White Threads

A Mountmellick stitch-along?

I’ve been wondering about doing a Mountmellick embroidery stitch along. If we were to do a project exploring the thread, fabric, and stitches of Mountmellick embroidery, would anyone be interested in joining in?

I’d probably do a simple design that could be put on a doily or cushion. I’d give everyone the time to purchase the authentic thread and fabric, and then we could get going. I think it is important to use the right thread and fabric as this is one of the “things” about Mountmellick embroidery – it uses matt thread and satin weave fabric. Without using these, you don’t get a real feel for the way Mountmellick looks and feels.

I realise that some of you will want to see the design before committing, but is there anyone out there who thinks its a good idea just generally? I’m not making any promises, but I’d like to gauge interest at this stage.

a beautiful gift

A lady from my biblestudy group recently went to Turkey to visit relatives of hers. Before she went, I jokingly said “bring me something back from the textile markets!” And of course, I thought nothing more of it.

But, she did think more of it.

Yesterday she was back at biblestudy, fresh from her trip. She deposited a black plastic bag in front of me with a wry smile and walked off to get a cuppa. I opened it, and pulled out the most beautiful scarf.
The colours are gorgeous, and it is made of an interconnecting web of ribbony braid things. It is beautiful!

She told me that it was from Istanbul (no, its Constantinople…), but didn’t come from a shop that tourists would normally go into. She had to enter the shop past two “gentlemen” who made her feel very nervous and very pleased that her husband was with her.

I feel very special, and very spoilt. She said that she enjoyed shopping for it, as it gave her a purpose for her shopping.

Thank you so much, Gillian. Now I need to come up with a suitable thank you…

Deciding stitches for Mountmellick designs

Today’s post follows on from yesterday’s one about designing Mountmellick embroidery.

When the line drawing is complete, it needs to be traced onto the fabric. Mountmellick embroidery uses white cotton satin jean fabric, which is a beautiful fabric with a soft sheen. The right side is the one with the satin surface.

To trace the design, I usually print out the design from my computer. The fabric needs to be larger than the design, so that it can fit into a hoop or frame with space around the edges. Place the fabric right side up on top of the pattern, and temporarily pin it to the fabric. Using a lightbox, and a sharp HB pencil with a light touch, trace the pattern onto the fabric.

Now, where to put the stitches. Firstly, for Mountmellick embroidery there is a list of generally accepted stitches that are used for the style. These are based on the ones that are found on historical examples of Mountmellick embroidery. They include stitches such as buttonhole, padded satin stitch, French knot, bullion knots, cable plait stitch, coral knot stitch, feather stitch, palestrina knot stitch and chain stitch.

When deciding where to put the stitches, I like to think in terms of contrast: outlines/fillings, full/empty, highly textured/very smooth etc. If we have all of one, and not much of the other, things can look either too boring or way too exciting! We need balance, and that it what I aim to achieve in my stitch placement.

Usually I start off by thinking about the main focal motifs. Often there are some large flowers or a leaf that is very central, that becomes an obvious focus for the work. This focal motif therefore should be rather arresting and eye-catching. It has to work!

I might just start stitching, or I might begin with making some notes of stitch ideas in place on the pattern. I always keep an open mind about these preliminary choices though, as I can sometimes find as I am stitching that they just aren’t working how I want them to. I tend to do a lot of unpicking, so that I can make sure that things work together well.

Sometimes I try to limit my choices of stitches to just a few, preferring instead to use variations of those stitches to provide variety and interest. The idea is not to cram as many different stitches onto the one design! Some of the most beautiful historical Mountmellick works have a very limited palette of stitches, just relying on variations in stitching for contrast and balance.

Designing Mountmellick embroidery

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.

difficult stitches sampler progress

I haven’t actually made any progress on my difficult stitches sampler recently, as I have been busy with getting ready for the Sydney Quilt and Craft Show (Stand G32, if you’re going to be there!). I thought that you might like to see where I am up to though.

