Beginner's Crewel - Blocking

I have been a little bit wary of the task called 'Blocking' so it was wonderful when Lyndsay from the Embroiderer's Guild decided to demonstrate this for us at one of our New Member sessions. And use my piece as the sample!

The purpose of Blocking is to ensure the ground fabric is wrinkle free and ready to be made up. It also helps the ground fabric and threads 'settle' into the design and improves its general appearance. 

Lyndsay made this look so practical and straightforward, an excellent demonstration. As with most things, having the right tools is half the battle. So, in preparation Lyndsay brought in:

• a piece of board (this can be anything as long as it is soft enough to hammer the pins into)
• some white plastic bags - not supermarket plastic but a bit heavier. (If you only have coloured plastic bags then turn them inside out. The main thing is not to have anything where you think the colour might run)
• old pillowcases (or layers of fabric) - your local thrift or op shop being a great source for these. Again you want to make sure the fabric is white or colourfast so you don’t risk staining your own stitching
• a hammer
• plenty of Push Pins 
• spray bottle of cold water

On the board, lay the white plastic bags then a pillowcase, then:

• lay the piece of stitching to be blocked face down onto the pillowcase
• hammer a pin into the centre of one side
• repeat doing this on each of the other three sides, stretching fully as you go
• continue to hammer in Push Pins, moving from side to side and continuing to stretch out the fabric as you go
• expect the Push Pins to be about 1 inch apart to ensure an even stretch

If you feel the need to measure and block to a square then you can get that fussy but for the piece being blocked this was not necessary:

• using the spray bottle and cold water, spray over all the piece and ensure it is wet through. It wasn’t dripping and we weren’t in a wet area so no need to literally flood the piece
• cover with a second pillow case and then leave it to dry

Extra information:

• All four edges of the stitching were reinforced beforehand with some waste cotton drill securely attached to the linen twill. It made the edges nice and sturdy and meant we were putting holes into that rather than the linen twill
• The cold water also removed all last remnants of the blue transfer pen used to transfer the design (another very good reason not to use hot water)
• Lyndsay was very careful to ensure nothing she used would cause any colour to run – there was even some discussion of having to wash threads before they are stitched if you don’t know they are colourfast but no-one had actually ever done this and certainly not with Appletons
• You can remove a Push Pin and re-stretch to get the piece even if you wish
• You can block the same piece more than once if you need to

Blocking removes the need to iron Crewel Embroidery but if you feel you must do this always face the Crewel Embroidery face down into a towel so as not to flatten all that work you have just done.

Beginner's Crewel - Lesson Two

Two weeks later and I am back at Embroidery House for Lesson Two of my Beginner's Crewel Class. 

To get this far I practised on my doodle cloth if I was unsure of a stitch. This did involve re-visiting one or two stitch techniques so I used the two Crewel Embroidery books I had already bought as my sources of information. I found the books to be great memory joggers of what Marj had taught us.

I did struggle getting the Coral Knot Stitch to come up as well as I would like, it is a stitch that still challenges me to this day. I think it is my 'nemesis' stitch - the one that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong!

Anyway, I stitched as much of the design as I could. I did redo some parts I had done in Lesson One and became quite proficient in 'reverse stitching'. I have since learnt that this term is for fussy stitcher's like me who will undo, then redo their work to get it just right.

In Lesson Two Marj then taught us:

• Chain Stitch
• Seeding
• Squared Filling Stitch
• Couching
• Buttonhole Stitch
• French Knots
• Whipped Spider Stitch

During the lesson and over the next 10 days I thoroughly enjoyed stitching the design.

Thank you to Marj for a lovely design, expert tuition and the warm and friendly classroom. 

If you recall though, that is not all we were to be taught in the Beginner's Crewel Class. So while the stitching may be finished the piece is not. It still needed to be 'Blocked' and 'Laced'. 

