Chip work is a wonderfully sparkly filling technique used in goldwork embroidery. I think I'm part crow, because I love sparklies! So it isn't odd that chip work would make its way into my current goldwork project. Today, I'll show you where it's going and how it gets there.

The goldwork pomegranate, when we last left it, had acquired a nice coating of smooth passing thread, a touch of pearl purl, and an outline in wavy check thread. This is what the piece looked like before getting into the chip work:



I apologize for the greenish tint in the photo. I'm longing for sunny days again - goldwork photographs much better in natural sunlight!

Now we're going to address the yellow felt areas on the tip of the pomegranate and on the larger turnovers on the "petals" protruding from the side of the fruit.

I'm working with Gild Bright Check Purl #7 (which I purchased from Hedgehog Handworks). This come in 18" lengths, and, if you're planning on following along with the project and doing what I do, then you'll probably want to order two 18" lengths. This will give you plenty of bright check purl for all the chip work in the design, plus a little left over for future projects (or to make up for mistakes!)



I use a piece of black velvet lining this plastic basket for cutting and holding my chips of purl. A box lid with a piece of velvet in it will work, or you can make your own velvet board for cutting your metal threads by adhering a piece of velvet or velveteen to a piece of mat board. You should use velvet or something with a short nap to cut on, as the nap of the velvet keeps things in place. I have a velvet board as well (in red) but since I had this basket on hand and the piece of black velvet, it served the purpose for this project.



Bright check purl, also called "frieze," is made from a metal wire that is coiled like a triangle and twisted to make a faceted tube of spiraled gold wire that is loose and limp when left in long lengths. When it is cut into small "chips," the chips are a bit stiffer, but still retain the ability to be pulled or stretched out of their spring-like shape. They do not spring back, so if you pull check purl out of shape, it'll stay stretched out of shape.

The purl is cut carefully into small lengths - I usually cut them about 3 or 4 twists long, as in the photo above. They can be cut smaller, too, to fill in small spaces. When cut, they are like beads. You can see pretty clearly in the picture that, when cut, they make what could be described as a hollow, faceted gold wire bead.

To cut them, you can either leave your length of check purl on the velvet and place the tips of your scissors over it and snip, or you can, as I do, hold the check purl down next to the velvet close to the end where you're going to cut it, and then slide it onto the edge of your scissor blade. The purl will separate a bit over the scissor blade and snip without any crimping or warping.

They're pretty, aren't they? And they're a lot smaller than they look!



These little chips are picked up just like beads and sewn onto the gold felt padding in the same manner one would sew on beads. Here, you can see the needle picking up one little chip.

I'm using a #11 crewel needle (you can probably get away with a #10, which is more readily available than the smaller #11) and the same YLI 100 wt thread that I spoke of in article on smooth passing thread. My thread is waxed well, since the abrasion from the gold necessitates protection for the thread!



Here, I'm working on one of the turn-overs on the top petals next to the body of the pomegranate. The chips of gold are sewn on randomly, covering the felt. They should be stitched on in various directions, so that the light catches them well, and so that they fill the space as thoroughly as possible. Regarding filling, though, it is important not to crowd the chips so much that they buckle up on top of each other. They should fit snugly next to each other, but not bulge over each other. Since they have that spiral, springy nature, they will bend and buckle and bulge if they are crowded.

I did my best not to let the chips overflow the felt area, too. I am going to edge the felt with a different gold thread to give it a clean finish, and I don't want the chips to interfere with the outline.



Using the same random sewing-on-of-chips, I filled in the turn-overs on the fleur de lys at the tip of the pomegranate as well. These, I fit into the outline of check thread that was already there, being careful not to cover the outline.

When filling with chip work, there may remain some tiny spaces of yellow felt that aren't covered between the chips. This is ok. The felt, because of its color, won't be noticeable.



Photos don't do justice to the sparkly nature of chip work!



Pulling back a bit, this is the piece so far...



