Hand embroidery is a tactile art. It begs to be touched! Why? Usually because texture and dimension are a noticeable part of embroidery.
Sometimes, texture and dimension happen accidentally, but often, designers purposely add dimension and texture to their embroidery projects in order to increase their beauty and interest.
In the first part of this series on dimension and texture in hand embroidery, we’re going to look at common embroidery threads and how their fiber, weight and twist help add dimension and texture to embroidery.
Stranded cotton comes in skeins, and the whole thread that comes off the skein is divisible into six separate, fine threads. Each of these threads is made up of two smaller plies that are softly twisted together.
Because of its soft twist, texture and dimension depend more on the weight (thickness) of the floss and the type of stitch, rather than on the twist of the thread.
When embroidering with stranded cotton, you can choose to use any number of strands, from one to six. If you use one strand of cotton, the resulting embroidery will be quite fine. As you add strands, the resulting embroidery becomes heavier. If you stitch with all six strands, the stitches become chunky.
The number of strands you choose depends on the look you’re trying to achieve. If you want to add more texture and dimension to your stitching, you can do so simply by using more strands in the needle at one time.
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