Back Stitching "Rules"

Hi Guys,
There is a thread going on over at the AOL needlework board about
backstitching. The question about what the "rule" is came up so I thought I
would ask here as I know we have a number of people who are certified to do
judging. When a piece is entered in competition is it the rule that you back
stitch one stitch at a time? That's the way I learned and the way most
instructions I have seen are worded but I wanted to check with the judges just
to be sure.
Some of the folks over at the AOL boards don't so that -- they will do one
back stitch to cover 3 or 4 cross stitches in a straigh line as opposed to
doing each individual stitch. I am a one stitch at a time back stitcher. Now,
we all know a person can do whatever s/he wants with their work. As I have
stated in the past -- ad nauseum I am sure -- to be a good needleworker, you
should know what the "rules" are and be able to follow them before you hie off
into the realm of personal creative expression. Which boils down to -- I told
the folks over at AOL that I would ask here to find out what judges are judging
so that we know which "rule" it is that we aren't following :-)). CiaoMeow
^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:
Hi Guys,
There is a thread going on over at the AOL needlework board about
backstitching. The question about what the "rule" is came up so I thought I
would ask here as I know we have a number of people who are certified to do
judging. When a piece is entered in competition is it the rule that you back
stitch one stitch at a time? That's the way I learned and the way most
instructions I have seen are worded but I wanted to check with the judges just
to be sure.
Some of the folks over at the AOL boards don't so that -- they will do one
back stitch to cover 3 or 4 cross stitches in a straigh line as opposed to
doing each individual stitch. I am a one stitch at a time back stitcher. Now,
we all know a person can do whatever s/he wants with their work. As I have
stated in the past -- ad nauseum I am sure -- to be a good needleworker, you
should know what the "rules" are and be able to follow them before you hie off
into the realm of personal creative expression. Which boils down to -- I told
the folks over at AOL that I would ask here to find out what judges are judging
so that we know which "rule" it is that we aren't following :-)). CiaoMeow

I always assume that the designer wants one stitch at a time unless it's
specifcally stated otherwise. Of course some angled stitches require
covering a longer span but for straight-line backstitching I always do
it by the individual stitch. That's also how my mom does it and she does
judge at county fairs. I'll check to see if she looks for that when judging.


Karen E.
--
_______________________________________
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example"
Mark Twain, 'Puddn'head Wilson'

***Please remove "nojunk" from email address to reply.***

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:


Some of the folks over at the AOL boards don't so that -- they will do one
back stitch to cover 3 or 4 cross stitches in a straigh line as opposed to
doing each individual stitch. I am a one stitch at a time back stitcher. Now,
we all know a person can do whatever s/he wants with their work. As I have
stated in the past -- ad nauseum I am sure -- to be a good needleworker, you
should know what the "rules" are and be able to follow them before you hie off
into the realm of personal creative expression. Which boils down to -- I told
the folks over at AOL that I would ask here to find out what judges are judging
so that we know which "rule" it is that we aren't following :-)). CiaoMeow


I don't know about what judges are looking for, but
I am a one-backstitch-at-a-time person too. I don't think
it looks as good with the long stitches (except in certain
situations where you're going for a particular effect).
In surface embroidery you wouldn't carry a thread all that
far either.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Ericka Kammerer ) writes:
Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:


Some of the folks over at the AOL boards don't so that -- they will do one
back stitch to cover 3 or 4 cross stitches in a straigh line as opposed to
doing each individual stitch. I am a one stitch at a time back stitcher. Now,
we all know a person can do whatever s/he wants with their work. As I have
stated in the past -- ad nauseum I am sure -- to be a good needleworker, you
should know what the "rules" are and be able to follow them before you hie off
into the realm of personal creative expression. Which boils down to -- I told
the folks over at AOL that I would ask here to find out what judges are judging
so that we know which "rule" it is that we aren't following :-)). CiaoMeow


I don't know about what judges are looking for, but
I am a one-backstitch-at-a-time person too. I don't think
it looks as good with the long stitches (except in certain
situations where you're going for a particular effect).
In surface embroidery you wouldn't carry a thread all that
far either.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I was all ready to say the same thing.

--
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.

I don't like to backstitch and I rarely use it. Instead, I use a double
running stitch (DRS). I like the 'cabled' effect of the DRS, when it's
done properly and consistently. Although, corners are tricky with the
DRS, so I sometimes do a couple of backstitches to create the corner,
then I continue with DRS.

Personally, I think judges look for consistency more so than proper
technique, but that's an impression I have.

Sweet Stitching!!!!!!!

Helen (Skyhooks)
hmardis *aht* uiuc "daught" edu

"reply to" address munged -- read line above for correct addy.

