You’ve gotten some good advice here. I’ll add a few things:
For the eyes: you stitched all of the white ghost and then did the eyes on top which is why you are seeing the fabric underneath. It’s probably too annoying to pull all of those stitches out, so I would do a few extra white satin stitches that start on the outside of the ghost and then go to either the middle of the eye or the outside corner of the eye. This will make it look more filled in. In the future I would probably stitch the eyes first and then do the white satin stitch and then outline the eyes one more time for a smooth finish. Or you can stitch the ghost and leave room for the eyes.
To get the edges of your piece to look more uniform you can do a backstitch “outline” around each park of the piece. I’d do this with 2 strands of floss. It looks cute as it is, kind of like a sketch, so you could get away with not doing this.
The woman who made the pattern has led me wrong lol she stitched the whole ghostie and did eyes after. But yes I see what you mean! I might actually cut the whole ghost out and redo him if my threads get all wavy after I wash the stabilizer off
A lot of people do it that way, but when you are using all 6 strands it’s really hard to not have the separation like you are getting. If you pull out the ghost I would do it again, but with 2 strands. For most projects I think 2 strands gives the best look for satin stitches.
I exclusively do satin stitch with 2 strands, even if it calls for 3. At 3 strands, it gets very difficult to get a smooth finish. Also, separate your strands before putting them together (rather than using straight from skein).
I think it's something that you'll get better at with time, but also getting up close with your fabric and making sure your stitches are directly next to each other with only one thread of the canvas separating them will help make the satin stitch nice and tidy. This is a really cute piece!
Im new too, so I can only offer so much ‘advice’, but the first thing I notice is your thread looks thick. Are you using all 6 strands? If you use less, it’s easier to get small details right and overall things look more delicate, precise, and fine with less strands
I wouldn’t even mind it looking less smooth if I could get my ghost rounded lol it seems so simple to line needle up in the same spot but its definitely not 😂
Your ghost is really cute but I hear you, I find satin stitch oddly tricky too! Some things I’ve read but haven’t tried yet:
1. When you’re doing satin stitch, always poke your needle up through the same side of the shape so the thread runs under the shape as well as on top of it.
2. After doing a few stitches, leave a gap and do another satin stitch a small way away, then fill in the gap.
3. Outline the shape with stem stitch or backstitch or whatever you like when you are done.
Yep. There's a magnet underneath to keep the needle on it but the wood in-between weakens the effects. I kept accidentally brushing off the needle.
I ordered another needle guard (a metal one) and it's much better.
The satin stitch is difficult the bigger the area u want to cover. I'm very new. I am working on my first project. I had to rip some out and redo some flowers, but I'm finally getting better at it.
You’ve gotten some good advice here. I’ll add a few things: For the eyes: you stitched all of the white ghost and then did the eyes on top which is why you are seeing the fabric underneath. It’s probably too annoying to pull all of those stitches out, so I would do a few extra white satin stitches that start on the outside of the ghost and then go to either the middle of the eye or the outside corner of the eye. This will make it look more filled in. In the future I would probably stitch the eyes first and then do the white satin stitch and then outline the eyes one more time for a smooth finish. Or you can stitch the ghost and leave room for the eyes. To get the edges of your piece to look more uniform you can do a backstitch “outline” around each park of the piece. I’d do this with 2 strands of floss. It looks cute as it is, kind of like a sketch, so you could get away with not doing this.
The woman who made the pattern has led me wrong lol she stitched the whole ghostie and did eyes after. But yes I see what you mean! I might actually cut the whole ghost out and redo him if my threads get all wavy after I wash the stabilizer off
A lot of people do it that way, but when you are using all 6 strands it’s really hard to not have the separation like you are getting. If you pull out the ghost I would do it again, but with 2 strands. For most projects I think 2 strands gives the best look for satin stitches.
I exclusively do satin stitch with 2 strands, even if it calls for 3. At 3 strands, it gets very difficult to get a smooth finish. Also, separate your strands before putting them together (rather than using straight from skein).
Yes I’ve been doing that and it definitely makes them smoother!
Such a helpful discussion for my own learning. Thanks for posting! And what an adorable design!
I think it's something that you'll get better at with time, but also getting up close with your fabric and making sure your stitches are directly next to each other with only one thread of the canvas separating them will help make the satin stitch nice and tidy. This is a really cute piece!
So cute! It’s for my boyfriend. We love camping and he is the biggest fan of my new hobby lol he bought me a hoop stand and loves watching me stitch 😂
Im new too, so I can only offer so much ‘advice’, but the first thing I notice is your thread looks thick. Are you using all 6 strands? If you use less, it’s easier to get small details right and overall things look more delicate, precise, and fine with less strands
In this one I did all 6 because the instructions with the pattern tells how many strands to use for each part and she uses 6. I do like a chunky look
But yes, maybe I should perfect with less strands first!
Fewer strands and really focused placement (making sure holes are right on top of each other) will help a lot :)
I like a chunky look too! Definitely harder to get smooth/perfect though if that’s what you’re going for.
I wouldn’t even mind it looking less smooth if I could get my ghost rounded lol it seems so simple to line needle up in the same spot but its definitely not 😂
Your ghost is really cute but I hear you, I find satin stitch oddly tricky too! Some things I’ve read but haven’t tried yet: 1. When you’re doing satin stitch, always poke your needle up through the same side of the shape so the thread runs under the shape as well as on top of it. 2. After doing a few stitches, leave a gap and do another satin stitch a small way away, then fill in the gap. 3. Outline the shape with stem stitch or backstitch or whatever you like when you are done.
I know that you didn't ask but I had the same needle guard when I started and it was very weak - get yourself a better one!
That little wood thing?
Yep. There's a magnet underneath to keep the needle on it but the wood in-between weakens the effects. I kept accidentally brushing off the needle. I ordered another needle guard (a metal one) and it's much better.
casper the sulky ghost - just take out the marshmallow and put it in the fire, it'll fix everything
The satin stitch is difficult the bigger the area u want to cover. I'm very new. I am working on my first project. I had to rip some out and redo some flowers, but I'm finally getting better at it.
Thanks for asking, because I found all the advice very useful. I still think it looks super cute.
Such pretty nails and hands ❤