DMC 718 - Sweet as a plum!

I'm in a pretty serious relationship, and it's with the DMC six strand embroidery floss colors. Actually if this were Facebook, I'd say "It's Complicated". The DMC colors are my palette, but unlike a painter if I can't find the color I have in my mind, I can't mix a new one. I'm limited by the 454 colors they produce. So sometimes it's frustrating when the color in my head doesn't exist in thread form. But then there are the colors I find I go back to again and again and again. My all-star team. I thought I'd start a little series of posts celebrating these colors, and how I've used them!

First up is one of my all-time best hitters, DMC 718. The official name of this color is apparently "Plum". I've never seen a plum that comes close to the intensity of this color, but it's almost exactly the same color as the bougainvillea that blooms all over Los Angeles:

source: wikimedia commons

DMC 718 also reminds me of the outside leaves of a red cabbage...

source: wikimedia commons

or this dahlia variety which is charmingly named "Thomas Edison"!

source: wikimedia commons

So how and when do I use DMC 718 in my designs? I love it because it's one of those colors which our perception of changes depending on the colors around it, aka simultaneous contrast (I'm telling you, I'm a color geek!). So 718 can look like a pink-ish red in some circumstances, or more purple-ish in others. That really helps when you're limited on the number of colors you can use in a design, because you can get more milage out of one color.

718 is a clear, intense magenta that "vibrates" very strongly against the complement of purple, which is a yellow-orange. That's how I've used it here in my Forest design (718 is the right side of the "popsicle" shaped tree, the branches of the big round tree, and you can see a bit of it in the upper right):

detail - Forest by Satsuma Street

I used the same palette in my companion design to Forest, Autumn Bird. I especially love 718 next to a nice turquoise or blue, as seen here on the far right:

detail - Autumn Bird by Satsuma Street

718 is basically a pure hue, meaning it doesn't have any white or grey added to create a tint or shade. So I also love how this color looks against both black and white, and here you can see it in the center sail of my pirate ship design, Voyage. The complement of magenta is yellow-green, which I used above and to the right of it:

detail - Voyage by Satsuma Street

In my Elephant Biscornu, DMC 718 takes on a warm Morrocan vibe when paired with orange, pinks, and light turquoise:

Elephant Biscornu by Satsuma Street

Here it's the saucy head of the momma bird in Happinest. Just as with the black background, the raw linen color is a nice neutral that doesn't affect the perception of 718:

detail - Happinest by Satsuma Street

If you don't have DMC 718 on hand, the closest match is DMC 917, which they call "Medium Plum" (go figure). They are almost indistinguishable as far as I'm concerned. I use 917 constantly too, including here in the Pretty Little Hong Kong design, again paired with teal and gold:

detail - Pretty Little Hong Kong by Satsuma Street

So, that's my little homage to DMC 718! It's fun to look back over my designs and see the same color used in many different ways.

Next time: DMC 3819!

xoxo

Jody

Halloween Cat!

Halloween Cat - cross stitch pattern by Satsuma Street

Halloween is such a fun holiday to design for...but my favorite thing about it is that black cats get much more love during that time of year! I love black kitties, and my Garden Cat cross stitch pattern has steadily become one of the most popular Satsuma Street designs. So I naturally had to do a new Halloween design with black cats as the subject.

This sassy black cat might be a witch...but the good kind. Add her two curious kittens, vibrant pumpkins, and a big spooky moon, and it's a stylish and colorful addition to your Halloween decor.

detail - Halloween Cat by Satsuma Street

This fabric is just dreamy in person...it's Weeks Dye Works 30 count linen in "Perwinkle". I love the combo of blue and orange (they're natural complements), and I always love experimenting with bright colors on colored fabric, as I did with my Merry & Bright design.

If you can't find this fabric color, or you just prefer a more neutral choice, I recommend maybe using Cashel linen in "Raw Natural", or a natural colored linen Aida. Whatever fabric you choose, this chart is really fun to stitch and there's plenty of time to make it before Halloween. Buy the instant download of the pattern on Etsy, or contact your local needlework shop to see if they carry the printed chart!

Satsuma Street patterns now available wholesale!

I'm so excited to announce a project I've been working on for a long time...printed patterns for wholesale! I've had a lot of requests over the last few years from needlework shops who wanted to carry my designs, but they were only available as digital downloads. I know there are a lot of stitchers who prefer to purchase printed charts, or want to support their local needlework shop where they can also buy all the materials at the same time.

Now, after a lot of work to redesign the charts for professional printing, I'm finally able to make them available to shops and retailers. In my totally unbiased opinion, the printed charts are really gorgeous! They're printed in full color on heavy cardstock weight paper, so they will last for many years.

Each leaflet includes a DMC color list, stitch count, fabric suggestion, and finished size dimensions. In addition, all the city charts include an insert that lists the buildings and landmarks that are featured in the design!

If you're a shop owner and you'd like to carry the charts, you can request a wholesale catalog and ordering info by emailing me at satsumastreet@gmail.com. And if you're a customer who thinks your local shop should carry them, let them know!

xoxo

Jody

Sweet Spring!

Sweet Spring - Easter cross stitch by Satsuma Street

Easter is just around the corner, so I've added this new cross stitch design to the shop to celebrate the Easter holiday and everything wonderful about Spring!

This happy little rabbit is in his element, surrounded by colorful blooms, new veggies, and a pretty butterfly. I've stitched it on Weeks Dye Works "Seafoam" linen, but it would look great on any fabric, especially a natural colored linen or a Fiddler's Aida.

Sweet Spring - Easter Rabbit cross stitch pattern - Satsuma Street

So celebrate the coming season with my modern, folk-inspired rabbit cross stitch design. But hop to it, because Easter is almost here!

xoxo

Jody 

Turn your stitching into a tote!

Here's a family secret...I didn't get my craftiness from my mom! In fact, I always thought the crafty gene skipped a generation in our family. But after I started Satsuma Street, my mom decided she would give counted cross stitch a try, just to see what I was up to. And if you're a stitcher, you won't be surprised to hear that she quickly got addicted!

After she finished the Garden Cat design, she told me that what she wanted for Christmas was for me to turn her stitching into a craft tote that she could use for her growing collection of floss and projects. She loved her gift, and I was pretty proud of it too! So I thought I'd share a few tips for how I did it.

First off, I used this tutorial from Better Homes & Gardens as a starting point. I adapted the dimensions and pockets to suit my needs, for instance instead of a pocket in the center, I put the panel of stitching. If you want a really simple tote design, I like this one from Purl Soho. The body of the bag is made from a heavy canvas "duck" cotton.

Since a craft bag used for cross stitch won't be filled with anything too heavy, I decided to use a fun woven trim for the straps rather than making straps out of fabric. It's made from jute and cotton, so it's pretty strong, but if you were using the bag for books or groceries, I'd recommend making sewn straps (which you could decorate with trim).

If you're going to put a piece of stitching on a bag, it will need to stand up to heavy use, so I recommend using a strong fusible interfacing on the back. That will make your fabric much stiffer and will help prevent stitches from being pulled out.

I always love seeing how other stitchers use my designs, so please share your photos with me on Instagram (I'm @craftnik) or on the Facebook page!