I took my Portuguese whitework with me to Singleton, to work on the rather long train trip. During the class, I was talking with the ladies about good hoops for Mountmellick embroidery, and explained that deep hoops such as mine are really good for Mountmellick because they have more wood to grip onto the fabric with than a thin and measly hoop. They are also more stable when working with the heavy satin jean fabric of Mountmellick. Binding the inside ring is also helpful for gripping the fabric. You can purchase these wonderful embroidery hoops with stands from me at Vetty Creations.
So I pulled my hoop out to show them (minus the stand which I so helpfully left at home!), and sort of side-tracked the discussion, while they oohed and aahed over my Portuguese whitework that was in it! They’ve now invited me back next year to teach them that.
It is interesting to see the reaction that Portuguese whitework elicits. Because it is so different to what people have seen before, it really catches attention. While I’m sure the bullions put some people off, the overall effect of them with the eyelets and the drawn thread work seems to just be very appealing.
If you do like the look of the little snippets of my Portuguese whitework that I’ve had on the blog over the last few months, but are scared off by the bullions, then I offer you a challenge: the best way to conquer bullions is to *practise* them. And doing a Portuguese whitework project will give you lots of practice!
Another tip I have is to take a look at my bullion knot tips, posted some time back. You can read my original posts at:
- Tips for working better bullion stitch
- Bullion stitch: thread twist and wrapping direction
- Bullion stitch: to hoop or not to hoop
And if you haven’t tried it, give the method I show in The Left-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion and The Right-Handed Embroiderer’s Companion a go. When I teach bullions in my classes, there is usually a least one person who professes strong hate for bullions. On trying the bullion knot method as shown by me in my classes and in my stitch dictionaries (one I was taught by Effie Mitrofanis) they usually go away feeling that they too can do good looking bullions!
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
I think the attraction is the textural effect. So many people think of long and short shading when they think of embroidery, and there are so many other techniques available!