Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, July 03, 2009
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Ashley's linen napkins embroidered with silk ribbon are gorgeous! Hemstitched linen napkins served as the ground fabric for her first forray into embroidery. This sumptuous spray of flowers is so beautifully executed that it's hard to believe the project comes from a beginner in silk ribbon, let alone a beginner in embroidery in general!

I'll let Ashley tell you all about her first experience with silk ribbon embroidery...



I have never embroidered before and picked up Country Bumpkin's A-Z of Ribbon Embroidery while in a needlepoint store and found it simply irresistible! Knowing nothing about embroidery and especially ribbon embroidery, I typed the supply list into a search engine, ordered the products, and waited on bated breath to begin my new project!

The design is called "Desprez a Fleur" by Lynda Maker. The roses are a gathered ribbon rose with two ribbons (a 7mm yellow ribbon and a 4mm pale yellow) stitched together to give it some depth. In the center of the roses are little French knots out of gold Madeira silk floss. The rosebuds were made by covering a pearl bead with ribbon stitches. The design called from glass beads; however, I decided that was a bit impractical for a napkin, but then so is silk ribbon embroidery! These are definitely going to be "looky lu" napkins only!



Of course, after purchasing all of the supplies, I went on to read about the horrors of silk ribbon embroidery...the fraying, tearing, etc. I was beginning to think I was getting in over my head. Luckily, I didn't have any problems and it all went very smoothly and quickly. After doing needlepoint for the last 6 years, I love the
freedom, creative expression, and delicate femininity involved in embroidery. Needlepoint canvas can be rather limiting, even with all of the stitches that are available today. As my Mom says, needlepoint is earthenware, while embroidery is delicate fine china.

I think my next undertaking will be goldwork on a Bible cover. I have been needlepointing a Bible cover and I am just about finished, so I thought maybe I would try an embroidered cover after seeing one of your posts on them. I begin an internship as a hospital chaplain in the fall, so I figure there's no such thing as too many Bible covers!

I know I am probably being a little over ambitious to move straight to goldwork! But I have a touch of youthful hubris-- if others can do it, why can't I too?!

Thanks, Ashley! Um... I think if you launched this easily into silk ribbon embroidery, you should have no problems at all trying your hand at goldwork! Best of luck!

Labels: readers embroidery, ribbon embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, July 02, 2009
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Do you remember a while back, when Jayashree shared with us her hand embroidered sari? Well, today she's sharing with us her tutorial on the embroidery technique called Kasuthi.

Jayashree's embroidered sari is worked in this technique, which is characterized by a geometric look:



Instead of re-typing Jayashree's tutorial here, I've saved it as a PDF file. Feel free to download it and give it a good read-through. It's got some great tips for embroidering over net (or scrim), and she even tells you where you can find the right fabric here in the States!

Kasuthi Embroidery Tutorial (PDF)

Thanks, Jayashree, for sending this along!

Labels: needlework tutorials, regional embroidery techniques

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, July 01, 2009
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Ashley, of Oooooh, Silk!, though relatively new to embroidery, undertook to embroider, in Holbein stitch, a coif. She is going to tell you all about the adventure...

I was inspired by history to learn blackwork (Holbein stitch, double running stitch). I play in the SCA (a medieval/renaissance reenactment group) and have slowly come to dabble in the beautiful fashions that were present in the mid to late 1500s (about that time that Holbein was painting his lovely portraits featuring blackworked cuffs, collars, and clothing). I thought they were gorgeous pieces, but I didn’t really see myself doing it until I looked through Janet Arnold’s newest Patterns of Fashion book. Her meticulously researched book of patterns, illustrations, research, and pictures of 16th century costuming made me realize that if I ever wanted to take myself seriously as an Elizabethan enthusiast, I had to learn embroidery. The full color photos of blackwork, pulled work, and insertion lace beckoned to me, and I had to have some of my own.



The pattern was created by Laura Mellin, part of a series of headwear patterns from museum or other 16th century sources, usually dating between 1590 and 1620 (when Elizabethan and early Jacobean embroidery was most popular). While several of her patterns have beautiful and (to my eye) highly complicated botanical and animal designs, I was struck by the “Genevieve� pattern, a fairly simple grid work of lines and fleur-de-lis surrounding isolated flower motifs. Thinking that it would be a good starter piece, I purchased the pattern at a local SCA function.

For the fabric, I used a rather unusual source at our local thrift store. My husband and I are still going through our Poor Newlywed phase, so I really didn’t have the budget for the really expensive linens for the project’s ground, and I didn’t want to use the discount linen typically available through the internet, since it tends to be very low quality. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to spend so much time working on a project and end up with something substandard and incorrect to the time period I was going for. It was a magical day when $5 men’s shirt appeared in front of me at the local DI, and I was so impressed with the quality of the fabric (not perfect, but certainly better than I’d seen commercially) that I immediately knew it would be perfect for the coif.



