Stitcher:

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Stitcher's comments:

My shop, The Red Thread, is launching a line of needlepoint tool totes. When I originally conceived of this idea, I sent several raw images to Kate Clark, my artist friend in New York. She translated these images into "bag-sized" illustrations, which were later painted on needlepoint canvas. From the moment I saw the hand-painted designs, I knew I had to stitch the "Blue Jeans" canvas.

When you look at denim you can see the diagonal lines clearly on the fabric. Skip tent seemed like the obvious stitch choice to recreate that diagonal effect. The painted canvas was so beautifully shaded, I knew I wanted to use an open stitch. By using Kreinik braid (sizes 4, 8, and 12), I was able to achieve the right amount of glitz to dress up the bag. It's basically the same stitch repeated throughout, using different sizes of braid to create dimension.

The button is simply a bead cluster surrounded by a Jessica stitch, also done in Kreinik braid. Dennis Pruitt at Custom Needlecraft Finishing supplied the fabulous bag finishing!