So far I have a section of plaited braid stitch, some diamond stitch, and interlaced chain stitch. As you can see, there’s a lot to go…!
The idea of this sampler is that it will form the basis of a class on difficult and unusual embroidery stitches. By using a range of thread weights and types, it means that you can get a real feel for how the stitch works in different scales, textures and circumstances. I will be encouraging the students to work the stitches experimentally once they have mastered the basics.

I find this sort of work extremely fun, as you can try to think up new ways to push a stitch as far as you can. By playing with different thread weights, you can sometimes change the look of a stitch completely. By changing stitch length, angle and spacing, you can get enormously varied effects. Working in a circle is also sometimes a great challenge!

Need to find some time to get back to this…

tutorial: tools for transferring patterns

We’ve all heard horror stories about ways of transferring patterns onto fabric, where the lines never washed away, or worse still, ate into the fabric. So following on from yesterday’s tutorial on techniques for transferring patterns onto fabric, today we’re having a tutorial on options for what to transfer your patterns with.

No marker pens. I do not recommend any type of water-soluble marker pen, or fade-away marker pen. I just don’t have faith in them. While I have personally never had any problems with water-soluble markers, I have heard too many horror stories for me to want to use them anymore. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever used the fade-away pens, but I’m not about to start!

Sharp HB pencil. My tool of choice is generally a sharp HB pencil with a light touch. If I have a propelling-lead pencil at hand (you know, the clicky ones!) I’ll use that. If not, I’ll use any old HB pencil, as long as it is sharp.

A sharp pencil leaves a fine line. A blunt pencil leaves a thick line. I use a light touch because it is much easier to cover over or wash out a pale pencil line, than it is with a thick heavy line. Thick heavy lines also tend to leave too much graphite on the fabric, causing the thread to get really grubby.

If in a real bind, you MAY be able to even rub out pale pencil lines with an eraser, but there will be no hope of that if you have heavy, thick lines.

Pigma pen. I have also, in the past traced patterns onto fabric using a very fine pigma pen. This is an acid free pen that does not bleed. It gives a good fine line, but MUST be covered over. It will NOT wash out! I have used black, but Mary Corbet recently suggested sepia can often be a better choice as it is not so harsh looking. I’d be willing to give this a go.

Tailor’s chalk. Another tool I have used is tailor’s or dressmaker’s chalk. I have a love/hate relationship with tailor’s chalk. My mum used to have one of those thin bandaid-shaped bits of tailor’s chalk in her sewing kit, when I was little. It was hard and solid, and as long as the edge had not been blunted, it gave a good, fine line. When I started sewing at school I had tailor’s chalk pencils. Seems like a good idea, but… if you EVER drop one of those pencils, the chalk inside it breaks (it doesn’t seem to be hard like the old piece that Mum had) and you’ll never be able to sharpen it again without the “lead” breaking off. Maybe they’ve improved in recent years though, as I’ll admit I’m still using the ones I had at school – when I can find them on my desk!

If you can get it to work, tailor’s chalk can provide a pale line on dark fabric. As it is chalky, it can brush away a bit, but sometimes it can be the perfect solution.

Dressmakers carbon. You can also use dressmakers carbon as I detailed yesterday in my post about techniques for transferring patterns. This comes in a range of colours, so that you can choose the most appropriate one for your fabric. For example, for a white fabric, I’d choose either yellow or light blue carbon. You’d see these colours without them being overwhelming – though, granted, the yellow might be quite hard to see. For a dark colour, I’d choose white to see it well, if I knew I would be able to completely cover it, or if I was going to be stitching in white. If you’re not sure, try out the colours on your fabric, with your thread, and see what works best.

As with yesterday, you may have used different tools that you’d be willing to tell us about. I’m sure there are some fancy pens and pencils that I have never used that someone’s willing to tell us about!

tutorial: techniques for transferring patterns onto fabric

I had a question the other day about transferring patterns onto fabric, so I thought I would write a tutorial on some of the techniques that I have used to transfer patterns onto fabric.

