NATALIE CHANIN Author of Alabama Stitch Book, Alabama Studio Style, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, and Alabama Studio Sewing Patterns

A ROMANCE IN STITCHES AND EMBROIDERY FROM ALABAMA CHANIN AND THE SCHOOL OF MAKING

Photographs by Abraham Rowe and Rinne Allen / Illustrations by Sun Young Park

ABRAMS / NEW YORK Stitching Card #1 RECTANGLE-A GRID Two-Row

PARALLEL SATIN STITCH

Parallel Satin Stitch is a more compacted Parallel Whipstitch. Start with Rectangle-A Grid and make one row of Parallel Whipstitches following instructions on page 46. After completing this ﬁrst row, add stitches to tightly or loosely ﬁll in the entire area between stitches, depending on the look desired. This method makes it easy to create straight, uniform Satin Stitches. Also see Shaped Stitches on page 54.

Parallel Satin Stitch face

Variation SLANTED SATIN STITCH

The only diﬀerence between Parallel and Slanted Satin Stitch is the angle of the stitches. See Slanted Parallel Whipstitch on page 46.

Slanted Satin Stitch Face (worked right-to-left) Top: Satin Stitch worked on our Fern pattern. Bottom: Parallel Whipstitch Appliqué and Satin Stitch worked on our Daisy pattern.

70 THE GEOMETRY OF HAND-SEWING BASIC STITCHES 71 Stitching Card #2 DOUBLE TRIANGLE GRID Four-Row

CRETAN STITCH

Cretan Stitch (also called Open Cretan Stitch, Persian Stitch, Quill Stitch, and even Long-Armed Feather Stitch) is a popular stitch for necklines and armholes at The School of Making and Alabama Chanin. Work from opposite sides of the grid structure, sewing towards the center.

Left-to-right Right-to-left

( Bring needle up at A, go down at B, and come back up at C, tical stitch while bringing needle over thread. Continue pattern making downward vertical stitch and bringing needle over thread. to end of row. Insert needle at D and come back up at E, making upward ver-

Cretan Stitch face (worked left-to-right)

Cretan Stitch back

82 THE GEOMETRY OF HAND-SEWING

Rows of Couching Stitches in a stripe pattern with a Closed Feather Stitch (see page 58) detail.

COUCHING STITCH Variation COUCHING WITH Couching Stitch is a simple Whipstitch (see page 46) EMBROIDERY STITCHES or Satin Stitch (see page 70) created over single or multiple strands of fabrics, yarns, or threads. Match Almost any embroidery stitch from this book can be the width of your stitches to the width of the used to couch materials to a fabric base, like the material that you are couching. When couching very Couching with Herringbone Stitch (see page 72) below. small materials, the entry and exit points of each In this case, Herringbone Stitch is holding down an extra stitch may be very close together or the same. strip of fabric between two rows of Couching.

Couching with Whipstitch Couching with Herringbone Stitch

ENHANCING STITCHES 115