Renaissance embroidery

[gem]

I know!! I want to see Aunty Lou's greenwork chemise, too!!!

Wicked, I thought you might enjoy this quick look at a costumer's first counted embroidery project! She was brave and dove in, stitching right on garment linen.

[Wickedvox]

Question: what is "long-arm cross stitch?"

She didn't really expound on her process, but she said she hates counting all those little threads--so she used traditional linen fabric, not embroidery linen, right?

Lastly--this makes my first attempt look positively remedial. And here I thought it was looking decent for a first try.    But I shall press on!

[gem]

Instead of the second leg of your cross lining up with the first leg of the next stitch, it goes all the way over an extra set of holes. (I would stitch this from bottom to top, the reverse of how this diagram shows, but it doesn't matter--whatever is comfortable for you. The top legs should all cross the same direction, though.)

[Wickedvox]

Okay, I finished one round.


From afar, eh, not bad. But on closer inspection...


See that end "leaf" on the right? See how it's not centered over the heart shaped petal? Here's the problem I'm having: I keep having to readjust the pattern because one row gets too close to the other, one stem is too long, the "leaves" are too wide, etc. Sometimes it's a miscount and I pull the stitches (god I've never pulled out so many stitches in my *life*), but other times everything seems right. See how in the bottom row I had to shift the first petal at the point of the hearts *down?* Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. My only thought is I'm not counting my diagonal stitches right. If I'm doing "over two" and I have a diagonal, is it two over *and* up (or down)?? Because that's what I'm doing: over two, up two.

Also, if I have a side that is two stitches over two grids, can I make one long stitch, or is that a no-no?

And if I want to enlarge the pattern, can I just substitute over *four* threads instead of two per stitch?? Or do I make more stitches?! Gaaaaahhh!

[gem]

Hey, Wicked, how's it going? I had a half a response typed the evening you posted your picture, but things got away from me.

The short version: It's looking great!! Huzzah!!

...I also wanted to mention that I'm working on a project right now that I have miscounted SO MANY TIMES that I ripped out an entire day's work of stitches, and spent the whole evening tonight gridding my fabric--which I *never* do! (We won't even talk about the miscounts *while* gridding.  )

I really do believe that this is something anyone can become proficient at--but nobody said it wasn't fussy and time-consuming!

[Wickedvox]

Hey, no worries. I was intensely stitching away and avoiding homework which did me *all* sorts of good on my exam. (focus focus focus)

So, my second cuff turned out *way* better; only a few (less than 105) hiccups remedied by pulling stitches and restarting the journey--story of my life.

I have my first set of blackwork cuffs--huzzah!

Now I want to make the collar but I'm bored to death with that design, plus it's really small and I have to read up on enlarging a pattern (which I can't do because I'm being a good girl and studying really hard for my final  ), and I'm not even going to *touch* that griding thing. This would probably be too difficult for me at my budling stage, huh?

But it's sooooo pretty! Like a stained glass window!

Now a new question--do the collars and cuffs need to match in design? Is it period to match? Just good needlework etiquette? I probably should K.I.S.S. until I can really dive in, but you know me--over the top and beyond my abilities is my style! 

How about the four petal thingy design (very technical) on this one?

I'm going to do the acorns and leaves on my husband's cuffs and collar. Very masculine. 

[gem]

I just found an amazing resource--a collection of antique French, German, and Russian needlework books and pamphlets that have been scanned and re-charted and posted online: http://patternmakercharts.blogspot.com/

Literally hundreds of 19th and early 20th century charts. I've spent the afternoon browsing alphabets, looking for something appropriate to my WIP. I think the Russian folk designs are of particular interest to our period, as these designs tend to be much, much older than when published.

Here are a couple of thumbnails:
 

Some of the French alphabets:


Amazing!

[Wickedvox]

Wow! So beyond my skill level, but wow! They're so pretty. And I love the Russian alphabet one lol. I have a friend who has a love affair with Russia and I'm thinking of making her Russian monograms lol.

