Rosette of Thorns Stitch

Time for another 100 Stitches Plus post.  This is the Rosette of Thorns Stitch.

For my demonstration, I am using perle cotton floss.  This is DMC color variations 4200  

Rosette of Thorns Stitch is easy to do.  However, it can be challenging to keep the stitch spacing consistent.  After some practice, I found that drawing a straight guideline to follow keeps the row of stitches looking even.  

This stitch is worked from left to right.  It is basically five Blanket {or Buttonhole} Stitches stitched with their bases close together.  They are slanted to form a crown shape. 




The first step is to come up through the fabric on the left edge of the stitching guideline:

Pull the floss all the way through:

Next, bring the needle around above the stitching guideline and prepare for the Blanket Stitch:

The first Blanket Stitch should be done at a diagonal slant - notice the needle is coming out of the fabric on the stitching guideline and passing over the working thread:

 As the floss is pulled through, a loop forms:

Pull all the way through:

Bring the needle around and prepare for the next Blanket Stitch:

Continue until you have made a set of five 

Then form a long Blanket Stitch to start the next crown shape:

and repeat the steps to form the next crown and the next to the end of the stitching line.

At the end, bring your needle to the underside of the fabric and secure:  

I learned this stitch from the book Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.  She notes that this stitch may be worked in straight rows or curved lines.  Also, it can be embellished by adding an isolated knot stitch such as a Chinese Knot {which I still need to learn} or a Danish Knot - at the tip of each slanted line.