TFTD: Good things turn up when both ends of your mouth do the same!


Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:

Hi Guys,
There is a thread going on over at the AOL needlework board about
backstitching. The question about what the "rule" is came up so I thought I
would ask here as I know we have a number of people who are certified to do
judging. When a piece is entered in competition is it the rule that you back
stitch one stitch at a time? That's the way I learned and the way most
instructions I have seen are worded but I wanted to check with the judges just
to be sure.
Some of the folks over at the AOL boards don't so that -- they will do one
back stitch to cover 3 or 4 cross stitches in a straigh line as opposed to
doing each individual stitch. I am a one stitch at a time back stitcher. Now,
we all know a person can do whatever s/he wants with their work. As I have
stated in the past -- ad nauseum I am sure -- to be a good needleworker, you
should know what the "rules" are and be able to follow them before you hie off
into the realm of personal creative expression. Which boils down to -- I told
the folks over at AOL that I would ask here to find out what judges are judging
so that we know which "rule" it is that we aren't following :-)). CiaoMeow
^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

Interestingly, I am right now doing a project that specifically calls
for "as long a backstitch as you can" to get "flowing effect". I'm
outlining feathers and I am considering in some parts possibly even
sort of couching the thread to get more of a curved effect.

Also, in surface embroidery, to me, at least, it depends on what you
are doing. (Dianne, I know you are going to disagree here - VBG!) I
sometimes DO use long stitches (and groups of them) for effect. If I
am backstitching, that may be another story. But in satin stitch/long
& short, I frequently use longer stitches. One of the best pieces of
advice I came across was to not be afraid to use big stitches - and I
have, very effectively, on larger pieces.

Linda in Columbia, MO

Linda Wright wrote:
Interestingly, I am right now doing a project that specifically calls
for "as long a backstitch as you can" to get "flowing effect". I'm
outlining feathers and I am considering in some parts possibly even
sort of couching the thread to get more of a curved effect.

Also, in surface embroidery, to me, at least, it depends on what you
are doing. (Dianne, I know you are going to disagree here - VBG!) I
sometimes DO use long stitches (and groups of them) for effect. If I
am backstitching, that may be another story. But in satin stitch/long
& short, I frequently use longer stitches. One of the best pieces of
advice I came across was to not be afraid to use big stitches - and I
have, very effectively, on larger pieces.


Good point. I don't disagree at all. g Some of this (don't make too
long a stitch) has to do with ultimate use: Will it catch when worn or
used in some fashion? Will the thread lie flat, or is it so long that
it won't stay put? There's "long" and then there's "loooong". g

I usually try to put a number on the length, not because that's
necessarily the absolute, but because I basically reach out to
beginners. I usually try to couch my language with something akin to:
"generally". But sometimes I forget to do that. Or, people don't see
the word(s). :-)

Experience is the best teacher. Most beginners make too long a stitch,
so most advisers say, "don't make your stitches too long." It also
depends upon the medium. I might make longer stitches with wool than I
would with a single strand of floss. And, it depends upon tension.

Dianne

Not in any way qualified to judge, but I have seen designers use both the
"one stitch at a time" method, and the "long stitch" sort of thing. It all
depends on the effect they want. So shouldn't the designer's intention
govern??
Just to keep the topic going--The amount of backstitch I have left off
pieces in my time is pretty substantial; I also change the colour for less
contrast sometimes to avoid a "colouring book" effect and go for something
more painterly.
Dawne

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

Some of this (don't make too
long a stitch) has to do with ultimate use: Will it catch when worn or
used in some fashion? Will the thread lie flat, or is it so long that
it won't stay put? There's "long" and then there's "loooong".

What, when I was three years old and just learning to sew, Mom called "elephant
stitches" (because they were big enough for an elephant to walk through).

If the chart shows an up-6-right-1 coming out of the center of a flower
(stamen?), and it's going on the wall, I'll make a 6/1 stitch. If it's going
on a sofa pillow, I'll make two up-3-right-a-half stitches, or even three
up-2-right-(one of the four threads in an Aida bundle) so no one will catch a
zipper or a button on it.

--
Finished 12/14/03 -- Mermaid (Dimensions)
WIP: Fireman's Prayer, Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler, Holiday
Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

I asked my mom, who's judged a bit in her time and she says that,
ulitmately, it's a question of what looks right to the stitcher.

I do note, however, that every diagram I've ever seen of backstitching
has it done one cross stitch at a time when it's a straight line.
Anything else is, technically, longstitch.


Karen E.
--
_______________________________________
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example"
Mark Twain, 'Puddn'head Wilson'

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