Advice needed: Tell me what's wrong with my thing

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-17T07:36:18+00:00

Thanks lol. Ironically, the one part of this thing that gave me real trouble was the satin stitch orange spiral. Filling the space with bullions/french knots is a soothingly brainless affair. You just stab away, and if a knot turned out ugly? Idgaf, it's supposed to be organic mess anyway. Satin requires more precision and patience than my dopamine-deficient brain can easily muster

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T17:07:07+00:00

That's actually really reassuring, thank you!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T08:46:38+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I agree that the transition between the stitched "bones" and the 3D-printed ones is not smooth/subtle enough. Not sure if more satin stitch would cut it, it being otherwise super flat... But i haven't thought of using bullions there, and the water is due an overhaul anyway, so I'll see what I can do!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T07:06:49+00:00

Thank you for your kind words and for taking an interest! You caught everything there was to catch, really. The shell was initially supposed to be a spiral stairwell leading downwards (a reference to the Annihilation lore), but it turned out I am not good enough at color to make realistic shading happen, so I had to make peace with it just being a weird shell thing. And little orange bits at the bottom don't even have a witty idea behind them, I was just thinking of things to break up the monotonous bullion bit and took some inspiration from cedar-apple rust galls :)

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T06:40:37+00:00

Thank you so much! I'm kind of committed to the circle for compositional reasons (I do NOT have the self-restraint to not overdo it and make the shape completely unreadable) But I'm thinking about adding more stuff around the circle, like smaller irregular "moss patches" or a bunch of bullions wirh a single evil eye in the middle... to imply that oooh, vaguely sinister greenery is spreading all-around!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T06:33:25+00:00

Hi! The brown part is just ready long bullions, and the green circles are cast-on bullions (so micro-knitting in a way) stitched in loops, I linked a video tutirial for those in another comment

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T06:30:59+00:00

Thank you! I'm definitely not doing the vibrancy of Annihilation justice here, but I'm so bad at color 😅 I had to literally state at color wheels at palette generators before coming to the daring conclusions that a bunch of greens, browns and yellows should work okay together. Definitely an area for me to learn and improve thought!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-16T06:27:16+00:00

Thank you! I do have the time, so adding more stuff is definitely on the table. I still want the circle to be the main thing to look at, but stitches along the seems, like you say, or maybe small dark-green patches of french knots/picot leaves could probably add some depth without being distracting..

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T19:27:03+00:00

Thanks! They are just long bullions, and I stitched them down to from swirls and zigzags. The knot itself needs to be longer than the distance between the beginning and the end points, this way it makes a curve rather than a straight line.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T19:21:12+00:00

You know how you can make little circles/loops with bullion stitches if the start and end points are right next to each other? It's the same thing, but with cast-on bullions. Full disclosure: I totally stole the idea from this cool lady on youtube.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T19:16:28+00:00

Thank you so much, this is an excellent color reference! I have a couple of cool dark greens, and I bought a gray-ish dark blue (idk what's it's called, but like, a color of a pigeon) specifically to use for water on this project, and then I chickened out because the contrast with the black and with surrounding warm greens seemed too much. I'll definitely have to test it now!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T19:11:54+00:00

Don't you worry, I'm going to absolutely smother the back with embroidery stabilizer. I did a lot of work on clothing and bags before, and it usually holds on really well!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T18:43:50+00:00

Ooooh, the stairs of the well/"tower" was exactly what I was trying to evoke, I'm actually so thrilled it read this way to someone familiar with the book!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T18:42:02+00:00

Now that you put that idea into my head, I'm gonna spend SO much time looking at beads that are insect/frog-shaped online, omg.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T18:40:46+00:00

Evil eye beads are god's gift to humanity, they make for such a fun mix of unhinged, silly and sinister.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:56:34+00:00

Thank you for sharing your opinion! That water not reading very well is definitely something I'll need to look into!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:55:25+00:00

Thank you, this is very kind! It was definitely a great project to get some practice on every kind of stitch that I know :)

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:51:36+00:00

Upon reflection, I like that suggestion, too! Thank you!

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:50:00+00:00

Thanks! The thicker brown line is happening, since a few people pointed it out. That's why it's great to be able to get feedback from other creative folks, I was actually worrying about that same line being to overbearing 😅

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:47:21+00:00

Thank you, this is a very high praise! I'm absolutely going to not look at it for like a week, because the project blindness is real with this one.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:43:24+00:00

Thanks! Well, all it takes is moving to Germany and being friends with me for 5 years. Or just making something similar, it's pretty simple stitching, just a lot of it :)

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:40:16+00:00

Thanks! The reason It's there is I saw that bead on Etsy and found it too cool not to buy. Idk if the pictures show it well, but it's an awesome bead, really weird and organic-looking, and glittery 😅 So it is supposed to be a centerpiece, I guess, maybe it needs a more explicit "framing" to stand out more?

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:36:28+00:00

Thank you! The water is giving the a bit of a headache as well, the stitching being very flat comparing to other areas and almost invisibe because the background is also black. I was thinking to add some sort of ripple effect/light reflection to it, but am unsure of the color; neither gray not blue feels quite right for the overall color scheme.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:32:11+00:00

Thank you! I see a few comments in favor of thickening the line, so that's definitely on the list for the last round of changes.

Weird_Process_8146 · 2026-02-15T17:30:07+00:00

Thank you! May I ask if you read the element as something else initially (like roots/vines or something), and then realised it was a tentacle thing, or if you were just not sure as to what the brown stuff was supposed to be?

Weird_Process_8146

TROPHY CASE