It took me three tries to get an o.k. result with the
Rope Stitch. It was not a difficult stitch to master but to get an even looking result was the hardest part for me. I wanted to use this stitch to make a tree trunk (and add branches later in a different stitch) so I did not want to end up with totally straight lines. The gentle curves of the tree trunk might have made it a bit trickier to get perfect stitches. I like the slightly raised effect of the Rope Stitch and it actually looks a bit like the Satin stitch. The Rope Stitch is performed differently though and it has slanted and not straight stitches.
Halfway one of my unpicking sessions I decided to start my sampler piece over on a better quality linen. The other linen left holes a bit too easy when stitched on. So I got to practice my Bullion Knot a bit more
et voila:
I'm quite happy with how these turned out. Practice really does make perfect! (or at least 'better') However these Bullion Knots were still quite difficult to make as I couldn't find the right needle for making them (a Milliner's needle) I ordered some now and hopefully that will solve the problem.
