Have you ever realized that the final backstitches and French knots change your embroidery so much? There is the same result even when you use only a few of these stitches.

It is usually easy to stitch those type of backstitches that simple outline the shapes.  But it is a bit more complicated and could even hurt your eyes when these stitches are not so define come from several small random stitches.  On  top of this they usually lean in different directions too based on the designer’s imagination.  These ones are typically the fur or pelt on animals.

One of my blog reader just faced this problem when she was stitching a Popcorn design.  She asked me to explain to her how I finalise my pictures in this case. Since I think my answer could be useful to others as well I will share my answer here.

Even if the Popcorn picture posted in this article is an exemption from my first advice, the first thing I do to receive a better result with the stitches is choose the right base for these embroideries.  I usually choose canava instead of aida.  It is much easier to stitch even the half and quarter stitches and of course it is easier to stitch a backstitch if it goes right into the middle of the cross stitches.

My second help – especially in case of anchor’s Tatty Teddies – is that the kit contains two instruction papers, one for the cross stitches and the second for the backstitches. It is definitely easier to follow the backstitches in this way. With the  their designs I usually make a copy before stitching only for backstitches.

It is important to finalise all the cross stitches and half stitches before starting the backstitches. Only in this case will it result a neat and tidy effect.  And also in this case you will be able to recognize the starting and ending points of backstitches.

So once I can see the right sample on paper and all the cross stitches are finished, I start to stitch the backstitches from a particular point of the design.  I compare the place of the stitches at every stitch both to the previous one and the cross stitches’  locations. I always try to stitch these furs from the same direction – from the inside across to the outside of the design – as this will make the backside of the material tidier as well.   But there are challenging parts during the backstitching for me as well. These are usually those parts of the design where there are very similar colours close to each other. Typically the belly of the bears. The only thing that helps in this case is proper counting and concentration. But it can also be useful to find a benchmark point like the different colour of the mouth or nose.

Take a look at the gallery I attached to this post, sharing my Tatty Teddies and Popcorns showing the results of my fur stitching.

Do you have any special technique relating to fur stitching? What do you do when you have to stitch with the same colour but different numbers of threads? Do you prefer to stitch long stitches or smaller contour stitches when you are faced with a longer section to stitch?

I am interested in your opinions.  Please share them with me.

 

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M.I.Eszter
 

Gallery