On Jan 12, 2006, at 11:57, Joy Beeson wrote:
The "often wrongly called" is your clue: certain embroiders want to use "blanket stitch" for all forms of buttonhole, in order to reserve "buttonhole" for what we've always called "tailor's buttonhole" (buttonhole stitch with an extra twist,
"Buttonhole with an extra twist"? Does it mean you go into the loop (the part of the thread that's parallel to the edge) twice? I've never heard of it, but it sounds interesting also as a visual effect...
It's more plausible to refer to blanket stitch as "Spaced Buttonhole" than to call buttonhole a closely-worked blanket stitch.
<VBG> First, thanks to everyone who wrote -- on list and privately -- to offer explanations. One correspondent (thanks, Jane) referred me to a book which I hapened to have: Reader's Digest "Complete Guide to Needlework". And there, on p 25, there's a section on "blanket stitches". First, the construction of a "basic blanket stitch" is illustrated. Then (next page), we have "buttonhole stitch":
"Basic buttonhole stitch is worked like basic blanket stitch, except that the stitches are placed very close together to form a firm edge".
So, it appears I was right: the stitch shown in the Bulletin's pattern, being spaced _very_ closely together is not "wrongly called buttonhole"; it _is_ buttonhole...
Just for the heck of it, I checked my English/Polish dictionary. Both blanket st and buttonhole st translate as "scieg dziergany". Apparently, Poles are disinclined to split hairs over terminology, which might account for my never hearing of the distinction until I came to this country, even though I had practiced both... :)
Although I've never done any NL (nor intend to), buttonhole st is of great interest to me in BL. It can be handy for a firm (and relatively unobtrusive) way of getting rid of pairs. But, even more, it's a lovely way to make those fat central rings in Rosalibre...
Joy Beeson west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A. where it's sunny and the high is FIFTY-THREE F!!!!! (It's *supposed* to be bitter cold in January.)
After yesterday's dismals (it rained almost all day), today was gloriously sunny, with the temps reaching past 60 (Farenheit)
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
