I just released the I Heart You Earrings pattern. In it, I mention starting my thread with a sort of pinhead stitch. I may have called it a pin stitch. I’ve heard both. We need to check with Marion to see if one is correct. I’m guessing the reason for the name is because it’s a teeny-tiny stitch, i.e., the size of a pinhead. It hides under the first stitch and is a great choice for isolated stitches—think: the stars in some of our Let There Be Night patterns.

It dawns on me that you may not know how to do this pinhead stitch, so it’s time for a tutorial. I have seen a couple of different ways to do this stitch, and I confess I alter it to suit my needs, whims, and sense of what is most effective.

You can both start and stop a thread with this stitch.

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  Pinhead Stitch Path Diagram

  Starting a Thread

  This diagram is for a pinhead stitch used to anchor a cross stitch. The pinhead stitch will hide under the cross.

  This diagram assumes the cross will be stitched with the thread coming up at 1, going down at 2, coming up at 3, going down at 4. This matters! Bringing the thread up at 1 cinches the pinhead stitch to the ground fiber. If you want to start your thread in another corner, rotate this diagram so the number 1 is where you want to start. If spatial puzzles aren’t your thing, scribble this diagram on scrap paper and physically rotate it. (Then add some spatial puzzles to your mental exercises, Jen!)

  The path is as follows: Thread comes up at a (hold the tail on the back side with your finger), goes down at b, comes up at c, goes down at b again, comes up at 1 for the cross and is pulled snug.

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  Pinhead Stitch Thread Diagram

  Here’s a thread diagram. Again, it came up at a, down at b, up at c, down at b again, up at 1. You can see how the starting thread is pulled snug against the ground fiber on the b-1 stitch.

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  Pinhead Under a Cross Stitch

  The cross stitch on top of the pinhead is another layer of snugging and cinching as well as a visual cover. Thread, unlike the lines in my diagram, will fluff out and fill much of the square. Plus, your pinhead will be the same color as your cross, right?

  You can trim the thread tail very close to the stitching on the back.

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  Pinhead Stitch Path Diagram

  Ending a Thread

  Same, same here. This diagram assumes your cross ends going down at 4. Rotate as needed.

  Now, most tutorials on ending a thread with a pinhead stitch recommend the following:

  After the cross, the thread comes up at a, goes down at b under the cross stitch, comes up at c, and goes back down at b to the right of the a-b stitch. The whole pinhead is stitched under the cross.

  I disagree! Here’s why:

  Visualize the starting pinhead stitch. The a-b thread tail is caught in a loop made by the c-b-1 stitch. That loop cinches the a-b tail to the ground fiber around which the loop passes.

  If we bring the thread down to the right of the a-b thread when ending the fiber, where is the loop that cinches the tail in place to the ground fabric? There is none. That tail is hanging out.

  Therefore, I recommend this path:

  After the cross, come up at b, go down at c, come up at a, go down at b and bring the tail through the loop made by the 4-b-c stitch. Again, all this is done under the cross. Now the tail is cinched to the ground with a loop.

  You could also go up at b, down at c, up at b again, down at a and through the 4-b-c loop. Whatever. Just make a loop and take the tail through it, snug it up, and trim.

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  Pinhead Stitch Thread Diagram

  This diagram is the same as the tutes that describe the method I’m opposing. They’ve merely interpreted the drawing differently—incorrectly, in my opinion.

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  Pinhead Stitch on Aida

  The pinhead stitch on aida fabric is the same, except we have to pierce the fabric between the holes. Some people claim that the stitch is harder to hide under the cross, and I would guess it’s because evenweave fibers have more give and can be snugged under the cross. To compensate for the lack of give with aida, try not piercing the fabric precisely in the middle between the holes but, rather, make the stitch as small as possible. A sharp needle will help.

Pinhead Stitch Variations and Ideas

The pinhead strategy uses a snug loop to secure a thread. It also employs the strategy of having the tail reverse direction. Think about it: a tail that extends straight out behind the working thread is easier to pull out than one that is going the opposite direction. That turn offers resistance. Add another turn, and you’ve got more resistance still.

Yet another strategy to secure a thread tail is to split another fiber with it; it could be a ground fiber, a fiber from another stitch, or even the working fiber itself. Running one fiber through another adds resistance: it’s harder to pull out, especially if it’s running through a tightly twisted fiber. Run that thread tail through several fibers and you’ve got even more resistance. This is super-handy in blackwork if you want a reversible piece. Thread tails can be run back through the working fibers and ground fibers in the same line they originally traveled. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!

