My First Blackwork Embroidery

I mentioned yesterday that I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of hand stitched projects this summer. Here’s another one!

Last month, I finished my first piece of blackwork embroidery! This is the 100 Days of Tiny pattern from The Steady Thread and it was designed to be used as a 100 days projects…even though, shhh, there are actually 126 squares. 😉

As we were getting ready for our trip to Europe at the beginning of summer, I wanted some sort of handwork project to take with me on the trip and landed on this pattern. I don’t remember exactly how I came across The Steady Thread — it may have been while doing some googling for “modern cross stitch patterns?” After making this cross stitch piece last year, I’d been wanting to start another, and while blackwork is not the same thing as cross stitch, there are many similarities. The 100 Days of Tiny pattern was free (!), but I’ve already bought a couple of her other blackwork patterns as potential future stitching projects.

I printed out the pattern, gathered some Aida cloth and thread and needle and hoop, and packed up everything in a pouch that I took to Europe…but then didn’t end up stitching a thing while we were there! Instead, I started it when we got back sometime around June 10-ish. I found the process very enjoyable, and — full disclosure — I was able to make quick progress while supporting work meetings from home. (I still work from home a couple days per week, and my job involves a lot of meetings/telecons. Having something in my hands to work on is actually a huge benefit, as it helps me avoid distraction and focus on listening to the discussion/jumping in with input when needed.)

A note on thread — most blackwork tutorials I’ve looked at recommend you use 1-2 strands of 6-strand embroidery floss. I wanted to use a single strand since 18 count cloth means more stitches per inch and a smaller overall design. So I compared that to the sewing threads already in my stash, and found that 28 wt Aurifil thread was very similar to a single strand of floss!

(Also fyi, 12 wt Aurifil is very similar to two strands; in fact, 12 wt is what I used for my most recent cross stitch piece.)

After taking the photo above, my progress accelerated even more and apparently I didn’t take any more progress shots! I took this project with me to North Carolina in July — but didn’t work on it there either. Apparently my vision for doing vacation stitching rarely matches reality! But I picked it up again when we got back in mid July and finished the piece before the end of that month.

I haven’t decided how to use this piece yet. I could frame it like my cross stitch from last year, or maybe incorporate it into a bag or pouch? I’d love to hear ideas if you’ve got ’em!

The stats:

• 100 Days of Tiny pattern by The Steady Thread
• Stitched on 18-count Aida cloth; design measures 6.25″ x 6.75″
• Stitched with 28 wt Aurifil thread