Needle'nThread.com: January 2008

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Great Online Embroidery Book!

A while ago, I started the hunt for A.G. Christie's book, English Medieval Embroidery. I haven't been able to lay my paws on it - but there are other good A. G. Christie embroidery books online. Here's a sample of one.

Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Mrs. Archibald Christie (also known as Grace Christie) is a nice information and design book for embroidery. It's got clear diagrams for stitches, and, better yet, it has great designs in it!

From Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by A.G. Christie, on Project Gutenberg

From Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by A.G. Christie, on Project Gutenberg

You can find plenty of designs like the one above - designs for crewel work, blackwork, all kinds of surface embroidery (including historical and ecclesiastical work), and counted thread and canvas work. The book is packed with useful information!

Although I haven't tried my hand at "real" tapestry weaving, I think it's interesting to read through the information on weaving, too! Her style is really easy.

So, if you feel like browsing an online book and you're looking for inspiration do check out A. G. Christie's Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving on Project Gutenberg. I think you'll find it a great little gem for your library!

Feel free to check out my other reviews of free online embroidery books!

Thanks, Megan!

Labels: book review, online needlework books

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

TIF Challenge - Needlepoint Sampler in Progress

I've been dabbling with canvas stitches lately, and not achieving the best results in the world! For the TIF Challenge posed by Sharon, I thought I'd challenge myself to dabble in areas of needlework and embroidery into which I don't normally venture. Hence, the idea of a needlepoint sampler this month.

Needlepoint (or canvas stitching) is not necessarily my "thing." As Margaret, a faithful reader, put it, "I like to stitch on a curve!" And I do, too. Still, I wanted to explore outside my normal embroidery range, and so I thought I'd try playing around with canvas stitches.

Without much of a plan beyond just a "sampler" of stitches blocked out in one-inch squares, I set about stitching. I gathered together whatever threads looked remotely similar to the palette presented by Sharon for January. They range from wools, to wool and silk blends, to silk, to cotton. Watercolors by Caron, Waterlilies by Caron, Soie Gobelin, Soie Perlee, Trebizond, DMC stranded cotton, DMC perle, rayon ribbon floss - I just pooled a bunch of threads out of my stash and started.

The fabric is soft congress cloth, 24 ct. I framed it up in a 6 x 9 frame, and drew a row of four one-inch blocks to start with.

And this is all I've accomplished so far:

Needlepoint Sampler in the works

Now, all you Expert Eyes and Expert Needlepoint Needlers out there will undoubtedly see what I see here: bad tension, wrong thread choice, and a lack of attention to detail... (not to mention the deplorable lack of a scheme or plan!!)

Needlepoint Sampler in the works

The green square on the right was the first square I worked. I used Silk & Ivory (50% silk, 50% Merino wool) - a whole 3-ply strand. Needless to say, it's a tight fit in 24 ct congress cloth! The stitch is a basketweave tent stitch, and I varied the length of the stitch in certain places, going over two threads as opposed to just one. I completely messed up the lower corner of the thicker ridge in the middle. The wonderful warping of this square is not normally what one desires in a needlework project, either! It looks, to say the least, dreadful.

But I did learn a lot stitching it. The first obvious lesson was to pick a thread that fits the canvas. The second was to go easy on pulling the thread through. I liked the hard look as the stitches developed, until I realized I was pulling the whole thing into a warped mess. The next thing I learned is to pay attention!! I had it in my narrow mind that this stuff is "brainless" stitching. I was just stitching along, paying attention to every other thing around me - and then - voila! I found out that you DO have to plan ahead, especially when it comes to compensating stitches. The lower right hand corner of the square taught me that lesson!

Needlepoint Sampler in the works

This is my favorite square so far. It's an upright cross stitch. The top is worked in DMC perle #12, which fits really well on this canvas for this stitch. The middle is 2 strands of DMC cotton, and the bottom alternates the two. I like the firmness of the finished stitches. The thread was better to work with: there was no fraying for two reasons - the type of thread, and the fact that it fit in the holes!

Needlepoint Sampler in the works

I hate this square. There's nothing about it I like. I don't even want to talk about it! The top half is herringbone as a filling, alternating medium and light greens (Silk & Ivory again), and golly. That was just dumb. I must not have learned the first lesson very well, actually. The thread was too thick for this - for the canvas, for the stitch - it was just all wrong. I finally gave up and went to Hungarian filling, which is kind of an alternating cross pattern. It looks lousy, too! Oh, and let's not mention the compensating stitches that are missing On Every Side! I'm laughing....

Needlepoint Sampler in the works

Now, this little square is not very impressive right now, but I like the thread! This is Caron Watercolors - a 3-ply overdyed cotton, which I stripped and used just one ply. It's nice to stitch with, and I like it. The results here don't look so marvelous. It's no particular "stitch," to my knowledge. I just wanted to work rows, leaving one little place open, which I'm going to go back and fill with something else. The stitches are just straight up-and-down stitches, alternating between over two and over one.

And that is my latest dabbling. Oh, for heaven's sake. It's bad. But I'm not finished!! NO - I'm determined to keep playing (and probably making it worse!)

The reason I decided to take up the TIF challenge was simple: I wanted to have a kind of structure for forcing myself to play with different techniques or supplies that I don't normally play with. To fiddle around alone is not so fun, but to join in with other people (who are actually producing NICE stuff) and to have the loose constraints of the Take it Further challenge makes it a little more fun to dabble about.

Next month, despite my sorry attempt here, I'm going to venture into ... a Crazy Quilt square. Wow. New for me, anyway.

My plan with each little challenge episode was to produce something that I could finish somehow, rather than just scraps to store in a notebook. This piece, though... it yearns for the inconspicuous sleeve in an inconspicuous notebook. But who knows - I may save it yet.

Unless you have any ideas of what I could do with this "thing"?!

