Needle Craft Plus/NeedleCraftPlusVolume1.iso/misc/marking/marking

Text File | 1994-09-18 | 5.7 KB | 103 lines

By: Birgit Denenberg

 Marking stitch

There are to kinds of marking stitches,one that produces a"x" on the
back and one that produces afoursided stitch on the back.Of which are
both not that complicated working in a row and one color,but when you're
talkning intricate designs-forget it:>This stitch was mainly used in the
17th century for marking linens.You work with one strand of floss
sometimes recrossing the same stitch and it looks like you have used
2str.first you make a row of 1/2 cross,every other stitch.

1 a 2 b 3  = stitches,numbers are the 1/2 crosses you stitch first.
                letters are the stitches you skipped on the first
                 "journey".

at the end of this row come out in the middle of stitch "3" and go down
in the bottom right hole,comming up agin in the middle.You just made a
1/4 stitch in the back and front.go down in the top right of this stitch
and come up in the bottom right of stitch "2".Go down in the top left of
stitch "2"(you now have stitch 3,2 crossed) and come up in the bottom
right of stitch "1",go down in the top right of "1".(1,2,3 are now
crossed)Come up again in the bottom right of "1" , go down in the top
right of"a", come up in the bottom left of "b",go down it the top right
of "b", come out again in the bottom right of "3",go down into the
center (make a 1/4 stitch) and come out again at the bottom left of "3",
go down into the top left of "b"(you now crossed this stitch)and come
out in the bottom right of"a", go down into the top left of "a"-you now
have all stitches crossed front and back.This takes quite some practice.
This is worked in basicly 4 steps,with the important 1/2 diagonals made
at the end of the first journey and befor the last.Sometimes it is
necessary to recross a cross in order to get to a point of continuation,
this should be done as invisible as possible.

method 2,4 sided in back, I like this one:>
this time we're stitching down(vertical)

1
2   these are "our" two stitches(1,2)

come up bottom left of "1",go down top right of "1", come up bottom
right of "1"(which is also the top right of "2"),go down in the top left
of "1",come up top right of "1",go down bottom left of "1"(yes, you've
crossed this before)come up in the bottom right of "1"(you now have a"x"
in the front and a square in the back)go down in the bottom left of "2"
and come up in the bottom right of "2",go down in the top left of "2"
(which is also bottom left of "1")and come up in the bottom left
of"2",go down in the top right of "2",up in the bottom right of "2" and
so forth.

Now the stitches slanting like this /  consist of 2 threads, while the
others like this \ only have one thread,But if you want to work any
design you will be crossing over these also in order to get to your
point of continuation:>Can't believe greatgramma worked the entire
alphabet like this and some designs! I may just chart those one day and
see if I can do it:>The first time I looked at her sampler( I did not
know of the marking stitch then) I thought she had a really strange way
of cross stitching.Then later on I discovered this stitch and realized
all the effort that went into this sampler! Makes me appreciate it even
more.She made this sampler in 1897 when she was 13 years old!! In my
eyes incredible.The darning sampler she made the year after that is just
as beautiful.She only used red thread for the sampler and blue and red
for the darning sampler.I think thats were my "stitching genes" came
from.My mom told me she always was doing somthing with her hands wether
it was knitting,embroidering or such.Thanks to my grandma,which only
stitched what was necessary in those days, I still have many of my great
gramms table lines, bed lines and beautiful doilies.I just love this
stuff,you should see her cuttwork table runners! Gorgeous!

Here a footnote from Eillen Bennets Notebook of sampler stitches(she is
great!)

Other names for the Marking stitch are: Brave Bred, Double sided cross,
Point de croix sans evers,Reversible cross,Sampler stitch or 2 sided
cross.

"The 17th century saw a more prosperous way of life with an increasing
store of household linens needing to be initialed(marked) with the name
of the owner and numbered for rotation purposes.When we read of the long
and arduous process of making a yard of linen,from growing of the flax
plant through its preperation for spinning and weaving,we can understand
 its value to its owner. Befor the invention of marking inks, the
marking was carried out to great perfection and this task would be given
to children to prove their ability. The alphabet was to play an
important role in sampler history and probably served a dual purpose of
teaching necessary skils of marking fine household linens and aide to
learning the letters and numbers.Wether made at home or school the
alphabet was common in all samplers and the sampler became the tool used
in teaching the marking of household linens-a tradition which was to
continue for over 300 years.
Although the marking stitch is easy to work in a straight line, it is a
most difficult stitch to execute in complex lettering. When we try to
duplicate this old techinique, we quickly begin to appreciate the skill
and patience of the little sampler maker of long ago. To study old
samplers and discover the perfectly excuted marking stitch, evident
onlywhen the sampler can be viewed from the backside, is truly a
delightful experience! Today, the need for the marking stitch no longer
exists, and this long favored way of lettering has almost been erased
with the passage of time.With patience and practice we, too, can become
proficient with this ancient stitch and can continue its rich heritage
by signing and dating our newly created samplers in this old way."