Needle'nThread.com: February 2007

Vintage Embroidery Designs: Iron on Transfers

Vintage embroidery designs are definitely charming. If you are into vintage embroidery and are looking for a resource for these "old" iron on transfer patterns, you should check out the Vintage Embroidery Transfer pages at Pattern Bee.

You'll find all kinds of vintage embroidery patterns here, in iron-on format so you can quickly get down to the matter of stitching. Patterns for quilts, kitchen and household linens, baby goods, etc., are all available. There's even a "free stuff" section, if you're looking for a traceable design to use today.

The homepage exudes vintage:

If you like vintage embroidery patterns, check out Pattern Bee's Gallery as well. Lots of photos for browsing!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources, free embroidery patterns

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Embroidery Project Update: Lamb Symbol

Previously, I mentioned that I'm working on an embroidery project against a short deadline. I'm down to less than five weeks to go, and have managed not quite a quarter of the project. But I'll give you an update, anyway, and hopefully, the next time I mention it, I'll have made some better progress!

This is an embroidery project for church, so the design is a religious one, the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God symbol. When I mentioned this embroidery project previously, I had managed to get only some of the grass in. Although I've finished a bit more, I have to admit I'm not super satisfied with it! I'm hoping that as it develops, it grows on me.

This is a photo of the whole project so far. The colors in the sky - especially the darker blue - are not quite that bright of a blue. They have more of a periwinkle hue to them.

Here you can see the book up close with the Alpha and Omega symbols. The pages are stitched in long and short stitch, in a tan, cream, and white Soie d'Alger. The edges of the pages are worked in split stitch in two tones of red. I stitched down the middle of the spine and around the pages of the book in a darker stem stitch. The Alpha and Omega are worked in padded satin stitch.

Here's a relative close up on the sky. The sky is much shinier than the rest, because it's worked in a flat silk. I'm using Eterna Silk for this, though I'd rather be using Soie Ovale, which lacks the color range, as explained in this comparison of flat silks. The stitches here are satin stitches that encroach on each other, kind of like an exaggerated long and short stitch. I'm using a laying tool to get the silks to lie flat. Last night, I decided to take out the darker blue of the sky here, and try a different approach. I'm going to sketch in a barely curved gradation in the sky, from the very light blue only up to about a medium blue, so I'll be keeping the color under the belly of the Lamb and extending it over to the edges. The sky just isn't measuring up so far, so I have to do SOMETHING. I looks more like a river to me!

To see how the Italian Stitch would work out, I started couching a little bit of the gold under the belly of the Lamb. I'm using a size 4 2% gold passing, and couching it with gold-colored silk thread run through a cake of beeswax.

Here's a closer close-up on the book, so you can catch the shading.

And finally, a close-up on the spine down the middle of the book.

So that's my update so far! If you have any critiques or suggestions, I'm all ears!

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, goldwork, needlepainting, pictures

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Free Embroidery Pattern: A Bunch of Little Flowers

Here's another free hand embroidery pattern that employs simple embroidery stitches. I like this pattern - I think it has a lot of "potential" even though it's very simple.

I was contemplating how this embroidery pattern could be used, and these are some of the things I came up with: Embroidery on paper (greeting cards), pillow cases, quilt embellishment (actually, shrunk and repeated, I think it would make a nice seam embellishment), handkerchief corners (again, shrunk and repeated), household linens (table cloth, table runner, cloth napkins), and the list could go on. Do you have any particular ideas?

My stitch suggestions would be lazy daisy for the flowers, stem stitch for the stem, and either fishbone for the leaves, or a combination of something like buttonhole for one half and seed stitch for the other. You could also do bullions for the flowers, to create a more substantial look. For dimension, I'd vary the shade of the flowers. For example, I'd do the three running down the right hand side of the bunch a darker shade, the three in the very middle of the bunch a medium shade, and the two at the top left side of the bunch a lighter shade.

Click on the design for a larger image, which you can then save to your computer and shring or enlarge.

Here's an example of how the pattern could be shrunk and repeated. You can click on this image for a larger version, too.

Labels: beginner embroidery, free embroidery patterns

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Embroidery Stitches: Fern Stitch Video Tutorial

The Video Library of Embroidery Stitches expands again with a video tutorial on the fern stitch. This is a simple stitch that can be used in a number of hand embroidery applications: as a decorative border, as greenery in embroidered flower arrangements, to make curves and lines interesting, etc.

The basic unit of the fern stitch is three straight stitches that converge at the same point. You can achieve interesting and varied effects with the stitch by widening it as you work down the "fern" (or stem), by taking it narrower, by curving it, by overlapping it - play around with it, and you'll see how versatile it is!

