I ran the first series in 2007 You can find the list of the first TAST challenge here This year 2010, I decided to continue the challenge. It starts on March 2nd

The idea behind this challenge is to share. When you blog pictures or whenever you write about the TAST 2 challenge please link back here. It means that people can find out more about the challenge if they choose.

If you see something on someone’s blog and it provoked an idea that led you to try something different, please link to them. Apart from being good blog etiquette it is giving credit where it is due.

If working a challenge stitch every week sounds too much. It is OK. Last time some people simply worked the stitches that interested them. From my point of view I am happy to see people stitching and sharing what they learn.

If you are busy and want to swing in and out of the challenge as life dictates that is fine. I can't make it more guilt free than that. That said those that worked all the stitches in the last TAST  have said to me that learnt a lot! Even stitches that did not initially appeal to them, they learnt from, discovered a way of working and sometimes were surprised to find they enjoyed them.

How to join in:

Each Tuesday I post a challenge stitch. You work an example or two. Photograph it, and put it on your flickr site or write about it on your blog (don’t forget to link back to here)

Then come back to the page that relates to that stitch and leave a comment to tell everyone where you have your photograph. Don’t forget to leave your blog address. 

Skill level: 

All skill levels are welcome  but I will be working under the assumption that people know at least the basic stitches. Those that did not do TAST 1 check out the pdf file I released 12 Surface Stitches for Beginners and the first series of TAST  stitches. 

Other groups and networks 

You can also share your explorations with other members on stitchin fingers group and the flickr TAST site 

Stitch Explorer January

Stitch Explorer February 

Stitch Explorer March

Stitch Explorer April 

Stitch Explorer May

Stitch Explorer for June is a catch up month

Stitch Explorer  July

Stitch Explorer for August 

Stitch Explorer for September (catch up month) 

Stitch Explorer for October 

Stitch Explorer for November

Stitch Explorer for December 

Link to the flickr Stitch Explorer group 

Each month on the 15th of the month I post details of either a slightly unusual or lesser known stitch, or a style of embroidery. Please note I will be looking at embroidery styles as well as stitches. Sometimes it will be both. Sometimes it will be one or the other. 

I  think anyone who did or watched TAST quickly realised that although a stitch can be worked in a traditional manner if you look at the structure of the stitch and its use the stitch can be changed completely.  Looking at how a stitch is constructed and adapting that makes for some interesting discoveries. The same holds true when we look at different embroidery styles. Looking at how and why a style might be worked in a particular manner and investigating that, makes many styles more versatile than people realise.

Each month I will provide readers with enough information to enable them to explore, investigate and or adapt the stitch or style. Readers can use the challenge stitch or style on any project they choose. This means people can adapt the challenge to their needs.  

It will run it in the same way as my past challenges. In other words I will post and when people have responded on either a blog, flickr account, or some sort of photo space on the web,  they swing back to the challenge page and leave their web address in the comments. This means  people can visit, see what was done leave a comment on their blog. Since the idea is to share people really would need a place online to share it.

I want to credit Arlene with the title of the challenge.

If you plan to participate in a comment introduce your self and leave your name and blog/flickr address so people can visit you. Also remember to link back to Pin Tangle !

Note added later: Since the idea is to share what you stitch you will need somewhere to post photos such as a blog, a flickr account, or be on the stitching fingers community to join in.  The reason is you need somewhere online to post photos is so people can see them and respond to them. These sorts of sites are free to set up. Of course you can just stitch along but with no interaction or conversation with others its a bit of a lonely way to do it.  

The start date is July the 1st 2008

People can choose to work any stitch or any number of stitches from the list of stitches below and work on what ever project they choose. This is a project you can pick up as you have time and work at what ever pace is comfortable as there is no timetable as such.

For those who feel a bit over whelmed by the list you don’t have to stitch all of them! The idea is a stitch and share images of what you have done. All levels of stitchers are welcome and you can join in anytime.

To join in sign on to the Stitchin Fingers Textile Community (it’s free) and join the Hand Embroidery group. When you have stitched one of the embroidery stitches on the list leave a message in the group or on this blog if you want.

