Composite Stitches: Mountmellick

A composite embroidery stitch is one in which there are several steps to finishing it, often involving some part of more than one stitch.  These stitches can sometime be more complicated than the "backbone" stitches, i.e., the chains, buttonholes, and flat stitches that are heart an soul of embroidery basics, but the composite stitches are certainly worth the little bit of extra trouble.  In addition, the more steps involved in making a stitch,  the more opportunities there are for stitch variation, which is my first love.

Mountmellick Stitch is one of these composite stitches.  You may read about the history as well as the traditional thread and fabric choices here  and a video tutorial is available.  The steps are also well-illustrated in Erica Wilson's classic work, Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book, first published in 1973.  Although the video tutorial is very helpful, my personal choice is always the diagram, because I can poke along at my own pace with a drawing until I "get it right."

This is the diagram of Mountmellick Stitch that Erica Wilson provides:

Although it is traditionally a highly textured whitework stitch, it is more interesting when worked in color.  Mountmellick thread is not readily available locally for me— I have a small amount left from a purchase years ago, and it resembles a flat matte cotton by DMC (Cotton broderie 4, or a soft, tapestry-weight cotton).  But there is a web site (Canadian) that offers it in all four weights  Check it out here . A lighter-weight version of this matte cotton is sold by Rainbow Gallery (Matte 18), in colors as well as white.  A heavy-weight filet lace thread would also work.  Perle cotton (sizes 3 and 5 are nice) or a heavy mercerized cotton (such as Rainbow Gallery's Overture, which is variegated) are other choices.  The heavier the thread, the larger and more textured the stitch will be.  Multiple strands of cotton floss or flower thread do not work as well as a single, heavier thread.  Lighter weights of thread do not show off the details of the stitch very well.  And, of course, the traditional stitch would have been worked in white, not color.

Below are some columns of Mountmellick Stitch that show, from left to right, the traditional stitch (with the leg elongated), and successive additions of legs, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  This stitch lends itself to the interesting variation of adding more than one little "leg" to the stitch. These are stitched in tapestry cotton:

It can also be flipped and worked in mirror image (here I had to grit my teeth and think in reverse, no small feat for me):

Because it curves well, it is an useful stitch to use in floral designs or in borders.  It is a very dense, heavy stitch, and plays well with other textured stitches.

Here I've played with it, stitching a closed form with it:

and substituting a Bullion Stitch for the last step of the stitch:

My stitches are much larger and more clumsy-looking than the proficient Irish stitcher ever intended hers to be, but it suits my style better than tiny, neat stitches would.  Hence the heavier thread.

Although the fabric most associated with it is a tightly-woven cotton satin, I prefer a looser weave of linen.  The linen fabric holds this stitch very well, and seems to make room for the bulk the stitch, where a tighter weave of fabric often has a strained look when it is finished.  Tighter weaves also stress the heavier threads as they are pulled repeatedly through it.

I am glad to see Mountmellick embroidery enjoying a revival of interest.  It is a lovely addition to our list of textured stitches.