Roosters are weird. They have these flappy things that grow on their faces and heads. They have these coats of feathers that overlay their backs. They have floppy tails. Poofy, floppy tails. Actually, when you start looking closely at roosters (if you avoid the face, anyway!) they are rather attractive birds - and in fact, in many cases, they're downright gorgeous. Embroidering a rooster with no reference point has been a bit of a challenge, but on the bright side of the adventure, given the variety in rooster-kind, I figure I can pretty much do anything, as long as the general shape of the bird is there. So I set about to play with the tail after finishing the scalloped body. Let's look at the tail today. This is a tale of disaster, but again, it's all part of the journey!

Embroidering the tail on this rooster design should be fun. There's lots of scope here for variety in stitches and color.



Now, bear with me on this, ok?

I started at the tip of the largest feather on the tail - and the thread I'm using here is the D'Aubusson wool in a brick red, and Simply Wool by Gentle Arts in a peachy color and a greeny color.

The stitch is fly stitch, worked vertically from the outside tip of the tail.

As I worked into the tail feather, I thought it might be interesting to change colors, so I did. I also thought it might be interesting to change types of thread, so that I could see two different wools side-by-side in the same stitch, for the sake of comparing the look of the threads.



This striped bit towards the tip of the tale shows a notable difference between the two types of threads I'm using.



The D'Aubusson wool is a fine weight embroidery wool. Simply Wool by Gentle Arts is, too. But Simply Wool is slightly finer, and it has a lot more sheen to it. D'Aubusson wool looks more like wool, but Simply Wool looks like (and behaves like) a blend of wool and silk, though I know it isn't a blend. But it is smoother, and it does have a higher sheen.

As for the actual stripe thing going on here, I knew right off - as soon as I did it - that I didn't really like it. Somehow, it reminded me of a sock. A sock? A sock.



I digressed from the striped effect and decided to add some texture, using spiderweb stitch worked in this fan shape. Now it was starting to remind me of a ribbed sock. I was liking it less and less.

The ribbed spiderweb stitch, by the way, is difficult to work in a tiny space with this thread (Simply Wool). It was not pleasant stitching.



So I worked two opposite triangles in the spiderweb stitch, then picked up the dark red fly stitch again, then decided to change directions on that stitch and leave a diamond-shaped hole for another inset design area. You know, just to sort of spice the feather up and make it look really... really dumb. I didn't like where this was going at all - but don't worry! It gets worse!



Here's my close-up of the bumpy ribbed inset on the tail. You can see that it isn't exactly smooth and perfectly straight, as far as the spines are concerned. They're a bit wobbly, and, as I worked towards the tip of the triangle, I had to reduce the number of spines by wrapping more than one at a time. But, besides the stitching, another thing this photo above shows pretty clearly is the soft sheen of the Simply Wool thread.



Working my way around the curve of the feather, I kept going with the fly stitch in the D'Aubusson wool. As I took the curve, it became more and more difficult to compensate for the curve without moving my stitches apart and showing more of the fabric underneath. At this point, I was really not liking the tail at all.



I cut back the red and picked it out, leaving a slight border on the spiderweb triangles. Then I moved to the inside end of the feather, thinking it might help to work this stitch from this direction, and meet the area already stitched. I gave that theory about half an inch, and then resorted to this:



What a glorious picking mess! This is a good time to be thankful for those tweezers in your workbox!



This is also a good time to be thankful for a Really Good Fabric! You can see the fuzzies left from the wool - not a big deal. Take a scrap piece of cloth and, using gentle small circular motions, "wipe" the wool fuzzies off. But look at the fabric. I have put in a lot of stitching here - some of it rather tight stitching - and then picked it all out. In some places, I've done this twice. The fabric holds up really well. The holes close back up, and once you've rubbed the fuzzies away, you can't really tell you've had any stitching there. The fabric is Legacy Linen Twill, made specifically for hand embroidery. It's on sale during the month of January at Hedgehog Handworks, at a Really Good Price per yard - $58.80 (30% off retail) - and it's 62.5" wide. This is a fantastic price for Legacy Linen, and especially for linen twill, which is usually expensive. ** (see note below, please)

Ok..... Now what?



Now let's try some of those fun stitches, like feather stitch. After all, it's a feather.



And let's work a row of herringbone stitch underneath that.



And then let's cut all that out, too.



Let's forget the big feather and move down to the smaller one at the base of the tail.

