After finishing the chip work on the "petals" on the goldwork embroidery project I'm currently working on, I set about outlining the larger areas of chip work on the top petals. The method I used is really very simple, and it makes a really nice edge!

Outlining various parts of a goldwork project with a different metal thread helps not only to make the edges look neat and finished, but also helps to set off an area filled with gold. Pretty much every filled element in my goldwork projects ends up with some kind of different thread as an outline, and in this case - outlining the larger chip work areas - I'm using pearl purl.



Above is an image from a previous article on pearl purl. This is what pearl purl looks like - it's a solid metal thread (not wrapped around a string core), coiled to form a "thread" (more like a wire) of pearl-like bumps. Pearl purl is spring-shaped - if you stretch it, you can see that it has that same spiral make-up of a spring. It does not spring back if it's stretched. You can check out the earlier article on this metal thread to see how I cut it, and how it is stitched onto the fabric when un-stretched. It is a couched thread. Using waxed couching thread, you couch the pearl purl onto the surface of the fabric, pulling the couching down in between the "pearls" of the metal so that it doesn't show.



For this project, I'm working with Gilt Pearl Purl, size Fine 1, which I purchased at Hedgehog Handworks. I calculated the length around the turn-over on the petal, and cut a little more than half that length of pearl purl. Then, taking the very ends of the piece of pearl purl in my fingernails, I pulled gently on it to stretch it out to twice its length. I've covered the topic of stretching pearl purl previously, but here I'm going to show you how I couched it for this project.



Using two strands of Soie d'Alger (in one of the middle shades of red) in a #9 crewel needle, I took a couching stitch at every "valley" in the stretched pearl purl.

A couple technical notes:

1. Begin couching just at the point where you want your pearl purl to begin. I forgot to take a picture! I began at the sharp lower tip of the area filled with check purl.

2. (And this point is debatable) Don't wax your couching thread. Some might think this is imprudent, since the metal thread can be kind of rough on the silk, and the wax provides extra protection. But the wax also darkens the thread and makes it look gummy, so whenever I'm couching pearl purl like this, using a decorative thread over the stretched purl, I don't wax my thread. I like the clean bright look of the decorative thread. If you're more comfortable waxing the thread, go for it....



Here's one turn-over completed. I started at the lower tip, worked around the right side toward the top, pinched the pearl purl with tweezers to get it to turn sharply around the top, and then headed back down to the lower tip, where I ended with a final couching stitch.

Pearl purl is NOT plunged to the back. It begins and ends with a couching stitch.

If your pearl purl is too long, just snip it carefully before you take your last couching stitch, leaving enough of the metal thread to hold a final stitch.



I think this edging is really one of the prettiest techniques in goldwork - I like the alternating twist with the colored silk and the gold.



And here's the design so far. Little by little, we're getting there!

Next up, we'll address the larger felt area below the body of the fruit!

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
Chip Work Filling with Check Purl

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

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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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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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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A few weeks ago, I posted a free hand embroidery pattern that I'm currently using as a goldwork embroidery project. For those of you who are new to goldwork, it is a form of surface embroidery that employs real metal threads. When it's mixed with silk shading, I think it's possibly the richest of all surface embroidery techniques. I mean, really - silk and gold! What more could you want?

So here begins a series on goldwork, wherein I'll take you step-by-step through this project with me. I'll try my best to give some clear instructions so that those interested in goldwork can give it a try!

Last week, I showed you the set-up of the goldwork project on the frame. I use Evertite stretcher bar frames, but if you have a slate frame, it is always considered the best choice of frame for goldwork. With goldwork, don't use a hoop! (My opinion, anyway!) You want your fabric to be drum tight, and you want it to stay that way, or at least to have the option of tightening it (hence, the Evertite frame or slate frame) without warping your fabric while you adjust it in the hoop. Another point: you won't be able to iron out hoop rings! Just trust me on this - goldwork is much better done on a frame than in a hoop!

With the project set up on the frame, the preparation for stitching can begin. All the areas where the gold will be applied to the design are going to be padded with yellow felt. This accomplishes a few things: it lifts the gold a little bit above the rest of the stitching and gives it a more finished look, I think, and it also provides a color base behind the gold, so that the white fabric, should it show through, will not be as visible.

For the felt, I'm using a regular craft felt which can be purchased in small pieces at your local fabric or craft store. I prefer a slightly thicker wool felt for this step, usually, but I didn't have any on hand. So this will do!

Besides the felt, I used a light fusible interfacing (similar to Wonder Under) for this step.



