oh dear

Well that didn't work then.

Ironically I think the original stitch combination was the best after all. I am still convinced that it should work somehow but I will come back to it sometime when I am a bit more experienced because there is a more immediate problem to focus on now. The difference between dark and light shades in the background isn't great enough to create the impression of fabric folds that I want on the bellydance hip scarf. I will have to break up the pattern to some extent but that is difficult to do naturally in small areas so I am going to have a practice run at that first.