Recently we posted a video in the Steotchaloners Group on Facebook, providing some detailed guidance about our Long Diagonal stitches.

You can find a transcript of the video, with some helpful diagrams here.

This year we’re offering a special quarantine edition Steotchalone.

Here are our announcement videos:

Here’s guidance on thread and other materials:

What do I need?

We designed this pattern to be super flexible- choose your own elements! The fabric and floss you use will affect the final look of your sampler, but each will be a special work of art stitched in these truly unique times.

Fabric. We recommend Aida fabric for this one; Evenweave will make it hard to complete a few fractional stitches that rely on the 4×4 thread weave of each Aida square. We used 16-count Aida and suggest something between 14 and 18 count. The color is up to you- we went neutral with an antique white, but you can pair whatever fabric and thread colors you like for this; lighter fabrics will have a better result.

The finished design is 64×97 stitches, that’s 4×6.06” on 16-count fabric, perfect for framing in a 5×7” frame (sorry, measurements Imperial). For 14-count fabrics, your finished piece will be 4.57”x 6.93”, and the design on 18-count fabric will be 3.56”x 5.39”. Remember to allot a generous border around this finished dimension when selecting and cutting your fabric.

Floss. This design uses 6 colors, different shades (light/dark) of the same hue. We stitched the pattern in a spectrum of blues, but you can stitch the pattern as designed in a different color- various shades of green, or gray, or brown or… whatever combination you’d like to try! These are the colors we used, and recommend for the best result:

• DMC 762
• DMC 3753
• DMC 3752
• DMC 932
• DMC 931
• DMC 3750

Here are a few other palettes we thought would look good:

Blue #2: DMC 3756, 775, 3325, 334, 312, 823

Gray: DMC 762, 02, 415, 318, 317, 3799

Green: DMC 369, 3881, 989, 987, 986, 890

Purple: 3743, 211, 210, 209, 552, 550

It’s important, when choosing your threads to use, that you have a broad spectrum of darkness, starting with the lightest thread that you’ll use for the eyeball, all the way to the darkest thread, that will be the shadows and the pupils; you’re looking for variation in the shades.

This is a generous estimate of how much floss you’ll need for the project (We have labeled the colors A-F, and use the recommended colors for example):

• A– 762      1 yard        (lightest)
• B– 3753    4 yards**
• C– 3752    2 yards
• D– 932    5 yards**
• E– 931    3 yards**
• F– 3750    2 yard        (darkest)

Note: We stitched with 2 threads. This project uses blends (of those only 6 colors), and stitching with a different number of threads will eff up the balance of your blends (and the amount of floss needed).

** These colors are used in the border and text (half of all of the stitches)– you can get by with less of these colors if you need to, changing them out with different colors you have.

How will the patterns work?

Patterns are in symbols over color this year, and all stitches completed in previous weeks’ patterns will be grayed out, to make it easier to follow each week. The pattern will print in shades of blue, but even if you use a different color palette, the Info Sheet will be set up to make it clear which of your threads, A-F, you’ll be using.

How hard is it?

Not hard. The whole pattern is approximately 2,400 stitches, roughly half of those just in the border. There will be approximately 400 stitches in each of the first 6 patterns, give or take a bit. Because there’s no effort to keep the design a mystery this time, each pattern is built to maximize ease of completion, so you can stitch in front of Netflix, easy peasy.

Weeks 1-6 of the pattern use cross stitches, quarter stitches, and long diagonals. There are also four squares of horizontal half stitch, which we will explain comprehensively in that pattern (it’s just like a flat cross stitch, nothing scary). Week 7 is backstitching, and there are two optional tiny french knots, which could be substituted nicely with a very small backstitch or omitted entirely. You might want a sharp embroidery needle for some of the backstitching in week 7. Again, the design is mostly full cross stitches, and any fractional stitches will be fully explained each week.

Should I grid?

Personally, we’ve never Grod, but many stitchers swear by it. Because unlike most of our Steotchalongs, we’re not trying to hide the finished image from you and each pattern release will be based on ease, there is little jumping around the fabric space each week.  If you love to grid and find that helpful, go for it. Again, we’ve never done it, but you do you, baby.

When does it start?

The first pattern will drop Saturday, May 9, following the live FB broadcast at 6PM on the main Steotch page. There will be videos with pattern releases each Saturday to announce weekly contest winners, and to share news and highlights from the group during the week, and more live videos and happenings in the Steotchalone 2020 group over the course of the event.

This week is the penultimate presentation of the 2019 Steotchalong – celebrating the collaborative projects of our many talented teams.

These projects are the result of weeks of work by hundreds of stitchers around the world and range from the touching to the wildly profane.

We’ve had joy, we’ve had fun, we’ve had Steotch in the sun. It’s time to roll out the final pattern power pack of Steotchalong 7. 12 official endings, and lots of extras to help you make it your own. Thanks for your support.

Here is your link to the Pattern 11 Power Pack

It’s time to backstitch. Get the rundown on the penultimate pattern and all the action from week 9. Thanks for your support.

Here is your link to Pattern 10