I understand griding now. I read up on it (if I don't pass my final my husband is going to be so upset with me), and it makes sense. Kind of. I still have to center the design *in* each grid, right? And I have to grid the pattern to make sure everything is copacetic, right? I wish I understood how to enlarge a pattern. I still haven't found a resource that drives it home for me (you know how thick-headed I am). But the hubby said if I pass my final he'll get me *two* sewing books! I want the embroidery bible and the Tudor Tailor. The Embroidery Bible is all kinds of awesome, and we all know how badly I need the Tudor Tailor. Do you have any other suggestion for a really great instructional embroidery book?

I'm going to be working on a free embroidery spot sampler over the next few weeks to help me learn stitches. Oh! So the two sites I'm using for resources: http://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/stitch/fishbone-stitch/raised-fishbone-stitch/ and
http://www.needlenthread.com/

[gem]

The easiest way to enlarge a pattern is to get bigger fabric (a smaller thread count, so go from 32 to 25, or 14 to 11, etc). The next easiest--especially when working with a repeated design, is to just keep stitching more of it!

IMO, the very best stitch instruction diagrams currently being published are by Country Bumpkin. They put out the (uber-expensive) Australian magazine "Inspirations," as well as a number of really beautiful books, which I think are mostly compilations of things from the magazine. I have their book Embroidered Bags and Purses, and I think it's amazing as far as instruction and inspiration go. Maybe not a lot of projects you're going to jump into tomorrow, but look--$5.00!! Another one of my favorites is this one from Reader's Digest, and it's only $1.00, so you should TOTALLY order yourself a copy RIGHT THIS MINUTE. And then we can do a couched needlebook stitch-a-long!

I learned a lot from a magazine I subscribed to as a teenager, so my book learnin' recommendations are limited, but some of my favorites are the ginormous "Encyclopedia of Needlework/Embroidery/Fill-in-the-Blank" books I've picked up off the bargain table at CostCo or Half Price Books. There always seem to be some hanging around.

[CenturiesSewing]

This popped up on the Eliz. Costume facebook page today,

http://openlibrary.org/books/OL25387911M/Il_Burato

Victorian reprint of an embroidery book from 1520's Venice. It has some nice woodcuts showing the process of embroidery. The first 10 pages or so are just blank grids, but after that there are patterns for counted work and designed for belts and various scroll work. 

[Wickedvox]

That is *crazy* cool! I wonder if those first pages of grids are examples of fabrics with different thread counts? I wish I knew Italian. Those patterns are so intricate and pretty. Thanks for sharing

[gem]

My favorite part of the book was the woodblock chapter plates, esp. this one:



Look at those needlewomen! And that 1520s Venetian woman has puff & slash sleeves!

[gem]

I thought it was about time to resurrect this thread!    I will have some project updates to post soon, but in the meantime, a Very Excellent Article popped up on Mary Corbet's Needle'n'Thread today, on prepping fabric for surface embroidery. She covers darn near everything, from cutting to pressing to transferring the design.

Preparing Linen, Transferring the Design, and More

Her method of pre-shrinking the linen is entirely new to me, although it is definitely something I've been musing about since I've started more embroidery for clothing. I think I need a side-by-side comparison (vs machine washing) with the fabric for my next project.

The one additional thing I do with my linen that she doesn't mention is overcast the edges so they don't fray. I typically do that by hand (just whipstitch over the edge), although a serger is the high tech method!

[Lady Rosalind]

I thought it was about time to resurrect this thread!    I will have some project updates to post soon, but in the meantime, a Very Excellent Article popped up on Mary Corbet's Needle'n'Thread today, on prepping fabric for surface embroidery. She covers darn near everything, from cutting to pressing to transferring the design.

Preparing Linen, Transferring the Design, and More

Her method of pre-shrinking the linen is entirely new to me, although it is definitely something I've been musing about since I've started more embroidery for clothing. I think I need a side-by-side comparison (vs machine washing) with the fabric for my next project.

The one additional thing I do with my linen that she doesn't mention is overcast the edges so they don't fray. I typically do that by hand (just whipstitch over the edge), although a serger is the high tech method!

I LOVE Needle'n'thread! I haven't read that article yet, but my pet faire-only embroidery project is her gold-work Tudor rose. I think she's mentioned before that she serges her edges for some fabrics, and hand-overcasts for others...