03.26.10
Posted in Free Patterns at 4:47 pm by deRomilly
I am currently fighting with technical issues with the promised video. As I am having a horrid time getting them uploaded to any of the sites with embeddable viewers right now, I thought I’d go ahead and post a link here for the time being. Unfortunately, I can’t do that either, because the video is too large.
Hang tight. I’ll get it sorted as soon as possible. And tomorrow I will try to post the next step for the stumpwork!
Thanks for your patience! Darn technology!
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03.19.10
Posted in Free Patterns at 3:37 pm by deRomilly
Note: There are a couple of things in this step I would have done differently if I were doing this again. And will, next time I do stumpwork! And as I wrote this up, I realized that I can’t find video or photo tutorials on working these stitches over a wire frame, so in the next few days expect a video here, technology permitting.
Again, the images are in a gallery at the bottom, with descriptions. Click on them to enlarge.
Step 6 – Wired needlelace leaves
The finished leaf, from an odd angle.
- Start in the same way you started the small petals: couch the wire down along the muslin pattern. Note: This is where I would have done something different: You will be pulling these couching threads out in step 7. I’d suggest using contrasting thread to couch with, rather than something that will blend in, like the blue I used.
- Using 2 very long strands of green floss and the tapestry needle, secure the thread at the FRONT of the work, a bit away from the leaf, and bring your needle up about halfway down one side. Wrap the thread around just the wire up to the point. This will secure the thread when we are finished with the leaf.
Note: This is another thing I would have done differently: I would have used one strand of fine perle cotton, maybe a size 12 for the leaves. (and maybe for the stem, too…) Needlelace is much easier to work with a thread with some body.
- Starting with one buttonhole stitch at the tip of the leaf, work detached buttonhole downward, filling the leaf. This is detached from the muslin, not from the wire. Make sure you wrap each row of buttonhole stitch around the wire at the sides. I can’t find a tutorial for this. Near the beginning of next week I will try to video one and get it posted, if I can figure out the technology!
Note: I wanted a lacy look to this leaf. If you are just trying out this technique, you might want to work a Corded Brussels stitch (with a returning thread bar for stability) instead of the Brussels (just buttonhole) stitch. The corded stitch is easier to maintain tension and make even stitches with. I’ll include both versions in the video.
- When you reach the bottom of the leaf, wrap the thread up around the leaf edge and park it to the side of your work.
- Start another length of thread, again 2 strands, and as long as you can work with: I find that 24-30 inches is about as much as I can handle without it becoming a mess. Secure it using the same method, but this time, come up on the left side of the leaf, 1/2 way up and wrap it to the bottom. Buttonhole around the wire and the wrapped threads all the way around the leaf.
- Secure that last dangling thread by switching to your thinner, sharp needle and running it up under the last few buttonhole stitches you have made, between the stitches and the wire. Clip the dangly green threads and your leaf is finished.
- Repeat for the second leaf.
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Start the needlelace at the tip of the leaf.
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The lace 1/2way into the leaf.
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Cover the wire with buttonhole stitches.
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Stitching finished!
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The finished leaf, from an odd angle.
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Couch the wire using a contrasting color thread.
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03.13.10
Posted in Free Patterns at 5:16 pm by deRomilly
Into the fun part of wired elements today! YAY! I’m starting with the small blue petals around the red ones. Mostly because they’re smaller, and they’re satin stitched rather than needle-lace. Again, images are contained in the gallery below the instructions, and you can see more detail by clicking the thumbnail.
Step 5
- First things first. Trace the leaf and small petal shapes onto your muslin. Make sure they’re close enough together that you can fit them all into the hoop, but you want them far enough apart that the wire and prior stitching doesn’t get in the way as you move through them. You will need to amend the shapes a little so that they come to points on both ends.
- Taking one piece of wire and one strand of blue floss, couch the wire down using small tacking stitches. I started the couching thread with three very very small backstitches in the middle of the petal. They will be hidden by later stitches and won’t be an issue. You don’t want to use a knot here because it will leave a lump in your petal, making it look like your plant has parasites! Hide the stitches under the wire, keeping in mind that the back of the petal will show as well as the front. Leave about a 1-1 1/2 inch tail at the bottom of the petal, and when you have completed couching it down, cut the other wire off to the same length.
