All posts by Sassy Jacks Stitchery

Learning Stitches – Intro

Welcome to our first Online Workshop – Learning Stitches.  I’m so glad you’ve joined us!

Your first task is to purchase Jeannette Douglas’ book, Learning Stitches Sampler Book.  You can purchase it by clicking the link below if you don’t have it yet:

Learning Stitches – Jeannette Douglas

Got it?  Great 🙂  Now you need to get some banding or choose a piece of linen you’d like to use for your learning band.  Ok, here’s the skinny, you really need to be on “evenweave” aka Lugana or Jobelin, or linen.  These stitches won’t work very well on aida.  But… if you’re new to linen, don’t worry, I can get you through this 🙂

Fabric Options

Option A: Banding

We have a few different bandings that you can choose from for this class.  We’re making these bandings only available to registrants of this class.  Please limit yourself to just one choice, as we want everyone who wants to try this on banding to have the option.

On a side note, if we do run out, just hang tight.  Allie and I are taking a quick trip to Wuppertal, Germany to buy some more about a month.  We hope to bring more back to share with you.

Ok… back to the banding.  There are two different widths available to you, ~4″ and ~3/5″.  Either will work just fine.  You’ll find that on the wider one, you’ll do a few extra stitches vs. what are pictured in the Learning Stitches book.  And on the more narrow band, you’ll do a few less stitches than shown in the diagram.  But here’s one of the main points of this workshop… learning how to do as many or as few stitches as you need to fill a space.  So… the difference in the width of these bands doesn’t mean much.  Just pick the one you like the look of.  They are all 27/28ct.  and relatively easy to see.

So if you want to go with Option A and stitch on banding, please follow the link below and purchase the one you love the most 🙂  Or… if you have some banding in  your stash, please do feel free to use it.

Banding for Learning Stitches

Option B:  Linen or Lugana/Jobelan   

If you’d rather use a piece of fabric from your stash instead of banding (woven with finished edges to create a narrow band), then now’s the time to make a selection.  You can use anything really, but I recommend not going to a count higher than a 32.  This is a learning piece and you need to easily see the threads.  Take a walk through your stash and find something that you have about a one yard length of in around a 6″ width or a bit wider.  You’ll be doing a hem stitch or a nun stitch or a 4 sided stitch or a hem stitch to finish your edges, so you’ll need at least 6″.

24ct Rain Barrel (Natural Flax Color) Linen Strip

30ct. Victoria’s Sponge Cake Linen Strip

Click below to see some Banding Choices:

Banding for Learning Stitches

You can stitch these in hand, but I really recommend using a small hoop.  You can use a round or an oval.  I’ll be using the small oval from Hardwicke Manor/Access Commodities.  I really love that hoop and it’s perfect for this size banding.  If you’d like to purchase the small oval hoop, please click below:

Small Oval Hoop – Hardwicke Manor Hoops

Another favorite is the Square Round (Rectangle) Hoop from Hardwicke Manor.  You can find it by clicking below:

Square Round/ Rectangle Hoop – Hardwicke Manor Hoops

You should also wrap your hoop with 3/8″ twill.  You can find it here:

3/8″ Twill tape

We have lots of other hoops if you prefer a different style.  If you don’t see what you’re looking for below, just give us a call:

Hoops/Frames etc.

You can use a 24 or a 26 needle.  I would encourage you to use a 24 on the banding.  If you use a piece a fabric, the needle size will depend on your fabric.  You can use a 24 on 28ct and 30ct.  You can usually use a 24 on 32ct., but if the linen is an overdye and the weave is tightened up from the dying process, you may need a 26.  Start with the 24 and move to the 26 if you’re seeing holes behind the need that are springing closed after your needle passes through.

Fibers

Your stash is your oyster!  This is meant to be a learning piece, and you don’t need tons of threads.  Please do use fibers from your stash of your choice.

If you have any single strand fibers like Sulky #12 Petite or Flower Thread or DMC Floche, those are all fabulous, because you’re only dealing with one strand as you learn.

If you have tons of DMC or Anchor, then absolutely feel free to use it.  You’ll be stitching with 2 ply of your 6 ply strand.  The same is true for any overdyed cotton floss.

Yes… you can stitch with silks… but you should save your silk for something a bit more fancy.  This is your learning piece.  My hope is that you handle it a lot over time and use it as a reference tool.   By the way… that was the original use of Band Samplers 🙂  And I’ll be sharing some fabulous examples of those with you in the workshop.

Title Band and Signature Band

We’ve designed some freebie opening and closing bands for you to make this a sweet memory of your time with us.  Click below to drop them in your cart:

Title Band

Signature Band

As we move forward, new postings can be accessed from this page.    This will keep content easy to access.

Please… remember… this is our first online workshop.  We may need to adjust our approach as we go, but there will be many different approaches for learning.  You’ll have your book for the written, plus we’ll do some additional stitch guides for you.  You’ll have videos for watching and rewatching at your leisure.  We’ll do some live chats so that you can ask questions.  And of course you can always call, email, or message me.

We’ll be posting something for you frequently, but we’ll take our time moving through the bands.  Jeannette has been really wonderful in encouraging us and sending us some fun little freebies.  I’ll be sharing those with you as we go.

Ok… everybody buckled?  Please feel free to keep your hands and feet outside of the car!  This will be a fun little ride 🙂  Thank you so much for joining us!

Click here to watch an Introductory Video