Labels: canvas stitches, sampler, stitch challenge, TIF

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Needlework Doldrums...

Have you ever been in the Needlework Doldrums? Doldrums are a time of low spirits, or, in water-talk, an area where there's either no wind (so you can't sail at all), or there's a finicky wind (so you still can't sail at all). The Needlework Doldrums, in my 'umble opinion, can be a combination of all of the above!

First of all, there's the Low Spirits Needlework Doldrums: These can spring from a number of circumstances. First of all, there are those times when nothing you do needlework-wise satisfies you. When any project begun doesn't measure up to what you thought it would be.... When your normal excitement over having a few minutes to stitch in the evening before bed turns into a sort of Uncharacteristically Mournful Hum-drumness. (*Sigh*)

The Low Spirits Needlework Doldrums can also come from the simple fact that you're dying to do something - you've got your heart set on the project and all the different angles bouncing around in your head, just waiting to burst forth in Creative Activity ---- but.... you can't get to it, because you're inhibited by some other responsibility or some physical shortcoming (such as house space!) And so you slip into Uncharacterstically Mournful Hum-drumness.

Then there's the No Wind Needlework Doldrums: You have a lot of plans, and a lot of needlework that needs to get underway (and actually get finished!), but, because of your Uncharacterstically Mournful Hum-drumness, your sails are flat, and you just can't make yourself drag everything out to start another project. So, to assuage your guilty conscience, you slip into the....

Finicky Needlework Doldrums: You pick up this little project or that little project, just to have "something" to do with your hands - after all, needlework is a habit - but you abandon each little project as soon as you pick it up, thinking that you'd rather try This Thing or That Thing, or This Technique or That Technique, because, in your Uncharacteristically Mournful Hum-drumness, nothing satisfies. But you feel compelled to keep searching, to keep going forward, to keep trying to break through - knowing without a doubt that Something is Out There that will reignite the flame!!!

All three Doldrums are intrinsically related... My first approach to overcoming them and setting sail in the direction I want to go is to reorganize (or, in some cases, to re-reorganize!)...

Have you ever been in the Doldrums? If you have, how do you Get Out??

Labels: miscellaneous embroidery musings

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Saturday, January 26, 2008

Embroidery Resources and Musings...

In case you have time to meander through the online embroidery and needlework world this weekend, I thought I'd point out a few spots that might be fun or interesting to visit.

If you're looking for - or like to collect - needlework books, you might try the Mad Samplar Book Company. They specialize in used and new needlework books. There are a couple gems on there worth noting. If you are looking for something specific that isn't listed, you can always let them know what you want to see if they can find it. I love used book services! (Thanks for the link, Megan!)

If you want to see an interesting combination of canvas work (needlepoint) and surface embroidery, check out Judy's January TIF Challenge post. Imitating the look of crazy quilting, she's made her "fabric" out of canvas stitches, and is treating the "seams" between the different canvas stitches with surface embroidery. Clever idea, and really very pretty and elegant.

My latest forays into casual embroidery have been in the area of canvas stitches. Strangely enough, I've never ever ever liked needlepoint, until now. I don't know what has suddenly attracted me, but, generally, it's "historical" needlework that catches my eye, and I think this is what happened in this case. In short, I believe it was the concept of the "slip" that first snagged me - the popular 16th / 17th century decoration worked on linen in tent stitch, then cut out and fixed to a background fabric. In fact, I mentioned before this needlepoint canvas that is based on historical slips from the Traquair House in Scotland. I think that's what caught my interest in the first place.

So I've been exploring canvas stitches, and I wanted to mention a few (perhaps obvious) points about them: 1. They don't have to be worked on needlepoint canvas. They can be worked on even weave linen just as easily; 2. I think it's easier to work them (especially if you're working on a softer cloth, rather than a stiff canvas) in a frame or hoop; 3. You should have a proclivity towards squares.

Anyway, if you're interested in giving your embroidery a different look and want to check out some canvas stitches, there are plenty of places online that can help you. Keep in mind that some of these stitches can be worked in isolation, so they aren't necessarily just for canvas or even weave fabric.

First of all, there's the Needlepoint Now online classroom. This is a handy place to learn about the three different types of tent stitch. You can find a nice tutorial on the same thing at Threadneedle Street.

If you want to get a look at a variety of canvas stitches in different applications, you should check out the American Needlepoint Guild's stitch of the month index. You'll find variations on all kinds of different canvas stitches.

For interesting articles on historical slips, you might check out Jane Stockton's page, In Prayse of the Needle, where, if you scroll down, you'll find a PDF on Elizabethan slips.

Now, in case you think I've gone off my surface embroidery rocker - don't worry! My upcoming serious projects (they're stuck still in the designing stage, but will be progressing into the working stage soon!) are all surface embroidery, including several liturgical projects on the plate for this year.

And - joy, bliss - next week, the garage begins undergoing reconstruction, so I should have a normal workroom space within a few weeks! And that means I can actually make better progress on serious stuff.

The demands of my job are keeping me exceptionally busy right now, but by the middle of this coming week, I should have some breathing room - then I'll entertain you with some photos! In the meantime, though, I plan to post a couple new video tutorials.

Enjoy the weekend with your needle 'n thread!

Labels: canvas stitches, counted thread embroidery techniques, embroidery resources, miscellaneous embroidery musings, needlepoint

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Needlework Stash - And the Winner Is...

Wow! I think we all can benefit for the heaps of good tips left on the original post for the needlework stash contest for January. There were also a couple good tips left on the Last Chance reminder I posted yesterday, if you want to check them out! I really appreciate all the input, and I'm sure other readers do, too...

So who won the needlework stash contest?

First, though, here's how I set up the drawing: I took all your names and typed them up in a list. The "anonymous" people who left needlework tips were also included - I just typed "anonymous" and a key word from their tip. I printed these, cut them out, folded them, and put them in a ziplock bag...

which I shook with all my might!!