Here's the video - have fun with it!

For more video tutorials, please visit the Video Library of Embroidery Stitches Index.

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, video tutorials

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Hand Embroidery Pattern: Single Flower

Here's a free hand embroidery pattern for a single flower which would make a great accent on a quilt, on a handbag, on clothing, on any home items, or just to hang on your wall! The flower can be outlined in basic embroidery stitches, or your could go so far as to fill it in with long and short stitch or satin stitch.

If you're a beginner at hand embroidery, you might want to try some simple stitches to outline the flower - stem stitch, whipped running stitch, split stitch, or chain stitch would all work very well. French knots would work great for the dots in the center. The leaves could be outlined, or you could fill half of them with satin stitch, or you could do the whole leaf in fishbone stitch, which would look terrific.

If you've been embroidering for a while and are familiar with long and short stitch filling, you could "needle paint" the flower using long and short stitch. Outline the petals first in split stitch, and then, starting on the outside tips of the petals, work towards the center, fanning your stitches to point towards the growing point on the petal. Vary the shading as you progress.

Here's the pattern. You can click on it for a larger image. Right click on the image to save to your computer, and you can scale it up or down in a photo editing program or on a copy machine. Have fun with it!

For more patterns, including a list of online embroidery patterns, visit my free embroidery pattern index.

Labels: free embroidery patterns

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Embroidery and Entertaining Yourself

Embroidery is a great form of entertainment in itself. But while you're enjoying those quiet moments with your needle, do you find other ways to entertain yourself? Most people probably resort to the TV, but there are other options!

When I hand embroidery, I don't watch the television. I am an occasional movie watcher - though, when it comes to embroidery, I'm not really a "watcher," but more of a listener. I prefer non-action, drama-type movies or mysteries, and I'm a pretty steady fan of A&E productions and the like. Action movies are simply not embroidery material for me, personally, because I just can't spare the eye time for action movies, which tend to depend so much on special effects rather than on quality script.

My favorite thing to do while I embroider - this is assuming the family is otherwise occupied and there's no company - is to listen to audio books, on CD with headphones. I love Shakespeare, so the Arkangel Shakespeare series is a favorite. These are full-cast audio productions, done really well, and super enjoyable to listen to. I also "grew up" on Agatha Christie and I love her older books especially, so I listen to those now and then, too. I also like to travel and to read the works of travel journalists, so Bill Bryson on audio isn't too bad, either (In a Sunburned Country was hilarious, and it followed right on a trip to Australia, so it struck home and was really enjoyable!) I don't even mind re-listening to audio books, because I'm convinced you can never get everything out of a book the first time you read it.

If you figure you'll be spending a lot of time with your needle, it's just great to relax with a good audio book and journey off into a good story. It serves as a wonderful remedy for the hectic life, and it's a great (and productive) escape.

You could always purchase your own audio books (I do sometimes, but I don't like to spend the money, unless I know it is certainly something I'll listen to again and again, like Shakespeare's plays). When I do purchase anything, I usually go through Audio Editions, because Amazon rarely has any readily available. But an even better source is your local library, especially if you live in a larger city (rural libraries are not always well-stocked, but they can get things for you on inter-library loan). If your local public library doesn't stock an audio book that you know is available, request it. They will usually either purchase it or track it down through another library.

Besides audio books or an occasional movie, I like to listen to good music while I embroider. And of course, you can't overlook the entertainment that comes with conversation among friends and family, so visits are always fun, though I don't get as much done when I'm chatting. But forget the phone - it just doesn't work for me when I'm engrossed in needlework!

But.... spring is coming.... and none of these things work when I'd rather be outside. So sometimes when the weather is good, I take my work outside (shock, horror!), where the light is excellent and the passers-by are more entertaining. My biggest fear is birds above, but so far, so good. (I know I'm going to regret it some day!)

What do you do while you embroider?

Labels: miscellaneous embroidery musings

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TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge

The fly stitch is the embroidery stitch this week for Sharon's Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge. If you're unfamiliar with the challenge, you can check out all the details here.

So far, Sharon has presented the following stitches. For the majority of the stitches, you'll find video tutorials here. The only one I don't have a video tutorial of is the Algerian Eye.

Week 1: herringbone
Week 2: buttonhole
Week 3: detached chain
Week 4: cretan
Week 5: chevron stitch
Week 6: algerian eye
Week 7: feather stitch
Week 8: fly stitch

On her site, Sharon has demonstrated creative ways to use these stitches in hand embroidery. There are plenty of photos to inspire. As the challenge has progressed, she has published "round up" pages with hundreds of links to the people participating in the challenge - so if want to browse through a creative world, this is a good way to spend a lazy, rainy Saturday. If you follow this link, you'll find all her posts on the challenge.

