The other day I wondered to myself, as you do; what if I worked Raised Stem Stitch Band in a spiral? I think this came from something I’d seen on Instagram but when I went looking I couldn’t find anything so it was time to experiment. I’m sure there are probably a handful of tutorials on YouTube but it was good to work something out independently. I started with a sketched spiral and a thick bundle of grey perle a little longer than the spiral to give me room to plunge and finish off the ends.
I used the same grey perle to couch the bundle down.
So far, so good. The thread was rather wavy from having been in a plait for donkey’s years but the couching controlled it effectively. At this point I was quite surprised at how easily and neatly it formed the spiral and even plunging all the ends in the centre wasn’t as difficult as I expected.
For the stem stitch, I chose a Stef Francis coton a broder thread in subtly variegated shades of orange.
I love the way stem band works up and the slightly corded coton a broder gives a beautiful texture to the stitches.
I was pleased with the coverage of the grey as well, having remembered a bit too late that the padding sometimes can show through, and the way the edges of the spiral have become three-dimensional.
It started out as a ‘what if’ experiment but now there was only one way to go… Meet Dylan the Psychedelic Snail.
His body is outlined in back stitch which was the foundation for his Corded Brussels stitch needlelace body in this fabulous rainbow thread.
Couched down green chenille gave him a bit of grass to slither over and his antennae are short lines of split stitch topped with French knots.
He’s adorable, even if I do say so myself, and a really nice project on which to practise some fairly straightforward stumpwork and needle lace stitches so I’ve added him to the workshops I offer – just click on the Workshops tab at the top to see the full list.
Under A Topaz Sky 