Chapter 8 - Layers of stitch

The following six samples use padding and stitching to indicate the star shapes  - some more successfully than others!

First, the one that really didn't work. I treated myself to a new sewing machine, one with lots of set embroidery stitches, one of which is a row of stars. Well, I had to give it a try didn't I? But as you can see it proved impossible to manage the stars around the corners of the design so it was back to the drawing board and straight machine stitching.

 Sample 1 has a printed cotton background and a machine stitched cotton layer topped with the same four pointed design stitched at 45 degrees in Holbein stitch. I added long straight stitches in the arrow heads couched in place and a double cross stitch in the centre.
Sample 2 is a soft silk fabric shape machine stitched onto plain cotton with diamonds of long straight stitches added to form points in the corners.
Sample 3 is a star of transparent voile bonded onto a printed cotton fabric outlined in running stitch. A second star is stitched off centre outlined in running stitch and filled with fly stitches. I'm very happy with this sample as I think it looks quite delicate.

Sample 4 - I bonded transparent voile onto handprinted cotton and outlined it with two rows of machine stitch before trying out one of those fancy stitches again. I'd learned my lesson though and just put four short straight lines down the centre of the arms. I worked a second four-pointed star in chain stitch and added a web stitch to the centre.
Sample 5 has two strips of contrasting voiles bonded to hand-printed cotton and a five-pointed star based on one of the starfish images from my initial research outlined with three rows of running stitch. The centre of the shape was padded from behind and seed stitches added using the same two threads. I really like this sample - maybe its the padding, maybe its the shape - it's probably both!
Sample 6 is a complex 8-pointed star in silk fabric bonded onto plain cotton and filled with machine stitching leaving the centre free to be padded. I stitched a four-pointed star on top with several rows of running stitch. I like this one too so maybe it is the additional dimension of the padding which appeals to me.