There is also a Flickr group associated with this stitch along

The list of stitches

1. Algerian Eye (regular, pulled and canvas eyelet stitch variations)
2. Arrowhead Stitch (regular and for canvas)
3. Arrowhead Stitch Threaded
4. Back Stitch
5. Back Stitch: Beaded
6. Back stitch: Diminishing pekinese stitch
7. Back stitch: Double Pekinese Stitch
8. Back Stitch: Festoon Stitch (pulled stitch)
9. Back stitch: Frost stitch (pulled)
10. Back Stitch: Honeycomb Filling (pulled stitch)
11. Back stitch: Laced Pekinese stitch
12. Back stitch: Pekinese Stitch
13. Back stitch: Pulled
14. Back stitch: Pulled double back stitch
15. Back stitch: Ringed Back Stitch (pulled stitch)
16. Back stitch: Threaded back stitch
17. Back stitch: Three sided edge stitch (pulled)
18. Back stitch: Whipped back stitch
19. Back stitched chain
20. Basque Knot stitch
21. Basque Stitch
22. Bonnet stitch
23. Bonnet stitch: Beaded
24. Bullion Knot
25. Burden stitch
26. Buttonhole Stitch
27. Buttonhole: Antwerp Edging fringed
28. Buttonhole: Antwerp Edging Stitch
29. Buttonhole: Antwerp Edging with a bead
30. Buttonhole: Bar
31. Buttonhole: Barb stitch
32. Buttonhole: Berwick Stitch
33. Buttonhole: Branched Buttonhole Bar
34. Buttonhole: Cast on stitch
35. Buttonhole: Closed buttonhole
36. Buttonhole: Crossed buttonhole
37. Buttonhole: Detached buttonhole filling
38. Buttonhole: Double Buttonhole Bar
39. Buttonhole: Double cast on stitch
40. Buttonhole: Double drizzle stitch
41. Buttonhole: Drawn buttonhole stitch (pulled stitch)
42. Buttonhole: Drizzle stitch
43. Buttonhole: Feather Stitch
44. Buttonhole: Filling
45. Buttonhole: Fly stitch
46. Buttonhole: Knotted buttonhole
47. Buttonhole: Knotted buttonhole band
48. Buttonhole: Knotted Feather Stitch
49. Buttonhole: Overlapping (also known as battlement stitch)
50. Buttonhole: Reversed buttonhole bar
51. Buttonhole: Top Knotted
52. Buttonhole: Triangular Buttonhole Stitch
53. Buttonhole: Up and down Buttonhole
54. Buttonhole: Wheel
55. Buttonhole: Whipped Buttonhole stitch
56. Buttonhole: with a bead
57. Buttonhole: with Picot
58. Chain Stitch
59. Chain Stitch: Alternating barred chain
60. Chain stitch: Beaded chain stitch
61. Chain Stitch: Berry stitch (Detached Double Chain)
62. Chain Stitch: Cable Chain Stitch
63. Chain Stitch: Coral stitch
64. Chain stitch: Cornered Chain Stitch
65. Chain Stitch: Crested chain
66. Chain Stitch: Detached chain stitch (Daisy Stitch
67. Chain Stitch: Double Cable Chain Stitch
68. Chain Stitch: Double Chain Stitch
69. Chain stitch: Feathered Chain stitch
70. Chain Stitch: Heavy chain
71. Chain Stitch: Knotted Cable Chain stitch
72. Chain Stitch: Linked Double Chain
73. Chain Stitch: Long Armed Detached Chain
74. Chain Stitch: Open Chain Stitch
75. Chain Stitch: Oyster stitch
76. Chain Stitch: Raised Chain Band
77. Chain Stitch: Reverse Chain Stitch
78. Chain Stitch: Rosette chain (very Tricky)
79. Chain Stitch: Spanish feather
80. Chain Stitch: Spiked Knotted Cable Chain
81. Chain Stitch: Threaded Open Chain Stitch
82. Chain Stitch: Twisted Chain Stitch
83. Chain Stitch: Waved Chain Stitch
84. Chain Stitch: Wheatear stitch
85. Chain Stitch: Whipped Chain Stitch
86. Chain Stitch: Whipped Double Chain
87. Chain Stitch: ZigZag Chain Stitch
88. Chained Fly Stitch
89. Chequer Filling (Pulled Thread Work )
90. Chevron Stitch
91. Chevron stitch: Beaded chevron
92. Chevron stitch: Chevron stitch with a single bead
93. Chevron stitch: Half Chevron stitch
94. Chevron stitch: Knotted Chevron
95. Chevron stitch: Pagoda stitch
96. Cobbler stitch (Pulled)
97. Colonial Knot
98. Couching
99. Cretan Stitch:
100. Cretan Stitch: Alternating Cretan Stitch
101. Cretan Stitch: beaded
102. Cretan Stitch: Closed Cretan Stitch
103. Cretan Stitch: Knotted Cretan Stitch
104. Cretan Stitch: Open Beaded Cretan Stitch
105. Cretan Stitch: Open Cretan Stitch
106. Cretan Stitch: Tied creten
107. Cretan Stitch: with a bead
108. Crossed Stitches: Broad Cross Stitch
109. Crossed Stitches: Chequer Filling (Pulled Thread Work )
