Tuesday, January 24, 2017

CQJP 2017 January Seam 10 - TAST 69

TAST Stitch 69: Magic Chain Stitch

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) started up again today after taking a break. 

Stitch 69 is the Magic Chain Stitch (also known as Checkered Chain Stitch.) 

I chose to work this with size 5 DMC perle cotton in pink (#899) and white (#B5200) because I thought it would look great with the thicker thread. 

If you choose to use size 5 thread for this stitch, I would NOT recommend working it across a seam that is 4 layers of fabric thick. Even with a large needle, it was HARD to pull that much floss through. (I realized this with the first stitch and decided it was worth bruising my finger and my thumb. I am not sorry about the decision, but it does not feel like a smart one - lol!)

That being said, I LOVE working this stitch. The first time I tried it, I worked it in pink and black following directions in an embroidery book my mom gave me.

Tonight, I worked the stitch onto the 10th seam embellished on my CQJP 2017 January block. 

On the lighter pink fabric, above the magic chain, I used size 8 Anchor pearl cotton #786 to create a fly stitch and a straight stitch above the white chains. Then, I used a single strand of DMC #604 floss to attach a hot pink seed bead to create little flowers.

Tomorrow, I will take a step back and share seams 8 & 9. (Spoiler Alert: You may see part of the 9th seam above the magic chain seam.)

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

If you are wondering:

BLOG NAME: A few of you may have noticed the blog name changed. I realized that "Living My Dream" was actually a trademarked name, so I changed the blog name to "Hand Stitched Treasure".

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal challenge offered by Sharon B. at Pintangle.com. Anyone may join the challenge at any time. You may learn more about TAST here and you may find the Facebook group here. On social media, search for the hashtags #TASTembroidery and #PintangleTAST.

CQJP 2017 stands for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2017. It is a personal challenge to complete a crazy quilt block a month that is at least 8-inches square in size. You may learn more about it here.

Other posts related to this block include:

My CQJP 2017 project may also be found on this Pinterest board.






6 comments:

Queeniepatch said...

Magic Chain is one of my favorites but it takes time to stitch and you need to keep the threads from tangling up. Patience is the word!

Katie said...

Very pretty indeed!

Sandra said...

Your stitching is fantastic

Createology said...

I have noticed your blog name change and I like it very much. Your seam treatments are amazing. I have never done the Magic Chain yet. You are inspiring me and I need to get my sewing machine unpacked so I can sew a foundation block for experimenting your wonderful seams. JOYful January...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for explaining the name change. I'll have to change my e-mail filter! I do think that pink and white is very pretty, though I never use perle 5. It always seems so thick to me - probably because I never use it.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

This is a stitch I had forgotten about and it's one that is relatively simple and yet looks as if it took a ton of work. btw - when I'm working through thick seams I find my pliers are my friend. Sure saves the fingers!