This is stitched using fishbone stitch, in three colors of Heathway wool. The Heathway is soft and boingy, and it covers well and smoothly.



But by this time, I was tailed-out, and I must have lost my concentration somewhere along the feather. It wasn't until I actually looked at the photos that I found these two mistakes. I overlapped incorrectly, and ended up with these very noticeable jolts in the center line.

It doesn't matter so much. Why, you ask? Because deep down, I don't like the color changes on this. It's too stripey. More socks! I have a distinct feeling this is going to go.



Still, I left it for now, and then I moved back up to that large feather, which I satin stitched in the dark brick D'Aubusson wool.



This wool makes a nice satin stitch in small spaces. In larger spaces, it's definitely necessary to pad underneath the satin stitching to give the top threads some friction to keep them in place. The wool threads line up nicely for satin stitch, and, unlike the Heathway, which looses its twisted look in satin stitch, creating a very smooth surface, the D'Aubusson keeps its twist and looks very clean and neat in satin stitch. The light plays off the twists.



I like satin stitch in the D'Aubusson wool.



On the lower half of that large feather, I chain stitched in the straw-colored D'Aubusson, to fill the area. Then, on the two outside rows, I worked backstitch through the chain stitches, in the coral Simply Wool from Gentle Arts. I was determined to get the Simply Wool thread next to the D'Aubusson, so that the difference in weight could be seen better.



Above, you can see one row of the chain stitches backstitched with the Simply Wool in coral. The D'Aubusson is a fine thread, compared to Appleton and Heathway. But the Simply Wool is a wee bit finer - and you can see that it has more of a sheen to it.



And here you can see the two rows of backstitching in the chain stitch on the middle feather, and the top feather worked in green, Simply Wool by Gentle Arts, in a basket stitch.



Basket stitch looks a lot like a closed double-herringbone stitch (that is, double herringbone, worked close together so there isn't much space between the stitches). The difference is that you don't work two rows - it's all done in one forward movement of stitching. But more on that later!

The tail so far is half-way tolerable. I will leave the middle feather as it is. The lower feather is bugging me, and it will most likely go. The top feather in the green is likable, so I think I'll keep it!

One distinct difficulty in working only with threads from your stash is that you often get stuck with colors you wouldn't normally use in a given project (I'm having that problem with pinks right now), or you end up working without colors you normally would use (I'd love to have several shades of coral for this fellow). Still, it's fun to make do and see what comes of it!

Do you think the wing should be colorful? What would your approach be to the wing? Any ideas?

For more posts on this project, 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

___________________________________

** Note: There's an explanation on the Hedgehog Handworks website for the change in price in Legacy Linen. There was an error in pricing, so it's been adjusted, and they are making up for the mistake by giving a 30% discount on the linen. Originally, the twill is $84 / yard. This makes more sense, actually. Legacy is the finest needlework linen in the world - I've never seen their specialty linen (like the dower quality linens or the ecclesiastical linen) less than $60 - $80 / yard, on sale. I feel kind of bad for the mistake - bad for Hedgehog, because it means they're taking a serious loss on those orders already placed, and it would not have been such a burden had I not over-publicized the sale! On the other hand, for those who have already ordered linen, consider yourself pretty darn lucky! The sale price now - $58.80 - is still a good price for Legacy Linen. It's a bargain. And I'm still planning on ordering some before the end of the month! Sorry for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by my blabbering!

Labels: crewel work, Embroidery Projects, embroidery tips and tricks, linen, needlework pictures, pictures, stitch along, wool

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Since I'm exploring a bit of crewel embroidery these days, I thought I'd share some resources with you for different things relevant to crewel embroidery. You'll find that most of these resources are relevant to other types of hand embroidery as well, though, so even if you aren't into crewel, you'll probably find something here that entices you!

Transferring Your Embroidery Design

For transferring crewel designs, a reader suggested using a sepia colored micron pen, as it will be less likely to show (with anything except white). I totally agree! But sepia colored art pens are not always available at craft and art stores, so they're harder to come by. I just ordered a couple from Blick Art Materials. They have both the Sakura Micron Pens and the Prismacolor Illustration Markers. I like both. A product search for "micron" pens will bring these up.




A light table is also a great instrument for transferring designs. If you like to embroider your own designs instead of pre-printed designs, investing in one of these is a good idea. You can use it for all kinds of applications - not just for tracing onto fabric. I use mine for lots of things - card-making, embossing, designing layouts for needlework, etc. You can find these at Blick's as well, in all sorts of types and price ranges.