I'm afraid I will be ducking out of the challenge for a while, as I don't have time to participate as I would like to. However, I'll still check it out now and then to see what's up and to browse through the contributions.

I hope everyone has fun with it!

Labels: stitch challenge

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Can You Identify this Embroidery Stitch?

Here's an interesting close up on an embroidery stitch. Off the bat, I said it's a bullion stitch, but as I keep inspecting it, I wonder...

It occurred to me that it may not be a bullion stitch after all, although I can't think of how else this look was created. So I thought I'd throw it out here to readers and see if anyone has any other ideas how this wooly look was created. It's obvious that there's a layer underneath of either long and short stitch, split stitch, or stem stitch, and that the "loopy" part is stitched kind of in between and on top of this first layer. Could the embroiderer have looped the thread over the "ridges" formed by an under layer of, say, stem stitch, leaving a loopy space using a laying tool or something of that sort? Or do you think it's really all bullions? Anyone? Anyone??

If you can figure it out, I'm all ears!!

Labels: Hand embroidery stitches, pictures

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Medieval Textiles: What is Cloth of Gold?

What is cloth of gold? Yesterday's post showing a magnificent example of goldwork on cloth of gold seems to have intrigued several people who have either e-mailed or posted to ask "What exactly IS cloth of gold?"

To answer this question simply, real cloth of gold consists of gold either beaten or worked into long strips and wound around a core (such as silk) and then this thread is used in weaving a very rich fabric, which is relatively stiff, heavy, and expensive. Today, we don't see "real" cloth of gold much, although there are some places where it can still be purchased. Unfortunately, we do see a lot of lamé fabrics, which are "gold" fabrics made out of synthetics, with a bright metallic sheen. There is also "cloth of gold" that's made from imitation gold.

It's much more common today to find gold threads used for goldwork than it is to find real cloth of gold! It's really interesting to see how gold threads are made. The passing threads you couch in goldwork or the purls that you cut and sew on like beads are all made essentially from the same material - the material produced from the stretching and thinning process of the gold is just treated in different ways to make typical goldwork supplies. Gold is mixed with other alloys to make it strong enough, and often, especially in the older goldwork supplies, the other metal it is mixed with is silver. Hence, real gold used for goldwork can tarnish over time - in fact, it does tarnish over time. So besides the expense of real gold, the fact that it tarnishes was also an issue when manufactures sought methods to produce imitation varieties.

To show you the difference between real gold threads and imitation, here's a photo. You can see how, over time, the read gold threads in the trim at the base of the photo have tarnished (they're decidedly darker), but the imitation gold has not.

Anyway, if you'd like to read about how gold threads are made today, check out Benton & Johnson's website. Click on the "history of gold wire" link at the bottom of the page, and you'll find a rather interesting explanation of how Benton & Johnson still produce gold threads.

Another interesting article can be found in Issue 31 of Complex Weavers' Medieval Textiles. This particular issue discusses medieval linen weaves, cloth of gold and goldwork, as well as twills and their designs, among other things. It's a neat little newsletter. You'll need Adobe Reader to read it, which you can download free here.

Hope that helps answer your questions!

Labels: goldwork, historical needlework

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Goldwork - Up Close Photos of a Magnificent Piece

Historical ecclesiastical embroidery is a pet fascination of mine. Have you ever seen magnificent pieces of embroidery or goldwork in museums and wanted to get up close to them to check them out? I have! But we don't often get the opportunity to handle them and to get up close with a camera, and even if we did, it's not always likely that we'd be allowed to photograph the piece.

This is a chasuble from a sacristy at a Catholic church, and the goldwork is stunning! It's still in use, actually, so it isn't in a museum, but rather serving its intended purpose.

I was able to photograph it a few weeks ago for a presentation I put together on pieces of historical church embroidery. I thought I'd share some of the photos with you so that you can appreciate the beauty of this work of art, and to inspire you to think about the type of work which must necessarily have gone into such a glorious piece, created for a glorious purpose: worship of God. They just don't make 'em like they used to!

Above is a view of the majority of the back of the vestment. The design includes the central motif, which is the IHS surmounted by a cross, and then the rest of the vestment is worked in scrolls of grapes, wheat, and roses.

