Yesterday was the first proper day that I could sit down with a nice cup of tea and try out some stitches for the new Christmas pattern that I'm working on.  I would like to add that the cup of tea came after a VERY cold sea swim that I was talked into!  Hence the quiet afternoon with hot drinks.

and I found a stitch or rather a combination of stitches that I rather liked.  I don't use herringbone stitch very often as mine always seems to look a little loose but this time I bound the cross overs with little stitches to make it look a lot neater.  And I love the effect of using a different colour.  Simple but pretty.

So here is a quick herringbone tutorial in photos.  The main thing is keeping it all even, mine is stitched on a curve because that's what I need it to do in the pattern but of course you can stitch it straight.

I think I have neglected this pretty stitch.  I added it to the base of the tree and popped a few french knots in for good measure

It would make a beautiful border for a dress too.

Now I'm going back to my battered and worn copy of Anchor's 100 embroidery stitches to find more fun for the afternoon.

x