loosethreadstitchery

[loosethreadstitchery]

Heads up, I think there's a typo in the dimensions of your newest piece. Should be 10 3/4" x 10 3/4", right?

Yes it should, Anon; that's what I get for doing things at 5AM. Thank you for letting me know!

[loosethreadstitchery]

I've started playing around with optical illusions lately. This is the first piece I've finished.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

One more little set of ornaments for this year. Blackwork on 18-count Aida cloth.

Patterns here (my site) or here (Etsy)

[loosethreadstitchery]

An older one, because I'm not a hot-weather person and am very much looking forward to autumn.

Pattern here My Etsy shop

[loosethreadstitchery]

I really do have designs in the pipeline that aren't colour wheels, but rainbows and blackwork gradients make me happy. Blackwork embroidery on 14-count black Aida cloth.

This one is a companion piece to the Penrose Wheel. Same seven thread colours (six for the fills, plus white for outlines), same size (120 x 120 stitches).

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy). Patterns for the set here or here.

[loosethreadstitchery]

Oh, that's coming along beautifully!

Just finished. I'm so happy with how this one turned out! At just over 17" (43cm) in diameter this is my largest design to date. Each section uses only 2 thread colours (white + 1 other). Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here.

[loosethreadstitchery]

He's there...

Phantom of the Opera mask and rose. Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

This was done mostly as an experiment using the conveniently monochrome mask. I've done blackwork shading before by varying the stitch density, but I wanted to play around with varying the number of strands used. It half worked; the contrast between 1 and 2 strands turned out, but the contrast between 2 and 3 strands doesn't show as well. I was tempted to try 4 strands, but 3 was already pretty tight on 14-count. I also found that while I like the effect of varying strands of white thread, it looked untidy when done in colours, so the rose and leaves are all single-stranded.

Free pattern is here, for anyone who'd like it.

[loosethreadstitchery]

I don't tend to use a lot of orange or yellow unless they're part of a colour wheel, but wanted something fire-inspired for this. It's another big one, about 43cm (17") across. Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

Happy anniversary to what is still my favourite piece I've made.

Just finished. I'm so happy with how this one turned out! At just over 17" (43cm) in diameter this is my largest design to date. Each section uses only 2 thread colours (white + 1 other). Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

It's beautiful! Wonderful work!

Penrose Wheel Blackwork done 😎

Pattern by @loosethreadstitchery (link)

March 2024-August 2024

7 colors on 16-count black aida

[loosethreadstitchery]

Geometric colour wheel in blackwork. This is one of the rare projects that ended up looking better stitched than it did when I sketched it out.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy)

[loosethreadstitchery]

I've mostly been working on larger projects lately, so it was nice to take a break with some quick and easy ornaments. Blackwork on 18-count Aida cloth.

Patterns here and here.

[loosethreadstitchery]

Rex here has been buried in my drafts folder for awhile now, but I finally dug him up and finished designing him. Blackwork embroidery on black 14-count Aida cloth.

Here he is before I stitched the outlines, and I think part of me likes him better this way. The bones have different fill motifs, but they aren't starkly delineated textbook-style.

Pattern here or here.

[loosethreadstitchery]

I stitched one of your designs as my first black work piece, and really enjoyed it! Then, I entered that piece in my state fair competition, won a ribbon, and the judges loved the design, so thank you!

That's fantastic, anon! Congratulations to you!

[loosethreadstitchery]

All the little colour wheels! I designed these to be stitched on white cloth like the M, A, and D, but the only change I made to work on black cloth for the S and Q was using white thread instead of black for the cross stitches.

Cross stitched letters and blackwork backgrounds on 14-count Aida cloth. Each of these letters is in a 6-inch (15.2 cm) hoop.

Patterns for the whole alphabet here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

hey! I just wanted to let you know that you inspired me to start making my own blackwork and other cross stitch designs, and to thank you for having such delightfully intricate art! do you have any tips for someone who is just starting to produce designs for other people?

Thanks ^-^

Yay, that's awesome! I'd love to see some of the designs you stitch!

Assuming you're doing your designs digitally, the biggest tip is probably common to a lot of digital art: save everything. Save your drafts and your different versions and random bits and pieces, even if you don't think you'll ever have a reason to revisit them. And because doing this usually results in many different files for each project, figure out a file naming and folder organization system that makes sense to you so that when you need to find those bits and pieces you can.

Have fun!

[loosethreadstitchery]

This one stitched up fairly quickly and was fun to work on. Blackwork Celtic knot, my own design.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).