Blocks and Borders 2
I am really, really happy with the progress in this series to date. I hope you enjoy the second design in the series, Blocks and Borders 2.
This design follows the same overall design concept of Blocks and Borders 1. So, what do I mean by that? Well that’s fairly simple 🙂 In both these designs, I have arranged the ‘borders’ alternating from Cross Stitch to Blackwork to Cross Stitch etc. A simple arrangement but I think it works really well. Then I have added a simple solid cross stitch border and finished the design with a Blackwork border around the entire design.
In the process of creating these designs, initially, I decided that I wanted each of the finished stitched designs to be approximately A4 size. Naturally, this will vary depending on the ‘count’ of the fabric that the design is stitched on. A decent size project but not too daunting 🙂 At the same finished size, you could choose to stitch just the one design or a pair. What not try a tryptych, get them framed and hang them as a feature on the wall, perhaps in the office, bedroom or living room.
Start With the Big Picture and Work Down to the Detail
With what I had in mind, I knew that I wanted to work in ‘odd’ numbers to balance the design. In each design, there are 3 cross stitch blocks in each ‘border’ and 5 ‘borders in total. Each of the cross stitch blocks were to be based on a quilt block. Traditional quilt blocks are, for the most part, based on varying grid formats. This creates an underlying framework to support the design and assembly of the block.
The same principle comes into play when creating these designs. Along with this basic framework, I wanted to use quilt blocks that only had 90° and 45° angles in the design so that they would translate well into cross stitch. Next, I considered how many stitches I needed to use for each block. In this design, each block is 24 stitches x 24 stitches. At 24 x 24 stitches, the finsihed block is a comfortable size and allows for the block to be subdivided into various different combinations to create the block designs e.g. 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 stitches or 8 x 8 x 8 stitches etc.
How do the Blackwork Borders Fit In?
The Blackwork borders are based of small motifs that are flipped and/or mirrored in various combinations and then repeated. For this to work, each motif needs to be able to be worked over a number of stitches in width that divides evenly into 24 e.g. 4, 6, 8 etc. The number of stitches in height for each motif isn’t as critical.
Finally, the simple cross stitch border is added to define the design and to act as ‘spacer’ before the final Blackwork border.
The following table shows the 3 motifs that these Blackwork borders are based on. I always find it quite fascinating how simply flipping and/or mirroring and then repeating a seamingly ‘small’ motif builds into something that seems quite complex 🙂
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This pattern is available for immediate download here at my Etsy Shop. You will also receive comphrehensive downloadable Cross Stitch and Blackwork embroidery instructions with your purchase.
Read more about the first design in this series, Blocks and Borders 1, here.
Enjoy 🙂