Then I stuck my hand in and drew out....

Paula Hewitt!

Her tip: she keeps an empty film canister with her needlework stuff to store broken or old needles in so that she doesn't mix them in with her good needles.

For future contests, I hope people aren't too shy to participate. Think about it - the odds that you'll win something here are much better than the odds that you'll win, say, the lottery!

Paula, please contact me with your snail mail address, and I'll mail that out by this Friday!

Thanks, everyone, for participating - and we'll do it again soon!

Labels: stash contest

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Last Chance for Needlework Stash Contest!!

Just a quick note to remind readers to leave a comment on my needlework stash contest post, before midnight tonight! I'll draw names tomorrow. The deal is: leave a comment with a good needlework tip, and I'll add your name to the drawing. I'll announce the winner tomorrow. After I announce the winner, it's up to the winner to contact me with a snail mail address, so I can send you a jolly little package of great stuff!

Labels: stash contest

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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Detatched Buttonhole Filling Video Tutorial

I've had buttonhole filling on my embroidery video list for a long time! It's been one of those "unlinked" stitches that's been nagging me. I finally got around to filming the stitch - in two varieties, detached and attached.

In detached buttonhole filling, you don't pass through the fabric as you work the buttonhole filling. In attached, you do. Attached buttonhole filling gives you more scope, I think, for varying the placement of stitches, so that you can create effective filling patterns. The detached buttonhole, though, gives you a bit more room for dimensional effects, since you can take out part of your foundation fillings and fold the buttonhole area back on itself - or make petals or leaves that stand away from the fabric.

Detached Buttonhole Filling

Here's a photo of the filling. I worked the edge and the filling in contrasting colors for the sake of clarity.

And here are some in-progress photos of a leaf-shaped area filled with the buttonhole filling.

Detached Buttonhole Filling

First you start by outlining the shape.

Detached Buttonhole Filling

Then you begin to fill it from the wide part to the narrow part.

Detached Buttonhole Filling

You have to decrease the number of stitches in the rows as you work towards the tip.

The stitch begins with outlining your shape to be filled, using either a reversed chain stitch, like I do in the video, or you can regular chain stitch, split stitch, or even backstitch. The advantage of the reverse chain is that it provides you with the loops to catch your buttonhole stitch in, and it tends to be a bit rounder or fuller than a regular chain.

The stitch is not so complicated, but if you aren't familiar with how buttonhole stitch works, you might want to take a look at the buttonhole video tutorial. This will help you get the knack for buttonhole, especially where the working thread goes in relation to the needle.

Here's the video:

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

Have fun with it!

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

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Friday, January 18, 2008

I'm Reducing My Needlework Stash - Want Some?

Ok, I've decided to dole out some of my needlework stash - and I'm going to test different ways of doing it. This is my first attempt - let's see how it goes over! I'm going to collect combination of threads, trims, and nick-nacky things (like embellishments or beads) in no particular theme (see the photo). To get "rid" of them, I thought I'd propose a simple contest...

This is the deal: I'd like to hear your favorite needlework tips and tricks. What do you do when you stitch (or before or after you stitch), that helps you get the job done with better results?

I'll take the legitimate tippers (threading your needle, for example, is not what I'd call a legit tip), put the names in hat, and draw a name. I'll let you know who won, and you can contact me with a name and address for mailing.

If this goes over well, I'll revisit the idea every now and then this year - I'm thinking once a month. For the kickoff, I've put together the following little lump of stuff, all neatly stuffed into a ziplock bag and ready to mail:

Needlework Stash Contest

There are lots of goodies in there...

Needlework Stash Contest

Some little pieces of trim, including about 3.5 inches or so of Mokuba ribbon. You can read about how I bought the ribbon, and learn from my mistakes, if you want!

Needlework Stash Contest

I've thrown some great threads in, since this is the "kickoff" and I wanted it to be something above average. There's a spool of coral Japanese silk from the JEC, a hank of Caron Collection watercolors, a spool of Piper's silk (same thing as the True Embroideries silk that Helen Stevens recommends), two skeins of DMC color variations, a skein of Rajmahal art silk (combination silk and viscose), a skein of Eterna silk, and two skeins of Appleton crewel. If you've wanted to try some different threads and haven't had a chance to get your hands on any - here's your opportunity!

Needlework Stash Contest

And everyone likes embellishments - so there's a little pack if tiny Mill Hill beads in a beautiful deep coral-ish red, some little sparkly heart buttons (Valentine's Day is around the corner!) and some wire things that can be used as either stames in flowers or buds in a spray.

So, go on - don't be shy - leave your tips in the comment section below!

I should set a deadline - how about next Tuesday, January 22, at midnight my time (CST)?

Let the tipping begin!

(Yes, I'll ship overseas - the least expensive air-mail possible.... note: not responsible for mail delivery difficulties, customs, or any misadventures...)

Labels: pictures, stash contest

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Woven Picot - another Embroidery Video Tutorial

There are many dimensional embroidery stitches that I really like, but I think one of the most fun is the woven picot. You can do a lot with it! It's an easy embroidery stitch - it looks more advanced than it actually is! It's a great stitch for adding texture to your embroidery project, and it doesn't necessarily have to be free standing. To help you get it down, here are some photos and a video!

The woven picot that I'm going to show you in the video, and that you can see in the photos below, is the "typical" shape and size, but don't limit yourself! You can play with this stitch for a lot of different effects. Take, for example, the seaweed in this piece on Valquiria's blog, Qualquer Motivo. She has elongated the woven picot and turned it and tacked it down, to make a really nice interpretation of underwater vegetation.

Woven Picot Stitch used in Hand Embroidery

Woven Picot Stitch used in Hand Embroidery

You can do all kinds of things with this stitch - flowers come to mind right off the bat, as does any kind of leafy greenery. If you like to build up stitches for a dimenstional effect, this is a great stitch for that. If you're into stumpwork, you're bound to come across the woven picot.