And while we did receive instruction on doing these tasks we didn't get time to see them demonstrated so I was still unsure of how to do them. So next, I set about looking for other opportunities at the EGV* to learn about them.

* EGV = Embroiderer's Guild of Victoria (http://www.embroiderersguildvic.org/)

Beginner's Crewel - Lesson One

Arriving at Embroidery House for my first class, Beginner's Crewel, I was surprised and delighted to meet 10 other students all as eager as myself to get started. Our teacher Marj was ready and waiting to get us all going with the first task to get the base design transferred onto our fabric.

By now I had bought a 'blue' transfer pen (the type that could be removed with cold water) and used a light box that was available to trace the design lines from the original template supplied.

My original template was much used along the way as you can see. But first up, I did redraw the original design lines with a heavier black texta to make it easier to see for tracing. Some wayward pen strokes suggest I might have rushed this a bit!

But regardless of how heavy handed it looks on the template, using the blue transfer pen provided enough direction for stitching proving to me the thick bold lines I traced on the Majestie design with a regular HB lead pencil are simply not necessary (sample upper left corner).

As we sat down to learn our first stitch, I did notice all the ways students had interpreted the Requirements List. Some used a hoop, others stretcher bars with drawing pins or like me, used a frame. I had sourced a piece of linen twill for my background or rather 'ground' fabric as it is known, but others had cotton drill or evenweave linen. Did these things matter? Well actually they did.

For one, using a frame meant I needed an extra hour to get set up than those with a hoop. Stretcher bars were an efficient option as well. And the student who had a beautiful piece of evenweave linen found it too 'open' to handle the density of the wool thread with the fabric starting to separate and break as he progressed. Most upsetting.

Demonstrated by Marj were:

• Stem Stitch
• Coral Knots
• Fly Stitch
• Split Stitch
• Long and Short Stitch

Being able to do these stitches meant we would be able to complete about half the design and what wasn't done in the first lesson was homework, to be completed by the next class in two weeks.

And you know what - I now love homework!

A Quick Grip Clamp?

So when you read down the Requirements List for my Beginner's Crewel Class in my previous post what did you make of the item called a "Quickgrip Clamp"?

Now that I know what this item is it all makes good sense but when I first read it I have to admit to being a little bamboozled. I did ask around and it seemed all those that answered were nodding wisely at me and agreeing about the importance of such a tool. 

It turns out that Fine Art Embroidery takes a far bit of hardware and I have since accumulated a number of pieces of equipment you would think more closely related to carpentry than to a needle and thread. So off to Bunnings, our local hardware store I went with Quickgrip Clamps the purchase from my first visit.

And why do you need them?

The next very important Crewel Embroidery rule is that having two hands free is necessary to complete some of the stitches, in fact most of them. So the Quickgrip Clamps allow you to attach your embroidery frame or hoop to a stable object so you don't have to hold it.

So very simple, so very important.

Here is one of my frames attached to a towel rail we don't use any more. Turns out a towel rail is not a bad support for an embroidery frame.

And once you have your Quickgrip Clamps they suddenly become useful for all sorts of jobs. For example, when using a sharp blade to cut matt board or foam core I find it easier to get a straight edge if I keep everything stable with Quickgrip Clamps - especially as I don't want to repeat the slashed finger injury of 1994, I still have the scar to remind me!

So useful are Quickgrip Clamps that I think that having a pair should be a Crewel Embroidery rule!

Beginner's Crewel at the EGV

Once you know about the Embroiderer's Guild of Victoria (EGV) website then it is a simple matter of looking at the Education section to find out what classes are coming up. When you join the EGV then the monthly magazine, Threadlines, is also an excellent way to keep up to date.

This is how the Beginner's Crewel class was described:

'The aim of this class is to teach basic stitches for crewel embroidery,
show you how to frame up and block your work, and finally how
to lace your work in preparation for framing. This class is for both
 beginners and those who wish to refresh their skills.'