And then I moved over and finished the chip work on the other side of the fruit.

Chip work is fun! It's a bit tedious in a way, due to working with very small pieces of gold and having to take a lot of stitches to fill in an area. But really, it's simple stitching! And the results are worth it! It's great fun to watch an area fill up with chips of gold!

Next time we visit this project, we will look at outlining those turn-overs with one of my favorite edging techniques.

For previous posts on this goldwork embroidery project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project
The Stitching Begins - SIlk Shading
Continuing the silk shading - the left side
Finishing the silk shading
The Goldwork Begins: Smooth Passing Thread
Check Thread for Outlining

Labels: Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, goldwork, needlepainting, needlework pictures, needlework tutorials, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, March 13, 2010
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Earlier this week, we looked at smooth passing thread in my current goldwork embroidery project. Today, we'll take a look at another real metal thread used for embroidery, called check thread.

Check thread is a real metal thread that's quite similar to smooth passing thread, but it's crimped and wavy. It looks a bit like rococco, which is also a wavy real metal thread couched on the surface. As far as I can tell, the only real differences between check thread and rococco are that check thread is quite a bit finer than rococco, and that it's not quite as soft. In fact, the fine stiffness of it makes it easier to work with than rococco, I think.

Both rococco and check thread are normally used for filling threads, in the same way I used the smooth passing thread on the first section of the goldwork. But with all three couched threads - check thread, smooth passing, or rococco - you can also use them to outline, and that's what I'll be doing here.

If you're interested in reading a wee bit about rococco, you can peruse this article I wrote for CQMagazine, on using goldwork for crazy quilting. If you scroll through the article, you'll come to a section titled "Rococco."



In the photo above, you can see the difference between rococco (on the bottom) and check thread (on the top). The check thread I'm using comes from Tanja Berlin's website, and it's 2% gold, in either size 16x3 or 8x2 (the size actually wasn't marked on the envelope, and that's as close as I can get by measuring).



Just as with smooth passing thread, check thread is couched onto the surface of the fabric. I'm still using YLI #100 silk in color #215 to couch the check thread, with a #11 crewel needle. I've run the silk couching thread through beeswax before couching the gold.

The nice thing about check thread is that it's very easy to space your couching stitches evenly! I couched the thread at each little crimp.

I used the check thread to outline the outside of the fruit. The check thread fits right up to the side of the smooth passing, and creates a fine, wavy edge. I like the look of it - I love the way the check thread catches the light.



After outlining the main body of the fruit, I used the check thread to outline the fleur de lys tip of the pomegranate, couching the thread around the outside, and on all sides of the felt padding.



I haven't quite finished the tip in this photo. The key to making the couching easy on small design elements is to find the longest line you can follow, without having to start a new couching thread. I started at the top inside of the felt padding, moved down the inside of the felt padding, rounded the tip (pinching the thread with tweezers to get a nice sharp fold), and then followed across the top of the fleur de lys, around the outside of the padding on the other side, around the tip (pinching with tweezers) and then up the inside of the padding. Unfortunately, I underestimated the length of the check thread and didn't make it up the inside of the felt padding on the other side. But that's the route I would have gone, if I had cut a long enough thread!

(Is this where I say, "Do as I say, not as I do"? ---- Tsk, tsk. Not the best teaching policy!)

Now, you may well ask why I worked the outside of the felt padding first, before filling it in. It's true - if you were using a couched thread that has to be plunged (like smooth passing thread) to cover that felt padding, you should definitely cover the felt before outlining it. I'm going to be using chip work up there, and I'm hoping the outline will keep me from "overflowing" the chip work on those tiny turn-overs and making them look too fat. So I went ahead and outlined the turn-overs on the tip. You don't have to - you can wait on outlining this until you've covered the felt, but for me, this worked best.



To end check thread, you plunge it in the same manner as you would with smooth passing thread, and then secure the thread on the back of the work by stitching over it with your couching thread. You can strip the check thread exactly as you do with smooth passing thread, too.