Tracing. Place the fabric over the pattern, on a lightbox (or hold it up to a lighted window – hard on the arms!) and trace it onto the fabric. I usually use a sharp pencil with a light touch. In the past I did use water-soluble fabric markers, but I got a bit scared about these, and now only use them on very rare occasions. The pencil has to be light enough that it can be washed out or covered over. Thick, heavy black lines are no-one’s friend…

This tracing method only works when you have fabric thin enough to see through. For something like velvet, it wouldn’t work at all.

Dressmakers carbon. Another way is to use dressmakers carbon. This usually comes in a range of colours, and you can choose one that will show up on your fabric, without it screaming that it is there! Dressmakers carbon does not wash out (well, not that I have found!) so it needs to be completely coverable.

To use dressmakers carbon, lay the carbon paper coloured side down on the fabric, then lay the pattern over the top. Trace over the pattern. I usually use a ballpoint pen to give me a strong, fine line.

This method works well on dark fabric, as you don’t have to see through it, and you can choose a light-ish coloured carbon so that it shows up well. It does not work well on pile fabrics, or some with a rough surface. I tried it recently on slightly fuzzy knit fabric, and it did not work at all.

Tulle. With this method, you lay a piece of tulle over the pattern and trace it onto the tulle. Then you lay the tulle over the fabric and use a pencil, or sharp dressmakers (or tailors) chalk (for dark fabric) to trace the pattern, so that it goes through the tulle and onto the fabric.

This doubles the amount of tracing, but can work well.

Tacking. For this method, you trace the pattern onto lightweight paper such as greaseproof food wrap and pin it onto the fabric. Then, using a thread that is close but not too close to the fabric colour, tack along the lines of the pattern, keeping most of the stitching on top of the fabric. You will need to use shorter stitches around curves so that you get a more accurate idea of the pattern. When the pattern is fully tacked on, you can carefully rip away the paper (without dislodging the ends of the tacking threads!) leaving the basted pattern.

The basting can be removed at the end, or if completely covered, left in place.

Water-soluble fabric. With this method you trace the pattern onto the water-soluble fabric. Do not use a water-based pen, as it could start to dissolve the fabric even before you’ve used it! Pin or tack the water-soluble fabric in place, and stitch the pattern as if the water-soluble fabric were not even there. At the end, the work needs to be dunked and rinsed well in water to remove all residue from the water-soluble fabric. Without a good rinse, the fabric tends to remain a bit stiff as if it has been starched (and depending on the type of water-soluble fabric you use, it may well be made of a type of starch!)

This method is not suitable for fabrics that can’t be washed, or metallic threads. When not in use, the water-soluble fabric should be kept in an airtight bag, especially if you live in a damp or humid climate.

Prick and pounce. I’ve never used this method, and wouldn’t know where to begin. However, the lovely Tanja Berlin, who trained at the Royal School of Needlework, uses it and she has a good explanation of how to do it on her website here.

You may have another method of transferring patterns that you use. I’d be very happy for you to share it here.

Tomorrow’s post will detail tools for transferring embroidery patterns.

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experimenting with synthetic gold thread and plaited braid stitch

I did a little experiment yesterday with the Kreinik Japan No 7 thread. I really wanted to see how it would go, in case I decide that I want to use gold thread on my beret. I don’t think real metallic thread would be happy about being rained on.

Kreinik Japan No 7 thread is a synthetic gold thread, with a ribbon of lame (plastic) wrapped around a gold coloured thread core. Proper metal threads have a metal ribbon wrapped around a gold coloured thread core. I usually use T71 Benton and Johnson thread.

The difference between these two threads, apart from quality and cost (!), is that the Kreinik thread uses a wider ribbon than the Benton and Johnson. This means that it is more difficult to curve the thread as it doesn’t bend as readily. Imagine a curve being made up of straight line segments. The more segments you have, the smoother the curve, the less segments you have, the less smooth the curve. With the Benton and Johnson thread, because the ribbon is narrower, it takes more wraps around the core to cover the same length of Kreinik (more segments over the same length). This means the B&J thread gives a smoother curve.

