatively even blanket stitch around the outside (L) and inside (R) of a circle.

And in these circles I have varied the stitch length as well as, on the righthand circle, working a double row.

Instead of a straightforward circle why not try spiralling your stitches or

combining with another stitch?  I decided to stitch French knots, but an open chain or small cross stitch would have looked great too.

In this sample I have worked straight(ish!) overlapping rows in a variegated thread.  It is the same image, just rotated, because how you work the stitch is up to you.

This beautiful piece of coral is many years old and was the inspiration for this blanket stitch variation.

Using my Sewline marker pencil I  lightly drew ovals guides so I knew where to stitch.  I worked the sample in standard blanket stitch but...

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...perhaps this variation would work too? Made in a similar fashion to the standard blanket stitch it is equally easy to do.
 Closed Buttonhole:

1. Think of a  triangle when working this stitch: Bring the needle and thread up through the fabric at the bottom corner of the triangle and insert at the top of the triangle at the height of the required stitch, as in the left-hand photo above.  
2. Insert the needle and bring it up close to the start of the stitch to create the first side of the triangle.
3. Re-insert the needle at the top of the triangle and come up a little further along but inline with the first corner of the triangle.
4. Pull the needle down over the looped thread. Repeat these steps to continue.
5. Finish off with a tie stitch over the final loop.

You could have a lot of fun with this stitch and really create some interesting textures and shapes.

Over these stitch blogs I have tried to select stitches that would work both for quilting as well as for embroidery.  As you know  I have been working on a vintage table cloth however sometimes it's nice to do something a little different...

​Fish on Fridays...

I love these little sprats and had a lot of fun creating them for Terry one Christmas.   Made from pieced strips of different coloured cotton fabric, first I embroidered various patterns along the length of each fish before cutting and machine stitching them into shape.

sssh!
Once I'd made them I nearly didn't give them to her because I loved them so much.  Perhaps now I've got them  back to photograph for the blog I might just forget to give them back....

Don't forget:
Thank you so much to everyone who is joining in with the blog and taking the time to post and share their creative endeavours - we really appreciate it. The creative community is a great one to be part of at any time, but especially now.

We’d love to hear how you got on … take a quick snap and post it over on Instagram and use the hash tags:  #institchescreative2020 and #institches2013.  Don't forget to follow both us and the hashtags to see what everyone else is creating too! 

On Facebook reply to the relevant week's post with your comments and images. And don't forget to actually follow InStitches on Facebook to see what everyone else is up to.
Until next time - keep the creativity flowing...
​
 Hazel & Terry ​