One of the joys of knitted fabric is that it presents an anything-goes canvas for all sorts of flourishes. For the Fair Isle cardigan shown at right, which is featured in my book Knitting Beyond the Edge [newly released by Sixth&Spring Books], I wanted to create a modern look, not just with color or a single edging but by layering one over the other. Here, I interspersed colorwork with bands and inlets of a single color that I could go back and embroider with floral motifs. On my rose-motif coat on page 101 in the Winter 2006/2007 issue of Vogue Knitting, I used duplicate-stitch embroidery to achieve the look I was after. You'll need to know only a few single needlework techniques to create these dazzling effects on your own garments.
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The Straight Stitch
One of the most basic embroidery stitches, straight stitch is used to create the flowers in my coat shown above. To make a perfect circle in the center, cut out a paper round and place it on the fabric. Work straight stitches in varying lengths around the circle as shown.
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The French Knot
Bring the threaded needle from behind the fabric and through to the front; wrap the yarn three times around the needle. Insert the needle near the point where it first emerged and, using your thumb to hold them in place, pull the needle through the wraps. |
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The Leaf Stitch
Bring the threaded needle from the back of the fabric to the front, in the center of a stitch. Make a diagonal straight stitch to form the top of the leaf.
*1) Bring the needle out a little below and to the left of the straight stitch just worked, then insert it to the right of the straight stitch and then back out at the base of the same stitch, holding the yarn below the tip of the needle as it comes out.
2) Insert the needle into the stitch directly below the one where the needle just came out. Repeat from the * to the desired length of leaf. |
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The Duplicate Stitch
1) Bring the needle from back to front through the center of the stitch to be worked. 2) Insert the needle from right to left under the two loops of the same stitch one row above and pull the yarn through. 3) Insert the needle back into the center of the first st in step 1 and through the center of the next stitch to the left, or above, and pull through. |
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Knitting On, Over and Beyond the Edge and Knitted Flowers (all from Sixth&Spring Books) are available online. For more about Nicky Epstein, visit nickyepstein.com.
