The Variegated Thread Trap

For this second blog posting about variegated threads let’s look at The Variegated Thread Trap - the stitcher wants to portray a realistic effect with the thread (like sky, grass, water, etc.) but the color changes in the thread produce a result that is not consistent with reality.

Here is an example of a variegated thread, Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art, used to stitch a sky in basketweave.  

Sky stitched using Variegated Thread

Now, many of you may be thinking that you would never stitch a sky like this because of the diagonal striping that occurs.  Good.  But, this could also happen when you stitch water or grass, among other things, with a diagonal stitch using variegated threads.  I wouldn’t bring this up, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes ...

How about ....

Tree stitched using Variegated Threads

This evergreen tree, stitched with Watercolours from The Caron Collection  shows horizontal striping.  Hmmm ..., you may be thinking that you may have actually stitched a tree like this.  But, still, maybe you haven’t.

What about ....

Grass stitched using Variegated Threads

This grass was stitched with a variegated thread and there is some pooling of color.  Most people don’t want their lawns to look like this, nor their needlepoint.  So, maybe this example has caught a few more people in the trap.

What about ...

Pumpkin stitched using Variegated Threads

OK, now maybe a few more people are guilty of this type of shading with variegated threads.  This pumpkin shows highlights in an incorrect area (highlights are the lighter areas of the thread that comes from light bouncing off an object and making the object’s color appear lighter.)

Let’s look at each of these examples carefully and discuss what is wrong with them and ways to fix these problems.

First - Diagonal Striping

Diagonal Striping in the Sky

The basketweave stitch, or more accurately the tent stitch done in the basketweave style, is a diagonal stitch.  Color flow from the thread will be emphasized diagonally.  Therefore, there will be diagonal striping.  You see that the width of the stripes differs, this is not only due to the length of the shade of blue in the piece of thread I stitched with, but also the length of stitching that I was doing.  Each diagonal row is not the same length, therefore, at the beginning of the stitching, in the upper right hand corner, the color pools because the length of each row is shorter.  This little anomaly is minor considering the dramatic striping that occurs because of the darkness of that darker blue striped area.  

What to do:

Consider cutting out areas that are too light or dark from the length of thread, in this example the dark blue color.  This might take away too much thread to make stitching worthwhile using a variegated thread - which in and of itself is not a bad thing.  Switch to 2 to 3 colors of a solid colored thread that are close in value and use all of them in the needle at the same time.  This will provide a more subtle and yet random color change for the stitched area.

Since this thread is a cotton floss, I had to pull out each strand from the length of thread that I cut.  Turn half of those strands around, so that the end of the thread that you put into the needle has half the strands from the beginning of the length of thread and half the strands from the end of the length of thread.  This will produce a more even distribution of color throughout the stitched area.

Second - Horizontal Striping

The stitch I used in the tree is not only a horizontal stitch, but one in which the stitches from one row encroach onto another row.  Which is a good thing with variegated threads.  Just what do I mean by encroaching - 

Double Straight Cross Stitch
Encroaching

I have numbered the rows in the stitch diagram of the Double Straight Cross Stitch.  The first row of stitches, the ones with the green arrows pointing to them, use rows 1 through 5 in the diagram.  The second row of stitches, the ones with the blue arrows pointing to them, uses rows 3 through 7 in the diagram.  Both the first and second row of Double Straight Cross Stitches use rows 3 through 5 in the diagram.  This sharing of some of the diagram rows from one row of Double Straight Cross Stitches to another is what I mean by encroaching.

To complete this thought, a non-encroaching version of the Double Straight Cross Stitch is shown below.  This version of the stitch will leave a hole between the rows of stitches.

Double Straight Cross Stitch
Non-encroaching

Let’s look at the stitched tree again,

Horizontal Striping in the Tree

There are definite horiztonal stripes of color in this tree.  Due to color pooling, some of the stripes are thicker in the top of the tree because the rows are so short.  The blue arrow is pointing at an area in which this color in the thread varies quite a bit with other colors in the thread because it is so much lighter and not as grayed in color.  The red arrow points to where a new thread was started in the middle of a row and there is a large jump in color. 

What to do:

Using stitches that encroach upon one another is highly desirable when stitching with variegated threads as it mixes the colors between stitched rows.

Cut out any undesirable colors, like the much lighter and brighter color of thread.  

Place the Double Straight Cross Stitches randomly so that the colors will be mixed more.  This technique will produce the best results, but it is harder to stitch because you have to make sure you have counted correctly.  

When changing threads, do so at the start of a new row, this will help hide a color change.  Also, find a color close to the last color you stitched with as the starting point of your new thread.

Third - Color Pooling

In this example, the grass is stitched horizontally in a brick stitch which is an encroaching stitch, which helps mix up the color changes between rows.

Pooling of Color in the Grass

The arrow points to a pooling of the darker color in the thread.  What you don’t see, is the reason for this pooling of color - the length of the stitched row is much shorter in this area because there is a bush just off to the left in the lower part of the picture, as shown below.  This change in the length of a stitched row is notorious for causing pools of color.

