Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Antique Look or a Fail?

I've got some photos to share today of my start "Witches Night Out" by Brenda Gervais. I've changed almost all the colours and used overdyed variegated threads I had on hand. But it's not the colours that have me a bit unsure... 

Instead it's the coverage. I know stitchers can debate to the ends of the earth about coverage. I do believe we can all agree that on a full stitched covered piece (ie: HAED, Mystic Stitches, etc) you must have good coverage. But what about on a smaller, more delicate piece? 
I love the traditional, antique look of Gervais' pattern; and in looking at the model you can see that the coverage is far from 100%. 

Note on the photos: you can see the smoky look on the fabric in these photos that was invisible last time. It's a very subtle marbling that I just adore. It's just hard to photograph. 

Now it's important to note that I'm very against bulky coverage. But perhaps this is too little coverage... 

It's 1 strand over 2 on 36ct linen (same count and coverage as called for in pattern). 

Thoughts? 
I'm likely to keep going as is no matter what. But I'd love to hear (good or bad) what others think.

18 comments:

Pull the other thread said...

I think it looks great! I agree with you that in densely stitched projects like HAED etc you need good coverage but cross stitch is a style in itself and with some patterns being able to see that style really adds to the piece. I think this is especially true in antique type projects. Anyway that's my thoughts on the subject. Looking forward to seeing your progress on this.

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

I kind of like the stitched look. I think there's a good chance the stitches will settle a bit once washed. Also, if you have any thread heaven, I would try using that. I have a piece on 32 count over 1 that the stitches were looking just terrible on, but a little thread heaven evened them out and made them look so much nicer.

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

I just noticed that you said it was one strand over two, which would be the equivalent of 16 count. Why don't you stitch a test patch with 2 strands over 2 and see if you like the look better?

Leonore Winterer said...

Personally, I usually use two strands on 16ct stitching, but I still think this looks really fabulous :) I only really see a 'problem' with coverage on the really dark part, and even that looks fine in my opinion. Gives it a nice and unique touch.

KimM said...

I think the coverage is fine. Lookin' good!
xxx

Tiffstitch said...

It does have an antique look. You could certainly use 2 threads and make it darker for some parts if you want, but it's a cool fabric too, and you get to show off a lot of it.

Robin in Virginia said...

I think 2 strands on your fabric would be too dense. However, if there were parts that you really wanted to stand out, then you could try 2 strands. I think your coverage is fine.

Shelly said...

I agree with with the comment right above, 2 would be too much on 35ct. I like a sparse look on designs that are designed with prim in mind. I have also found that the fullness of a thread is different among those that we use, i.e DMC, WDW, and so on. I stitched a design that called for 1 over 2 on 30ct, forget which that one was, but talk about thin coverage! I don't remember if I added another strand to that one!

Vickie said...

I like how it looks!!!!

Mike Raven said...

I think it looks great, nice to see a different style of stitching :)

Von said...

I think it's fine too, and goes with the style of the design. :)

Mary said...

I think it looks wonderful.

Joy said...

I think the reason it looks sparse to you is the white fabric which really stands out with those thread colors. I would experiment with a few stitches of 2 over 2 just to see the coverage difference. I ended up going with 3 strands on a perforated paper piece not too long ago because 2 strands let the gold paper stand out too much. Stitching over 2 strands on 36 would be equivalent to 18 count and I stitch with 2 strands on 18 count. Never hurts to experiment. Happy stitching. Need to update my blog soon!

Joy

Justine said...

I think it looks fabulous! Really adds to the antique look of the piece. I would normally have used 2 strands for 16 count equivalent but the style of this piece really lends itself to 1 strand.

Susan said...

It took me a while to get used to Brenda's style, but once I did, the less than full coverage just became part of the atmosphere of the design (if that makes sense). I can't see stitching one of her pieces with my normal "packed" coverage now.

Heather said...

I'm sure you've made your decision a while ago but I think it looks great!

Meari said...

I usually use two strands when stitching over two on 32 or 36 count. But really, it's what you like. I think it looks fine.

Summer said...

I like the look! Cute ♥