Elizabethan Twist Couched on Silk Fabric

 

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Yesterday, we talked about couching gold thread over flat silk thread, in a technique called “Italian Stitch.” One other thought occurred to me while I was trying out the Elizabethan twist couched over flat silk in random patterns. I wonder how this random couching would look, on top of a colored silk fabric, rather than on thread?

And so I set about to answer that question, by stitching up a small sample, just enough to see what it would look like.

Real Metal Thread Randomly Couched over Silk Dupioni

Hey! Not bad! This could be really pretty, incorporated into a project!

I’m using a silk dupioni here, in a blue that I would describe as “lapis” if it didn’t have just the slightest hint of periwinkle to it. (This is from a very nice silk dupioni from Japan, which I wrote about previously.)

Is this a way I could add color to the border around the design, which I spoke about at the end of yesterday’s post?

Hmmmm…..

Probably not. But it is an interesting concept, and one I’m storing away for future use. I thought I’d share it with you, in case it gave you some ideas for your own embroidery projects. Any thoughts?

See you tomorrow!

 
 

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(9) Comments

  1. Reminds me so much of quilting but it’s on the surface instead. I’ve always wondered how people can make all those squiggles and keep them looking balanced: not too close together, no big gaps. That tells you the quality of my artistic talents when I worry about doing scribbles incorrectly. 🙂

    On a large area you would probably have to use more than one piece of gold. I wonder if you “plunge” the ends or carefully overlap them and couch them down. Hmm.

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    1. Hi, Irene – actually, I’ll work it off the spool, and only plunge on the edges and start on the edges, unless I get backed into the corner with the squigglies, but I think the key to that is looking ahead of you as you go. The spool if 40 meters, I think, so plenty for most spaces. ~MC

  2. I’ve seen that technique used for quilting but I don’t know what it’s called. it’s really pretty though!
    Shameless plea for prayer…my baby girl Adelaide (19 mos old) had 3 grand mal seizures Saturday no one knows why. She had never had anything like this happen so we’re requesting prayer from everyone we can think of. Thanks in advance everyone!

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  3. HeatherA – so sorry to hear about Adelaide. Did she have a fever at the time? That can cause seizures. Whatever happened, I hope it resolves soon and she can get back to her usual sunny self.

    The quilting stitch is called stippling. I guess that sounds better than squiggling. LOL

    Mary – that’s very logical to use off the spool. If I did more needlework, I might know these things. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Anne – It comes on a spool, so I just use it straight off the spool. For passing threads and Japanese threads that don’t come on spools, yes, I’d use a koma (or two, depending). But this reels very nicely right off the spool, which is great! Saves time! ~MC

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