Recently, many designers who make patterns for cross-stitch, began to complement it with a seam “back needle”. It allows you to give the finished product a finished look, emphasize small details or simply create the desired image. However, not all beginner needlewomen are familiar with the correct technique for its implementation. So they get lost, sometimes even refuse to embroider such works. Although, having mastered it once, in the future it will be possible to do even whole pictures for them.
Execution technique
Before you start embroidering with a “back needle” stitch, you should understand in detail the classical technique of its implementation. To work, you need a canvas or fabric with clearly visible interweaving of threads. It needs to be hooped and pulled well - it will be easier to work this way. A needle with a sharp tip is suitable for embroidery, as for sewing or beadwork. But the usual embroidery needles are better put aside so as not to spoil the finished product.
The mouline thread should be folded in half, so that on one side it turns out a loop, and thread it into the needle. And of course, scissors are still needed to cut the remaining thread. Now you can make the first stitch "back needle." Embroidery should not have knots, and therefore you need to properly fix the tip of the thread. To do this, pass the needle to the desired distance (4-6 weaves), and then through the loop and tighten. The thread will hold perfectly.
Now you need to thread the needle one more step, and then, having returned, stick it into the previous hole, pull it out at the same distance and again pass it into the previously made puncture. So all the other stitches should be sewn. On the wrong side, when embroidering with a “back needle” stitch, the new thread will pass under the old stitch. This will give the work a more accurate look. To fix the thread on the other hand, you just need to wrap it several times around the stitches and cut off the rest.
Little tricks
However, even knowing how to work with a “back needle” stitch, it is not always possible to beautifully
design embroidery. Just not everyone is familiar with some tricks. Firstly, this seam is performed the very last one, when the embroidery is already completed so that the stitches lie evenly and do not damage the pattern. Some needlewomen prefer to do this even after washing and ironing the embroidered picture.
Also, the stitches should be even and the same so that the work looks neat. The size may vary depending on the embroidery and the pattern itself. For paintings that are most likely to be under glass, a long back-needle seam is also suitable. The scheme for a tablecloth, napkin or clothing involves only short stitches. Just otherwise, the thing may be uncomfortable to wear.
Finally
There is probably no more discussed technique than this seam. Some embroiderers like him, and they are ready to arrange any work for them. Others completely refuse him, because they do not find anything attractive in him. But the truth, as it should be, is somewhere in between. Of course, you should not make a seam “back needle” where it is not provided. But you can’t do without it for embroidering small parts in large paintings.