100 Stitches - Double or Italian Hemstitch

I have another installment of my 100 Stitches journey to share.

This is the Double or Italian Hemstitch.  Beautiful, isn't it?  I had a few problems working this stitch which I will explain at the end of this post.

For the floss, I used DMC Color Variations, this is number 4160 in perle cotton.

This stitch is from the Drawn Thread Embroidery category so I prepared the fabric by pulling the horizontal threads from the area to be worked with the stitch. 

This one was a little different than the usual Drawn Thread stitches in that there needs to be two working areas to complete the stitch:

This stitch is worked from right to left starting with the top working area.  The first step is to come up through the fabric behind the first four threads:

Pull the needle to the left all the way through.  Then bring the needle back around to the right and go into the fabric behind those first four threads.  Bring the needle back out where the floss first emerged.  Notice the needle is behind the working thread:

Pull all the way through and now the needle is going to work on the bottom area.

Bring the needle into the fabric behind the second group of four threads on the bottom working area.  Come back out of the fabric:

and pull all the way through:

Bring the needle around and go back into the fabric at the right edge of the group of four threads you just passed under.  Pass the needle under the fabric and emerge on the top working area four threads to the left of the first thread group worked. 

Notice the needle is passing under the working thread:

Now the same steps are just worked over and over until you fill up the areas to be worked:

I had three problems with this stitch. 
First - There are no instructions on where to secure your floss when beginning the stitch.  
Second - Notice the bottom working area - the first group of four threads on the right side are skipped.  According to the instructions, this is worked from top area to bottom area from right to left so how can the bottom right thread group be included?
Third - How to finish off this stitch.  I finished at the top left side of the working area - where should the floss be secured?

I am going to do a little more research on this stitch - any tips would be appreciated! 

This is a fun stitch to do and really pretty.  I especially love the way it looks when done with the color variations floss.

This is number 80 on the 100 Stitches list and is from the Drawn Thread Embroidery category.

100 Stitches - Woven Bars Stitch

This interesting looking stitch is the Woven Bars Stitch.  It is the next stitch on my list of 100 Stitches.

The floss I used when learning this stitch is this beautiful multi-colored blue.  It is DMC Perle Cotton Color Variations #4230.   

This stitch is from the Drawn Thread Embroidery category which means a little preparation of the ground fabric is needed.  I cut and pulled the horizontal threads out from a small section.  That leaves the vertical threads to be worked for the stitch.   

I realized after I had carefully cut and pulled the threads that I was supposed to leave an even number of vertical threads...I ended up with nine - oops! 

The first step is to come up through the fabric on the bottom edge of the working area.  Working right to left I began weaving.  The picture in 100 stitches showed weaving four threads in two sets.  I started with the first set  - going under the first two threads {set one}:

and then over the next two threads {set two}:

Next, I pulled the thread all the way through and then worked my way back going left to right by first going under set two and then over set one: 

and pulling the thread all the way through:

Next I worked right to left again under set one and over set two:

I continued weaving like this all the up the vertical threads.  You can really see how it pulls them together and makes a nice tight weave:

I finished off by going back into the fabric at the upper right side of the working area and securing my floss on the underside.  That completed the first two sets, now for the next two:

I did the same steps, starting from the opposite side of the working area.  Weaving under - over:

Under - over.....

until I completed that side. 

I used one length of the color variations floss and I love how the color played out, one side white to light blue and the other side blue to dark blue:

This stitch looks really nice on the underside too!

This is stitch #82 and is from the Drawn Thread Embroidery category of 100 Stitches

100 Stitches - Overcast Bars

Overcast bars - this is the next stitch on my 100 Stitches list.   

This is a really beautiful stitch and one I found very easy to learn.  At least my version!  The instructions were not very clear on beginning and ending the stitch so I improvised and I think it looks just fine:

   

This stitch is from the Drawn Thread Embroidery category, so I used medium to loose weave linen fabric.  For the floss, I used perle cotton, this is color variations DMC #4180. 

The first step is to draw out the horizontal threads in the section to be stitched.  The vertical threads are left in place and the overcasting is done around them.

According to the picture in 100 Stitches, this stitch is worked from right to left. 

I brought the needle up through the fabric at the bottom of the right side of the stitching area:

I pulled the floss all the way through and then carefully slid the needle behind four of the vertical threads:

I pulled the floss all the way through:

And then brought the needle back around and slid the needle behind the same four threads. 

I drew the floss tight and that made the first overcast stitch:

I just continued overcast stitching all the way to the top of the four threads:

Then I slid the needle behind the next four threads and overcast stitched them in the same way as the first group:

I continued in the same way overcast stitching each group.  When I was done, I went back into the fabric and tied a knot on the underside. 

Here is a look at the underside of the stitching:

Isn't this a beautiful stitch?  I love it in this pink color variations floss. 

I also wanted to try this in white floss:

I like it in white too! 

Overcast Bars is #81 on the 100 Stitches list and in in the Drawn Thread Embroidery Category.

100 Stitches - Needleweaving

Time for another stitch on my 100 Stitches list.  This is called Needleweaving. 
The category is Drawn Thread Embroidery so I used some medium to loose weave linen.  For the floss, I used perle cotton, this is DMC #4240 color variations: 

For Drawn Thread Embroidery, the area to work has the horizontal threads removed and then the idea is to stitch over the remaining vertical threads.  For this stitch, I made two vertical cuts about 3/4" apart and 1/2" high:

The directions for this stitch were really straightforward.  I started on the right hand side at the top edge and brought the needle up alongside the first group of vertical threads. 

I went over the first group, under the second group...then continued right to left alternately over-under until I was at the left edge:

Then I started back left to right weaving over and under.  Notice on this second pass, I am passing the needle under the thread groups I previously went over:

And then a third pass:

I just continued until I had filled the entire open space:

The underside of this stitch is interesting, there were no instructions in 100 Stitches on starting or finishing so I just left my floss ends loose.  If I were actually using this stitch on a project, I would need to figure out a way to secure the ends!

I like the look of this stitch.  I did this in blue so that it would be easy to see but I think it would be so beautiful in white floss on white fabric.

This is #79 on the list of 100 Stitches and is found in the Drawn Thread Embroidery Category.