I know I promised that this would be it, but it’s just too long with so many photos so I’ve decided to split it in two parts and I’ll post the second part (it’s shorter) on Thursday. Tomorrow is yarn along day!
We need to do a bit more measuring to begin and add a few more pins. From the North pole to the obi pin, mark the halfway and stick the pin directly into the marking thread. Do this all the way around, and repeat the process on the other side of the ball from the South pole to the obi as well.
Thread your needle with the colour of perl cotton that you would like on the inside of the design and begin the stitch as we have all of the other times, burying the thread in the yarn wrap and bringing the needle out directly to the left (and slightly above) one of the new halfway pins.
Once the thread is secure and pulled through take the next stitch from the right to the left, under the marking thread and the perl cotton where it is coming out from the ball, taking care to catch also a few threads from the sewing wrap layer.
When you’ve pulled the thread through and completed the stitch, it should almost look like the beginning of a figure 8.
Using your opposite thumb to guide the thread, lay it gently yet neatly aside the marking thread from top to bottom. You should still have the thread on the right side of the metallic marking thread.
Turn the ball upside down so that now the South pole is facing up, the thread is on the left side and you can take the same stitch as before from right to left under the marking thread and perl cotton, using the opposite thumb to keep the thread in place until you can pull the stitch taut (not tight – even tension)
Repeat the process of laying the thread along the side from top to bottom, turn the ball again north side up and repeat the stitch process. Take the subsequent stitches about two needle widths above where the previous stitch was. In the photo below, my stitch is a little too close to the previous one and this will cause the figure 8 to not lie as neatly as I’d like.
Keep repeating this step until you have 8 complete turns of the ball, and 8 threads lying on either side of the metallic marking thread. End the thread just as we have all of the other times. If you run out of thread – keep track of where you end and simply begin again there as you would’ve at the beginning of the process beside the pin.
Now repeat this all the way around the ball, 8 times and you’ve now finished the centre of all of the designs and the hardest part is done.
See you on Thursday to finish the entire project and hang it on the tree 🙂
