This was a pretty straightforward block that was quick and had a nice fill pattern for the letters. I like this variegated floss — the colors are perfect for a giraffe. I just couldn’t bring myself to make yellow grass, so I bent my self-enforced rules again and used a different color floss for the grass.

Some readers have asked which stitches I use and how many strands of floss. Most of these ABC blocks were done in stem stitch, with a little back stitch when I need very fine lines. The stem stitch details (giraffe spots) and any back stitch (letter H grid) are usually one strand, and the outline is generally two strands.