Starting the Thread for the I Heart You Earrings

I use a modified pinhead stitch to start the holographic ribbon (Kreinik) for the I Heart You Earrings.

• I came up at a,
• down at b, splitting the tail fiber,
• up at c,
• down at b, snugging the tail against the ground fiber,
• starting my heart stitch in the lower left corner.

Related Articles
How To Cross Stitch Over Two Threads
How to Cross Stitch over One Thread on Linen and Evenweave Fabrics
Cross Stitch Embroidery Fabrics 101

What’s happening at Funk & Weber Designs?

Ort Art

We enjoyed our first foray into Ort Art by making paper. This batch was made from junk mail, a discarded hole-y cotton sock, and needlework orts—fiber cut-offs and scraps.

Ort Art: Paper made from junk mail, an old hole-y sock, and needlework orts.

Say Cheese!

Today, we made mozzarella cheese. Yum!

How does this relate to embroidery? Well, string cheese is a fiber, right?

Needlework Nutshell Reader Question
One of a kind fibers – how to use them? How to know if you’ll have enough of the fiber to work into a project and not end up with a tad left over. Or what can you do with those tads left over?

Answer
I love reader questions! And I mean loooooove. I encourage you to send them anytime. You can use the contact form here or send them to mail AT funkandweber DOT com.

This came in a newsletter survey, so I can’t give credit to the asker, but hi, Nut, and thanks!

How to Use Specialty Fibers

I’m interpreting “one-of-a-kind” as “specialty.” There are limited-edition fiber colors—often six-strand cotton and silk—as well as fuzzy, furry, nubbly, metallic, glow-in-the-dark, wired, etc. fibers made out of all sorts of strange and interesting materials.

Limited-edition colors can be used like any other fiber of its kind, but you want to make sure you have enough to complete your project because getting more might be difficult. (See the section on figuring quantity.)

Other kinds of specialty fibers—the wild, weird, wooly, wired, and what-not ones—are generally used in small projects (buttons, broaches, earrings, bows) or as accents in larger projects.

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  What in the World? Pattern

  For example, I used a Kreinik metallic in the turban shell in the center of the What in the World? pattern. It gives the shell that iridescent shimmer that real shells have. You can’t see it in the picture, but I love how this came out with the Kreinik fiber.

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  The Great Outdoors Pattern

  I used other Kreinik metallics in the water flowing out of the canteen P and the fire W in The Great Outdoors pattern.

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  Twilight Treasures

  We used Kreinik glow-in-the-dark fiber for the lighted cabin windows, moon, and fireflies in the Twilight Treasures pattern.

In these cases, the specialty fibers are used to represent something in particular: iridescence, the shimmer of water and fire, light. Fuzzy and furry fibers are often used to depict animal fur. They might be used to accent entire animals or just parts of animals (a lion’s mane). I can imagine a fuzzy fiber trimming a hood or coat. Rainbow Gallery has a white fuzzy fiber that’s actually called “Santa’s Beard.” Huh. Can you think of a good way to use that one?!

But specialty fibers don’t have to be used to depict realistic things; they can be used just as their cool selves in a doodle.

Long-time Nuts may remember these paperclip bookmarks. Specialty fibers are used here just as their cool selves and just for fun. Metallic and rayon ribbon, Fuzzy Stuff, metallic braids, overdyed pearl, and more.

I consider bookmarks and bracelets small projects, and these are great places to use cool fibers simply for their coolness.

Determining Quantities for Specialty Fibers

Our Nut friend asks how we know if we have enough fiber for a particular use without having a tad left over.

Ha! If you can figure this one out, I know a lot of embroidery kit-makers who will pay you for the answer.

The best you can hope for is an estimate that doesn’t leave you short. Having a tad left over is a good thing if only because it beats 50% of the alternatives.

I’ve made kits for over ten years. Unlike most stitchy folks I know, I actually enjoy making kits. But I’ve struggled—and continue to struggle—with determining fiber quantities. Everyone does.

The reason is that different people use different quantities for the same number of stitches. I stitch fairly tightly; someone who doesn’t pull stitches as tightly will need more fiber than I do. I tend to leave teeny-tiny tails for running under threads on the back. It’s a pain in the tookus, but it’s what I do. Others leave longer tails. And then there are mistakes. Many fibers that have been ripped out to correct a mistake cannot be re-used.

