In reading Sally Main's essay in The Arts and Crafts of Newcomb Pottery, I learned that needlework production was similar to pottery production in that each piece began with a watercolor sketch ...
followed by a pointilistic stitch style (which this photo of a photo doesn't capture very well) ...
In doing a take-off on a small segment of this piece, I wanted to replicate the appearance of the backs I viewed at Newcomb. Happily, I succeeded ...
Last, but not least, I found confirmation of my technique in this reprint ...
first published in 1906. In it is this description of darning as a decorative fill ...
which syncs up quite nicely with what I observed. By the way, I did make a first attempt using a coarser linen, which you can see here: http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/05/laissez-les-bon-temps-rouller.html