Here is a a relatively close-up shot of a bunch of grapes. Notice the sheen in the leaves at the top of the photo. Also note the damaged area on the scross at the bottom of the photo, where you can see the brick-colored padding under the gold. It would be difficult for anyone but the most skilled professional to repair a piece like this, especially considering the coloring of the gold.

Another close-up on a bunch of grapes - the vine is worked in gold purl, and the inside of the wheat kernels is worked in folded gold plate.

The goldwork here is fantastic! This central motif is mostly worked with gold passing, couched over padding in such a way to create this texture. I cannot imagine the skill it takes to create something so precisely stitched as this part of the design. The gold looks liquid and catches the light beautifully.

This goldwork rose is lovely, as is all the surrounding embellishment. You can see the wear on the goldwork fairly clearly in this photo - note the area on the top, back petal of the rose.

And finally, a very close-up shot of one of the bunches of grapes. Note the precision in the purl work on the vine, and the purls that surround the individual grapes. Also note the spangles - how smooth and flat they lay, and that the purl used in attaching them looks fluid. Absolutely incredible!

I think this is a stunning piece, and I could spend quite a bit of time pouring over different elements to study the goldwork on it. In the relatively short amount of time I spent studying it, I could not find a flaw in the stitching. It is absolutely precise. The ground on which the goldwork is worked is cloth of gold.

So, what do you think? Amazing, isn't it?

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, goldwork, historical needlework, pictures

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What is Your Favorite Embroidery Tool or Accessory?

If you embroider - whether you're a beginner or have been at it for some time - you probably have already developed a liking for a certain something that you use faithfully when you sit down to embroider... a certain something beyond your needle, thread, and fabric.

As I was plugging away through a major embroidery project this past weekend (which you can see the beginnings of here), I started contemplating the variety of tools and accessories in the world of embroidery. Think about it! Someone had to come up with all those ideas for this little accessory or that little necessity, and they market them somehow, and we, the faithful (perhaps a little "addicted") embroidery consumers decide "Wow. That's a good idea! I think I'll try that out!" And... we buy it. The Inventors of Embroidery Accessories and Necessities love us for it!

Admittedly, there are some things you generally can't get by without when you embroider: a needle, fabric, thread, and at least a basic pair of scissors. But what else do you use, what's it used for, where did you get it, and why can't you live without it?

I'll give you an example:

I like this thing. It's called "Judy's Boo Boo Stick." It's great for removing mistakes. You just gently brush or roll over the place where you've snipped some threads, and they lift right off, without having to pinch them. I especially like it in areas where I've removed threads that leave a fuzzy residue. You can find it at needlework shops, and I think I've even seen them at Hobby Lobby, though I could be wrong about that. They run anywhere from $6.50 in a store to the whopping ridiculous price of $12.95 at one online store. (Look around before you shop!) You can find them at Nordic Needle for $7.95.

So that's one of the little "necessories" I've picked up over the years.

So what accessory or necessity do YOU like having with you when you embroider? Give us all the details, and I'll share them with readers - and perhaps you'll be helping others enjoy their embroidery experiences even more! If you have anything you'd like to share, feel free to reply here or e-mail me at mary [at] needlenthread.com (it's the normal format for an e-mail address, only spelled out). You can even send a photo if you want!

Labels: embroidery resources, needlework products

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Needle Painting Embroidery Technique Sample

Over the Christmas holidays, I had the chance to work on a small needle painting project. Using primarily long and short stitch, I worked up one of Tanja Berlin's kits, and it was heaps of fun! So I thought I'd share a couple photos of my completed Red Poll.

The Red Poll kit from Tanja Berlin is suitable for beginners on up. It includes the fabric with the design on it, the thread, needles, and a very complete set of instructions with a color photo for reference.

So this is the whole image of my finished piece:

My Red Poll didn't come out quite as nicely as the photo! I didn't think to refer to the color photo until the end. The feet and the beak make this really clear. I have a bird myself - I should have realized that the feet didn't look remotely like bird feet! But other than the feet and the beak, I was pretty satisfied with this attempt at a "realistic" (as opposed to stylized) animal.

My favorite part of the image is the branch, actually:

I like the pine needles, and the variation in dark and light.

I also like the wings on the bird! The precision in Tanja's kits, when it comes to detail, is incredibe! And I think it really shows in the wings of the bird.

And here's a close up on the face. I can bear the slightly wrong look of the beak, but I cannot bear the really WRONG look of the feet! So here's the face, and no close-up on his swollen feet!!

Aw, he's a cute little bird!

