Now it’s time to turn the stitches into double cross stitches, by crossing over them with an upright cross stitch. The green arrow indicates where I started the return journey, to cross over the stitches and turn them into cross stitches. Smooth flow is something we achieve by the approach we employ. Accuracy on the other hand is something that will improve with practice. Nail down your confident stroke now, from your shoulder, and as you practice it, your accuracy will catch up as well. From this point, I went on to work the foundation stitches in the flowery diamond area of the design (all of which are double cross stitches), and then the foundation stitches in the other adjoining white lace area. Again, I work whatever fits in the hoop, breaking the design up in chunks that make sense.

This cookie is set by Addthis.com. This cookie is used for sharing of links on social media platforms. When the Low Carb/Keto revolution happened, people discovered that, when ground up, Pork Rind/Crunch make the most magical stand-in for breadcrumbs. Bring your needle up slightly under and next to one corner of the foundation stitch on any corner of the white square. Once you’ve passed under both corners, going up under one and down under the corner across from it (as shown above), you’ll take your needle down into the fabric on the other side of the yellow corner stitch, right next to where you first emerged to make the petal (shown by the green dot in the photo above). You shouldn’t try to discourage it, honestly. They need to forage, need their dust baths, and need to be happy doing what comes naturally to them.The purpose of this behavior is to get the nesting material in a position that’s comfortable to them and that will also keep their eggs (and any others’ eggs sitting in the nest box) beneath their bodies in the ideal position for incubation.They exhibit this behavior while laying eggs even if they have no intention of incubating the eggs. The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign. The cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising. This cookie is set by the provider mookie1.com. This cookie is used for serving the user with relevant content and advertisement. Perhaps earlier instances may be found, or instances in other languages. Pattes de mouche is the French equivalent, but it’s not quite right. Final Words

This happens a lot. This doesn’t mean they’re unhappy or not enjoying their living quarters, sometimes they are just curious as to what’s on the other side of their fence. I hope you find this tutorial useful and that you have the opportunity to enjoy a little light hearted stitching on gingham sometime soon! So that’s how I work the foundation stitches in each section, mapping out paths that make sense, until all the foundation stitches in a particular section are worked.

More Chickens

If you pay close attention, you’ll likely notice some little interactions that show you they’re paying attention to one another. Image: Free-range Phoenix hen foraging for insects by scratching at the freshly turned earth. Credit: JZHunt/Getty. 5.Roaming

For needles, you’ll want crewel embroidery needles in whatever size works well with the thread you choose, and you’ll also want a tapestry needle that will fit any of the threads you’ll use for the lacing stitches. If you are interested in receiving extra help, I critique the work of those who support Drawabox on Patreon.I work with a 4″ embroidery hoop on the 1/8″ gingham, and I always work as much of the design as will fit in the hoop before I move the hoop. So I work all the foundation stitches and all the lacing stitches that fit inside the hoop area, before moving the hoop to work another area. If you’ve witnessed it yourself, you’ll know how excited they get when they find a nice juicy grub, spider, or some other little creature. They also tend to scratch around in the coop nest boxes before laying an egg. Some of them will get up several times during the laying process to scratch the bedding around some more. Pass the needle and thread under the three anchor stitch corners that will hold the square shape in place, and then take the needle down into the fabric underneath the first anchor stitch, where you first emerged to make the square. At this point, switch to a tapestry needle. The blunt tip of the tapestry needle works better with the lacing stitches, because it won’t catch on the foundation stitches.

Heading up the hypotenuse of the triangle, I’m crossing the half cross stitches that were left behind on the second journey above, and working the upright cross stitch over them, all in the same pass. Even though your hens may have a perfectly comfortable nest inside, they will still feel the urge to build themselves a nest outside. To do this, they will scratch the ground or garden until they have made the spot comfortable enough to rest in. Your work will look much better if all your uppermost stitches on each double cross stitch and cross stitch is oriented in the same direction. So, for this piece, all my uppermost stitches on the double cross stitch are horizontal. To prepare to lay an egg, hens will often scratch around in the nest boxes of the coop. During the laying process, some of the hens will get up multiple times to scratch the bedding. With the threads I’ve been using on the designs I’ve been showing you, I find a #7 or #8 crewel needle works well for the foundation stitches, and a #26 tapestry needle works fine for the lacing stitches.After finishing this little outlined area, I had just enough thread left (good planning!) to work the foundation cross stitches in the middle of this area. By the time I reach the last stitch (right above the first stitch on the left side of the triangle), all my stitches are now double cross stitches, and the uppermost stitch on each double cross stitch has the same horizontal orientation. Then, I moved on to the foundation stitches for the sections highlighted above, because that’s about all that would fit in my hoop. Bring the needle to the front just to the side of the corner of the yellow foundation stitch where the inside tip of the petal should be.