All of this means that different people require different quantities of fiber to stitch any given element. As a result, I do a number of things to decide how much fiber to allow for a certain element in a design.

• I keep track of how much fiber I use in my model. I cut lengths of fiber (usually 18 inches) and make a mark on a sheet of paper every time I load my needle. I find this incredibly difficult to do—it’s easy to forget to make a mark when I’m stitching, stitching, stitching away—so I cut several lengths and also note how many of those I’ve used to double check my marks. Frogging and changing my mind about a color doesn’t make keeping track any easier, I assure you.
• Over the years, I’ve come up with a formula that seems to work fairly well for figuring how much fiber is required for cross stitches using six-strand floss. I can tweak it for specialty fibers and other kinds of stitches, but I have less confidence in those results. Still, I always do the math to see how it compares with my own usage.

  My super-secret, incredibly helpful formula is as follows:

  1.2 x Number of Stitches / 200 = yards needed for 2 strands of floss.
  1.8 x Number of Stitches / 200 = yards needed for 3 strands of floss.

  Remember, that’s for cross stitches using 6-strand floss. Other kinds of stitches will use different quantities. I add a little extra for cross stitches in specialty fibers because metallic ends fray; I work with shorter lengths; I tend to stitch more loosely with ribbons; etc.

• When measuring fiber for kits, I am always generous in my measurement: eighteen inches becomes nineteen.

What To Do With Fiber Leftovers

The words “What do you do with…” are like chocolate, B vitamins, Christmas Eve, and a good night’s sleep rolled into one. They egg me on as much as “Betcha can’t…” and “On your mark, get set….” And they warm the cockles of my heart like soft puppy noses and standing on mountain tops overlooking wide open spaces.

Those words are poetry and music.

This unidentified stitching Nut is not the only one who wants to know what to do with leftover fiber bits. Harriet has also posed the question; although, she specifically asks about those itty-bitty tail cut-offs, those things many of us call “orts” and collect in collapsible origami boxes, hollow acrylic balls, and bags.

Aside: Originally, orts referred to food bits left over from a meal.

I gladly embrace those words as a challenge, and I will make it my business to explore what I’m calling Ort Art. (Yep, I just like saying that—like a seal.) My hope is to come up with enough ideas to warrant an e-book, but you’re looking for an answer now, so here are a couple of thoughts that I hope will tide you over.

I know some people put their orts out for birds to use in their nests. I don’t do this. I’m a little concerned about the chemicals used in fiber dyeing and the different unnatural fibers being harmful in some way. I prefer to err on the side of caution and let the birds fend for themselves.

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  Garbage Ornaments

  I’ve played with Garbage Ornaments, using decoupage to adhere orts to cardboard cookie-cutter shapes and Styrofoam balls.

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  Bookmark Tails

  I like to use longer lengths—those tads left over—for bookmark tails.

  Gather fiber odds and ends.
  Ever so slightly braid them together.
  Pull a couple so they’re a bit longer than others.
  Tie them between two bits of embroidery.

  Voila! You’ve got yourself a book thong or a bookmark with a dangling charm.

There. Will that hold you until I can play with some more ideas? Stay tuned for more on Ort Art along with answers to other questions and the usual Funk & Weber who-knows-what else.

In the meantime, how do you use specialty fibers, and what do you do with your leftover fiber and orts? We really want to know. You can leave your answers in the Comments or send them to me at mail AT funkandweber DOT com.

My blooming amaryllis. What do you know, Ellen, I haven't killed it!

Well, my friend, Ellen, gave me her amaryllis before heading to Thailand for the year. I’ve never had an amaryllis, though I once gifted one to my mother. (Thou shalt not verbify nouns!) Check it out!

The leaves were all dying, and I was about to cut it back and put it to bed—literally under the guest bed where it’s cool and dark—when this stalk shot up. So I cut the leaves when they dropped and let the stalk fend for itself in the dimming winter light.

Way to go amaryllis! I’m watching the flowers open more every day.

I think the bold stalk and giant red flowers (the color of the drapes on the glass doors) are a perfect solo plant for this house. They actually match: simple and bright.

Thanks, Ellen!