I was a little off on my stitch direction on the body as well. The other thing I had a problem with was remembering to take the stitches longer than I thought. I tend to go shorter on my long and short stitches, when I should be going longer. I'm too "mechanical" in this sense when I embroider. You can definitely see the effects of this in the first photo above, where the dark shadowed area in the middle of the body doesn't look quite as natural as it should.

This kit was HEAPS of fun to work. The directions are step-by-tiny-step. Tanja takes the stitcher through each element of the piece, one step at a time, so that even a beginner can work this kit. After completing it, I ordered a couple other kits to work on throughout this upcoming year for "fun" - and also because I think, framed up, they would make great little gifts. So that's my plan as the year progresses.

Now, if you want to get the hang of needle painting techniques and working with long and short stitch, you absolutely cannot go wrong with one of Tanja's kits. Even if you've never done this kind of work before, don't worry!! You'll catch on quickly with her easy directions, color-coding, and tips. Start with one of her beginner kits (such as this Red Poll or one of the pansies), and before you know it, you'll master this technique! You can find Tanja's kits online at her website: Berlin Embroidery Designs. She's in Canada, so if you're in the US, you'll pay a little bit extra on shipping, and you'll have to wait a little bit longer - but it's worth it! On the bright side, if the dollar's strong, you'll get a good exchange rate that will make up for the difference in shipping. Tanja is also my source for goldwork supplies such as metal threads, so if you're interested in 2% gold for goldwork, you'll find it on her site.

Labels: beginner embroidery, embroidery resources, gift ideas, needlepainting, pictures

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New Look at a Great Embroidery Shop Online!

If you're looking for an online resource for threads, fabrics, accessories, etc., for hand embroidery, you may find Twining Thread a useful and friendly place to shop. I love this embroidery store! They have a new look on their website, and they've added a weblog, which will keep visitors up-to-date. If you haven't had a chance to check out The Twining Thread, there's no time like the present. This is where I get Au Ver a Soie silks and Legacy linen, among other things here and there, now and then. They've got beautiful kits, all kinds of tools, and just about anything the stitcher could want. And the site now boasts some gorgeous pictures of their shop, which is located in Newport, Oregon. So check out The Twining Thread and see if you like the place as much as I do!

I'm always happy to hear about quality online embroidery supply sources - feel free to let the rest of us know what your favorite spots are and why. And if you have an online embroidery business, send me the link and I'll review it. You can e-mail me at mary [at] needlenthread.com.

Labels: embroidery resources

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Embroider Project Underway & Working Against Deadlines

Here's the latest major embroidery project I've got underway. I thought I'd share it with you while I work against a six-week deadline. All other embroidery endeavors will most likely cease in the next six weeks, as this one is rather time consuming!

This project is for the back of a vestment, so it would fall under the category of "church embroidery" or ecclesiastical embroidery. The image is the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God. Traditionally, the Lamb, as a symbol of Christ, is portrayed with a white banner with a red cross on it, standing on a hill or grass, generally with some flowers at the feet. The background is the sky at morning, although the motif is sometimes worked on a gold background, or simply on blue fabric. There is often a "fountain" of blood, symbolizing the slain Lamb shedding his blood for the salvation of the world.

So my first step in this project was to work up the design. I did this first in a sketch book, then on graph paper, finally transferring it to tracing paper several times until I got it where I wanted it. Then I layed in some color to get a color scheme. The design is placed within a quatrefoil shape.

Once I had my design where I wanted it, I pricked along all the lines with a handy piercing tool (you can find these at Nordic Needle). An alternative is a needle stuck in a cork (which makes it easier to hold). Then I prepared my fabric and mounted it on stretcher bars:

This is the "next best" option for setting up a project (the best being a slate frame, which is virtually impossible to be found in the US right now). The concept is that you stretch your fabric and pin it with tacks. This is easily done with the right tools, like the EZ Tack It kit from Lacis. Once the fabric was mounted, I pounced the design on with a pouncing tool and pounce powder. I should have taken pictures of the process, but I forgot - next time!

After pouncing, "connected the dots" of the pounce with watercolors, using a very fine paint brush.

So here it is, on the frame which is mounted on a stand. The design is 11" x 11" at the farthest points of the quatrefoil.

Here's a close up. I have a few adjustments to make in the design as I go - for example, the banner's not quite right on the top line. It needs to curve in more. I'll adjust that when I do the sky.

This is the grass going in. I'm using stem stitch, not long and short stitch. Since I'm working horizontally in many patches of different greens, it makes more sense to use stem stitch.

You can see the variations in color here. For thread, I'm using silk - Au Ver a Soie, Soie d'Alger, one strand. I ordered it from Twining Thread, where they carry the whole range of colors and the service is great, and the prices either the same or about 5 cents less per skein than other places.