Woven Picot Stitch used in Hand Embroidery

I think it's a fun stitch!

In the video, I'm using a tapestry needle and #5 perle cotton. You can use practically any kind of thread with this, but it does really well with thread that has a little more "body" to it.

Without further ado, here's the video:

To learn more hand embroidery stitches, please visit my Video Library of Stitches. You'll find video tutorials for 45 stitches here at Needle 'n Thread --- and more coming!

Enjoy!

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

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Needlework System 4 Floor Stand Review

Ahhhh. My search for the nonpareil of floor stands for embroidery frames and hoops has come to a stand still. I am a happy and comfy two-hander once again! I saved until I could afford the Needlework System 4 floor stand, hoping that I had finally found the "perfect" embroidery stand, the cadillac of hoop holders, the dream tool for two-handed stitchers. Finally, after several months of tucking away the funds, I could justify the purchase. So here's my review of it, and a few photos...

The Needlework System 4 is everything I hoped it would be: it's uncomplicated, durable, easy to use, versatile, and provides firm "hold" on my embroidery frames.

When I began to consider a new floor stand, I asked myself some questions:

1. Where do I plan to use it?
2. What do I want it to do?
3. How long do I expect it to last?

#1 - Where do I plan to use it?

If I'm going to invest in a floor stand, I want to be able to use it ANYWHERE (with the exception of the car!) For in-home use (or to take to guild meetings and so forth), a floor stand should be portable and versitile - I should be able to use it wherever I would want to stitch: a living room chair, an upright table chair, or even comfy on the couch - depending on the project, these are the places I stitch.

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

It fits easily up a living room chair. The height is adjusted by moving the main length of the stand forward. After adjusting the height, it is just a matter of adjusting the slope of the frame in the clamp.

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

It works just as easily at a regular upright kitchen chair. When I sit in an upright chair to stitch (for those "intense" projects where I need a good-sized table close at hand), I put the main bar of the stand straight up at a 90 degree angle to the floor. The frame and clamp can be adjusted for slope, or left flat (parallel to the floor).

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

And at the couch, it's great. I can pull the stand forward, with the long front foot of it under the couch (the front foot is long - only about half of it showing there - and just over an inch high - so there's good balance, and it can fit under just about any furniture).

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

So, yep, the stand works wherever I would sit to stitch.

#2. What do I want the stand to do?

When I embroider, I use stretcher bars for the most part, so I want the stand to hold my stretcher bar frame firmly, without any instability, and without constant shifting in position while I stitch. I do not want to have to adjust the slope of the frame continually, or re-tighten the clamp on the stretcher bars! The Needlework System 4 stand is the only floor stand I've ever tried (out of many!) where, once everything is set and tightened, I don't have to readjust, even after a long time of stitching, moving, turning the frame, and so forth.

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

The clamp is a simple vice set-up, made out of thick plastic, with a large screw on the top. The stretcher bars fit between the two layers of thick plastic, and, to tighten, you just turn the large screw on top.

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

On the neck of the clamp, there's an place to adjust the slope of your frame. There are metal teeth in this adjustable joint, so that, once you tighten the clamp in the position you want, it doesn't move. In the photo, the joint where the teeth are is unscrewed, so that's why it looks uneven where the teeth meet. When the joint is screwed tight, the teeth fit together evenly.

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

I also want to be able to turn my work while it's on the stand, without having to readjust screws or anything like that. I can!! I can turn my work 360 degrees, without any part of the stand impeding the turn. I can even turn it one-handed, while holding a camera, as you can see in this video:

The turning mechanism doesn't loosen up, either, so wherever you position your frame horizontally along that turn, it's going to stay there!

#3. How long do I expect it to last?

Well, if I'm going to invest $300 in the two components - the floor stand and the frame clamp - it better last a LOOOOOONG time! The Needlework System 4 has a lifetime guarantee. I spoke to three shop owners before selecting one to purchase from. Out of the three, all of whom have sold many of these stands, only one had a return for paint rubbing off. The company apparently replaced the stand.

Other features I like:

There's a scroll frame component available (I don't use scroll frames often, but...)

You can use the stand sideways, slipping the front foot under the side of a chair or couch, and clamping your work on the side rather than the top.

It's super-duper light, and, by unscrewing one screw, it disassembles into an easily carried package. (They also make a travel stand, which folds into a smaller package and fits in carry-on luggage).

Needlework System 4 Embroidery Floor Stand

You could buy two stands for Really Big Projects, and clamp one stand to one end of the project and the other stand to the other. But....! Well, you can use sawhorses or tressles for the same effect, and a bit cheaper!

So that's the stand. I do like it! It's been a pleasure to use, every single time I've used it. I haven't had one instance of it feeling insecure or unstable. I haven't had any problems getting it to adjust to "just the right place."

All that being said, it is a rather hefty investment as needlework stands go, but if it lasts through my stitching days, I know I'll be glad I got it!

If you have a NWS4, drop a comment and let me know if you have had equal success with it, or not! If you have a different type of floor stand, why did you select it and what do you like best about it?

Labels: needlework tools, pictures

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Goldwork Thread for the Plaited Braid...

I've got a bee in my bonnet over this silly plaited braid stitch. I've almost got the stitch worked out - well, concept-wise, anyway, thanks to Joey for sending an informative article on it! But it's all about the thread, you know...

Granted, there are lots of embroidery stitches that aren't about the thread. You can do chain stitch, for example, with practical anything - including plastic cord! Or rope. I've even worked the chain stitch with human hair. But with this plaited braid stitch that has me all worked up - the thread IS important.

So I set about looking for the right gold. I know that, over at The Embroiderers' Story (the blog is a bit skewy these days - something going on with the html or what-have-you!), they're working with manufacturers to come up with the right gold.