I took my pattern, and numbered each piece that would be cut out of the felt. This way, I wouldn't confuse which little piece of felt goes where on my project.



Then, I inverted the design (very important!) and traced out all the pieces where the gold would go onto the paper of the fusible interfacing.

I numbered each piece as I went, to make sure nothing got confused. And I traced out some extras of certain parts of the design, because I wasn't sure yet if I wanted to pad some areas more than others. (As it turns out, I didn't use these extra pieces.)



After ironing the fusible interfacing to the felt, I cut out each individual piece and left the paper on the back. Remember, the paper has the numbers on it. Then, I took my pattern and laid out all the pieces on it. Now, I'm ready to stitch the felt to the ground fabric.



First, peel the paper from the back of the felt. The fuzzy side of the felt goes up - not the side where the interfacing is. The interfacing merely makes it easier to cut the felt in accurate pieces.

Then, place the piece on the fabric and thread up a needle (I'm using a #9 crewel needle) with whatever thread you like to use for couching your gold onto your fabric. I'm using either Tire silk (50 wt) or Kreinik gold couching thread.



Knot the end of your thread and take your needle down into the felt, stitching some anchoring stitches into the felt, and then cutting the knot off the top there. (You may want to look at this photo tutorial for using anchor stitches to start a thread, if you're unfamiliar with the technique.)



I'll generally stitch some straight stitches down the middle of the piece of felt, to hold it in place while I stitch up the edges. It makes it easier to stitch the edges without the felt shifting.

The felt is sewn onto the ground fabric with small stitches all around the outside perimeter of the shape. To do this, it's easiest to bring your needle up into the fabric and take it down into the felt.



The process is repeated with each piece of felt, until all the areas where gold will be used as a filling are padded and ready to go!

So, that's the second step in the set-up process, and now I'm ready to stitch. I'll actually be stitching all the silk work first, and the goldwork last. This way, my silk threads won't get caught on my goldwork threads.

Next up - color selection, then silk shading!

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

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

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, March 01, 2010
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This past weekend, I took a wee hiatus from blogging. Sometimes, a break is good! This particular break was supposed to see me succeed in setting up multiple embroidery projects that I plan to have underway at the same time. Because the set-up process for each embroidery project can be a real pain in the neck, I figured if I set up several projects that are brewing in my head, I can move more seamlessly between them as time allows and my interests dictate. As it turns out - and as is often the case - the weekend was not as productive as I wished! Still, I managed to set up two projects, which I'll show you here, and then I managed to waste a lot of time looking for black thread!

The two new embroidery projects I managed to put together are actually somewhat similar in type: the Pomegranate in the Round pattern I posted a while ago was first on the list, and will be a goldwork and silk project; second up was the floral glove needlecase from Thistle Threads.



My first step was to make adjustments on the design. I reduced the number of lattice lines in the center of the stylized pomegranate, and I added turn-overs on the tip of the pomegranate and on every swirly thing around the edge. This may seem like overkill on the turn-overs - and it might be - but this is where I plan on showing a contrast between the silk and the gold. We shall see!



After tweaking the design, I decided to rummage through my goldwork supplies, to make sure I had enough of the types of metal threads I wanted to use on this project. There's nothing worse than planning out a project a certain way, only to find the supplies aren't on hand!



This is when I discovered that I have fairly large stash of goldwork supplies, and yet, it seems I rarely use them. I need to change that!



Next step was to sit down with the light table, a handy-dandy Sakura Micron Art Pen®, in black, size 005. I love these pens for transferring designs when I know that the transfer lines will be covered.

I'm using Legacy Linen Twill for this goldwork project. I just love this fabric, and I want to see how it operates with goldwork and silk shading. I think it'll work well! It's a pretty fabric - I love the twill weave and the color.



When tracing the pattern with the Micron pen, it's really important to use the lightest touch you can manage. If I can feel the surface underneath the fabric, I'm pressing too hard. Generally, I can only feel the pen touching across the surface of the fabric. Be careful of resting the pen in one place on the fabric, too. As you come to intersections of lines, don't let the pen sit on the fabric, or the ink will form a larger spot. In the photo above, you can see where this started to happen a bit, and that was with a minute pause!



Now, this is cotton muslin in the photo above. I lined the linen twill with the cotton muslin, to give the goldwork more support. The twill is actually a pretty substantial fabric, so the muslin isn't necessarily necessary, but when I do goldwork, I like extra stability in the ground fabric. I also don't like anything that seems remotely sheer - not that the twill is sheer at all! It isn't. I still wanted the extra backing, so I tore up some muslin to go behind the twill.