110. Crossed Stitches: Detached Square Filling (Pulled Thread Work)
111. Crossed Stitches: Diagonal Broad Cross
112. Crossed Stitches: Diagonal Cross Filling (Pulled Thread Work)
113. Crossed Stitches: Diagonal Cross Stitch
114. Crossed Stitches: Diagonal English Cross (Canvas)
115. Crossed Stitches: Diagonal Raised Band (Pulled Thread Work)
116. Crossed Stitches: Double Cross stitch (Canvas Work)
117. Crossed stitches: Double Leviathan (Canvas)
118. Crossed Stitches: Dutch Stitch (Canvas Work)
119. Crossed Stitches: English Cross (Canvas)
120. Crossed Stitches: Ermine Stitch
121. Crossed stitches: Half Rhodes (Canvas)
122. Crossed stitches: Italian Cross stitch (Canvas)
123. Crossed stitches: Leviathan (Canvas)
124. Crossed Stitches: Long arm Cross stitch
125. Crossed stitches: Montenegrin (Canvas)
126. Crossed stitches: Norwich stitch (Canvas)
127. Crossed stitches: Oblong Cross (Canvas)
128. Crossed stitches: Oblong Cross with back stitch (Canvas)
129. Crossed Stitches: Open Trellis Filling (Pulled Thread Work)
130. Crossed stitches: Rhodes (Canvas)
131. Crossed stitches: Star stitch (Canvas)
132. Crossed stitches: Smyrna Cross (Canvas)
133. Crossed stitches: Rice Stitch (Canvas)
134. Eastern stitch
135. Fence of Bugles (beading stitch)
136. Fly Stitch:
137. Fly stitch: Beaded fly stitch
138. Fly stitch: Chained Fly Stitch
139. Fly Stitch: Closed fly stitch
140. Fly Stitch: Knotted Fly Stitch
141. Fly stitch: Threaded Fly stitch
142. Four Sided Stitch (pulled stitch) and other directions here
143. French Knot
144. Ghiordes Knot
145. Greek Cross filling (pulled)
146. Herringbone stitch
147. Herringbone Stitch: Beaded herringbone stitch
148. Herringbone Stitch: closed herringbone
149. Herringbone Stitch: Double Herringbone stitch
150. Herringbone Stitch: Herringbone tied with a bead
151. Herringbone Stitch: Interlaced
152. Herringbone Stitch: knotted herringbone
153. Herringbone Stitch: Maltese cross
154. Herringbone Stitch: Pulled
155. Herringbone Stitch: Tied Herringbone
156. Indian Ground (pulled)
157. Jessica stitch (canvas)
158. Long and Short stitch
159. Norwich stitch
160. Nuns Stitch
161. Open Trellis Filling (Pulled Thread Work)
162. Outline Stitch
163. Palestrina stitch
164. Palestrina stitch: Reversed Palestrina stitch
165. Palestrina stitch: Triple Palestrina stitch
166. Petal stitch (Canvas)
167. Pinwheel Stitch (canvas)
168. Rice Stitch
169. Rococco (Canvas)
170. Satin Stitch:
171. Satin stitch: Padded
172. Scroll Stitch
173. Shisha Stitch
174. Sorbello Stitch
175. Split Stitch:
176. Stem Stitch:
177. Stem Stitch: Portuguese stem
178. Stem Stitch: Rope stitch
179. Straight stitch: Double running stitch laced
180. Straight stitch: Laced running stitch
181. Straight stitch: Running stitch (including darning)
182. Straight stitches: Basket stitch (pulled)
183. Straight stitches: Brighton Stitch (canvas)
184. Straight stitches: Byzantine (Canvas)
185. Straight stitches: Cashmere (Canvas)
186. Straight stitches: Chess board filling (pulled)
187. Straight stitches: Crossed Cushion (Canvas)
188. Straight stitches: Cushion (Canvas)
189. Straight stitches: Diagonal Leaf stitch (Canvas)
190. Straight stitches: Encroaching Gobelin (Canvas)
191. Straight stitches: Florentine (Canvas)
192. Straight stitches: Gobelin (Canvas)
193. Straight stitches: Hungarian (Canvas)
194. Straight stitches: Japanese Darning
195. Straight stitches: Jaquard (canvas)
196. Straight stitches: Leaf stitch (Canvas)
197. Straight stitches: Moorish (Canvas)
198. Straight stitches: Mosaic (Canvas)
199. Straight stitches: Oriental (Canvas)
200. Straight stitches: Parisian (Canvas)
201. Straight stitches: Pulled Satin Stitch (Pulled)
202. Straight stitches: Ray stitch (Canvas)
203. Straight stitches: Scotch (Canvas)
204. Straight stitches: Triangle Stitch (canvas)
205. Straight stitches: Upright Gobelin (Canvas)
206. Twisted lattice band
207. Vandyke Filling
208. Vandyke stitch
209. Velvet stitch
210. Whipped spiders wheel
211. Woven Spiders Wheel
212. Woven: Needlweaving picot (forms petals and leave)
213. Woven: Raised cup

