[Nfb-krafters-korner] The Continental Stitch in Needlepoint, or plastic canvas

[Dixie]

The continental stitch will give you a short stitch on the front and a long
stitch on the back.  It gives more stability to the fabric when doing
needlepoint on regular needlepoint canvas.  It looks like a half an X on the
front side and it is a long diagonal stitch on the back side.  Another way
to describe it is on the front side the stitch crosses over one intersection
of the canvas bars, or up one and over one space.  On the back side the
stitch goes up one and over two spaces.  For the plastic canvas This stitch
is used for items you want to have a finished back on.

If you look at your canvas as you would the grid of a Battleship game, the
holes along the top edge are numbered 1 through 10 and the rows down the
left edge are letters a through j.  Now to start leave a tail about an inch
long in the back side of the canvas.  Put your needle up from the back
through hole number A2.  Pull through so you only have your tail in back.
Now put your needle down into hole B1.  Then come up in A3 and go down in
B2, come up in A4 and go down in B3, and continue across until you have gone
down in B9.  Now is time to turn your work.  Keeping the numerical and
alphabetical designations on the same place on the canvas, when you turn it
around the J10 hole is the top left corner.  You are now going to bring your
needle up in the C9 and go down in B10 which shares the hole with a prior
stitch.  , come up in C8 and go down in B9, come up in C7 and go down in B8,
come up in C6 and go down in B7, come up in C5 and go down in B6, come up in
C4 and go down in B 5, come up in C3 and go down in B4, come up in C2 and go
down in B 3, come up in C1 and go down in B2.  Again, turn , come up in C2
and go down in D1.  Follow along as in row 1.

 Some plastic canvas patterns have you go all the way to the edge, and make
your last stitch in a row around the edge.  Other patterns leave the edge to
be finished later in the pattern.


Hope this helps.

Dixie

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