It's very important, if you back your ground fabric with muslin or cotton or even another linen, that the backing fabric is cut square, on the grain. If it's at all cut on the bias or mounted on the frame on the bias, it'll pucker. To make sure the fabric is square, I tear my muslin on the weave instead of cutting it. The ends end up looking a bit gnarled, but nothing that can't be fixed with an iron.



I ironed both the muslin and the twill (the twill before tracing the design on it!) until they were good and smooth, no wrinkles, and nice and square. Then the twill went on the table first, with the muslin lined up on top, both fabrics on the grain, lined up straight.

Some folks like to baste their backing fabric to the ground fabric at this point - to baste the muslin to the twill, in this case. This would help ensure that the fabrics frame up well together, without one or the other slipping. You can do that - you can baste a couple inches around the outside of the design, for example, if you are worried about the fabrics slipping.

I don't baste mine. I work slowly and carefully, tacking the fabrics to the frame together, and keeping them smooth and lined up as I go, and it works out fine.



Here's the pomegranate on the frame. There's an extra inch of fabric skirting the frame there....



... but nothing that a little trim won't take care of. It's true. I don't stitch or bind the edges on the fabric. They will initially shed a few threads, but after that, they'll be fine.



The floral glove project is on the left, framed up, and the pomegranate on the right. I was surprised (Really Surprised!) how sheer the linen is for the floral glove project, and I oscillated between lining the linen and not lining it. I finally settled on not lining it, thinking it's best just to follow directions as they are written on someone else's project. I have a feeling I may regret not lining it. The instructions say that it is "Napier Ivory Linen" - I think they mean Legacy linen's Napery Ivory, which is about a 50 count "dower quality" linen. It does seem a bit more sheer than most Legacy linens I've worked with. I'm going to have to dig some out to compare.

In the meantime, though, these are the two projects I managed to set up this past weekend. Not that impressive....

There are two other projects I want to set up, one of which I'm really excited about (Really Excited!), but doggonit if I can't find the threads! I'm going to do a kind of blackwork project (non-counted), which I'll tell you more about once I get it set up. I have a wonderful set of 8 blackwork threads (Leon Conrad's Ebony Collection) that I have practically roosted on like a doting hen over eggs for the past several years, being very careful of them, not wanting to lose them, not wanting anything to happen to them (do you see where this is going?!?!), wanting to save them for Just The Right Project.

The Right Project has come.

The Threads..... Where are the Threads?????! I think they must've hatched and headed off. I can't find them anywhere. I can picture them perfectly in several different places, but I can't for the life of me find them now. I spent hours this weekend going through every thread box in the studio.

Today, I'm going to repeat the procedure. Things don't just disappear. They must be somewhere!

In the meantime, does anyone know if there are any shops in the States that carry this collection of threads? Just in case?

That's how my weekend went, stitching-wise. Today, we have a snow day in Kansas, so I plan to make good use of it and finish up the things I didn't get finished over the weekend! Wish me luck!

Have a terrific Monday!

Labels: Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, goldwork, pictures

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Monday, February 22, 2010
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Picking out a palette for the flowers on my crewel rooster project wasn't so easy. I wanted colors that coordinated with the rooster at least a little bit, and that had enough shade options to keep the flowers from being too flat. This is where I dropped my original intention to just use threads from my present stash (at the time I started the rooster). Last week, when I received that order from Hedgehog that had all that luscious floche in it, I also received a small range of colors of Renaissance Dyeing Wool, so I dug into those for the flowers.

I like the Renaissance Dyeing wools, and they embroider really well. So I have duly justified the alteration in my original stash-only intention! At first, though, I thought perhaps these colors would not work for the flowers, especially once I started stitching. But I have resolved that they WILL work. My plan is to use the same colors on both flowers, but I'll stitch them in different locations on the flowers, so that the flowers aren't identical.



These are the shades - a deeper red (the same used in the tail of the rooster) to a lighter salmon. I think they'll work well together?



They're beautiful - like a gorgeous Kansas sunset. (Really - we have stellar sunsets in Kansas!)



I'm going back to the buttonhole scallops around the outside of the petals, and then filling the inside with French knots.



Around the outside of the darker petals, I'm working a row of detached buttonhole stitches in the loops of the previous stitches.



