I need a new Mountmellick embroidery design for a class and decided to let you in on the process that I go through. I have decided that I’d like it to be a cushion – not for any particular reason – just because.
When I design a new Mountmellick project, I have to choose which plants and flowers it will feature. There is a set “list” of plants which are historically used in Mountmellick embroidery. Generally the plants are limited to those which grew in and around the town of Mountmellick in Ireland. These include blackberries, dogroses, lilies, forget-me-nots, oak, thistles, daisies, ferns, honeysuckle, passionflower, and maidenhair fern.
I haven’t yet done a cushion in lilies, and as they are very striking, I feel that would be a good plant to start with. Because lilies are quite large, bold shapes, I probably will want to add some smaller, finer leafed or petalled plants to balance it.
The first thing I usually do is to go through all my reference photos and drawings of historical Mountmellick embroidery. This helps me to get back into a “Mountmellick frame of mind”.
Then once I have done that, I get several sheets of butchers paper and start sketching flowers and leaves in pencil. When I get some shapes that I like, I start to combine them in different combinations, tracing them and rearranging them. When I am reasonably happy with the design, I take a photo of it (I don’t have a scanner) and put it on my computer.
Then I trace over the lines in Adobe Illustrator, which is the program that I use for all my patterns and diagrams. When I have the plants traced and in digital form, I can then start playing around with them even more. I have my own standard cushion size and outline which I arrange them on, until I am happy with the design.
At this stage, we are only talking about a line drawing. There is no hint of what stitches will be placed where, as I decide that when stitching. And of course, being whitework embroidery, everything is in white, so I do not need to consider colour.
The next stage is deciding on the stitching – which we will cover tomorrow.
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Hi Yvette,
Do you use a graphics pad to trace over the lines in Adobe? or just a mouse? I’m about to upgrade my computer and I’m trying to work out what technology to include in my specification!
Hi Rachel, I’ve never used a graphics pad. I only use a mouse. I learnt that way and for me its very easy as I am completely used to it. I guess it depends what you are used to. Good luck with upgrading your computer!