Diagram of Grass with Bush - Uneven Horizontal Row Length

What to do:

Turn some of the threads in the needle around, as was discussed for the sky.  

Use solid colored threads, 2-3 different colors in the needle at the same time for a more random color flow.

Randomly place the stitches so that no color pooling occurs.

Fourth - Incorrect Color Placement

This last issue dealing with The Variegated Thread Trap is that the stitcher is just stitching away and is not paying attention to where the color change falls - OK, this is the problem with all of this stitching.  But, let’s look at the pumpkin again,

Incorrect Color Placement in Pumpkin

Remember that I said that lighter colored threads indicate light striking an object and the color that we see is lighter than the color of the rest of the object.  With this pumpkin, outside on the ground, where would light, like sunlight, be striking the pumpkin?  Somewhere near the top, not at the bottom of the pumpkin.  This pumpkin is unrealistic because of this lighter color, where the arrows are pointing.

What to do:

Again, consider cutting out a color in the thread that is not going to be of any use to you.  The lightest color in the pumpkin should have been cut out.

Generally, stitching with variegated threads and trying to achieve realistic effects means you need to control how the color is being used in the stitches.  Do not just stitch with it as it comes off the skein.  Otherwise, you will fall into this trap that I have discussed.  I personally prefer to use solid colored threads, though many close colors to achieve realistic color in my stitching.  Many people think that this is a lot of work, but to stitch correctly with variegated threads and achieve the same effects I do with the solid colored threads is just as much work.

The Hows and Whys of Variegated Threads

Many people like to use variegated threads, those threads with color changes along the stitching length, for a variety of reasons - they like the color combinations, they provide interest in the stitching, they relieve the stitcher of having to change thread colors for shading, among others.

Knowing when and how to use variegated threads is important, and here’s why:  as a stitcher, you need to make a determination whether the change in color helps or hinders your stitched piece.  Too often this point is not even considered by the stitcher.

So in this post and in the next couple, let’s look at different ways that trouble with variegated threads crops up in stitching.

Many counted thread needlepoint pieces rely on variegated threads to add interest to the stitching.  The important thing to realize about counted thread pieces is that they rely heavily on symmetry.  Therefore, color changes in the variegated threads should not be random - they need to be planned.  Knowing this before you start stitching will allow you to select lengths of thread that will provide the color changes in your piece to make it more symmetrical.

Look at the piece below.  Notice that the stitches around each of the three sides that are stitched match.  This is what I mean by symmetry.  I think that this piece would look better if the darkest part of the variegated thread was in the middle of each side.  The crescents were stitched so that the same color changes would take place in each of them.  This is a symmetrical piece, the color changes in the variegated thread should enhance that symmetry.

Symmetrical Piece with Variegated Threads

One other point with respect to the piece above, I did not cut the skein of Watercolours in half.  Many times it is easier to find color runs with a skein of Watercolours if you cut one thread at the knot and then unwind the skein.  The length of the repeat in the Watercolours above is longer than the length of a skein.  So cutting the skein in half does not always make color sense for this piece.

The sample below shows Watercolours, color Aurora.  The colors in Aurora range from green to blue to violet to pink to dirty yellow.  This stitch sample shows how the change of color from pink to blue takes place - it has to pass through violet to get from the one color to another.  This makes sense because when you combine pink and blue it creates violet, and this is how that violet is created, by the pink dye mixing with the blue dye.  If you have trouble with what color is created when two different colors are mixed together, get yourself a color wheel.

Normal Color Flow with Variegated Thread

OK, where does the problem come in?

I saw this type of stitching with color change in an exhibited piece: 

Changing Thread in the Middle of a Stitch

The color changed right in the middle of a stitch.  Let me go so far as to say, never do this.  Never change thread color in the middle of a stitch, like the Scotch Stitch in this sample.  Let me go so far as to say never change any thread in the middle of a stitch - tension will be your biggest problem if the threads are all one color.  If you do not have enough thread to finish the stitch, rip the threads out for that stitch and end your thread.  Begin with a new thread.  

But don’t do this:

Too Drastic of a Color Change

This sample shows a color change, but in the stitch next to it.  If you have a line of stitching, try not to change the thread while you are stitching in a line, whether vertical or horizontal.  This is not always possible, so find a new piece of thread that will show a gradual color change away from the color of your last stitch.  And remember that the color you are searching for may not be at the END of the thread, you may need to start stitching a little way into the length of thread.  As you saw in the first example, the color changed to violet before turning to blue.  That is what you need to see in the stitching.  The difference is exaggerated, and visually jarring, when the stitches are right next to each other.

Therefore, look at your variegated thread.  Notice how the colors change.  Don’t pick up the thread randomly to stitch with, especially if you have to change colors in a line of stitches.  Find the color of your last stitch in a piece of thread, then begin stitching at that point to make a gradual change of color.