Karahana, Head-Hands-Feet

I don’t seem to get much stitching time lately and everything I am work on is time consuming so I am making very slow progress. Last time I blogged about Karahana I was wondering which petal to stitch next. Christine kindly left a comment and reminded me on the principle of head-hands-feet. We learn this at Phase I when we are taught how to stitch the five petalled cherry and plum blossoms. One petal is always slightly bigger and on top of all the other petals. Regardless of how the blossom is orientated, this is the head and is stitched first. The two petals either side of the head are the hands, they are stitched next. The two remaining petals are the feet. One foot is always in front of the other; this foot is stitched next and finally the remaining foot that is behind all the other petals.

Susan, of Plays with Needles, was also kind enough to email me and attached a labelled diagram of the order she stitched the petals in. Susan’s diagram suggested that after the two petals I have already stitched I should complete the right hand side and then stitch the two petals on the left. Both ways stick to the basic rule that the uppermost petals are stitched before any that lie behind them. I decided to go with head-hands-feet for no particular reason other than it feels balanced!

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

You can see Susan's beautifully stitched Karahana here.

Happy Stitching