You can see the patches of color being worked.

Once the background grass is finished, I'll work in tufts of grass in different greens, as well as clusters of flowers. (That'll be the fun part!)

The next step after the grass is the sky, which will be worked in long strands of flat silk in different blues, and then couched over with gold, in the old "Italian Stitch" style. You can see what that looks like here.

For fabric on this project, I'm using Legacy Linen - Alba Maxima, which is a relatively high count, evenweave linen, with about 40 threads per inch. It's great stuff! I purchased it through Twining Thread as well.

So, this is what's keeping me occupied for the next six weeks! I'll keep you posted with pictures, etc., as I progress.

Labels: ecclesiastical embroidery, needlepainting, needlework products, pictures, silk

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Comparing Flat Silks for Hand Embroidery

Silk embroidery floss is perhaps one of the most pleasurable and beautiful threads to work with, and there are a variety available on the market. When I'm looking for "flat" silk, though, it isn't as easy to come by. Even the shops that carry, for example, Soie Ovale only carry select colors, and you have to wait for a special order if you want something out of the ordinary. I've compared two flat silks here, with photos, so that you can "see before you buy."

First of all, what is flat silk? Well, in my book it's untwisted silk embroidery threads or "amost-untwisted" (with a very subtle twist). Your standard stranded embroidery floss, if you look at it closely, has a twist to it that holds the even smaller strands together. This stuff comes in cotton, silk, rayon, linen.... etc. But the untwisted silk lies flat (more or less), and, as far as threads go, has the highest "natural" sheen, which will last for years and years and years and years. That's the nature of silk.

Compared to rayon floss (which is also shiny), the flat silk is somewhat easier to work with. The silk is also, in my opinion, "richer" - and the fact that it's a natural fiber is also a big sell point for me.

So, in searching for flat or nearly flat silk over the years, the only two "standard" brands I've ever found are the Au Ver a Soie (Soie Ovale) and the Eterna Stranded silk, which has very little twist to it. Apparently, Kreinik also, once upon a time, sold a flat silk called Soie Platte, which was also the former name of Soie Ovale by Au Ver a Soie. On some websites, I've seen Kreinik Soie Platte listed, but it's not on their official website. Now, I don't know - I think there must've been some kind of cufuffle about four or five years ago, because I recall Kreinik's label on the Soie d'Alger stuff in some shops back then. Perhaps it was a marketing glitch of some sort? Who knows!

So I've found only two readily available "flat" silks, and I thought I'd show you the difference between them with photos. Sometimes it's just nice to see what you're ordering....

First off, Soie Ovale is pretty much non-divisible, unless you want to go to a whole lot of careful trouble. The Eterna silk divides into 12 strands.

Up close, this is the end of the Soie Ovale.

And these are the ends on the Eterna. Notice there's barely a hint of a twist.

This is the "body" of the Soie Ovale. It's very smooth.

And this is the "body" of the Eterna. Note the twist - the strands twist together, but when they are separated, they are not individually as twisted.

Soie Ovale comes on a spool, with 15 meters per spool. There are 59 colors made, but I've only ever seen 54 available (some by special order) in American shops.

Eterna comes in a hank (not a pull skein - you have to take the sleeve off and snip off the knot and unwind the length you desire from the hank). There are 5 meters per hank, and it comes in 545 shades.

Basically, you get 3 times as much thread on the Au Ver a Soie spool, but I've found that 4 or 5 strands of Eterna, when worked with a laying tool, cover about the same space as one strand of Soie Ovale, so I think that the amount of coverage for the hank and the spool is pretty close to the same.

The price difference is kind of interesting: $2.50 - $3.35 for the Soie Ovale, depending on where you're ordering it, while the Eterna runs $0.95 per little hank.

Which thread do I like better? The Soie Ovale is lovely - it's so nice to work with and is such a rich, smooth silk. I like it best. BUT - for the price and for the color range, you can't really beat the Eterna. I'm not an expert in silk and its qualities as a fiber, so I don't know which one is "scientifically" better! If anyone knows, I'd love to hear about it.

You can find the best ready selection of Soie Ovale online at Needle in a Haystack, where it's $3.35 / spool. You can find the Eterna at Yodamo, Inc., where you will want to look under "stranded silk."

Hope that's helpful! I'd love to hear from others who have had experience with flat silks or who know of another brand available. I'm always game to try anything!

Labels: embroidery resources, pictures, silk, supplies

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TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge: Algerian Eye

This week's embroidery stitch introduced on the Take a Stitch Tuesday Challenge is Algerian Eye. I played with it on blue silk shantung, using various white silks.

