Whitework: interlacing stitch, first try

After some false starts, this is my first attempt at a horizontal interlacing stitch. It's about 1 cm. If you want to google it or look it up in a book, there are a lot of different names for this stitch:

• English: interlacing stitch, and sometimes also known as German, Maltese or Armenian interlacing stitch
• German: orientalischer flechtstich
• Dutch: oosterse vlechtsteek

In my seventies stitch dictionary, I saw that you can also use this stitch in more complicated patterns, such as blocks or crosses. In fact, in the tablecloth and wallhanging, the interlacing stitch is used in zig zag patterns and in angles. For a picture of the zig zag border of the tablecloth, click here and scroll down.

I came across a very fascinating website about Armenian embroidery, which uses the interlacing stitch as basic stitch in different patterns. This website explaines how you can draw your own charts for interlacing stitch patterns:

Drawing charts for interlacing stitch

So, the next thing I'll do will be drawing a chart for the zig zag pattern, using this website as a tutorial.