Needlework books online

The approach to stitching has change but the technical information in these books are still good.

Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont is online as part of Project Gutenburg. You can download the whole book from the site for free it is an excellent resource

Handbook of Embroidery by L. Higgin contains standard stitches but also information on goldwork and quite a good section on couching and diaper patterns.

Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Grace Christie covers all key areas of Embroidery. It is a classic but also one of the most clearest illustrated stitch books of its time. Don’t miss this one as it is very useful.

Art in Needlework by Lewis F Day and Mary Buckle is a 326 page book published in 1907. This book is free to download from the Internet Archive site. You can download it in PDF format

A Book of Fancy Designs for Ornamenting Oriental Work. (PDF file) by Mary Haehnlen is a small book that should not be missed by crazy quilters as it contains diagrams of 65 crazy quilting stitches. This free ebook comes the Antique pattern Library.

The Cult of the Needle by Flora Klickmann is a hidden gem I discovered at the Internet archive. It is a 134 pages of styles and types of embroidery including drawn work, hardanger, Berlin work, and Huck darning

Embroidery Stitches by M. E. Wilkinson is another gem which covers 200 stitches.

Ladies’ Guide in Needlework published by W. A. Leary & Co. in 1850. The 193 pages of this book have been divided into 3 PDF files which can be downloaded from the On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics (the download is found half way down this page)

Beeton’s Book of Needlework is also on the Project Gutenburg site and can be downloaded free. There is a section on embroidery and a section on “Berlin” work which covers many canvas work stitches

The Lady’s Manual of Fancy-Work by Matilda Pullan published in 1859 is also available at the On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics. It contains a mix of needlework arts including beading, and Berlin work (canvas stitches)

For drawn thread work see Part I - Drawn Thread Embroidery by Therese Dillmont (PDF) and Part II - Drawn Thread Embroidery by Therese Dillmont (PDF) both supplied by the Antique Pattern Library

Many of these free resources are presented as PDF files which means you need Acrobat Reader to open these files. You can download a free reader on the Acrobat site.

The Challenge for January

The Challenge for February

The Challenge for March

The Challenge for April

The Challenge for May

The Challenge for June

The Challenge for July

The Challenge for August

The Challenge for September

The Challenge for October 

The Challenge for November and the page to leave your progress reports

Guidelines

This challenge grew out of the Take a stitch Tuesday challenge run in 2007. “Take it Further” aims to apply textile technique skills to design. The challenge will run all year in 2008.

The Challenge

On the 1st of each month I will post a concept or design theme. The challenge is to take the idea, develop it and push it towards a resolved design during that month. In other words you interpret the idea and apply it to fiber or paper.

Every month there will be two options.

The second option will be a colour scheme or a design element like a shape, to develop into a resolved design. This means that if you don’t like the concept you can work the colour scheme or if you don’t like the colour scheme you can work with the concept. Or you can work with both.

The actual project you design can be any thing, in any medium or format you choose. It can be a crazy quilt block, a postcard, a journal quilt, a piece of embroidery, a sampler, a fabric book page or whatever sparks your imagination. It can also be visual journal work. In other words pages spreads of designs worked in a visual journal will be seen as a valid entry and included as one of the formats acceptable for the challenge.

Blog or flick your response

What ever you choose to do, blog the development of the idea through the month (preferably weekly) and leave a comment on the appropriate post (listed above) with your blog address so that people can visit your site and see what you have done. The flickr group for the Take it Further Design Challenge is here.

If you don’t have a blog or flickr account

If you don’t yet have a site to post images to you will need to set up one. If you do not have a blog you will need at least a flickr account or somewhere to have your images on the web. If you don’t have one go to http://flickr.com. They are free and easy to use and for all those flickr folks a flickr group is established called Take it Further Design Challenge

For a free blog service try http://wordpress.com. It is free and relatively easy to set up with good help files.

