I mentioned a few days ago that I was going to show how to do this unique chain stitch. Some call it a "checkered chain stitch" and some call it a "magic chain stitch." Whatever you call it, I think it is pretty clever. You use two different colors of floss but yet one needle....and a checkered chain stitch is born.
I first saw this mentioned in a class brochure..but with no directions. I decided then and there that I would figure it out. I sat down one afternoon before Ean was born and experimented for a few minutes. I found out it is actually very easy. Now I'm going to share it with you.
First hoop your fabric. Then decide what two colors of floss you are going to use. I recommend two strands of each color....therefore there are 4 strands total. (In the photo above I used 2 blue strands and 2 yellow strands). Thread all four strands through the needle at the same time. Knot the thread and bring it up to the top of your fabric.
You will alternate the colored chain by alternating the working floss for each chain loop. In the photo above, the yellow floss is the working floss. The blue floss is left idle. Wrap the yellow floss around the needle as in a traditional chain stitch.
Gently pull the needle through the fabric to create the first chain stitch. Pull each color of floss separately to avoid tangles.
For the next stitch use the blue floss as the working floss and leave the yellow floss idle.
Continue alternating the colors in this manner.
And remember to pull the threads separately and gently after each stitch is taken. Also, you can determine how big or small you want your chain stitches to be. I made big ones for the sake of demonstration purposes.....you will probably want small ones if you are working on a project.
Once you take a break and look at your work....you'll see it is pretty neat. If you want even more fun...you can use three colors and alternate them the same way. The options are endless. I'd love to see any projects you make using this clever stitch.
***This tutorial assumes you already know how to make a standard chain stitch....and therefore only focuses on how to alternate the colors. If you need help with learning to make a standard chain stitch you can either see if you can figure it out by my photos or you can do a search for "hand embroidery chain stitch" on the net. I don't mind answering any questions if you have them though.***
6 comments:
Pretty cool! I love it! Thank you so much for posting this Cindy. I really like this stitch a lot and had no idea how you did it. You are a smart mama for sure.
And thank you for the prayers for my girls.We appreciate it so much.
Downright Nifty! You just rock this stuff!
Very fun!! I love your tutorials!
How cool is that? I would never have thought of that. Thank you.
That is so neat! I am going to try it tonight! Thanks for sharing it with us!
That is amazing. I keep learning all these new techniques and things that I did not even know existed. Wow.
Thanks for sharing, I would have never figured that one out.
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