One of the easiest of embroidery stitches is combined here with one of the most frustrating. The Running Stitch is a linear stitch used to create dashed lines on fabric. Here I’m using a size 8 pearl cotton thread called Oranges to make rows of Running Stitches. Easy peasy!
And then comes those frustrating French Knots scattered between the rows. Why do I find them frustrating? Because I have to carefully and slowly draw the thread through the knot to finish it correctly. How am I supposed to do that and watch a movie at the same time?
Despite my tiff with French Knots, I do love how they pop off the surface of the fabric and add pizzazz to our humble Running Stitches. They are the swiftest means of texturing fabric or adding fleece to a sheep. More on French Knots later.
A Note about Batting
The piece I am working on in this series is fused to wool batting using Misty Fuse fusible web. I am stitching just through the quilt top and the wool batting. Later, the backing fabric is added. Why use wool batting?
- Wool batting gives body to the work so you have something to grip while adding lots of embroidery stitches.
- It does not have a scrim so you don’t have to worry about the quilt rippling. (Learn more about scrim in my class, Fusing 101.)
- Wool batting is much easier to stitch into than cotton or polyester batting.
- It lets you carry threads behind the quilt surface without tying them off and it conceals the carried thread.
- Wood batting adds dimension to the quilt surface which is what quilting is all about!