Looking at my stitched sample, I worked it on black as the beret is black. This isn’t the beret fabric, but a piece of faux suede. I used it because it was black and had the soft slightly fuzzy surface that the felted wool of the beret has. I tacked some guides that were about 5mm apart. I started stitching (at the top end) and decided that it was too wide. So I narrowed it down as though the guides were only about 4mm apart. This looked MUCH better. I still think it could do with a little more downwards spacing though.

When plaited braid stitch is worked too wide, you have to compensate by spacing the stitches closer together (down the length, not the width). This isn’t how it looked on the historical examples. To counteract this, you need to either work narrower, or use a thicker thread to fill up the space better. (I talk a bit about this in my left- and right-handed stitch dictionaries, each of which has a double page spread of step-by-step instructions for plaited braid stitch.) In this case, it was easier for me to narrow down the stitches.

I found that I don’t like working with the Kreinik thread very much. Each stitch has to be guided down onto the surface of the fabric, as otherwise it twists against itself and knots up. Grrrr!! This makes it a much slower process.

It also looks dazzlingly plastic… Really ultra shiny, rather than the soft shine of metallic thread. (This also makes it a bit hard to photograph!)

But, it does work. And it would be rain-on-able.

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trying something new

This week I have been working on some embroidery on clothing. The fabric is a fine knit, which means it is a little stretchy. I figured that it would be best to stabilise the fabric before stitching on it, so that it didn’t pull out of shape during the embroidery.

The fabric is a mid grey, and when I tried to trace the pattern on to the fabric using dressmakers carbon, nothing found its way onto the fabric at all, probably because of the slightly fluffy knit weave. Not very helpful.

Then I remembered that strange product called Solvy, which is a water-soluble fabric. I wondered if I could trace the pattern onto it, and tack it on, thereby also stabilising the fabric during stitching. So off I went to my local needlework shop in search of some.

They had two types of water-soluble fabric. One was the Solvy, which is a little like a cross between cling wrap and waxed paper lunch wrap – neither of which I would like to stitch through! But they also had another one (I must find out what its called) which was more like a thin non-woven interfacing. I decided that I would use that one.

So I traced the pattern onto the water-soluble fabric then tacked it onto the fabric in the position that I needed it. I worked all the stitching, then came the moment of truth. (I did wonder if it was going to work!)

I filled the sink with a little cold water, and lay the embroidery face down in it. I wasn’t sure how much effort it would take to get it to dissolve, so I wet it well, and then waited. Within a couple of minutes, all the water-soluble fabric was gone. It really took very little effort from me at all. I thought I might have needed to slightly rub it or agitate the water, but no, I didn’t need to at all.

I’ve never used anything like it, but it worked really well. It made it extremely easy to apply the pattern, and also stabilised the fabric. I’ll certainly be using it again.

Now I just have to find out what it is called!

a black beret – all the possibilities

Its getting colder here in Sydney, and feeling more wintery. For many of you though, our winter temperatures aren’t what you might think of as winter, but for us, they are cold!

I’ve been thinking that I’d like a beret, so when I saw some nice ones on special yesterday, I decide to buy a black one. And I don’t just see a plain black beret… I see so many possibilities for the embroidery that could go on it!

I have been thinking more and more about embroidering on clothing, as you will have probably noticed, due to my beaded dress and the felting/embroidery/clothing ideas. I just figure that its a great way to advertise my embroidery skills to the world, and feel good about what I am wearing when I do it!

I don’t know whether to just do embroidery on the “bottom” half of the beret (the bit that’s closest to my face) or all over. I actually think that I’d like to have it all over. If I could figure out a way to have lovely gold plaited braid stitch all over it, I would, but perhaps that would be going overboard. It would also be a bit of a problem if it got rained on…

Another idea is to applique shapes of lovely Colourstreams hand dyed felt. But then the question is what shapes?

So once again, the brain is running over with possibilities…