Irish Stitch

The Irish Stitch is a “filling in” or “grounding” stitch, or for patterns formed with shades of color in vandkykes crossing. It is a long stitch, taken over five or more threads of canvas, in an upright direction, and it requires to be worked on fine canvas. Its only peculiarity consists in its being alternately started from the last row of canvas and from the third. This allows the stitches to end in one line where the center of the next line comes, and gives a pleasing variety to ordinary groundings. This stitch is generally done with zephyr, which is not too thick.

To work: Make a Long Stitch over five upright threads of canvas for the first stitch, for the second, commence the work two threads of canvas above the bottom part of first stitch, but cover five threads of canvas as before. Repeat these two stitches to the end of the row; and, for the second row, work in the same way, thus making an irregular line of stitches, but one that fills up the spaces left in the first row.

The engraving gives the idea of the effect and the manner of working.

Irish Stitch in Berlin Work
Click on picture to see more detail.


By exercising a little judgment and ingenuity, it will be seen that the worsted need only cover the surface. In doing it in the regular way, the under side, as well as the upper, is covered with the zephyr, a method which many condemn.

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