The class was to run  over two days with a two week gap in between. We were to get together from 10am until 3pm at Embroidery House and would be having a break for lunch.

This is the Beginner's Class design.

It couldn't have been more perfect for me. And actually lots of others thought so too with the first class booked out and a second having to be scheduled. 

So what did I need to do a Beginner's Class in Crewel?

Once enrolled the Class Requirements List arrived in plenty of time to gather up what was needed. Some things were new and surprising to me.

I needed:

• Embroidery frame
• Crewel needles size 3 & 4
• Large darning needle
• Fine marking pen, water erasable
• Tracing paper
• Pencil 0.5mm HB
• Sharp scissors
• Quickgrip Clamp
• Lacing thread 
• Fabric - natural coloured linen or cotton twill
• Appletons Crewel wool

I went out again to 'purchase with purpose' my Appleton's Crewel threads, 5 shades of a pink and and 4 shades of a green. My favourite kind of embroidery thread shopping.

I will always remember with delight doing this shopping at The Needlepoint in East Malvern, which sadly is no longer open. Thank you to Noelene who was always so very helpful.

Design No.1 Finished

Having received so much encouragement and instruction there was nothing left to do but have a go at long and short stitch. And I think that I did okay.

I was a little surprised how blended the first and second shade of green were. While you can recognise the three rows of stitching you can't distinguish the three greens so easily. 
I must mention that I did substitute the Appletons colours from the original instructions and used shades 342, 343 and 346. I think using 344 rather than 343 would probably have been a better choice in this leaf size. 

So, some additional Crewel Embroidery rules:

• take care with colour selection, be aware there are up to 9 shades (or values) of a single colour with Appletons Crewel wools
• if you strictly alternate stitch lengths when doing long and short stitch then you will probably end up with the same ladder effect as I did below. It is fine but as you get more experience you develop the skill to blend your long and longer stitches and no more ladder look.

Don't you just love being a beginner and starting something new - such enthusiasm to get a project finished. When I look back now at Design No.1 I find that from start to finish was only seven days. No risk of a UFO* here!

Stitching dimensions: Width 10cm x Height 11 cm

Finishing dimensions: Width 12cm x Height 14.5 cm

Fabric: Linen

Thread: Appletons Crewel Wool Mid Olive Green 342, 343, 346

Design Source: Shelagh Amor Design No. 1, Crewel Embroidery - A Practical Guide

*UFO: UnFinished Object or PHD if you prefer, Project Half Done.

An invitation I couldn't resist!

It turned out to be a very productive time, early 2011. I am still not sure why or how, but an email turned up one day inviting me to join an online embroidery forum called Stitchaholics. 

Using social media software supplied by NING, Stitchaholics was created by Caroline Sumeray and has since maintained a steady and loyal following. For me, I suddenly found myself part of a stitching fraternity frequented by many encouraging and supportive online friends. The common language of embroidery transcending language and borders.

I joined the Crewel and Jacobean Embroidery Group and was encouraged to provide photos of my efforts. When these were posted I was provided with constructive and positive feedback.

And why wouldn't I pay attention to the advice given when you find out one of your online mentors, RaeleneV, had recently finished her own magnificent crewel worked piano stool. And the primary stitch? You guessed it, long and short stitch!

Piano Stool designed and stitched by RaeleneV

It was actually suggested to me by an experienced stitcher that I should wait until I was in a classroom before I tackled long and short stitch. To make sure I got the right instruction from day one. I think this was very good advice. But as it turned out, the classroom was online. 

In response to my obvious apprehension RaeleneV, posted the following step by step guide to producing long and short stitch leaves for Design No. 1.

You can only reach the same conclusions that I did:

• the stitch really should be called Long and Longer Stitch
• those instructional line drawings we often see do give you a sense of the technique but worked thread shows far more
• that RaeleneV knows what she is talking about and cared enough to share it
• that I can learn online

Note: for those interested in joining Stitchaholics please leave a Comment