After ripping out the seams, it was a simple matter to stabilize the fabric with wax paper (applied with a hot iron, another tip from Laura Mellin) and transfer the pattern using a micron pen. I congratulated myself for finding a garment that exactly fit the pattern, with just enough room for hoop space and seam allowances!

I am using two strands of RG Splendor silk floss for the embroidery, conditioned with beeswax. I find that the Splendor shreds a bit more than the DMC cotton floss I was used to so the wax goes a long way to keep it smooth and workable. The size of the coif meant I could not easily mount the project on a scroll frame, and while I would have loved to get a good slate frame and even tried to build a simple wood frame, in the end, a simple (and cheap) plastic hoop became the best and most economical option. I was worried at first that it would damage the blackwork or cause odd stretching, but so far it seems to be fine. It also makes it highly portable – I carry it in a gallon size zip lock bag with the thread, wax, scissors, and spare needles, so I can work on it any spare moment I have.



In working on it, I’ve come to love seeing the design appear as I work. The curlicues and loops of the flowers have become some of my favorite parts to work. The one thing I haven’t liked, I have to admit, is the grid work. I’ve found straight lines in double running stitch to be one of the hardest portions of this project, especially in places where my transfer might not have been the greatest (a ruler would not have been amiss in the transfer phase, I realize after the fact). It’s much easier to do the flowing naturalistic designs, and flaws in the stitching are far less noticeable. Sometimes I have to ‘reward’ myself with flowers after one or two passes at the grids. Couching might have been a better option, but by the time I realized that I was already committed to doing them in double running stitch (i.e. I didn’t want to pull out what I’d already done and start over).

Even with the difficulties, I’m really enjoying this style of embroidery. I love the idea of making a project better than the sum of its parts (in this case, about $15 in materials and a whole lot of time), and ending up with wearable, historical art. If I keep up my current progress, I hope to be able to finish it by the end of the year.

If anyone is interested in Laura Mellin’s embroidery patterns, they are available through Reconstructing History (reconstructinghistory.com).

Labels: historical needlework, needlework pictures, pictures, readers embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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This post is from Jo in New Zealand, the writer of a popular blog, No Matter Where I Go, I Always Meet Myself There, focusing mostly on crazy quilting and other textile ventures.

Jo's had some really good success with her latest Etsy ventures. Selling the products of one's creative ventures is vastly popular today, as popular sites such as Etsy and Artfire attest. I thought it would be of particular interest to readers on Needle 'n Thread to hear about Jo's adventures, since it isn't unlikely that there are many of you who do, or plan to do, something similar with your arts and crafts.

I think you'll enjoy Jo's article, her sense of humor, and her creativity! Here she is:



No Matter Where I Go…I Always Meet Myself There. This is a saying I heard many years ago, and it stayed with me. I am not sure why, but at the time, I was at a low point in my life, and I thought “Well, that’s it, then. It’s all up to me isn’t it�. I was responsible for me, my own happiness, or conversely, my own unhappiness; there was no one else who could ‘fix’ it , except me.

Over the years I have moulded this it fit the needs of my life at the time. To me now, older and wiser, it means I have to be happy with the end result. I feel it revolves a lot around integrity and doing what I feel is right, and being happy to live with the outcome. Looking at my blog title almost daily reminds me of this.

How am I going to lead this nicely into an article about my craft…I don’t think I am, to be fair (lol), but I don’t think I have ever told the story of my blog title before, and when Mary honored me with a “guest spot� while she is enjoying her down time, I had to think what to write about.

I have been blogging for a number of years now. I never dreamed it would lead me to where I am now. Many friends and acquaintances all over the world, with wide and varied interests that I get to experience and enjoy. I have Round Robined, Swapped, Exchanged, ROAKed, Moderated and Donated. My recent ventures, though, have taken me into the world of ‘retail’….



For a good while, and after a few suggestions from various quarters, I had been considering a book. Just considering, no formal plan (or even informal plan for that matter). It is difficult to know what people would actually want to read. It turned out, however, that words would be surplus to requirements in my foray into publishing. One night – I am a night owl, never in bed before midnight – I received a discount coupon in my email box from an online photo service. It was for a small, spiral bound photobook. I thought it was a good idea.



As a part of my ‘offline ‘life, I spend many hours in conferences. Although usually work is highly embellished with beads and ribbons, sequins and silk ribbon embroidery, my “conference box� has pre-pieced fabric postcards, and a selection of threads. Back to basics, and no plan, except to stitch and experiment. It keeps my brain engaged, and therefore able to listen.