I didn't think out the order of stitching before I began. It's true that I want the detached buttonhole edges to rest over the petals beneath - which means they have to fit over those French knots - but I think it makes more sense to stitch the detached edges first. Since I didn't do that, I had to work the buttonhole over the French knots in the first petal I worked. To transport the needle without catching the knots, I find the fingernail on my little finger to be the perfect transport tool. If you do this carefully, it works great! Just slide your needle onto the tip of your fingernail, which is covering the stitches underneath, then transport the tip of the needle on your fingernail beyond the stitches, so that the needle doesn't catch. Now, if you don't do this carefully, you're in for a shocker. Needles sliding under the nail and into the skin are not pleasant. So if you stitch this way, be careful. (I do this all the time....)



I think I'm going to like the flowers!

Oh, trust me. I AM going to like the flowers, because there's no more picking out from this point on. It's time to finish this guy! And I can't wait to see the flower complete, so hopefully, today I'll make some headway on that.

For further posts on this project, feel free to visit the following links:

Free Hand Embroidery Pattern for The Crewel Rooster
Setting up The Crewel Rooster Project
Choosing Threads for The Crewel Rooster - and the first flower
Crewel Design Books
Stem Stitch Filling on Flower Stems
Scalloped Feathers on the Rooster's Body
The Beginnings of the Rooster's Tail
French Knots on the Wattle
Adding the First Blue Feather using a Raised Backstitch
The Rooster Tail, Finished for Now
The Wing - Three Attempts
Adjusting the Tail Feathers One More Time
The Rooster's Head, Neck, and Comb
The First Flower Attempt Comes Out

Labels: crewel work, Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, needlework pictures, pictures, threads, wool

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Thursday, January 28, 2010
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Working on the Crewel Rooster project, I've had the opportunity to play around with seven different crewel wools currently on the market. Today, I want to show you those threads up close - just the threads. In looking at just the threads, though, out of context, I will admit there's not a lot to learn from them. You might get an idea of their structure, but other than that, you can't tell much from them unless you see them in context, in stitching. That's the way I see it, anyway!

So my plan - and I'm slowly working on it - is to show you some stitch samples with each of these threads, and to put the samples side-by-side so that you can see them and compare the outcome of the stitching with the various threads. In the meantime, though, let's look at the seven different threads I've been working with.



These are the threads I used, in alphabetical order: Appleton crewel (100% wool from England), Bella Lusso (100% merino wool from Italy), D'Aubusson (100% wool from France), Gumnuts Poppies (a 50/50 silk/wool blend, from Australia), Heathway (100% merino wool from Wales), Renaissance Dyeing crewel wool (100% merino wool, vegetable dyed, from France, but the wool is from England), and Simply Wool by Gentle Art (100% wool - company is located in the US, but I don't know where the wool is from).

With the exception of Gumnut Poppies (which is a wool / silk blend), all the threads are wool, and you'd think they'd all pretty much be the same, since they're all wool, but they aren't. And even though several of them look the same, they stitch differently.



Simple Wool (lower) and Renaissance wool (top): fine, two-ply wool, kind of hairy. These two look a lot alike - they feel completely different when you stitch with them!



Heathway is a two-ply merino wool, but the plies twist around each other with a closer twist - not a tighter twist than the others, because the thread isn't tightly twisted. But the "spring" shape of the twist is definitely closer. This makes the thread a bit stretchier and springier. It also makes it very smooth when stretched out in stitching.



Gumnut Poppies: The presence of silk, I think, is obvious. The strands look smoother, more lustrous, and they hold together in their twist, thick and soft.



D'Aubusson's twist is a bit shorter - it looks like Simply Wool, which has a slightly shorter twist than the Renaissance wool. But the twist is much longer than Heathway's.



Bella Lusso (lower) was difficult to photograph (red threads are always difficult to photograph, for some reason!), but you can see that its twist holds together more than the other threads - it is softer, and the fibers are longer. It reminds me more of a cotton-floche-gone-hairy than of wool. And Appleton (top) is again a two-ply twist, but notice how the plies are really separated from each other? They are long twists, but very loose, and the fibers in Appleton wool are also kind of loose and all over the place.

So, although the threads (except Poppies) are all wool, and though they look alike at a glance, they have subtle differences, and these differences come across in the way they stitch. What makes them different? The way the wool is processed, the way it's combed and spun, even the dye process, I suppose. You can read quite a bit, actually, on wool threads in general on the Renaissance Dyeing website. It's a nice site with interesting information for those interested in wool threads, thread dyeing, vegetable dyes, and so forth.

I'll be finishing up some stitch samples to show you how these threads perform. So stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I'm planning on getting the rooster finished over the next few days! Wish me luck!

Labels: crewel work, embroidery tips and tricks, hand embroidery information, threads, wool

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Posted By: Mary Corbet on Wednesday, January 27, 2010
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