Rose Stitch

Time to share the latest stitch I have learned.  Appropriately named the Rose Stitch, this one is categorized as a decorative or motif stitch.  Isn't it beautiful?

This stitch could not be easier to do.  It is made up of two stitches, a French Knot center and then concentric circles of overlapping Straight Stitches.    

For my demonstration, I used perle cotton floss.  The bright pink is DMC number 956 and the pale pink/white is DMC Color Variations number 4180. 

First, I used the bright pink floss:

and formed a single French Knot:

Next, I came back up through the fabric {still using the bright pink} right alongside the French Knot:

I pulled the floss all the way through and then went back into the fabric, forming a small slanting Straight Stitch:

I pulled all the way through and then came up through the fabric to form another slanting Straight Stitch.  Notice I started this one to overlap the first Straight Stitch:

I went back into the fabric and pulled all the way through to make the second Straight Stitch:

I continued around the French Knot, making overlapping Straight Stitches:

After making a full circle of stitches, I switched to the pale pink/white floss:

I came up through the fabric and started a new circle of overlapping Straight Stitches:

And another circle:

I did two circles in the pale pink/white floss, but if I wanted a bigger rose, I could have done several more circles.

Here is a look at the underside of the fabric after completing my stitching:

And the final result:

I learned this stitch from the excellent book Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.