The Algerian Eye stitch is simple enough, but there are plenty of variations and creative things you can do with it. If you want to see what I mean, check out the Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) posts on In a Minute Ago.

I didn't do anything spectacular - just played with a six-pointed variation of the stitch, working on blue silk shantung with various weights of white silk thread. The overall idea (in my mind, anyway) was snowflakes.

There's not much contrast between the fabric and the stitches - and it's even more the case in person. They just kind of "melt" into the fabric.

I used the following silks: YLI (one strand of white); Au Ver a Soie 100/3; Au Ver a Soie Soie Gobelins (it's the heavier twisted one); Pearsall's; and finally Soie d'Alger. I worked in an area about 2" x 3" - not a very big snowstorm!

I think this would make a good background for a scene reminiscent of snow - to build on it with other stitches would be fun, adding some silvers and very subtle blues or greys. Some day, some day!

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, pictures, silk, stitch challenge

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Lattice Work Video Tutorial

Lattice work is used as filling or for backgrounds. Worked on a plain ground (with only the fabric behind the lattice stitches) it can be easily managed by beginners. Adding a colored background (for example, a background worked in satin stitch) kicks the stitch up a notch to intermediate level. Here's a video tutorial on working lattice stitch over a satin stitch ground.

Whether you decide to work lattice stitch over another layer of ground stitches or right on top of the fabric is up to you, depending on what effect you want. The principles for the actually lattice part of the technique are the same: lay down your crossing threads, then couch them at the intersections.

In the video below, I'm taking you through the satin stitching for the background of the lattice work, and then laying the lattice threads, then couching them, and finishing with a decorative border. Here's the result of the piece I'm working on in the video. It's about an inch square.

Since I'm working with untwisted silk threads (flat silk) for the blue background, I cover some techniques of working with these threads in the video.

A few notes about the video itself, before you launch in: 1. It's rather long - almost 10 minutes; 2. The sound is just slightly "off" - after editing the video and sound three times and saving the file to check again and again, I finally had to leave it as it is. It's not too bad, but you'll see me doing things right before you hear me talking about them! Sorry about that!

Although I would classify this as an intermediate technique overall (especially when embroidering the background in satin stitching in flat silk), it is still accessible for beginners. It just takes patience! You can certainly stitch the background with other threads - and you can simply use a filling stitch such as long and short stitch, instead of satin stitch. Experiment with it! And, while this is worked on a square, keep in mind that lattice stitching can be used to fill any shape or background.

Here's the video:

For more video tutorials, please visit the Video Library of Stitches Index.

Labels: Hand embroidery stitches, pictures, silk, video tutorials

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Working with Silk Thread - Hand Cream for Embroiderers!

If you embroidery with silk threads - especially the wispy, untwisted (flat) silks - you know what it's like to become frustrated when a thread inadvertantly snags on one of those rough spots that you didn't even know you had...

... So you fix the problem and go on working, unaware, perhaps, that there's a product out there that can help you with this problem.

Au Ver a Soie (the company in France that produces fine silk threads) has a hand cream made especially for working with silk. I've read about it before, but never thought I'd bother - after all, I can pick up lotion (even the intense stuff) somewhat cheaper at the local pharmacy. Of course, if it's laden with oils, I don't like to embroider right away after applying it.

But then I started a project that requires me to work with an extensive amount of flat silk, which catches on everything. My hands aren't really what I'd qualify as "rough," but still, the occasional snags are annoying. So I took the plunge and thought I'd test Au Ver a Soie hand cream.

Guess what? It's incredible stuff! Not only can I safely embroidery right after applying it, but I can even apply small amounts to the thread to make it tame and exceptionally maneable.

After using it with the flat silks, I've grown accumstomed to applying a small amount (about the size of a pea) to my hands before any handwork. It's wonderful, and makes a huge difference in the handling of threads. It's great with rayon threads, too.

If you want to try the cream out, you won't be sorry! You can find it for sale at Twining Thread, for $14.25 a tube, or at Criss Cross Row, for $15.00 a tube. The service is friendly and fast at both places. One tube goes a long way! And it would make a great gift for the needleworker in your life!

Labels: gift ideas, needlework products, supplies

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Chevron Stitch Video Tutorial

The Chevron Stitch is used in hand embroidery to work decorative bands and seam embellishments. It's a great stitch for smocking, too. Chevron Stitch is a lot like the herringbone stitch, differing only slightly by the fact that the stitches on the upwards stroke do not cross over the downward stroke stitches. It also sports a little straight stitch cap at the top and base of each triangle shape.