But I'm not recreating anything - I just want to get the blasted stitch down! I had no idea what I was getting into when I began searching for methods to work this stitch well with relative ease!

Well, I searched for the right thread. I found that Leon Conrad recommends a certain type of gold for the stitch, because of the gold thread's flexibility. I contacted the people who supply me with gold - Tanja Berlin, and the JEC. Tanja contacted the manufacturer she orders from and found out that the stuff I was looking for is available, and she could order some for me. (Tanja is always SO helpful!) Problem: almost $20-worth, and then shipping (from Canada). I contemplated, thinking it might be worth it, but still hesitant because, after all, it's pricey for a mere experiment.

Then I received an e-mail from Leon Conrad. He mentioned that the thread he recommends (#371) is manufactured in the US. He recommends the thread because it's more supple than the gold passing, though apparently about the same size as #5. The 371 has a synthetic core, which makes it more flexible.

Well, from there, I decided to search high and low in the US through different specialty embroidery stores to find gold #371.

I am a brainless dunderhead! I didn't even check my own embroidery links page!

Criss Cross Row carries gold 371 on 15 meter spools for a reasonable price.

I placed an order.

I will conquer this stitch. And when I do, you all will be the first to know!

Labels: embroidery resources, goldwork

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Monday, January 14, 2008

A Needlework Blog I ... Forgot to Mention!!

If you have not visited Qualquer Motivo, you should!! I knew there was another needlework blog out there that I check with irregular regularity! Thanks to the commentor on the ladder stitch, for reminding me. In fact, this certainly a "Make my Day" blog, because I never go there that I don't see something bright and beautiful. The towels she's working on right now have beautiful woven edging - and interesting! But if you scroll down the main page, that fish scene is just perfect. I love the use of the elongated woven picots for the sea weed! (I've got a video on woven picots coming up later this week...) So check out that blog, and consider it officially added to my list of blogs that make my day!

Labels: embroidery links, embroidery resources

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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Embroidery Video: Ladder Stitch

Ladder stitch in hand embroidery can be one of two stitches. There's the surface embroidery technique that creates a decorative band that looks a lot like a ladder, with edges that look like a chain stitch. There's also a drawn thread technique called ladder stitch that produces a ladder-like strip of remaining threads in the design area. The ladder stitch in this video tutorial is the former - the decorative band used in surface embroidery.

Although the ladder stitch involves several steps to get it going, it's not a hard stitch at all. The most important thing to remember if you want your embroidery to look really good is to be careful with your tension! I'll tell you up front, in the video here, the tension is not exactly what it should be - you'll see that for yourself at the end of the video. The right side of the ladder seems to pull a bit inwards. But the technique is there, and, in watching the video, you'll learn to do the stitch with ease.

The ladder stitch works ok on gentle curves, but it's not a stitch that's well suited for circles or tight curves.

You can vary the distance between the sides of your ladder to get a dimensional effect - to set a perspective, for example. You can start small at the top of your ladder and go wide at the bottom (or visa-versa). You can even vary the distance (gradually) between the two sides of the ladder, all the way down (like an hour glass). The changes have to be gradual, though, over several stitches. If you try to change the distance between the sides of the ladder too quickly, you'll lose the look of the chain stitched edge and pull it out of whack.

Here's a photo of the finished sample that's worked in the video:

Ladder stitch used in hand embroidery

The left hand side looks fine, but the right hand side is pulling inward and it looks a little whacky! This is just a slight tension problem and is easily remedied by be careful with your tension as you go.

Here's the video:

For more video tutorials for hand embroidery stitches please visit the Video Library of Hand Embroidery Stitches index. With the ladder stitch, there are 44 videos available on Needle'NThread! When I hit 50, we should do something to celebrate!

Labels: Hand embroidery stitches, video tutorials

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Friday, January 11, 2008

Needlework Blogs & Thoughts....

I was recently tagged by Carol-Anne of Threads Across the Web for the "Make My Day" award, which gives me an excuse to write about Needlework Blogs. This topic scares me a bit, as I am not as fluent in the blogging world as most people in it are! Strangely enough, a reader requested just yesterday that I write about my website and give some information on it and how I run it and all that technical stuff. So I'm going to combine the topics and I might even go a bit "off topic" from needlework and embroidery, which is something I don't do too often...

First of all, thank you, Carol-Anne! The "Make My Day" award is something you pass on to 10 people whose blogs make your day. And it makes my day, to think I'd make someone's day!

I'm not an avid blog reader, I will admit, but I do visit certain (usually needlework) blogs with irregular regularity. They don't necessarily all focus on the the techiques that interest me most; nevertheless, there is always something valuable in them that I can learn or that I find creative or inspirational. So, in thinking about blogs that I would tag as "making my day," and coming up with ten of them, this would be the list:

1. Sharon Boggan's blog, In a Minute Ago. Her website is the first embroidery website I ever visited with frequency. In fact, it is the first "personal" embroidery website I remember ever seeing.

2. Threads Across the Web - Carol-Anne's Japanese Embroidery hooked me in, and I love watching her works progress! She does gorgeous work ... enviously gorgeous work!

3. Jo in NZ's blog-with-the-long-title, No Matter Where I Go, I Always Meet Myself There. While I'm not a crazy quilter, her stitching is fantastic and she has a relaxed, easy style of writing that amuses me!

4. Allie's in Stitches - if you haven't seen her work or browsed through her archives, you probably should, for the sheer enjoyment of seeing beautiful stuff! Allie is another one whose progress reports engage me! She gets the award, I think, for "doing." She does a lot! And she gets it done!

5. The Happy Stitcher - I'm not a counted thread technique person. Mary Kathryn is, and she does beautiful work. What I like most about her whole stitching work is her threads. I like seeing the colors she works with. And she makes beautiful fobs! And she lives in the mountains, and I love her mountain photos!