Link Back

Please help spread the word, blog about the challenge with a link here so people can find it.

Each week I took a stitch and suggested people experiment with it, push it a little and see what possibilities the stitch holds.

There is a Flickr Take a Stitch Tuesday group.

Here is a list of stitches in the challenge:

Week  1 Herringbone Stitch, week  2 Buttonhole, week  3 Detached Chain Stitch,

week  4 Cretan Stitch, week  5 Chevron stitch, week  6 Algerian Eye Stitch 

week  7 Feather Stitch, week 8 Fly Stitch,  week 9 Cross Stitch,

week 10 Barred chain and alternating barred chain stitch,  week 11 Up and down buttonhole, week 12 couching,

week 13 Knotted Cretan, week 14 Bonnet stitch, week 15 Oyster stitch,

week 16 Palistrina stitch, week 17 Running stitch, week 18 Woven and whipped wheels,

week 19 Basque stitch, week 20 Butterfly Chain stitch, week 21 Crossed buttonhole,

week 22 Satin stitch week 23 Wheatear stitch, week 24 French knots,

week 25 Long and Short stitch, week 26 Half Chevron, week 27  Bullion knots,

week 28 Sheaf Stitch, week 29 Arrow stitch, week 30 Buttonhole wheels,

week 31 Cast on Stitch, week 32 Crested Chain, week 33 Scroll stitch,

week 34 Portuguese Knotted Stem stitch, week 35 Shisha Stitch, week 36 Cable Chain stitch, 

week 37 Rice stitch and Square Boss stitch, week 38 Knotted Buttonhole Band, 

week 39 Reversed Buttonhole Bar, week 40 Linked Double Chain, week 41 Lace Border Stitch, 

week 42 Twisted Satin Stitch, week 43 Drizzle stitch, week 44 Zig Zag Spanish Knotted Stitch, 

week 45 Pekinese stitch, week 46 Chain Braid stitch, week 47 Thorn Stitch, 

week 48 Knotted Cable chain, week 49 pistil stitch, week 50 Berry Stitch 

week 51 Chained Bar week 52 Spanish feather stitch.

The same list in alphabetical order of stitch:

Algerian eye stitch week 6

Arrow stitch week 29

Barred chain and alternating barred chain week 10

Basque stitch week 19

Berry Stitch week 50

Bonnet stitch week 14

Bullion knots week 27

Butterfly chain stitch week 20

Buttonhole week 2

Buttonhole wheels week 30

Cable Chain stitch week 36

Cast on stitch week 31

Chain Braid stitch week 46

Chained bar week 51

Chevron stitch week 5

Crested Chain week 32

Cretan stitch week 4

Cross stitch week 9

Crossed buttonhole week 21

Couching week 12

Detached chain stitch week 3

Drizzle stitch week 43

Feather stitch week 7

Fly stitch week 8

French knots week 24

Half Chevron week 26

Herringbone week 1

Knotted Cretan week 13

Knotted Buttonhole Band week 38

Knotted cable chain stitch week 48

Lace Border Stitch week 41

Linked Double Chain week 40

Long and short stitch week 25

Oyster stitch week 15

Palistrina stitch week 16

Pekinese stitch week 45

Pistil stitch week 49

Portuguese Stem stitch week 34

Reversed Buttonhole Bar week 39

Rice stitch and Square Boss stitch week 37

Running stitch week 17

Satin stitch week 22

Scroll stitch week 33

Sheaf Stitch week 28

Shisha Stitch week 35

Spanish feather stitch week 52

Thorn Stitch week 47

Twisted Satin Stitch week 42

Up and down buttonhole week 11

Wheatear stitch week 23

Woven and whipped wheels week 18

Zig Zag Spanish knotted stitch week 44

This is not swap challenge, but a personal challenge to share with others. The postcard can be made using any textile technique so no matter what you do the challenge is open to you.

A flickr group has been started and that is where everyone can post images of their postcards. It is called 6 x 4 lives . Each month when you post the image of your fabric postcard tell us how you did it, and if the information about the technique is online let us have a link. If there are books about it tell us what they are. Let us know what your influences were, what sparked the idea, how you tackled the design challenges, why you made creative decisions, and how you finally realised the piece. If there is a story behind it let us know what it is. It does not have to be tremendously long and involved but do share what you have learnt

Flickr is free so just join the group 6 x 4 livesand at least once a month post an image of a fabric postcard you have made that month and tell us about it. I think it will be fun and interesting.