Backstitch, Printable Organza, and Looking for Layers!

You might remember this ice dyed piece I started embroidering a while back ... quite a while back!  I could see dandelions in it - big and full of seeds, just waiting to be blown on.  That is, I could see it in my mind, but nothing I did brought it to life on the cloth.  So after embroidering, taking out the embroidery, embroidering, taking out the embroidery, ... I put it away.

I came across it last week and it suddenly hit me.  I was imagining this 3-D dandelion head and was embroidering a one-dimensional rendering of it.  I needed layers!  So out came the printable organza I've been wanting to try - I bought it on Amazon.  I printed a photo of a dandelion onto it and it turned out gorgeous!  

I pinned and then basted it onto my cloth ...

... and began embroidering along the lines and seeds with one strand of silk embroidery floss.  Usually I use an outline stitch to make lines, but in this case it looked too bulky against the gossamer organza, so I tried a backstitch - perfect!  

A backstitch is a really easy embroidery stitch - it's good for lines, curves, two-sided projects (where the back will also be seen), and is commonly used in redwork and blackwork.  Bring your needle up through the fabric.  Reinsert the needle behind where you first came up and bring it back up an equal distance in front of where you first came up.  

Repeat for the next stitch ...

... and so on until your line is complete.

This is more what I had in mind!  At some point I'm going to need to decide where to cut portions of the organza away, but I have awhile to ponder that.

Happy Creating!  Deborah