Blocks and Borders 1

I have been a fan of ‘counted thread’ hand embroidery for many years. There are many different types of counted thread hand embroidery, however, the two that I love most are Cross Stitch and Blackwork. I have been designing a range of  Cross Stitch and Blackwork embroideries for some time now. Not quite able to decide which I like best, I thought I would address this ‘problem’ by designing a series of embroideries that utilise both Cross Stitch and Blackwork. Hence, my newest series, ‘Blocks and Borders’ was born. In a nutshell, the Cross Stich component is based on quilting blocks. The ‘quilting blocks’ are interdispersed with Blackwork ‘borders’. Visit my Galleries page to read about my other Cross Stitch and/or Blackwork embroidery patterns.

Beginning Your Embroidery

At the risk of stating the obvioius, Blocks and Borders 1 is the first in this series. I like to work on a piece a fabric a minimum of a 4″ larger than the finsihed stitched design all around. This allows room for framing once the desing is completed. I began sttiching this design from the centre outwards. More often than not though, I tend to begin the design in the top left hand corner and then work across and down.  Maybe, I just felt like a change this time around… who knows 🙂

Either way, just double check that you have sufficient room all around to complete your design and work which ever way is most comfortable for you. If you prefer stitching from the centre outwards, the centre stitch of the design is marked on the pattern for easy reference.

This pattern is available for immediate purchase and download at my Etsy Store here. Comphrehensive downloadable Cross Stitcha dn Blackwork instructions are also included with purchase of your pattern. The pattern is available in two formats – Black and White symbols and Coloured Blocks and Symbols. Download both formats or your preferred format only. The below images show samples of  part of the chart and key in both formats.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO VIEW A LARGER IMAGE

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