So that is check thread. We'll be coming back to it later, as I intend to use it for outlining other areas. I Really Like this metal thread! (Note: I don't like rococco - it's a real pain in the neck to work with!)

When next we visit the goldwork project, it's time for chip work - a particularly spectacular filling technique, if you like sparkle. (And really, who doesn't like sparkle?!)

For previous posts on this goldwork embroidery project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project
The Stitching Begins - SIlk Shading
Continuing the silk shading - the left side
Finishing the silk shading
The Goldwork Begins: Smooth Passing Thread

Labels: Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, goldwork, needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, March 12, 2010
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Back to the goldwork embroidery project I'm currently working on - now it's time to add some gold! The first real metal threads added to the design are passing threads, and in particular, I'll be using gilt smooth passing thread, in size #4, which is fairly small thread - about .35 mm wide.

For goldwork, I order my supplies from two different places, depending on what I'm after. For smooth passing thread (gilt and 2%) I go to Tanja Berlin in Canada. Shipping is a bit more expensive, and the shipping time is a bit longer, so I always try to think ahead if I have a large goldwork project coming up. For some reason, I really like the passing threads that Tanja carries. I'm not sure who the manufacturer is, but they are different from other passing threads that I've ordered from other places. Another thread I order from Tanja is check thread, but I'll talk more about that later, since I will be using it later on in this project.

Another good source for real metal threads is Hedgehog Handworks. In my stash, I have a good selection of frieze (or check purl) and smooth purl from Hedgehog, as well as Jaceron (pearl purl).

So, I'm beginning the goldwork on this project with #4 gilt smooth passing.

For tools and other supplies (besides the smooth passing thread), this is what I'm using:

1. Beeswax - this is for coating the couching thread, to strengthen it against the metal thread
2. Gold-colored couching thread - for this project, I'm actually using YLI #100 gold (color #215). It is tiny, strong, and less visible than other threads that I often use (including Kreinik, 50 wt Tire Silk, and Soie 100/3). In fact, while working this project, it has become my Most Favorite gold-colored couching thread ever. (I have no idea where I got it...)
3. #11 Crewel (embroidery) needle - you can get away with a #10, which is easier to find
4. Chenille needle for plunging
5. Tweezers - essential for pinching threads and pulling things and all around usefulness
6. Small, sharp embroidery scissors used solely for cutting metal threads
7. Melore - for prodding metal threads around

(The melore is not 100% essential - it's a nice tool to have, and since I have one, I feel obliged to use it!)



The outside of the body of the "fruit" will be covered with the smooth passing thread, which is couched in pairs.



I started with double the length of one side of the fruit, plus about 1.5" for plunging. To create a pair of threads, I folded this length in half.



Using tweezers, I pinched the fold so that it was a sharp fold.



I started at the outside base of the side of the fruit, next to the petals, arms, peelings, bracts, or whatever you want to call them - those long curly things that I already embroidered. I ran my couching thread through the beeswax about three or four times to coat it well, and then ran it slowly between my finger and thumb to work the wax in and get rid of any extra wax clumps. I anchored the stitch in the yellow felt, taking a few little tiny anchoring stitches. Then, I brought my needle up in the middle of the pinch of the gold thread, taking it back over the thread and into the fabric and creating the first stitch at the base of the gold thread, in the middle of the pinch. You can see the first stitch in the photo above - it is perpendicular to the other couching stitches.

The next couching stitch is just above the pinch, across the pair of threads, and pulled tight to hole the pinch together (but not too tight, as to distort the pair of threads). The pair of threads should lie parallel to each other, but not overlap, nor should one jump up and sit higher than the other.



I worked two rows (two pairs each) on each side of the fruit, leaving a long bit of passing thread hanging over the tip, for plunging to the back.

As I couched each row, I tried to space my stitches between the stitches in the previous row, in a "brick" fashion.



