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April
2006
Start
and finish . . .
Since all of my pieces are worked on frames and many of these
canvases are very large, it becomes difficult to start and
end threads.
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Way knot |
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My usual
solution is to use a 'way knot' to begin. This is a knot on
the front of the canvas and then stitching begins a few inches
away from the knot. |
The ending of the thread is a 'way tail', the end of the thread
ending on the top of the canvas, a few inches away from the
last stitch.
It's important to place the tail and knot in the directional
path. When they are reached, they can be snipped off and the
back of the work will be neat and the thread secured.
I've found a further evolution of this method:
Sometimes, when using very long stitches or having an open
stitch background, I need to secure the threads differently.
. .
Here's what I'm doing:
Make a strong knot on the thread. Then begin at the back of
the canvas (while only looking at the front of the piece).
Without seeing my work on the back, I weave the knotted thread
into some completed work by using some quick up and down stitching
that grabs into finished work but doesn't distort existing
stitches.
When the thread length is all used, I repeat the quick up
and down stitching, again into finished work on the back,
to end the thread.
At some point, when it's easy or necessary, I turn the canvas
over. I cut off all of the knots and tails since the threads
will be very secure and there's no need to keep these unsightly
and bulky knots on the back of the piece.
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www.stitchamaze.com
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