The stitch is pretty simple. In the video, I'm working on a counted fabric, which makes it even easier, but it can be worked on plain weave as well. I think it's more suitable to straight lines than curves, but you can play around with it to see how it takes curves for you. You can make up composite bands with it (that is, layering the stitches), and get creative with spacing and height.

This is what the stitch looks like:

You can find more images of the Chevron Stitch in my mini-sampler here.

Here's the video:

For more video tutorials, please visit the Video Library of Stitches Index.

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, video tutorials

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TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge - Chevron Stitch

Chevron Stitch is used in hand embroidery in a variety of ways, especially as a seam treatment in crazy quilting or as a decorative stitch in smocking. Chevron Stitch is similar in a lot of ways to Herringbone Stitch, and just as easy to work. Here are some photos of a "mini sampler" worked in Chevron Stitch for the TAST Challenge.

If you are unfamiliar with the Take a Stitch Tuesday Challenge, you will find it explained on Sharon's Inaminuteago Blog. The whole idea of the challenge is to explore different embroidery stitches. Sharon posts each week's stitch on her blog on Tuesday (Monday evening in the States), and those who are interested "stitch along" with the other participants, exploring a variety of hand embroidery stitches. It's a great way for the beginner to become familiar with a variety of stitches. Each week, Sharon posts a "round up" of sites with photos of the stitch - a great source of inspiration for anyone interested in hand embroidery!

Last Tuesday, Sharon proposed Chevron Stitch. For the first time in many weeks, I've been able to do some casual night stitching, and produced this little sampler, which is about 3 x 4 inches. My own personal rules for participating in the challenge are to use what I have (no buying new materials right now!), to stitch only within a 6-inch hoop (makes it easy for hand-holding), and to post on the weekends during the weeks I have time to keep up with the challenge. These rules help keep me in line and help regulate my time between what I call "casual" embroidery and "work" embroidery. The "work" embroidery has set deadlines, so it has to be a priority!

On to it, then - here's my mini sampler:

I worked it on linen - sold as a "counted" linen, but it's not an even weave, as the warp and waft threads are not even remotely similar! I used a variety of stranded embroidery cotton - DMC, Weeks Dye Works, some hand-dyed stuff, etc. The ribbon is a scrap of YLI silk I had on hand. I don't do a lot of work on "counted" material, so this was fun. I liked the symmetry for a change.

Some close-ups:

This is Chevron Stitch worked in a square of sorts - but, considering that the stitch is isolated and doesn't really move from stitch to stitch, I wonder if it can legitimately be called "Chevron Stitch." Whatever the case, it looks more or less the same.

These are a few stacked little Chevrons.

And a few woven in different sizes along the same line...

A few more stacked and staggered a little differently...

These are literally stacked, one on top of the other. Just playing a bit with the color scheme - I think stacked like this, they'd look great in smocking, to fill in a larger band area.

Couching a ribbon...

And staggering and stacking again.

So there it is!

I've only worked one other week so far in this challenge - but as the year progresses and these little samples build up, I think they would make great additions for a "stitch book" to display different basic embroidery stitches. So that's my plan...

Check out the challenge if you have a chance and are interested! It's fun!

Labels: beginner embroidery, Hand embroidery stitches, pictures, stitch challenge

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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Vintage Embroidery Designs: Iron on Transfers

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Embroidery Project Update: Lamb Symbol

Monday, February 26, 2007

Free Embroidery Pattern: A Bunch of Little Flowers

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Embroidery Stitches: Fern Stitch Video Tutorial

Hand Embroidery Pattern: Single Flower

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Embroidery and Entertaining Yourself

TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge

Friday, February 23, 2007

Can You Identify this Embroidery Stitch?

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Medieval Textiles: What is Cloth of Gold?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Goldwork - Up Close Photos of a Magnificent Piece

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

What is Your Favorite Embroidery Tool or Accessory?

Monday, February 19, 2007

Needle Painting Embroidery Technique Sample

Sunday, February 18, 2007

New Look at a Great Embroidery Shop Online!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Embroider Project Underway & Working Against Deadlines

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Comparing Flat Silks for Hand Embroidery

Saturday, February 10, 2007

TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge: Algerian Eye

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Lattice Work Video Tutorial

Monday, February 05, 2007

Working with Silk Thread - Hand Cream for Embroiderers!

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Chevron Stitch Video Tutorial

TAST Embroidery Stitch Challenge - Chevron Stitch

The Editor's Floss

Embroidery Search Engine

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