And here's part 2...
Whew. Part 1 went through without too many formatting hitches, hopefully part 2 will as well.
Actually, we were up to step three in the stitch, weren't we? Let's get on with it.
3. Thread the needle through that loop, then take the thread behind the needle (not the loop, but the thread going through the loop) and pull it gently until the loop disappears:
4. Now hold the thread just behind the base of the needle in one hand, and bracing the thread with your other hand (it's a two-handed technique!) to make sure the thread does not tangle, pull the remaining thread through, making sure the first loop doesn't open up again:
(Please excuse the fuzziness of the last picture. It's just there to show the end of the process.)
Now you're ready to start the next stitch. When I describe it like this, it seems like it takes forever, but once you get in the swing of things, it goes pretty fast - the first sleeve piece took me 62 hours, and what I lost in speed with the two-handed technique, I made up for in 70% less thread breakage. When you're not pulling against the eye of the needle, the thread is a lot less stressed, and using your fingers to keep the loops tidy means no slip knots!
I finished the first gusset while I was trying to make this damn post load on the stupid wireless internet, and it took me 12 hours. The difference is not so great that I need to unpick all my previous stitching (because oh, hell no), but it's definitely there. Also, the stress level is a lot lower, since I'm not constantly fixing breaks. I can also work with slightly longer pieces of thread, since I don't get tangled up and I don't stress the thread against the needle.
Here is the rose motif, and if you look closely, you can definitely see the difference (the first rose is the one I did not do in the gentler style):
The two-hand style creates a denser stitch, and it's a little more raised, creating a wonderfully dimensional look. I'm going to use it with the gold thread once I get to that, and I bet it will also reduce breakage when I'm working the detached buttonhole in the Special Tambour Gold.
Anyway, that's where I am with the jacket. Otherwise, it's been busy, busy, busy here - we've been bulldozing large patches of land in preparation for putting in a greenhouse, vegetable beds, and an orchard, and on the other side of the house, a fort for Gardiner's Company to play in. It's quite something. I assume at some point things will settle down and I'll adjust to a quiet life of gardening and sewing, but right now, I can't see when that will happen.