Fabric for Crewel Embroidery - Hedgehog Handworks Sale!



Traditionally, linen twill is favored for crewel work. Besides linen twill, you can also use a plain weave linen. Hedgehog Handworks carries Legacy linen twill for $84 / yard - and right now (through January) they're having a 15% off sale (on everything!), but the twill is 30% off - so it's $58.80 yard. That's an absolute steal. If you want to use plain-weave linen, they also carry Strathaven linen, which works well for crewel when backed by muslin. Both linens can be used for other needlework applications as well. I was thinking the twill would make a nice ground fabric for goldwork and needlepainting, so I'm planning on trying that out later. Hedgehog Handworks is also a great place to pick up Renaissance Dying wool, cotton floche, Gilt Sylke Twist, Soie d'Alger (best price online, while it's on sale!), and Hardwicke Manor hoops.... not to mention goldwork threads... and the list could go on. Do check out their January sale - it's a great time to stock up!

So whether you're exploring crewel embroidery with me right now, or you're playing with other surface embroidery endeavors, the above resources will help you find the tools and supplies you need for your needlework.

Try not to go hog-wild at Hedgehog! (Well.... I suppose you can if you want to!)




(I did.)

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, fabric for embroidery, linen, needlework tools, supplies

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Oh, golly. Picking out threads for an embroidery project is Hard Work! 'Course, as work goes, it's the kind of Hard Work I can really get into. It isn't quite the same as cleaning bathrooms, is it? Here's my thread-sifting adventures for the Crewel Rooster project.

I'm going to be working this crewel embroidery project much like a sampler - a kind of off-the-cuff sampler. There's a dual purpose behind this project. The first point is to play with different wool threads that are available on the market and see what they're like, and especially, what they're like in comparison to each other. The second point is to play with stitches that are typical of crewel embroidery.

All of my threads for this project are coming from my stash. So, unlike the designer who designs a project, works out the colors on paper, then picks out suitable threads to carry out the project, I'm sort of winging it on the color choices. For the sake of this particular project, it's the type of thread more than the color choice that is moving me in my selection. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm going to try to coordinate things so that the poor rooster doesn't end up looking like a blob of discombobulated colors. But my choices are limited entirely to what's in my stash.



Ok. Admittedly, there's no dearth of Appleton crewel wool here. I have some hundreds of skeins. I've never counted them. I really don't want to know how many are there. They stuff into a medium sized plastic garbage bag. I haven't taken very good care of them. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, they just up and decided to felt themselves.



Besides the Appleton, I've got the leftovers from a couple of the crewel smalls kits I've been working lately. These are Heathway wool threads and Gumnut poppies - mostly Heathway. And not a lot of either.



I have these skeins of Fine D'Aubusson, made for Au Ver a Soie and distributed by Access Commodities. These threads will be available in the States this month, I think.



Then I have this kind of odd-ball collection of threads. The hank in the back, I think, is crewel-weight Paternayan wool. It's only marked with a color number and price tag, but I'm pretty sure I bought this off the wall at a needlepoint shop under the Paternayan wool sign. But I could be wrong. Oh, the disadvantages of not writing things down!! Then there's a Bright Red skein of Bella Lusso, which is 100% merino wool from Italy, and then three cards of Gentle Art Simply Wool, which is a rather fine wool embroidery thread that comes in a very limited range of colors.



These are the colors I chose out of the Appleton pile.

In addition to the above threads, I'll also be using some Renaissance Dying crewel weight wool, if the colors work out. I need to dig those out - I think I have at least a couple colors of these threads. These are wools made from vegetable dyes, by the way. Kind of neat process and interesting website, if you want to visit Renaissance Dying and read a bit about what they do.



So I picked out all my threads, and assembled the framed fabric ready to embroider, the threads, my tool box, and a little "doodle hoop" into a smallish basket to house the whole project while I make my way through it.



What's a doodle hoop? It's a very handy item to have in your work basket when you're making your way through a project. I've hooped up a small scrap of the linen twill, so that I can test out different threads or stitches before I use them. When you're working with a thread that's unfamiliar, it's nice to have an idea of how it's going to work before you use it on your project!



And, finally, yes - I started. And boy, do I regret this! I wanted to get blue into the piece, but I thought that it might be difficult working blue into the tail of the rooster (Does it really matter? Probably not...) So I decided to do the flowers in blue. Not just any blue - I wanted a deep, bright blue, like a crisp Autumn sky on a chilly day. I used buttonhole stitch on the flowers, with the darker of the two blues I selected. And then I went through stitching-and-picking-out-hell, trying to figure out what to fill the rest of the petals with.

