A Needlepoint Stitch For Dazzling Dresses

Hi there!

Are you ready for our final stop on this encore Threadventure tour? Terrific! Hop aboard the Serendipity Express with me and we’ll take our magical virtual vacation tour bus to lavish Las Vegas. Bright lights, sparkling costumes, spectacular talent, and glittering casinos are waiting for us, so grab your sunglasses and let’s hit the strip!

And here we are! (WOW…that was quick!) 😉

Billed as the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas is famous for its magnificent nightlife. Not only do you find comedians, showgirls, and singers performing there, but you can also see fantastical theatrical productions. 

Choosing the best stitches and threads for fancy clothes can be daunting, but I have a scintillating (tee hee!) stitch suggestion for you that I think you’re going to L-O-V-E! 

Come on, let’s dive in and take a look at a spectacular needlepoint stitch for dazzling dresses…

just like that one you see in the picture above.

I love elegant costumes and clothes, don’t you? And they’re especially fun to stitch! You can become an armchair fashion designer when you put a needle to your canvas, so channel your inner Bob Mackie and bring on the glitz!

The Tied Pavilion stitch…

is a favorite needlepoint stitch for dazzling dresses on your needlepoint projects and it’s really fun to work. It’s a largish stitch, so you’ll need a pretty big space to establish the pattern.

There are lots of different options for this stitch. You could work the vertical stitches in one color of thread and the horizontal “tie-down” stitch in another color of thread or you could mix silks and metallics for a totally different look.

Let your imagination go W-I-L-D and see what you can come up with! 

I’m using Splendor and Coronet Braid 8 to work the tied pavilion stitch.

Splendor, Rainbow Gallery’s divisible 100% silk embroidery thread, is what I’m using to work the long vertical stitches in this pattern. Each of the 12 plies is about the same size as one ply of DMC cotton embroidery floss. Don’t be afraid of this thread…if you use cotton embroidery floss, you can use Splendor.

Splendor has 360 luscious colors and each card has 8 yards. Splendor features a unique construction of 3 bundles of 4 strands each; to strand it, separate the bundles first, then divide each bundle, one ply at a time. I recommend using 2 plies on Congress Cloth, 4 plies on 18 mesh, and 6 plies on 13/14 mesh.

I definitely recommend stranding* Splendor so that it lays smoothly on your canvas – and you need to use a laying tool with this thread, too.

*In case you forgot, stranding means to separate the plies of a divisible thread, and then put them back together again. 

Coronet Braid 8 is the mid-sized member of the Coronet Braid family and is approximately the same weight as Kreinik #8 braid. It’s a synthetic blend thread – 65% rayon/35% metallic polyester. The visible outer metallic-looking fiber is tightly wrapped around a rayon core, giving it the appearance of a real metal thread. It’s a great fiber to use for outlining and it bends rather well around curved shapes. It’s also excellent for couching.

There are 11 colors of Coronet Braid 8 and each card has 10 yards. It’s suitable for long stitches and couching on 18 – 24 mesh needlepoint canvas. Use it “as is” directly off the card and cut shorter lengths (16″) for the best results. I’m using it as the “tie-down” stitch across the center of each pavilion stitch. (That’s the horizontal green stitch on your stitch diagram.)

And that, my friend, that brings us to the end of our stay in Las Vegas.

It’s been so much fun to share this needlepoint stitch for dazzling dresses with you.

I’ve had a terrific time revisiting some of the most popular stops on the 2018 Threadventure with you, too. Thank you for joining me.

NOTE: This week’s episode of Serendipi-TV will be at a different time – over on the Serendipity Needleworks Facebook page Saturday afternoon (October 5) at 2:00 p.m. CDT

And next week, we’ll take a peek at using overdyed threads in your needlepoint projects so I’ll see you right back here.

Until then, happy stitching!
XOXO!!!

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Ellen Johnson