6. Elmsley Rose - The majority of Megan's work on her blog is related to calligraphy & illumination, although she has recently gotten into embroidery, and it's fun to watch her embroidery progress! We share the same tastes in eras of historical embroidery and in calligraphy & illumination. She's amazing at illumination! A real artist...

7. The Embroiderers' Story - well, I've been writing about this one a lot lately. I came across it last fall and have been following it fairly regularly! The whole Plimoth Plantation jacket project fascinates me.

8. Possibilities, Etc. - Judy's blog concentrates on canvas work. Even if you aren't into needlepoint, you'll find a lot of colorful inspiration on her site. The two things that attracted me right off the bat to Judy's site are her Pelican design for church needlepoint and her section on Talevera designs in needlepoint. Really beautiful stuff!

9. This one's not a needlework blog - not even close - it's a food blog! Everybody Likes Sandwiches has some really good recipes on it and some interesting food inventions (though I don't think I'll touch the chai oat bran!). So I check in now and then to see what's up in this gal's world of food, and I usually find it rather entertaining. I have a sister who's an amazing cook and who teaches culinary arts. I came across this site when I was looking for something for her. And so I bookmarked it, and I like perusing it when I have the time.

aaaaaagh....

Ten. Ten??? Where are you? I know there are heaps of needlework blogs out there that are excellent sites, but, like I said, I'm not an avid daily blog reader!! The truth is, I don't have time for it. As you can see from the deplorable lack of website content this week, I barely have time for adding things to my own site, let alone surfing around to other sites with any regularity! If I felt as if I "had" to get online and surf embroidery sites, I wouldn't find any pleasure in doing it when I finally had time to look around. That's the way I see it, anyway!

Ok, here's ten...

10. Happy Things - I came across this site when I was looking for a pattern for a drawstring bag for my summer embroidery classes. I didn't use her pattern, after all, but I like her site. The writer seems to be a quilter overall, and she has a cute kid she writes about, she has a great sense of humor, and she takes magnificent photos. There's nary a negative post on the site, as the name reflects. I like visiting her site!

As for my own website, to answer a couple questions about it, Needle'NThread was the idea of my brother - not mine. I was surprised, actually, when I realized that people actually found it and liked it! The embroidery videos are probably the biggest draw on my site, along with my embroidery patterns pages. I liked the idea that I could extend teaching embroidery to a larger audience by making the videos, and I have fun producing them. I still have a bunch lined up for editing and many more planned beyond those. So that's part of the site that will continue to expand, hopefully consistently!

As for the technical side of things, I host the site with a local ISP, and I use blogger as my publishing platform. The site is set up on a customized template, and I use regular html to edit the static pages, like the bookstore, the links, and the about page. To add content to the Frequently Asked Questions section, I use a little database program. I do any required graphics work myself, in Photoshop.

As for equipment, I have a nice computer with lots of room on it, a flat screen monitor, an external hard drive, a wacom tablet, no printer (!), and that's about it.

I have a good little camera: an Olympus Stylus 800.

The rest of my equipment is content related - lots of embroidery stuff!

I work on my computer in my bedroom, where I have a little desk that's cluttered with books, camera, and electronic stuff. I do my recording of video stitches in the living room, which is also where I do my embroidery. Soon (this month), the garage will be transformed into a work room and storage room, so I'll have a lot more space to work on big projects. I'll eventually have a drawing table, a light box area, and a place to set up a sewing machine, as well as a large table for cutting out and so forth.

And that's about it, when it comes to my "blogging set-up."

Thanks again, Carol-Anne, for the kind compliment!

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Monday, January 07, 2008

New Thread Coming: Gilt Sylke Twist

If you're following what's going on at The Embroiderers' Story of Plimoth Plantation, you'll see there's a new thread that's apparently going to be released to the public market some time soon. The thread is called Gilt Sylke Twist, and it looks positively gorgeous! There are a couple things I like about the idea of this thread...

First of all, if you haven't noticed, I'm a thread "junkie." I love the various threads used in embroidery - from the common DMC stranded to the flat silks of Japanese embroidery, from wools to synthetics, you name it, I like it. Ok, I'm not as keen on synthetics like rayon, but ... I do like them. In fact, if I were to nail down what I like best about embroidery - whether design, or process, or materials in their various forms - I'd say without hesitation, "I like the thread!"

This gilt sylke twist that they've been developing for the embroidered jacket over at Plimoth Plantation excites me because:

1. There's nothing more beautiful, in my opinion, than silk and gold combined.
2. The colors so far (there are eight "limited edition" colors to start with) are fantastic.
3. It seems to me that the thread will be usable in all kinds of applications, some perhaps not even thought of yet. Off the bat, besides the detached surface embroidery for which it was developed, I suspect it would work well for needlepoint, for couching techniques, for fine crocheted lace (they've already mentioned that one), for tassel-making and trims... and on and on.

I suspect that it's probably not suited to regular surface embroidery, unless great care were taken in passing through the fabric - making sure the needle holes correspond with the size of thread so that the gold doesn't get stuck up in passing. Since I haven't stitched with it, I have no idea, though, if it would work well in regular surface techniques. If it would, could you imagine the beautiful results you'd get in something like satin stitch?

The base silk for the Gilt Sylke Twist is Au Ver a Soie's Soie Ovale, which is an absolute favorite silk of mine. I've been writing about it practically ever since I started this website. It's a rich silk thread, mostly flat, with good body, wonderful sheen, and a nice (but limited) range of colors.

Anyway, I had to write about it, simply because I'm really excited about it! I'm eager to see when it will be released to the public and how.

I'd love to hear from others who have stitched with the thread - what are your impressions, what kind of techniques will it be suited to, etc.

And in the meantime, thanks, Plimoth Plantation, for all the incredible work you all are doing!!

