Bargello and Roses

If you've been looking through recent issues of stitchery magazines, you may have noticed the reappearance of bargello. It seems to be popping up in more and more projects these days. And rightly so, since bargello is not only lovely to look at, it's also very fun to stitch.

I've wanted to stitch some bargello for quite awhile now, so I finally had an idea I wanted to try - mixing bargello with other stitching techniques. And here's what I came up with - my BARGELLO & ROSES:


I wanted to do a simple bargello pattern, but I also wanted to use a variegated color in the design, as well as add a bit of the unexpected to the piece. This design is worked on 18 ct. mono canvas (sandstone) with a variegated Watercolours thread, plus several #5 pearl cottons and one soft gold Ribbon Floss color.

For the unexpected element, I decided to add dimensional roses - in this case, bullion knot roses made with #5 pearl cottons. Here are the roses, up close:


While I've stitched my model in my favorite pinks and greens, I've also included a few other color options on the pattern (yellow, lavender, red) so you have several other color options besides my original.

The nice thing about this pattern is that you can also make a shorter version (not as long) that would make a beautiful inset in a larger pillow, perhaps with tapestry fabric on either side of the stitched piece. Originally, I wanted to make this bargello design into a long bolster pillow, but now I'm not so sure. A large rectangular pillow would also show off the colors and pattern nicely.

In any case, my BARGELLO & ROSES is available now on my website, if you're interested in trying your hand at bargello. (I was happily surprised at how quickly this design stitched up - it was a good "no-brainer" project once the first rows were established and all you have to do is repeat them. Then you have to work a bunch of bullion roses, but that went pretty quickly too...and before I knew it I had a finished pillow top!)