Surely it’s happened to you: You put on a jacket you haven’t worn in months or years, or you dig out a purse that hasn’t seen the light of day for ages, and when you reach in the jacket pocket or purse, you find a dollar—or five dollars or twenty dollars. It’s exciting, isn’t it? You know it’s been yours all along, but, still, it feels new, like a gift.

I unfolded a long unused piece of fabric and found this!

Well, looky what I found when I unfolded the fabric. Score! I vaguely recall stitching this during one of my tag jags. The “Happy Birthday” isn’t centered properly, so I’m guessing I set it aside to rip and re-stitch, got distracted (yeah, shocking), and forgot about it.

It’s a Noodle (needlework doodle). I wasn’t making it for any specific purpose; I was just mucking about. I do that. And it’s not unusual for me to Noodle something on the corner of a large piece of fabric so that it runs the risk of being folded up and forgotten. This isn’t the first time I’ve discovered a stitchy surprise.

My question is: Does this happen to you? I would guess yes, but I’m not sure all stitchers Noodle the way I do. Some, it seems, are more purposeful in their project choices. I know we all have UFOs, and those might wind up as stitchy surprises.

I’ll finish this now and will make it a bookmark to accompany a birthday book in the coming months.

For several years now, our nephews and niece have recorded a holiday song for us. We add Mike’s photos to create a holiday video. This is one of my favorite traditions now. We hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

If you enjoy this video, you might also enjoy our Bookmark Challenge video. Ryan created and performed the music for this, too.

An embroidery free-for-all: a departure for a perfectionist stitcher who prefers to count threads.

I never planned to share this as a stitching “technique” until Needlework Nutshell reader (and non-stitcher), Chrissie, mentioned liking the messy back-side image from the Overdyed Thread tutorial. Truth is, I find the “messy” stitching attractive, too.

The Stitching

I drew a tree on graph paper, then backstitched it on the fabric.

Combining 2 strands of DMC 501 with 1 strand of DMC 503, I stitched a bunch of straight stitches, every which way, overlapping, heaping, cramming. Along the edges, I carried the straight stitches over the backstitched outline to break it up and hide it. My goal was a look of thick and random branches. For a neat-nick accustomed to counting every stitch, this was more challenging than you might expect! I suppose it was also liberating.

Since I planned to cut the shape out, I opted to not have stray stitches (wispy branches) beyond the outline, though the idea was tempting.

I think the blended green threads accentuate the every-which-way aspect of the stitches.

The Finishing

Weeks Dye Works wool felt was glued to the back with white glue.

I let the glue dry overnight, and then used sharp scissors to cut around the tree very close to the stitching. With a sharp needle (not a tapestry needle), I ran thin gold cord through the center of the star for a hanger, but these days it’s got a jump ring, swivel, and small shepherd’s hook that doubles as a bookmark and tree hook. We like to read (and re-read) one of Dickens’ Christmas stories this time of year, and a holiday bookmark seems in order.

What a treat to look at embroidery through a non-needleworker’s eyes. Thanks, Chrissie!

A Tree Pattern For You

How it lives now.

Naturally, if you stitch one, we’d all love to see it. Send pics or image links to mail AT funkandweber DOT com.

With the shift from print books to e-books, bookmarks will soon be obsolete. Don’t you think it’s silly to promote stitching bookmarks?

Autumn leaf (from Fall, In Pieces pattern) bookmark.

1. Embroidery is relevant in and of itself.

Embroidery is decorative. That’s its purpose. What that decoration is on really doesn’t matter. Among other things, embroidery might decorate bed linens, table linens, jeans, a bracelet, night clothes, underwear, a piece of fabric hung on a wall, a container—or a bookmark.

Embroidery is a craft, a skill, and a tradition. It can be meditative and therapeutic. It can be a form of art and expression. Embroidery is relevant in and of itself.

2. Bookmarks have a place in embroidery history.

Why do we stitch samplers? Is the real goal to practice our needlework? No. We stitch samplers because they are a traditional form of embroidery. Their original purpose as practice pieces fell by the wayside, but their tradition and beauty remain. Bookmarks, too, have a history in embroidery. The purpose of bookmarks may similarly fall by the wayside as more and more of us switch to e-readers and e-books, but their tradition and beauty will remain.

An 1800's-style embroidered bookmark from Don's collection. Click the image to see more of his collection on Flickr.