Labels: embroidery resources, historical needlework, silk

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Saturday, January 05, 2008

Embroidery Video Tutorial: Roumanian Couching

Here's another video tutorial for a hand embroidery stitch called Roumanian couching, which is used primarily as a filling stitch.

If you want to read about this type of self-couching embroidery technique, please see my post on Bokhara couching, where you will find photos of both Bokhara and Roumanian couching, and more information on different types of couched filling.

Here's a photo of Roumanian couching, with one couching stitch:

And here's a photo of Roumanian couching, with two couching stitches:

Here's the video for Roumanian couching:

For more hand embroidery video tutorials, please visit my Video Library of Hand Embroidery Stitches.

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

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Friday, January 04, 2008

Some Special Embroidery Deals...

Just a quick post to let you know that there are a lot of January sales going on at different embroidery-related spots around the web. You might want to check out your favorite online embroidery shops to see if they're running any specials! The one that intrigues me most is Hedgehog Handworks 15% off everything sale for the month of January. If you're looking for goldwork supplies, now might be a good time to get a better deal through Hedgehog Handworks. They also have some wonderful books on their site! Some are harder-to-find (you won't find them at Amazon, usually!), while others are more common and can be found cheaper elsewhere. Hedgehog carries Lanto Synge's book, The Art of Embroidery, which is on sale right now for $76.00 ($13.00 less than Amazon if bought new). They also have some great European monogramming books and so forth that you won't find readily available in the States, as well as some excellent resources on historical samplers.

Anyway, if you decide to check out Hedgehog Handworks January sale, they require a coupon code at check out. It's Jan08 (it's in the top banner of the website).

Enjoy!

Labels: embroidery resources

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Thursday, January 03, 2008

In Search of the Elusive Plaited Braid Stitch!

Do you have a particular embroidery stitch that eludes all your attempts to master it? I do. It's the plaited braid stitch. I'm sure there are embroiderers out there who may read this and say, "WHAT? She can't do the plaited braid stitch? And she calls herself an embroiderer!?" That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but - still - it is a stitch that I have a heck of a time trying to get "right." So I'm exploring it, searching for resources, help, information, tips, and whatever anyone wants to add to my explorations...

The plaited braid stitch shouldn't be confused with the braid stitch - although they are similar in their beginnings. The braid stitch is rather simple, though, and relatively easy to stitch. The braid stitch looks like this:

The plaited braid stitch is a stitch that was used in 17th and early 18th century to provide heavier scrolling patterns on textiles. It was worked in metal-wrapped silk thread (much like Japanese gold) or stiffer cord-like thread. Unlike the stitch above, which is completed in two steps for the first stitch and one step on the repeats, the plaited braid stitch takes five steps to execute the first stitch, and then the repeats require two steps if you use a "sewing" method of stitching, and three steps if stabbing. So far, I've found stabbing to work better, especially with metal threads.

What piqued my curiosity about plaited braid stitch recently is the awesome project going on at The Embroiderers' Story. This is a blog devoted to the re-creation of a 17th century lady's embroidered jacket at Plimoth Plantation. I've poured over the whole blog and read with delight about their work in recreating this beautiful piece of clothing. Their process of finding thread, their progress on the embroidery - all of this really thrills me! I'm anticipating the information on how they are going to recreate the scroll pattern in the jacket, and what thread they are going to use. Are they going to use the plaited braid stitch (which, after looking closely at their model jacket, seems to be the stitch used for the scroll), and, if so, what kind of thread are they going to use to work the stitch? I'm sure they've got this all figured out, but I can't help thinking that, if they have found the embroidery time consuming so far, how much more time consuming will it be with the plaited braid stitch? It seems to me that all the other stitches used on the jacket work up relatively quickly - detached buttonhole and trellis stitch can go pretty fast once you establish a rhythm. But plaited braid - wow! It's slow, and that's a lot of scroll work!

This is the thing: clear directions for the plaited braid stitch are really (Really!) hard to come by! If you want to find it in a current embroidery book, you'll be hard-pressed. The only book I've found it diagrammed in so far is Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches. True, I don't have every book on the market, but I pulled out my collection of standards, and Mary Thomas is the only one who covers it.

Stitch Dictionaries and Information Books

Stitch Dictionaries and Information Books

Online, there are a couple sites that have the same type diagram for the stitch. The diagram looks like this:

Plaited Braid Stitch

It's the same diagram that's found in Mary Thomas's book, shown here:

Plaited Braid Stitch

On some websites, I've noticed that some alternate names are given to the stitch, such as "plaited stitch" (nope - it's not), "braid stitch" (no, it isn't!), and "rosette chain stitch" (nope, not that either).

I also ran across a website with step-by-step photos of something entitled "plaited braid stitch." But it isn't "the" plaited braid stitch here - it's missing a step, and the braid, if worked following the directions given, looks heavier on one side than on the other. That's because one of the plaiting steps is missing.

The site is Victoria Clayton's Hand-Dyed Fibers, a good site for some interesting and useful information for stitchers (she has a good articles on finishing a needlebook, for example).

It's her fourth and fifth step that pose the problem with her version of the plaited braid:

Half of a plaited braid stitch

If your work up her stitch a little more carefully, this is more or less what you end up with (working with perle cotton):

Half of a plaited braid stitch

It certainly works up faster, but it isn't the right look - notice that one side (in the photo above, the right side) has a plaited look to it, but the other side is just the loop that you find in the regular braid stitch.

In the "real" plaited braid stitch, the sides are even - there's a "plaited look" to both sides of the stitched band. Here's a close up of the blaited braid stitch worked on an antique:

Notice how comfortably the threads fit together - they look almost supple in their twists and turns. Of course, the piece is old and the threads have been there for a while. But still - the stitch is tight and neat and even, and the threads look comfortable with their situation!

