Aida or evenweave?

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poppy
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Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

I have a kit called "Claire" Elegance by John Clayton. I got it in a sale.
The kit contains a piece of Aida (14 count)
I have some spare white evenweave and wonder if I should stitch her on that instead.
I still find working on evenweave more challenging but I think that her face would look better on this type of fabric.

What do you think? Shall I stick to what is in the kit?
If I were to stitch her on evenweave, could I do one over one for her face ( I saw this method a long time ago in one of my X-stitch mag with a Joan Elliot Fairy)? Has anybody on this forum stitched one of these ladies from John Clayton?

I am just thinking ahead...
I would be grateful for your opinions, thank you :)
Hélène

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Stitchinkitty
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by Stitchinkitty »

I'd go for the evenweave.It will look much nicer.
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Allyn
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by Allyn »

I agree that the evenweave will look much better. I have done a few designs that had over-1 for faces or details and it looks very nice.
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richardandtracy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by richardandtracy »

In the unstitched areas, the 28ct even weave will look much better.

I presume that you are thinking of doing 2x2 28ct stitches instead of every one of the 14ct original skin stitches. That will improve the apparent detail & texture, but you may have to consider changing the number of threads or stitch type if you do so. If you do 2 over 2 full cross on the 14ct sections (hat, hair & dress), you may have to go to 1 over 1 full cross or 2 over 1 tent stitch so as to make the skin possible to sew.

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wendywombat
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by wendywombat »

I often change the fabric from kits! Either for a colour change or, more likely, from Aida to Evenweave.

Something as pretty as one of those Clayton ladies Deserves a finer fabric.
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poppy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

Thank you very much for your answers.
100% votes for evenweave, so evenweave it will be. :D
Allyn wrote:I have done a few designs that had over-1 for faces or details and it looks very nice.
Re: Aida or evenweave?
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richardandtracy wrote:you may have to go to 1 over 1 full cross or 2 over 1 tent stitch so as to make the skin possible to sew.
I will stitch the clothes on evenweave 28 count, 2 over 2 and the face with just 1 thread over 1. Sorry, I am a novice at this but what would look better for the skin with 1 over 1 full cross or 2 over 1 tent stitch, as Richard suggested?
Hélène

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rcperryls
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by rcperryls »

I'm glad that you chose the evenweave (my bias) as I think it will look better. If you have any extra fabric you might want to test your options for the face and see which one you prefer (tenting vs 1 over 1 full cross). My first reaction is to do the tent stitching to keep the "texture" the same as the two over two stitches, and on 28 ct that should give you similar coverage. Just thinking that 1 over 1 might be too "thin". But I have several 1 over 1 projects on 25 ct and the coverage is good. I don't think you need to stitch the face but maybe some squares next to each other to compare?

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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by richardandtracy »

It may be worth trying out on a scrap piece to see which you prefer. There will be a texture difference with the tent stitching, and the stitch will be going at 90 degrees to the top stitch on the cross on the dress & hair, so may well give a different sheen on the floss too.
Best to try to see which you prefer.
Tenting will be quicker, and being 2 threads, allow loop starts.

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poppy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

Thank you very much, Carole and Richard, for exploring the possibilities for me.
I will stitch a sample on a bit of evenweave. I will first try the tent stitch with 2 strands, then full cross with one strand. I understand all the points, you raised. It is helpful.
Trust me to think of the next project when I am not even half way through my current one! :oops:
Hélène

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Squirrel
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by Squirrel »

So glad you have chosen the evenweave for this lovely chart. For the face I always doe 1 over 1 full cross with 1 thread and it comes out pretty well.
The Angel of the Morning one I am working on is 32ct and the face and hands are 1/1.

Looking forward to seeing updates of this one. :lol:
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by karen4bells »

I agree with Sally, but of course testing out the two alternatives will give you a better idea of how they will look. I look forward to seeing your progress pics on this!
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Allyn
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by Allyn »

richardandtracy wrote:It may be worth trying out on a scrap piece to see which you prefer. There will be a texture difference with the tent stitching, and the stitch will be going at 90 degrees to the top stitch on the cross on the dress & hair, so may well give a different sheen on the floss too. ...

Well, the tent stitches can go the same direction as the top cross of the full stitches....or maybe I'm not understanding what you mean.
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by richardandtracy »

They can, but don't need to. It can give a deliberately emphasised texture difference to differentiate between the skin & remainder of the image.

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poppy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

I am now gridding the evenweave for this one. Regarding the skin, I just realized that there is a lot of "blending" for the skin, therefore, I need a thread of each colour (2 threads) . I like the idea of the skin being stitched over one square of the evenweave (28 count).
Does it mean that I will have to do a tent stitch with 2 threads over one square? I think that 2 threads over one square for a full cross might be too bulky...( my stitches does not look so neat, I tried) . The tent stitch should look ok? :thinks:
Hélène

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poppy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

Sorry, me again! I looked at Richard's Honeymoon portrait, which is tent stitch 2 over 1 all over.
For my project, the tent stitch would be just for the skin... Do you think that it would look ok?
Hélène

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Serinde
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by Serinde »

poppy wrote:I am now gridding the evenweave for this one. Regarding the skin, I just realized that there is a lot of "blending" for the skin, therefore, I need a thread of each colour (2 threads) . I like the idea of the skin being stitched over one square of the evenweave (28 count).
Does it mean that I will have to do a tent stitch with 2 threads over one square? I think that 2 threads over one square for a full cross might be too bulky...( my stitches does not look so neat, I tried) . The tent stitch should look ok? :thinks:
You might find that using a laying tool of some sort -- just a fat needle will do the trick -- will help. See here for information about laying tools. Also, railroading your thread (taking your needle between your two threads as you put the point into the appropriate hole and pulling carefully through) will help a lot on neatness generally and particularly with the skin section.
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by richardandtracy »

I reckon it would look pretty good as you suggest, Hélène, with 2 threads in a tent stitch (2 over 1, tent) on the skin only. 2 threads for a full cross, 2 over 1 on 28 ct would be almost impossibly bulky.
I don't use a laying tool, as it needs a stand & 2 hands. I hold my roller frame in one hand and stitch with the other. When the thread tries to twist I untwist the thread by turning the needle about 1/2 a turn anticlockwise just after pulling it up through the fabric every stitch (if left handed you may need to twist clockwise). This seems to almost cure the thread's tendency to twist up as the tent stitch is tightened, so avoiding the need for a laying tool. If it does twist up, I tend to untwist the thread and then do a second stitch over the top of the twisted one, pulling a bit tighter so the stitch finishes at the same level as the other stitches.

Hope this helps,

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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by rcperryls »

I also don't use a laying tool, but do "railroad" as Serinde suggested and find that really helps when using 2 threads and tenting. It's easy to do and is so natural for me now that I don't even think about it. I think it should work fine on your fabric, because as Richard said, two strands over 1 on 28 count will be really difficult.

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poppy
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Re: Aida or evenweave?

Post by poppy »

Thank you very much, Serinde, Richard and rcperryls for taking time to solve my dilemma :)
I will do two over one tent stitch, experimenting with neatening my thread with my wool needle and railroading. I can't wait to start.
Hélène

Finished: Joan Elliott. Rainbow Fairy
Fit Kit by Peter Underhill
The Choir by Peter Underhill
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