Blackwork Tip: planning the running stitch paths

Last Friday's blackwork taster session at St. Mary's Heritage Centre has had me thinking some more about how to better explain the tackling of running stitch paths which make up typical blackwork designs. I came across this Blackwork Embroidery Archives site which has the clearest explanation that I have encountered.

For those of you who who participated in my session, the above instructions relate as follows:

• The first 'pass' you made on your outline equates to the First Journey in the Basic Running Stitch section.
• You then filled in the blanks between these stitches as described in the Return Journey section.
• The main vein equated to the Main Journey section described under Working Complex Journeys.
• The side veins equated to Working A Side-Trip.
• The infill patterns required you to plan as for Working Complex Journeys, the idea being to keep the reverse side mirroring the front as much as possible.

Hope this helps you while you finish the project at home!