White on White Hand Embroidery Revisted
Embroidery on white linen, in white threads, produces rich, elegant results. A while back, I mentioned a project I was working on, using simple stitches on white linen, but I flubbed up on part of it, and had to start again...
You can find the original post on the subject here. I ended up picking out part of the work, and consequently marring the linen.
I reworked the same project and finished it a couple weeks ago, so I thought I'd share some photos of it. Overall, my point in this little article is to encourage readers who might be intimidated by "detail" work, especially whitework, that looks hard. This project, as far as stitching is concerned, was relatively simple!
Here's a photo of the overall piece, which is a white linen pall, a square piece of linen traditionally used to cover the chalice during the Mass. It's approximately 6 inches square.
Although the color looks a bit creamy in the photo, the linen is "ecclesiastical linen" by Legacy, which is white, and the thread I used was a #30 coton a broder by DMC.
I stitched all the lines and scrolls in a whipped backstitch - a very simple stitch! I wanted to raise the outlines a little bit, to add dimension to the piece. The grapes are stitched in a lighly padded satin stitch, and these were probably the most difficult part of the piece, only because some stitches may find it difficult to satin stitch circles well at first. I didn't necessarily want all the circles the same size or a perfectly "round" shape, but tried for at least some consistency! The insides of the double-outlined shapes (the outside circle and the inside quatrafoil) are stitched in larger seed stitches, using double stitches.
The inside of the leaves and the letters are worked with a seed stitch - tiny single stitches which I did not "randomly" work, but rather worked more or less in the direction of the leaf. Seed stitch may be randomly worked, in different directions, for a nice effect, but here I wanted something a little more organized looking.
Perhaps my favorite aspects of the piece are the dimension created by the whipped backstitch and the padded satin stitch, and the texture, provided by the seed stitches.
A hint when working white-on-white: use good lighting! It makes all the difference. For the whipped backstitch, keep your backstitches tiny and even, and do all the "whipping" in the same direction.
You can find the original post on the subject here. I ended up picking out part of the work, and consequently marring the linen.
I reworked the same project and finished it a couple weeks ago, so I thought I'd share some photos of it. Overall, my point in this little article is to encourage readers who might be intimidated by "detail" work, especially whitework, that looks hard. This project, as far as stitching is concerned, was relatively simple!
Here's a photo of the overall piece, which is a white linen pall, a square piece of linen traditionally used to cover the chalice during the Mass. It's approximately 6 inches square.
Although the color looks a bit creamy in the photo, the linen is "ecclesiastical linen" by Legacy, which is white, and the thread I used was a #30 coton a broder by DMC.
I stitched all the lines and scrolls in a whipped backstitch - a very simple stitch! I wanted to raise the outlines a little bit, to add dimension to the piece. The grapes are stitched in a lighly padded satin stitch, and these were probably the most difficult part of the piece, only because some stitches may find it difficult to satin stitch circles well at first. I didn't necessarily want all the circles the same size or a perfectly "round" shape, but tried for at least some consistency! The insides of the double-outlined shapes (the outside circle and the inside quatrafoil) are stitched in larger seed stitches, using double stitches.
The inside of the leaves and the letters are worked with a seed stitch - tiny single stitches which I did not "randomly" work, but rather worked more or less in the direction of the leaf. Seed stitch may be randomly worked, in different directions, for a nice effect, but here I wanted something a little more organized looking.
Perhaps my favorite aspects of the piece are the dimension created by the whipped backstitch and the padded satin stitch, and the texture, provided by the seed stitches.
A hint when working white-on-white: use good lighting! It makes all the difference. For the whipped backstitch, keep your backstitches tiny and even, and do all the "whipping" in the same direction.
Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, December 06, 2006
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6 Comments:
Beautiful work!!! makes me want to start on something like this. The close-up photos really help understand the stitches.
That is so beautiful! I've been looking forward to seeing this piece, and it's even more wonderful than I'd imagined. I love the apparent (deceptive) simplicity of white on white and the flawlessness of your execution. So-called simple or basic stitches look their best when they're worked so confidently. Thank you for posting with such helpful commentary.
What is a Seed Stitch? You use it in the piece for the leaves and letters. Thank you
Seed stitch is simply tiny straight stitches worked randomly to fill a space. They can all be stitched in one direction (as I did in the leaves above, following, more or less, the "design" of the leaf) or they can be worked in various directions, which gives a much more "random" look to the filling. They add texture and slight color (when using colored thread) rather than solid smooth color. You can see another example of seed stitch in the third and fourth photos on this page here. The area filled with the little speckles starting in the lower left hand corner of the fourth picture is worked with seed stitch (or "seeding" as it's sometimes called).
When you're doing a project this small, do you use an embroidery hoop, or do you do something different, like a frame or something?
I am learning so much from you!! Aside from the breathtaking work, your photos are crisp and close. I've been poring over your site and am learning not just execution of stitches but a sense of when to use different ones (that was what had always held me back before: got overwhelmed, so many choices, combinations---where to start??). I may get the confidence soon to try my hand at one of your beginner patterns.
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