3. Books are going to be around for a while.

Despite the rapid shift to digital books, millions of books exist, and more continue to be printed. They’re not going to disappear overnight. I won’t presume to predict how long it will take, but it will be a while before everyone in the country, let alone everyone in the world, will want to make the switch or be able to make the switch. Some people still use bookmarks.

4. Bookmarks are excellent outreach projects.

Quick and easy outreach bookmark project designed for Readergirlz.

5. Bookmarks don’t have to be bookmarks.

This Kindle Fire case becomes easy to identify when decorated with a cross stitch bookmark.

If you let me persuade you to not use rectangular ready-made bookmark forms (not that there’s anything wrong with them—you’ve persuaded me to use them on occasion), a bookmark can be a keychain, a scissor fob, an ornament, a tag, and much more. With everyone using nearly identical e-readers, surely we can all use beautifully-decorated, personalized, self-expressive, hand-embroidered tags to mark our e-readers and their cases.

Yes, stitched bookmarks are relevant today.

Stitching and Finishing Cross Stitch and Embroidered Boomarks

Receive the Bookmark Tips, Tricks, & Brilliant Ideas e-book free when you subscribe to The Needlework Nutshell.

I do, however, want to tell you about Bookmark Tips, Tricks, & Brilliant Ideas (and, apparently, I also want to type that over and over. Whose idea was it to give it such a long title, anyway?)

A Work-in-Progress

First of all, this is a work-in-progress. The compound adjective “ready-made,” as in “ready-made tags,” will be properly hyphenated in the Table of Contents in the future (I know you feel the same relief I do), and I will add posts and articles as I continue to uncover and develop them.

Why a Bookmark E-book?

A window bookmark. When I first published the idea for window bookmarks on the Stitching for Literacy blog, I hadn't actually made any. It was just an idea. I've made some now, and I really like them!

I like writing the blog and newsletter because it forces me to generate ideas, some of which turn out to be good, especially when critiqued and improved by readers. The blog and newsletter are a sort of public needlework playground.

But blog posts are quickly buried, and newsletter articles, while archived, cannot be easily searched. The good stuff–or suddenly-relevant stuff–gets lost within the mountain of other stuff.

Part of the reason I wanted to redesign the Funk & Weber site was to organize How To tutorials to make them accessible. I wanted to make the Bookmark e-book to organize and make accessible the tips, tricks, & brilliant ideas we’ve shared in the past.

Contents

The e-book currently contains the following:

• Online Resources - links to step-by-step tutorials on the Funk & Weber site.
• Bookmark Forms & Backings
• Hooks & Ribbons - So the embroidery can be visible.
• Stitch Bands - Three ways to finish those short ends.
• Card Stock: Ready-Made Tags
• Card Stock: Stitching Cards
• Card Stock: Self-Made Backing - Includes printable templates.
• Card Stock: Window Bookmarks - Includes printable templates.
• Stitching on Card Stock - A how-to.
• Protective Vinyl Sleeves - We carry them, as does Gayle at Accents, Inc.
• Sisu’s Pocket Bookmark - A step-by-step tutorial.
• Outreach Patterns - Patterns plus the super-quick finishing method we use during outreach Make-It-Take-Its.
• Bookmarks 101 Class - For a more in-depth exploration of finishing techniques.

How to Get the E-book

The e-book is free when you subscribe to The Needlework Nutshell, our free e-newsletter. There are rego boxes all over this site—there’s even one that pops out every seven days and hits you over the head—but just in case you haven’t seen one (trust me, it’s possible), well, this one’s for you:

If you’re a Nut already, and this post is news to you, your SPAM filter might be over-zealous or perhaps you’re behind in reading e-mail (ahem). You know what to do, but be prepared to pay–pay me a compliment, of course!

I hope you find this e-book fun and useful, and I hope you’ll join me and fellow Nuts on the stitchy playground in The Needlework Nutshell.

And now that you’ve gotten your free e-book, click one of the share buttons below and tell your stitchy friends how they can get theirs. Thanks!

Related articles:

• Are stitched bookmarks relevant today?

I consider it "really cold" outside when glaciers form on windows inside.

I consider temperatures in the zero to +20 range to be a fine winter temps. Window glaciers indicate the walk to the mailbox will be especially cold.

Even this is tolerable, though, thanks to my awesome ski pants, down parka, and balaclava. It’s the wind that makes the walk challenging. Today, I’ll add ski goggles to my practical and fashionable ensemble.

Here I go!