You can see here at the tip that there's not enough room for another two pairs of passing threads, which would keep the side even, so I will stagger the placement of the threads, so that they miter into each other when I plunge them.

I should have gone ahead and plunged these threads at this point - but I didn't. It's always easier, in my mind, to plunge as you go, rather than leaving everything to plunge at the end. However, I don't always practice what I preach!



So I worked one more pair up each side of the fruit, and ended up with LOTS of ends to plunge.

Plunging is not my favorite part.



There are a couple ways to plunge goldwork threads. You can use a lasso formed of string and pull the passing thread through, or, if you're using a fairly fine passing thread as I am here, you can use a chenille needle with a large enough eye to accommodate the passing thread. I used a chenille needle and worked from the outside threads towards the middle on each side. Basically, to plunge the passing thread, you stick your plunging needle into your work where you want the thread to pass to the back, then I pinch the tip of the passing thread with tweezers to flatten it so it slides right into the eye of the plunging needle, and then you pull the plunging needle to the back. Now, the plunging needle doesn't necessarily pass easily to the back of the work. Sometimes, you have to wiggle it back and forth a bit. Eventually, it will pop through. (In fact, it sounds like a pretty good "pop" as it passes through the fabric to the back of the work.)



Concerning the middle area, if you look at the diagram below, even though the spacing is all wrong, this is how I staggered the placement of the threads for sinking them. On the third pairs up each side, one thread from each pair filled the gap left at the top edge of the flower, and then the other two were staggered and plunged to the back.



The rest of the threads filling the area were staggered the same way and plunged to the back.



In the photo above, you can see the passing thread pulled aside to make room for plunging each thread down the center.



Where the threads were plunged, a line forms down to the tip of the embroidered center of the fruit.



After the passing thread is pulled to the back, I strip the gold off, leaving the yellow core thread. To do this, you just grab the tip of the gold, and pull gently.



I strip the thread down to about a quarter inch from the fabric and snip the gold off. It's easier (I think) to secure the "naked" yellow thread than to secure the gold-covered thread. It's not a necessary step, but this is generally how I like to secure my threads on the back.



You can see that there's still some gold left on the thread - you don't want to strip it to the fabric, because you don't want to risk pulling gold off the thread that's on the front of the fabric.

And you can see that my secured threads on the back are rather clumpy and in a general mess. This really is my least-favorite aspect of goldwork - finishing off the threads on the back!



So there you have the first five pairs of smooth passing thread on each side of the fruit. At this point, I started staggering the base of the threads, too, in order to fill the rest of the felted area.



I love the look of smooth passing thread! It's so rich and solid!



To fill the rest of the space, I cut two separate pieces of passing thread to form each pair. I left "plunging room" on both ends of the thread, so that I could stagger where they were plunged in order to fill up the uneven space remaining on the outside edge of the fruit.



The threads are couched exactly the same way as before, without the fold in the thread.



After filling up the whole area, I used gilt pearl purl, size #F1 (from Hedgehog Handworks) to line the inside of the fruit. I've already written a little bit about pearl purl and how it is used, so you may read that article if you are interested. To get the pearl purl to fit in the tip of the inside of the goldwork area there, I pinched it with tweezers so that it bent sharply.

And that's the first foray into the goldwork on this project! Next up, I'll show you what check thread is and where I'm going to use it on this part of the design!

For previous posts on this goldwork embroidery project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project
The Stitching Begins - SIlk Shading
Continuing the silk shading - the left side
Finishing the silk shading

Labels: Embroidery Projects, embroidery resources, goldwork, needlepainting, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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I was super-eager to finish the silk shading on the "fruit" part of my present goldwork project, because then I could move on to the gold! After all, what's a goldwork project without gold?? So I hastened to get the rest of the color worked on the fruit...

