preference ?

I seem to remember some time ago, how long I have no idea, about
someone posting their preference for which was harder to work with -
black thread upon black background or white thread upon white
background. I just filed that away at the time because I had never
come across black upon black, until now. My current WIP is a design
upon 18ct. black Aida. I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other. What were others opinions on this ?

Julie

koalamom ) writes:
I seem to remember some time ago, how long I have no idea, about
someone posting their preference for which was harder to work with -
black thread upon black background or white thread upon white
background. I just filed that away at the time because I had never
come across black upon black, until now. My current WIP is a design
upon 18ct. black Aida. I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other. What were others opinions on this ?

Julie

As many on rctn know, I am a scientist, and when it comes to things
like counted cross stitch, I think like a scientist. My take on stitching
on black is like this. When you stitch on lighter coloured fabrics, you
see dark holes on a lighter fabric. This makes the holes quite easy to
see, irrespective of the colour of the thread you are using. When you
stitch on black, it is difficult to see the dark holes against the black
fabric. When the thread is dark, e.g. black, the problem tends to be worse.
There are two ways of "solving" this problem. One way is to make the
holes "lighter"; e.g. by putting something white under the fabric. The
other way is to make the fabric look "lighter"; e.g. by having a strong
light (such as sunlight) on the top of the fabric. Personally, I prefer
the latter approach. I have never had any problems with any colour of
thread, including white, when stitching on a white fabric.
--
Jim Cripwell.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of one's life, any
time that is spent in stitching.
Adapted from a sign on The Cobb, Lyme Regis, England.

Jim's correct. I'll add my anecdotal evidence:
When you are working white-on-white, the difficulty increases based on
the type of ground you are using and the bulk of the thread. Using fine
sewing thread on a 200-count background takes awhle for the eyes to
adjust and learn how to see. Using a pearl 5 white on a 28-count even
weave isn't difficult for your brain to distinguish at all, particularly
when you are young and don't have vision disabilities. As you get
older, it takes more natural light to see the same thing you could see
20 years before.

Black is extremely difficult to work on. At 55, I was making a black
cotton shirt (long sleeved) for my husband because he adores black
shirts. Half way through, I simply hung it up and said, "Enough!" I
stared at it not too long ago, can't part with it, and keep pretending
one of these days I'll finish it.

Dianne

F.James Cripwell wrote:

koalamom ) writes:

I seem to remember some time ago, how long I have no idea, about
someone posting their preference for which was harder to work with -
black thread upon black background or white thread upon white
background. I just filed that away at the time because I had never
come across black upon black, until now. My current WIP is a design
upon 18ct. black Aida. I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other. What were others opinions on this ?

Julie


As many on rctn know, I am a scientist, and when it comes to things
like counted cross stitch, I think like a scientist. My take on stitching
on black is like this. When you stitch on lighter coloured fabrics, you
see dark holes on a lighter fabric. This makes the holes quite easy to
see, irrespective of the colour of the thread you are using. When you
stitch on black, it is difficult to see the dark holes against the black
fabric. When the thread is dark, e.g. black, the problem tends to be worse.
There are two ways of "solving" this problem. One way is to make the
holes "lighter"; e.g. by putting something white under the fabric. The
other way is to make the fabric look "lighter"; e.g. by having a strong
light (such as sunlight) on the top of the fabric. Personally, I prefer
the latter approach. I have never had any problems with any colour of
thread, including white, when stitching on a white fabric.
--
Jim Cripwell.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of one's life, any
time that is spent in stitching.
Adapted from a sign on The Cobb, Lyme Regis, England.

It is weird you should bring this up right now because I have been doing a
piece with a lot of white on white. I have had some trouble staying with it
for any length of time so I have decided to limit the amount of time I spend
on it at one sitting. That helps some. I am 52 and the eyes aren't as good
as they were but they aren't gone yet! One thing that helped was to do the
surrounding non-white stitches and then do the white. That gives me a
'frame' of non-white color to work within.
I have never done black on black. My only advice would be to work it with
real sunlight on the piece.
aeromom

"koalamom" wrote in message
om...
I seem to remember some time ago, how long I have no idea, about
someone posting their preference for which was harder to work with -
black thread upon black background or white thread upon white
background. I just filed that away at the time because I had never
come across black upon black, until now. My current WIP is a design
upon 18ct. black Aida. I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other. What were others opinions on this ?

Julie

You will also find that a good, very bright window, improves your
ability to see immensely. And yes, 20-minute blocks are about all older
eyes can take when it comes to white-on-white work.
Dianne


aeromom wrote:

It is weird you should bring this up right now because I have been doing a
piece with a lot of white on white. I have had some trouble staying with it
for any length of time so I have decided to limit the amount of time I spend
on it at one sitting. That helps some. I am 52 and the eyes aren't as good
as they were but they aren't gone yet! One thing that helped was to do the
surrounding non-white stitches and then do the white. That gives me a
'frame' of non-white color to work within.
I have never done black on black. My only advice would be to work it with
real sunlight on the piece.
aeromom

"koalamom" wrote in message
om...

I seem to remember some time ago, how long I have no idea, about
someone posting their preference for which was harder to work with -
black thread upon black background or white thread upon white
background. I just filed that away at the time because I had never
come across black upon black, until now. My current WIP is a design
upon 18ct. black Aida. I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other. What were others opinions on this ?

Julie

I haven't worked a black on black piece yet so can't comment on that. I
have done white on white or ecru on ecru with varying results.
Hardanger with perle cottons that match the fabric are no problem at
all; in fact it is quite enjoyable although I prefer color. White floss
on white Aida is fine for small areas, especially if bordered by other
colors. The real PITA is the UFO 101 Dalmatians design "Hungry Pup"
which is on white Aida and is mostly stitched in white with only black
backstitch to define the area. ARRRRGH! If it ever gets finished, it
will be cute but I swear it kills brain cells to work on it.

--
Brenda Lewis
WIP: ...on hiatus...

I think it looks really nice and I think that
neither option (black/black or white/white) is any harder than the
other.

Black on black is always harder, IMHO. With white on white I can see the
shadows where the thread meets the cloth. With black on black, these tend to
disappear, particularly at night.

Annie

I'm doing some Christmas ornaments right now on a vinyl weave. Even
though it's 18 count, it's very difficult to see the holes. Since it
is a snowman, the white on white is about to do me in! I discovered
the best thing for me to do is take out my contacts, hold it close to
my face and squint!

Linda in Columbia, MO

Oh, what we do for our stitchin'!
aeromom

"Linda Wright" wrote in message
om...
I'm doing some Christmas ornaments right now on a vinyl weave. Even
though it's 18 count, it's very difficult to see the holes. Since it
is a snowman, the white on white is about to do me in! I discovered
the best thing for me to do is take out my contacts, hold it close to
my face and squint!

Linda in Columbia, MO

I'm doing some Christmas ornaments right now on a vinyl weave. Even
though it's 18 count, it's very difficult to see the holes. Since it
is a snowman, the white on white is about to do me in! I discovered
the best thing for me to do is take out my contacts, hold it close to
my face and squint!

Had you thought about putting something black in your lap and stitching over
that? Boo