But more on that later!

That's my color-choosing adventure.

Any comments? Suggestions? Advice? Any ideas for filling those petals?

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

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  For my upcoming comparison of wool and wool blend threads for hand embroidery, I needed a design to embroider. I'll be working on this design, which I thought I'd share with you.

I've adapted the elements of this design from different sources - the flowers come from this embroidery pattern already posted here on Needle 'n Thread, and the rooster is a loose interpretation - crewel-fied - of a cartoony piece of clipart, for which I no longer have the source. Anyway, it's quite altered. Once I started thinking in terms of "embroidery pattern" - and especially "crewel work" - the poor bird underwent a shocking transformation.

What I'll be doing is embroidering this piece on Legacy Linen Twill, using a variety of threads, most of which will be wool or a wool / silk blend. I have a specific color range in mind for the rooster, but I don't have the color range I would like to work with in any one brand of thread. This gives me a good excuse to use a variety of threads, while at the same time allowing me to make comparisons between different threads.

Here's what the rooster looks like:



If you print the following PDF pattern, it fits inside an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper - the height of the whole design is about 8.5 inches, and the width about 5.5". The whole thing should fit ok in a 10" square stretcher bar frame, which is what I'm planning to use, but I actually will reduce the pattern (from the PDF) slightly (maybe 10% smaller). Anyway, play with it to find the size you like, that you think would be manageable.

The Crewel Rooster - PDF

I'll be setting up this project today, and then I'll walk you through what I do with it in the upcoming weeks, including recommendations on threads, fabrics, needles, and so forth.

Revised Rooster:

After fiddling a bit with the design above, I made some changes, and the following rooster will actually be the one I plan to stitch:



I prefer the "square" design as opposed to the elongated one.

Here's the PDF:

The Crewel Rooster Revised - PDF

If there's anything in particular you're curious about concerning this project, or if there's anything in the whole process of completing a project that you would like in-depth coverage of by way of a tutorial, leave a comment below. I'll try to accommodate requests!

Happy Last Day of 2009!!

Labels: crewel work, Embroidery Projects, free embroidery patterns, linen, wool

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  I've (finally!) finished the first in the series of French Maid Needlebook kits by Access Commodities. This kit is the one called "Nichole" and it features a monogram and fancy stripes that match the reproduction fabric that lines the inside of the needlebook. I'm excited to show you the finished needlebook - I like it a lot, and, of course, it's always great to see a project completely through to the end!

There are heaps of things I like about these embroidery kits from Access Commodities. In previous articles showing the progress on this particular needlebook, I've mentioned the supplies especially - good linen, nice lining fabric, beautiful threads. Other aspects worthy of mentioning about this kit: the detailed instructions are easy to follow and clear, the finishing touches on the needlebook are nice, and .... well, this is a big deal for me.... it came out the way it was supposed to!



Once I finished the outside of the needlebook, it was time to prepare the lining so that it could be sewn in. All the work on the needlebook is completely done by hand, by the way - there's no need of a sewing machine for the finishing. I was glad of that. Believe it or not, I don't have a sewing machine. I'd like a sewing machine. I have my eyes on a particular sewing machine (a Bernina!), but I don't actually have my own machine. The fact that I didn't have to high-ho-hither myself to my sister's house to use her machine was a huge plus for me!

Anyway, I thought the shot above really captured the coordination of the lining and the design on the needlebook.



The lining has a pocket in it. It's created by a simple fold, and it works out really well! Clever design, I thought. By the way, this obviously isn't a step-by-step tutorial on finishing a needlebook! The step-by-step instructions are available in each kit in this series.



I almost forgot the ties. That would've been a pleasant disaster. The ribbon for the ties is black. At first I was a little unsure of this color choice, thinking that a pink ribbon would be a lot prettier and would match the flowers. But the black looks terrific with the black needle lace around the edge, and pink doesn't look so great - I tried it!



I tacked the ribbon rather sloppily with backstitch. I almost took it out again, thinking it really should be neater. But it's going inside the lining, and no one will ever see it. So I left it!



Before sewing the lining in, I attached the felt, using the buttons and pink ribbon. Actually, I also used a bit of pink floss and sewed the buttons on first with the floss, then tied on the bows. That way, if the bows every come undone (or I get tired of them!), the buttons will still be secure.