With the lattice design in the middle of the fruit, there are so many options for interpretation. I decided to go with silk shading in the middle of the fruit, with goldwork around it. So that central lattice section is solid (shaded) color. It was actually at the point of finishing it that I decided my stylized pomegranate is looking more like an artichoke.

A red artichoke, no less.



The first thing I did was split stitch the lattice in the darkest red. This provided an outline for each diamond, which I shaded using long and short stitch and four shades of red - the lightest pink at the top, followed by the next lightest shade, and then one of the medium values, and ending with the darkest at the base of the diamond.



You can see the shades here a bit better. I didn't cover the split stitch line, by the way. I left that visible, to mark the lattice.



You can see here a couple layers of shading and the basic shape I followed for doing the long and short stitch.



And that's the finished center area. I'm not sure - I might put some gold in there. What do you think? It might be easier to decide after seeing the goldwork around this section first.



For the little fleur de lys tip, I started at the top with the lightest pink and shaded down the center section, and then, with the two arms under the turn-overs (the frito-looking felt things!), I used the darker values down to the base.

So there it is - the silk shading is finished on the fruit. I'm going to do the goldwork on the fruit before moving on to the stem. Otherwise, we'd be waiting forever to get to the really fun stuff!

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9th) I'll be giving away another copy of Susan O'Connor's Embroidered Flowers for Elizabeth. It's going to be a short run on the give-away, so do make sure you stop by!

For previous posts on this goldwork embroidery project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project
The Stitching Begins - SIlk Shading
Continuing the silk shading - the left side

Labels: Embroidery Projects, goldwork, needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, March 08, 2010
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I've finished the color on the arms of my goldwork embroidery project. "Arms" is probably the wrong word, but "leaves" don't really work, either. What the heck are those things?!

This project has been really fun to work on so far, and I hope to make Great Progress on it this weekend. I was going to make a switch back to the blackwork fish for the weekend (I'm eager to make noticeable progress on him!), but I'm afraid he'll have to wait until next week....

In the meantime - it's goldwork for me, and here's my progress on the Colored Tendril Thingies that stick out of the sides of the Stylized Pomegranate-Artichoke-Flower Thing. (I think I need to come up with specific words for these design elements.)

Before I go further, though, I want to show you two photos. The first is the last photo on yesterday's article discussing the beginning of the stitching:



And this photos is the same area of stitching, taken from a different angle:



I always find it interesting how needlework changes, when viewed from another angle. When viewed from the second angle, I think the shading becomes much more obvious, and that movement out from the center - the curving of the arms - becomes even more noticeable. At the same time, it makes the lack of depth in the shading on the top (small) leaf more obvious. This view is one of the reasons I thought I should pick that area out. I'm still debating that point!

Ok, on with it!



Moving over to the left side of the design, I managed to add one more shade in that top curl. I think it looks better than the first one on the right. I also changed my stitch direction on that, beginning at the base of the curl (next to the body of the fruit) and working towards the turn-over, which is the same stitch direction I've used on the other curls, but not on the first small one. On that first one on the right, I started at the turn over and stitched down to the source - and this is probably part of the reason it doesn't quite look right. Maybe not. Anyway - I'll get back to that!

I also outlined the curls with one of the darker reds, using split stitch.

Again, if you're not familiar with long and short stitch shading, but you want to give this design a try using the same techniques, then do visit my Long and Short Stitch Shading lessons, and take a look specifically at Lesson 5, which addresses embroidering this type of shape.



I'm following pretty much the same shading pattern as I did in the right half of the design, with the exception of adding the little light pink tint on the longer curl.



Notice that my long and short stitches are not uniformly long and short! This is a point that I go over in the long and short stitch shading lessons, but I thought I'd re-emphasize here. If you go with a uniform long-short pattern, keeping the stitches the same length, worked in uniform rows, the shading doesn't end up looking as natural, smooth, and "painted."



