Ma Mercerie

This design is called bi-coloured scales, the most basic of the thimbles.  Here are the step by step diagrams to show you how the design is formed as you stitch:

This is the first stitching path of the first row.  You just stich from the top side to bottom and then go up to top again.  The above diagram only has six sections so that it becomes easy for me to draw but it can be eight or ten, or even more, depending on the size of the ring base you use as long as it is even number.

Here, you have stitched the second stitching path of the first row in light blue, in the same way you did the first stitching path.  The light blue thread lies on top of the green thread of the first stitching path.

Then this is for the second row.  You can see the crossing points are forming as you go.

 

The second rows are done.  By the way, the thimble base included in Your First Japanese Silk Thimble Making Kit has two rows of stitches done and you are going to start stitching from the third rows shown below.

This is the third row, both paths are done, and you can see the vertical line forming at the crossing points.

One quarter of the sections are filled with stiches and...

Now a half of the each sections is done.  You can see the forming design.

All the sections are filled with stitches and you have your bi-coloured scale thimble in your hand.

If this is your very first thimble and maybe you are not very happy with the thimble you have just made but it's true that practice makes perfect where thimble making is concerned, or practice makes nicer ones, I should say.  The more you make, the nicer, neater, and more beautiful ones your thimbles become.

I also recommend to use the same materials; the lining fabric, paper for the base,  and marking paper, on the same tube as a mould so that your thimbles are always the same size.  Why?  So that you can count the number of the stiches in one section.  Why should you need to know the number of the stitches in one section?  Because it becomes easier for you when you work with the new designs.

The problem of keeping making bi-coloured thimbles is it's monotonous, though the design is simply beautiful.  My answer to that particular problem is colour variation and I do not mean to encourage you to purchase new threads in different colours, though it would be more fun for you to have a stash of threads.  What I mean is colour placement and I will explain it in my next post.