Once the lining was in, I still had the spine to worry about. This was the last step. Through all the layers, down the middle of the spine of the needlebook, a line is supposed to be sewn in such a way that it looks decent on both the outside of the needlebook and the inside. I was faced with a dilemma: to use a natural colored sewing thread that matched the outside of the needlebook would've been really simple - but on the inside of the needlebook, one of the grey stripes on the fabric was lined up exactly with the spine. Darn. A natural colored thread would show up against the grey stripe. So first I tried the grey floss (Soie d'Alger) that came with the kit, but it looked pretty bad! Then, I decided to backstitch down the spine in black, using the Soie Perlee that came with the kit. On the outside of the needlebook, I ended up with a backstitch line, and on the inside, I ended up with a stem stitch.

I didn't much like the black backstitch line on the outside.



So I whipped the backstitching with the grey Soie d'Alger that came with the kit. I liked that better.



The black line on the inside of the needlebook is not very noticeable, which is nice.



The line down the spine serves as well to separate the long pocket inside the needlebook. The pocket can hold small scissors (in a sheath), or maybe flat bobbins of threads, or even more needles on cards.



Here's the needlebook, closed, from the front....



... and the needlebook, closed, from the back.



And here's a little detail of the needlelace around the outside edge!

I really enjoyed making this needlebook and I'm looking forward to starting the next one in the series soon! You can see the progress of this project at the following links:

Nichole Needlebook Kit Unboxed - kit contents
Setting Up the Needlebook Project
Satin Stitching on the Monogram - troubleshooting
The Monogram
The Front of the Needlebook
The Back of the Needlebook
Working with Linen Thread

If you're interested in purchasing this needlebook kit, I ordered mine from The Mad Samplar, and it looks as if they have them in stock right now, which is nice. If you want to see what's in the kit, you might want to take a look at my first post on this project, Nichole Needlebook Kit Unboxed.

Whew. One project done. I didn't quite meet my Christmas deadline, but I came pretty close! Now, onto the next project! See you tomorrow!

Labels: embroidery kits, Embroidery Projects, historical needlework, linen, needlework pictures, pictures, silk

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  Linen is SLUBBY. There's no way to get around it. Some linens have fewer slubs than others, but linen and slubs just go together. In linen fabric, slubs can be pesky; in linen thread, they can be downright maddening. Well, until you remember it's linen... and slubs and linen just go together...

A slub is a little lump in thread (or yarn or fabric) that develops during the spinning process, when loose fibers get caught up in the thread being spun. "Slub" is a magnificent word. When I hear it, the word "slug" automatically comes to mind. There are two reasons for the connection: 1. slubs look like slugs, in a fibery sort of way; and 2. slubs in thread try my patience and make me want to slug... something, someone, anyone!

But then I remember... slubs and linen just go together.

On my needlebook project, Londonderry Linen thread is used for the edging around the needlebook. Before assembling the book, the instructions require backstitching all around the edge of the needlebook, using black Londonderry Linen thread. Once the mitering is done on the cover of the book, I think I am supposed to go back to those backstitches and work a scalloped buttonhole needlelace in them, using the same thread.

And I don't mind using Londonderry Linen thread! As linen thread goes, I like it a lot.

But if you've never used linen thread, you should prepare yourself for the experience. You should know that slubs and linen just go together.



I backstitched all around the outside edge of the needlebook.

It was a lot like writing with a bloppy pen. You can see where the black stitching is a bit thicker-looking, can't you?



In places like this, for example?



Or in places like these?



See?



This is the culprit. It is a slug. No, no - sorry - it's a slub. And slubs and linen... they just. go. together.

But you know, you can take a stand against slubs. They can be conquered. When I find them on thread, and I see that they are an obvious protrusion from the thread, I take a needle and try to pick them out, or, if it'll work without cutting the thread, I take my scissors and I trim them. I do! And when I find them in fabric, if they interrupt the design and I can do it without damaging the fabric, I carefully pick them out with a needle and tweezers. But you know, sometimes I think I might be damaging the character of the linen.

But if you find that slubs really frustrate you when you're stitching - because on linen thread, they can be frustrating! sometimes they're like pulling a small knot through the fabric! - just calm down and remember that they both (slubs and linen) just go together.

Have you experienced slubs? What do you do about them?

Labels: counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery kits, Embroidery Projects, linen, threads

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