Why do I have to use the continental/tent stitch when petit pointing as opposed to the half cross stitch?
The continental stitch and the half cross look the same from the front, yet it is at the back that they differ. When cross-stitching it is your fabric which has body and your stitches are laid in place. Silk gauze in comparison has no body, and it is your stitching which creates the body of the design. A half cross on silk gauze looks as if you have whipped the floss around the gauze fiber, and there will be a row of holes between your rows of stitches. The continental stitch builds body and your stitches will appear as a solid mass. If you are unfamiliar with the continental stitch please see Free Stuff/Instructions/Petit Point.