- Using one strand of floss, either use encroaching satin stitch or long and short stitch to fill the petal, stitching over the wires as well as the muslin. Remember that the back of this will be seen as well as the front, and be careful while stitching to lay your stitches evenly over both the front and back.
- Repeat until you have completed all four petals. Leave them on the hoop.
Next week – leaves and needlelace!!! Eeeep!
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Leaves and petals traced onto muslin.
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Couch the wire down to the muslin over the lines.
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Fill the petal with encroaching satin stitch or long and short stitch.
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03.06.10
Posted in Free Patterns at 11:25 am by deRomilly
Oops! It’s Saturday! I completely forgot it was Friday yesterday, even though I knew it was Friday, if that makes any sense. Probably I’m just babbling. But here it is… my stitching on…
Step 4
This week we’re going to finish the flower center. We’re now into the actual raised embroidery part of the piece. Much fun!I’m going to try something different with the images today. I’m adding them at the bottom of the post as a gallery – I’m getting really funky formatting otherwise. You can click them to enlarge them, and please post comments if you don’t like this arrangement and would rather have them in the steps. I’ll delve deeper into fixing the problems then!
- Cut two circles out of your felt. The first one should be the size (and shape, because it’s not really a perfect circle) of the flower center. The second one should be a bit smaller. If you don’t want your flower center to be quite this raised, you can use just the larger piece of felt and leave out the smaller one. I like high relief.
- Tack the smaller circle into the center of your flower first, and then cover it with the larger piece and tack that down around the edges as well. Putting the smaller piece down first means that you’ll have a smooth surface to stitch into later, instead of having to navigate “stairs.”
- Cover the padding with french knots. Be careful not to pull the knots extremely tight in the center area of the circle. You want the padding to work as padding, and it’s easy to pull the felt down almost to the ground fabric, so that you lose the point of putting it there in the first place!
- So that’s that! Next week we’ll get into the REALLY fun part — wired, detached petals and leaves!!!
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Cut 2 felt circles
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Tack the small piece of felt down.
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Starting to add the french knots
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French knots from the side. See how they go up and over the center?
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The center is finished!
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A bit closer image of the finished center
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I’m coming to love viewing needlework at different angles!
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03.04.10
Posted in Finished Projects at 11:46 am by deRomilly
The pillow in question
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have a phobia about REALLY finishing needlework. I’m working on it. But I’m always terrified (and it really is terror) that I’m going to ruin a piece of stitching that I’ve spent hours and hours working on. If it entails more than just lacing it to a back and sticking it in a frame, I freeze.
But I’m taking it gently. I have several pillow designs that I want to release this year. They’re going to include finishing instructions as well as the needlework design. (There, I said it!) So I’ve been trying to get myself to finish the pillows I have half finished around the studio so that I can do it.
I started with this candlewicking piece. I got the kit at a garage sale for about 25¢. The stitching was finished in about a week other than the three months I spent trying to find enough thread that matched for FOUR knots after I ran out. Candlewicking thread is NOT all the same. Ick. But I found it, finished the stitching three years ago and put it in my “Finished Objects to Finish box.” (As usual, click the photos to enlarge for more detail!)
The "scary" zipper... Not so scary after all!
Last week I dug out my Singer Sewing for the home book that my heart-sister the former interior stitcher recommended, teased the instructions out of three different areas in said book (not the best organized, but really good instruction!) and to paraphrase Nike, “just did it.” I’m pleased. I’m not completely happy with the zipper, which I wanted because we always have pets and cats like to bring up hairballs right where you don’t want them: In other words, the pillow cover NEEDS to be washable! But it’s more than serviceable. I’ve made a pillow form for the crazy quilted pillow I posted about ages ago, and now I just need to attack it with the black backing, black zipper and the same book. I figure by the time I get to the models, I’ll have enough stitched that I’m not QUITE so terrified any more.
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