Here's a close up of one of my attempts at the plaited braid stitch, following the diagram above for the stitch, and using a size 5 imitation Japanese gold and a really big needle:

You can see the strain on the gold already, even though it was passing through a large needle hole. The gold also looks stiff and uncomfortable. The stitch doesn't close up on itself very well, either - although perhaps that's part of the nature of the stitch when worked with stiff threads.

There are some noticeable differences between my sample and the older work above - for one thing, in the thread I used, the gold strip wrapped around the core thread is a lot wider than the strip on the older piece. I think this has a lot to do with the stitches in the top photo looking more supple.

My stitches look decidedly stiffer and "rounder" than the those in the top photo. Notice the obvious downward direction of the stitch line in the top photo - the interior stitches (the "plait" part of the stitch) - angle downward in the stitch direction (especially the ones on the left). In my sample, every part of the stitch seems to keep a rounded, stiff look. In the older piece, these stitches are closer together, too.

Here's a shot of the plaited braid worked with cord, from Mary Thomas's book:

Plaited Braid Stitch

In playing with the stitch, I've learned that once you get the hang of the order of the steps for the plaited braid stitch, it isn't that hard to follow the steps. The tricky part of the stitch is to keep it even and to get into a working rhythm so that you can make progress on your stitching. As mentioned above, when working with a wrapped metal thread (like Japanese gold), I found it easier to use a stab method (that is, taking the needle all the way to the back, pulling the thread through - at least to the point of creating the next loop, and then bringing the needle back to the front).

Now, what I'd like to know from all the embroiderers out there who are familiar with the plaited braid stitch is this:

What kind of gold or metal thread works best for this stitch? What size needle works best - and what kind (sharp or blunt?) - and are there any tips or tricks you've learned while working the stitch that you can share?

If readers have any information on the stitch, or can direct me to further resources, I'd love to hear from you!

Labels: goldwork, Hand embroidery stitches, historical needlework

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Bokhara Couching Embroidery Video Tutorial

Bokhara couching is a filling technique used in surface embroidery. Unlike regular couching, Bokhara couching uses only one thread, which serves as both the laid thread and the couching thread. Here's some information on the stitch, as well as a video tutorial to help you with it.

First of all, there are heaps of variations that can be worked with Bokhara couching. It's a great couching stitch for forming patterns in your couched threads. Some embroiderers demonstrate Bokhara couching with a horizontal straight stitch couched down by vertical tiny straight stitches; others show the couching stitch alternating placement row by row (to form a bricking pattern). The point is, you can really work out any kind of overall pattern to your couching stitches - there's no "one look" to Bokhara couching.

There are other types of "self couching" techniques (where the couching stitches are worked back over the laid thread, using the same thread) - Roumanian couching and Klosterstitch come to mind.

The difference between these couching techniques are subtle. The principle difference between Bokhara couching and Roumanian and Klosterstitch is that the couching stitches are generally small and very visible, forming a pattern. In Roumanian couching, the couching stitch is meant to work back into the design, making a subtle textured difference, but not highly noticeable. With Klosterstitch, the couching thread is meant to be as invisible as possible - yes, it necessarily forms a kind of smooth texture overall, but Klosterstitch is meant to fill a solid area without creating any kind of secondary pattern on top of the couching.

All of this is rather difficult to explain without pictures, so...

Bokhara Couching

This is Bokhara couching. Notice the small couching stitches, and the diagonal pattern being formed by them.

Here's another shot of Bokhara, with a different pattern worked up. The design is being worked in an inch square, with #5 perle cotton. Not a very good choice of design with that thread in such a small space, but just so you have an idea.

Roumanian Couching

Here's Roumaniann couching. Notice that the couching stitch (that's the middle "wave") is much longer, and it doesn't really serve to form as visible a pattern, although there is a noticeable wave and a difference in texture (it isn't a smooth line, like satin stitch).

Roumanian Couching

Here's Roumanian couching with two couching stitches across the laid thread.

A note on the three forms of couching: According the Historical Needlework Resources website, all three names - Bokhara, Roumanian, and Klosterstitch - are used interchangeably. I don't want to be argumentative about it, but for the most part, it seems to me that they are subtly different. Klosterstitch is even "less visible" than Roumanian couching - and, from what I've seen looking hither and thither about the place, Klosterstitch is more often worked on the vertical rather than the horizontal. I suppose this is a matter of the stitcher's preference, though.

In any case, I'd put Klosterstitch and Roumanian couching a bit closer in looks than I would Bokhara, because it seems to me that Bokhara couching is always described using small couching stitches that form a pattern on top of the laid threads. The other two don't.

All that having been said, if you're looking around, trying to figure out how to do Bokhara couching, you probably don't care about the differences and similarities! So I'll get on with the video!

For more embroidery stitch videos, please visit my Video Library of Stitches index, where you'll find over 40 embroidery stitch videos!

Have fun with it!

Labels: needlework pictures, pictures, video tutorials

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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Great Online Embroidery Book!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

TIF Challenge - Needlepoint Sampler in Progress

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Needlework Doldrums...

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Embroidery Resources and Musings...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Needlework Stash - And the Winner Is...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Last Chance for Needlework Stash Contest!!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Detatched Buttonhole Filling Video Tutorial

Friday, January 18, 2008

I'm Reducing My Needlework Stash - Want Some?

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Woven Picot - another Embroidery Video Tutorial

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Needlework System 4 Floor Stand Review

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Goldwork Thread for the Plaited Braid...

Monday, January 14, 2008

A Needlework Blog I ... Forgot to Mention!!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Embroidery Video: Ladder Stitch

Friday, January 11, 2008

Needlework Blogs & Thoughts....

Monday, January 07, 2008

New Thread Coming: Gilt Sylke Twist

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Embroidery Video Tutorial: Roumanian Couching

Friday, January 04, 2008

Some Special Embroidery Deals...

Thursday, January 03, 2008

In Search of the Elusive Plaited Braid Stitch!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Bokhara Couching Embroidery Video Tutorial

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