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Fractional stitches add detail to your cross stitch
Wondering what fractional stitches are and why you would want to stitch them? Have you ever come across something similar to the diagram, left, when working a cross stitch design? Confused? Let me help.Many stitchers shy away from designs that include fractional stitches, believing them to be complicated and difficult. However, they do enable the designer to produce a more detailed design and actually are not that difficult to work especially if you are working your counted cross stitch on evenweave fabric.
Half Cross StitchThe simplest fractional stitch is the half cross stitch. Just as it sounds, this is the first leg of a cross stitch. It is sometimes used to depict sky or water or something semi transparent. I use it in my dragon designs to represent the smoke rings that the dragon and wizard are blowing.This stitch is also used in needlepoint where it is known as tent stitch.
Quarter stitchQuarter stitches are easier to work on evenweave rather than Aida. In the diagram below the tiny pink stitches are quarter stitches. On Aida fabric you will need to push your needle down in the centre of the Aida block (a crewel needle makes this easier), whereas on evenweave you can use the centre hole.
Three Quarter stitchesRight so what do we do with the other tiny symbol? This can be stitched as another quarter stitch with a backstitch line separating the two. More commonly we would use a three quarter stitch for this symbol. Again work the quarter stitch in the correct corner, then add a half stitch on top. Using the dominant colour, i.e. the "foreground" object brings that into focus, with the background (quarter stitch) staying where it belongs.But what if it isn't easy to tell which object is further forward? In this instance you can use three quarter stitches for both tiny symbols. To keep them distinct you may prefer to work the stitches in the opposite order; the half stitch first then use the quarter stitch to "tie" it down. Again a backstitch can be worked between the two stitches to separate the areas clearly. The use of two three-quarter stitches is shown in the diagram below.
 Hopefully this little article has helped to demystify the various fractional stitches for you. If you have any questions, however, please use the form on the Contact Me page to get in touch.
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Old Smokey -
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