How do I separate threads for shading?

Shading:  Needle Blending

Sometimes our canvases will have areas that fade slowly from one color to another.  They may have areas of multiple spots of colors, but the transitions between the colors is smooth.  How do we achieve these smooth transitions without creating obvious lines between the individual colors.

Needle blending is your friend.

So, what exactly is needle blending?  It’s using plies of different colors in your needle at the same time.  The end result is spots of both colors which blends in the eye to create a new color that is in between the colors that you’ve used in your needle. One of my favorite things about needle blending is how it randomly shows one color or another depending on which ply is on top—creating beautiful shading.  

Before we get started with the technique of needle blending we need to learn what plies are and how to separate them from the thread.

Thread that can be plied comes in a various number of plies and thicknesses.  Some silk threads will have as many as 12 plies where as others will only have 3.  Knowing what’s in your thread is very important.  Some labels will tell you but others won’t.

If your label doesn’t tell you, it’s easy to discover this information.  Take a strand of thread and rub it between your fingers to separate the plies.  You should be able to easily grab one ply between your finger tip and nail of another finger.  Pull this ply gently away from the rest of the thread and the other plies will start to separate as well.  Then it’s just a matter of counting.

Now, not all thread is created equally and not all thread that is made up of plies will separate into plies that you can use.  How do you tell?  Well, it’s just a matter of trial and error.  If you start to separate the plies and they WILL NOT come apart without tearing or pilling or otherwise creating a miserable looking mess, then you have thread that is not intended to be plied.  If you want to do needle blending you’ll want to select a different thread. (shop owners on-line or in person should be able to advise you about this).

Other things to keep in mind about plying threads…the shorter the length of thread the better.  It’s tempting to cut yard lengths of thread because we do hate starting and stopping, but trust me when I say that your thread will behave much better if you take shorter lengths when deciding to ply.

Now, HOW DO WE PLY?

Since you’ve already separated one of the plies from your thread when you were testing it, hold that strand of thread between your thumb and index finger of your non-dominant hand.  Grab a ply that it visible between your thumb and index finder of your dominant hand and gently start to pull the ply straight up away from the strand of thread.  As you pull, keep the tension snug with your non-dominant hand.  

If you hit any unruly parts before you are finished pulling the ply all the way through, don’t panic.  Stop pulling, and while still holding the thread snug in your non-dominant hand, tug the remaining unplied part (the section of thread that hasn’t pulled through your thumb yet) to loosen up the twist a little.  This should open it up enough to complete removing the initial play.  

A couple of tips for needle blending:

• Always separate every single ply even if you have 2 or more of one color.  This creates a more smooth blend of the plies and allows them to show up evenly rather than in clumps of color.
• Slow is key.  Don’t get in a rush to pull your plies up or you will create a twisty-mess.
• Have a storage plan for the unused plies.  I ALWAYS put the unused bit of thread back on the bobbins that I use for storing my threads.  I do this because of a couple of reasons
  • I have cats and they like to grab and run away with loose strands.
  • I am stingy with my threads and don’t want to risk losing anything.
  • I also ply threads that are close in shade and I don’t want to mix up which color is which.
• Create a color map BEFORE you start…more on that in a minute.

Color mapping.

Every single time I work with multiple colors for shading I create a color map.  I have a high quality print- out of copy of the image I’m working on and I write on it with a pencil.  I draw circles around each different shade of color.

Next I’ll grab my skeins of thread and determine which areas are the solid colors and where the transitions with plies needs to happen.  

Finally, I’ll create my new colors by blending.  Let’s say that I have a white to gray shading on a bird body.  I have 3 colors of white-gray:  White, off white, soft gray.  I can create the extra colors of white/off white mix and off white/gray mix, so now I have 5 colors.

When I mark up my image, I’ll identify which colors go where and then I’m ready to start stitching.

I recommend the first time you do this to start with a simple stitch because you want to be able to place some random stitches of the old color into the new area before you start stitching it.  This creates the ability to further blend the colors as you go and makes the transition even more smooth and blended to the eye.

Tips for shading using needle blending:

• Create as many transitional colors as you’re comfortable with.  The more plies your thread has the more colors you can make because you simply take one ply out from the old color and add one from the new color to make a new blended color.  
• Don’t try to do too many things at once—needle blending by itself makes some gorgeous textures and colors in your canvas.  You don’t need overly complicated stitches or too many different stitches while you’re doing this.  Overusing stitches in this way can take away from the blending and draw the eye to the stitches which may leave your finished project looking disjointed and flat rather than a coherent shaded whole.
• Take the time to really look at your image and make decisions about what colors go where.  This creates a much smoother stitching experience—one where you’re confident and able to stitch without fear or worry.
• Don’t fret about the small stuff—if you have a tiny area that may need only a little bit of one color, then add it in when you’ve finished stitching the entire piece.  Take a single ply of the highlight color and stitch it on top when you’re finished.  Voila!