And there it is - the left side finished. It's a bit darker than the right side of the design, and this was done on purpose, by using less of the lighter shade of red at the curves. The point here is that, when the flower is tipped in the correct direction of the design, this side (the left side) is pointing downwards, while the right side is closer to the imagined light source. That was my idea, anyway. Whether or not it will actually matter that much in the finished design is another question.

The next part I'll tackle is the center of the fruit, where the lattice area is. This is actually going to be stitched with color. I may add some tiny gold lines after the color is in. We shall see!

Once that part is done, then it's on to the gold threads!

Have a perfect weekend - and get some stitching in!

For previous posts on this project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project
The Stitching Begins - SIlk Shading

Labels: Embroidery Projects, goldwork, long and short stitch, needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Saturday, March 06, 2010
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Once I selected the colors for my current goldwork embroidery project, it was time to start stitching. I began with the "arms" or leaves that come out of the body of the stylized pomegranate (see the original design). Using long and short stitch shading techniques, I started filling in the individual leaves. So today, I'll show you my progress on that, and point out some tips along the way.

If you are familiar with goldwork embroidery and silk shading, you'll be able to follow this with no problem. For those who are new to these techniques, I recommend that you check out my long and short stitch shading lessons. You may find the long and short stitch videos handy, and, as far as the lessons are concerned, you might want to look particularly at lesson five: shading around curves.



I began on the right side of the pomegranate, with the the smallest arm. The yellow felt padded overturn of the leaf sits above, so I wanted to cast a shadow underneath that turnover. I began with the darkest red and worked into the medium reds and back to the dark for this particular leaf.



Then I moved to the second leaf on the right. You can see that I used the lightest shade of the reds (the pink!) to outline the shape. At first, I was intending to add more pink to this leaf than I ended up actually adding. Hence, the pink outline. You can outline the leaf with one of the medium reds (in the middle of the range of colors) if you, like me, decided not to use so much of the pink.

Working around the curve is somewhat difficult. It may be helpful to draw guidelines with a pencil on the fabric. I began with the darkest red close to the body of the fruit, and then worked through the range of red, getting lighter as I rounded the curve, and then moving back into the darker reds as I approached the tip.



The lighter color should move to the outside of the curve. Here, if you look closely, you can see five shades of the red, with the light red (but not the pink) on the right side of the leaf.



I wanted to pick up a little bit of light right on the top of the curve. I'm picturing the light source coming from the top right of the design, and I wanted just a glint on this curve on the larger leaf. So I stitched in just a touch of the light pink.

Then I took it back to the mediums and the medium-dark, but I did not go all the way back to the darkest shade of red at the tip.



I outlined the third leaf (it's the leaf in the forefront of the design) with one of the darker reds, and I followed the same stitching technique around the curve of the leaf, gradually changing shades so that the lightest shade (just short of the lighter pink) is hitting the curve.

And there's the first embroidery stitches on this goldwork / silk project. So far, I'm ok with it. One point I'm not perfectly happy with is the first leaf I stitched, the one farthest back. I didn't quite catch the turn on that one, and I think it could have used another step in the shading. I may indeed pick that one out. But first I'll stitch the leaves on the other side and think about it.

I finally bought a decent stopwatch, by the way! I know that sounds pointless and completely out of the blue, but I would like to keep track accurately of the time spent on various projects. This will help me judge better how much time a particular project will take. I tend to underestimate the time a project will take - I was thinking I'd have this goldwork piece, for example, finished by this weekend. It's not happening!

Unfortunately, I didn't get the stopwatch until after this part was finished. Still, I estimate that I've spent about 5 hours on the project to this point. It seems like a lot of time, for such a little bit of color!

Hope you have a terrific weekend and can get some time in with your needle 'n thread!

For previous posts on this project, please visit the following links:

Stylized Pomegranate Pattern used for this project
Setting up the Project on a Frame
Preparing the Ground Fabric with Felt Padding
Selecting Colors of Silk for the Project

Labels: Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, goldwork, needlepainting, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Friday, March 05, 2010
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