Blackwork

Day 38: Blackwork embroidery is essentially nothing more than backstitch and/or running stitch and therefore is fairly simple to learn. What gives it its charm is creating filler-patterns using nothing more than those elementary stitches. The distance covered by the travelling thread (the thread on the back of the work) is the key to keeping the work flat and even. On Aida cloth, it should never be carried across more than two squares without catching it down under another stitch. Planning the line of travel for complicated patterns can be challenging. This piece is called "Lost in a Blackwork Maze" and was made following a commercially-prepared graph with a few variations of my own. I have made several versions of it over the years and finally finished one (11" x 11" on 16-count cloth) for myself!