Basketweave is a needlepoint Tent stitch and a staple in any stitcher's library. In this blog post you will learn how to create a canvas of smooth basketweave stitches by working around the various elements on the canvas.
When stitching the background of this Zanzibar design (above) in basketweave the stitcher needs to navigate around the other elements on the canvas to produce smooth, even stitches without lines.
Understand Steps & Poles in Basketweave
To create a perfect needlepoint basketweave stitch, you need to understand what we mean by steps and poles. For a refresher on this, read our blog post about needlepoint basketweave stitch basics.
In summary, the diagonal rows of basketweave are stitched in an ascending direction when your canvas intersections are steps and a descending direction when the intersections are poles. You climb the steps and slide down the poles!
In this blog post we're bringing the needlepoint basketweave stitch into real life and learning how to work around the various shapes and motifs on your canvas. |
Maintaining the 'up the steps and down the poles' pattern is particularly important when stitching a basketweave background around multiple design elements.
Let’s see how this plays out on a small sample design...
In the image above, the basketweave stitching starts in the upper right-hand corner until it reaches the purple rectangle.
It's tempting to run threads back and forth across the back of the unstitched rectangle, but if you want a perfect needlepoint basketweave stitch, try to avoid this because fibers may pull through when you stitch the purple, and it will also affect the tension of your stitches.
So, you need to pick a side! Continue stitching around whichever side of the shape your steps and poles pattern dictates. In this case, it is the left side.
Stitch until you reach the bottom left-hand corner of the rectangle and stop (secure your thread and start again in the next area).
Start your next thread at the upper right-hand side of the rectangle. Note that this is a pole row, so start your thread at the top so you maintain the pattern.
Notice that when you get to the bottom of the rectangle (see image below), your step row ends in exactly the right place to continue stitching down the pole row that you ended at the other side of the rectangle.
This is the magic of basketweave backgrounds. As long as you keep to your steps and poles, you can plan where to stop and start sections, knowing they will meet perfectly—and when the lines meet perfectly, you don't get shadows or ridges in your stitching.
Continue stitching until you reach the top of the crescent. At this point, you can continue stitching down the right side of the crescent until you reach the tip, or you can stop at the top of the crescent and move on to the next section. In the illustration below, we stopped at the top of the crescent, secured the thread, and then started again at the top of the orange shape.
As before, when you stitch around the orange flower, begin at the lower end of a step row or the upper end of a pole row (however it works out on your canvas). In this instance, it's a step row.
Continue stitching, and maintain the overall diagonal pattern of the background as much as possible.
Go back and stitch down the right side of the crescent to meet up with the stitches coming from the other side.
The image below shows a new thread being started to stitch above the squiggle.
Another new thread is started to stitch inside the squiggle (below), rather than dragging the thread behind the blue stitches.
As the interior of the squiggle is filled in, the line of stitches meets up with the pole row coming down on the left...
Now we have navigated around several shapes by working in sections, maintaining the poles and steps pattern, and working from the top of the canvas toward the bottom. This may mean stopping and starting threads more than you would like, but the effort pays off when you admire your smooth canvas of stitches.
The needlepoint basketweave stitch is great for backgrounds and small areas of your canvas. If you're looking to branch out, discover three of our favorite needlepoint background stitches, or our go-to needlepoint stitches for sky.
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