Doodle Cloths

Ah...the Doodle Cloth: the stitcher's helper, practice piece, sample record...whatever you call it, it's the necessary piece of fabric that I use to work out stitches, colors, practice stitch rhythm, and generally get my courage up to stitch on The Project.

Right now I'm working on a christening gown ensemble, the one I'm designing and stitching up slowly to enjoy the process. I've worked out and drawn up the actual embroidery design that will relate to the elements of the overall gown. Decisions on the stitches to use come next depending upon the design. Bullion Rose, Bullion Rose Buds, tiny Eyelets with Granitoes, Lazy Daisy leaves, Outline Stitch are some of the stitches I 'll use. But those Eyelets with Granitos and Bullion Roses need to be stitched on the Doodle Cloth so I can figure out the number of stitches, wraps, etc., to fit the design.

This Doodle Cloth is a piece of the same fabric of the soon-to-be embroidered Christening Gown Under Dress, a very pale pink Swiss batiste that is very sheer, gorgeous stuff. It will help me to decide on what types of threads to use for each motif or stitch, which are DMC Floche and DMC floss, one strand each. And the needles that will work best for each thread and stitch, although I'm pretty familiar with what to use. I like to write the number of wraps for Bullions on the doodle cloth and perhaps what thread for each motif.

I'll also mark an "X" for what not to do. In this case I marked an "X" for the little flower that I did in the circle, purposefully without using a hoop. I didn't like it.

The other two flowers done in a hoop look pretty good. This design is from the Swiss embroidered edging used on the Over Dress. The whole Doodle Cloth is great for working out stitch mechanics, thread positions and just plain warming up.

So, to summarize, Doodle Cloths are good for:
Working out stitch combinations
Practicing or warming up
Practicing a particular design
Figuring out which needles to use
Deciding what threads look best
Deciding on colors and color combinations....

And just plain warming up before tackling "The Big Project" like the Over Dress front of my Elegance Christening Ensemble.