So, I got my coupon, loaded up my photos - deciding to focus on layered seam treatments for Crazy quilting - picked a template, ordered 6, thinking I can give them away if nothing else, and waited for them to arrive. During this time I blogged about my “book� and people expressed an interest. “Great, I might actually be able to sell a couple of these!� I thought. I needed a venue to do this. I have been a member of ETSY for a while as a buyer, so I set about creating my shop and I listed 4 copies. You cannot imagine the thrill to open up my email box the next morning and see that two copies had sold. The other two copies had sold by the end of the day. Within 3 weeks I had sold 30 copies!!



This little venture has been successful beyond my wildest hopes. The reason for its success? Well, it all comes back to blogging, links and connections with people, finding common denominators. Joining yahoo groups, ning groups, facebooks (I haven’t embraced twitter yet…) building a network of likeminded and interested and interesting people, that, 20 years ago would have been next to impossible without the internet. In fact, I believe, next to impossible without a blogging presence online. I could have put this book out, but without those people who take the time to read my words and admire and comment on my work, who would my client base be? I am incredibly lucky and blessed to be part of this online community, and lucky to have been supported so well by its members.



With the success of my wee book, I added some bags I had made to my shop. Both of those sold and I am now working on custom orders for 3 more. I have added a range of Victorian inspired pedestal pincushions, beautiful and functional handmade pieces. They are slower to sell, but then I create “just because�. It helps keep me sane in a life busy with 3 young children!! I am also adding some postcards as I finish them, and I would like to invite you all to enter my monthly giveaway for a hand embroidered fabric postcard. Finally, to link back to my blog title, I strive to create well made, long wearing items, that I know I can be proud of, because no matter where I go…I always meet myself there.



I feel a bit like an advertorial, but when Mary suggested advertising an online shop, I felt it was a great opportunity. I hope that I have offered you some other insight along the way, not being too blatant with asking you "stop by." However, of course, I would love for you to “stop by�! You can find me here at my Etsy Shop and on my blog, No Matter Where I Go, I Always Meet Myself There.

Labels: readers embroidery

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, June 29, 2009
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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Sunday, June 28, 2009
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A couple weeks ago when scoping out the path of this road trip I'm currently on (you haven't missed me, have you?), I came across, via Google Maps, a needlework shop in Minnesota called Oak Hill Designs. While browsing their site, which features everything at 40% off right now (perhaps closing down?), I came across a section on goldwork. While most of the stock in the online store seems to be sold out or dwindled to one left (still worth taking a look!), I was happy to see that the goldwork section had four interesting looking kits in it. I bought two, and here's one of 'em.

According the goldwork section on the Oak Hill Designs website, which I double-checked while writing this post (June 17th), there are still four goldwork kits available on the site. I was a little disappointed to see that the Goldwork Rose kit (below) is listed as $22.95 on sale - when I bought it, it was $10.00, which was exciting. I thought it might be a really good opportunity for those of you who want to try goldwork to be able to do so affordably. I'm not sure, actually, if the $22.95 price is worth this little kit, but for $10, I didn't think you could go wrong. If you are looking for a goldwork kit, though, the Fishes from Bangalore is also $22.95, and I think it's (overall) a better kit - more color, kind of fun!

Anyway, should this little goldwork rose kit be reduced in price again, and if you're interested in trying your hand at goldwork, here's a little information about the kit. Maybe you'll be able to track down other similar kits by the same designer or company that produces this one.



The kit comes in a swell little gift bag. I thought that was kind of neat - everything packaged in a little bag, with a color photo of the finished project on the front.



Kit contents:

Moire fabric, on which the design is worked. I would personally back this with muslin, as I've stitched on moire before for goldwork, and without the muslin backing, there isn't enough support. The design is not printed on the fabric.

Needles in three different sizes for the various parts of the design.

Instruction booklet with design page.

Threads: Rajmahal art silk in pinks and greens for the colored threads that are used for couching and also for the embroidered details; gold-colored Rajmahal art silk for couching the gold threads; Imitation Jap gold; a fine gold thread; and two short length of purls (about 3 inches each), one check and one smooth.



The little instruction booklet covers everything from transferring the design, to setting the project up on a frame, to the various stitches used and where they're used, to color placement - in short, everything you need to know to complete the project.



Ut-oh! While the little gift bag packaging on the outside is fine, the packaging on the inside leaves a little to be desired. The purls were crushed by the other content in the kit. Not good, but this certainly doesn't mean that it would be the case in each kit. For $10, I still think the kit is worth it. For $22.95, I'd have second (and third) thoughts before buying it.

Overall, though, I think the concept is great, don't you? A small beginner's goldwork kit, all neatly packaged.

The concept is great - a small beginner's goldwork kit with a simple design at an affordable price. (Again, the $22.95 might be a bit steep for the contents herein!)

In any case, I thought it would make a great gift for a young needleworker who would be willing to give it a try!

Labels: embroidery resources, goldwork, pictures, supplies

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, June 27, 2009
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