Design No.11 Started

One question that I pondered at this point was the choice of thread colour to use to do the transfer tacking of the design. 

I could have 

• matched the the thread to the colour of the piece to be stitched so it would blend
• used the same colour thread as the fabric which could make it hard to see
• used a contrast colour that could be removed if I wanted to as I stitched

I like to think common sense won out and I went with a contrast thread.

It wasn't so bad to do. Sure it took a little while but I found removing the tissue paper less fun, especially where little bits got caught. 

I removed all the tissue paper at once.

I have since learnt that you could remove the tissue paper as you progress with the stitching. This would protect the fabric and transfer tacking as you complete the design. I must try it sometime but to be honest as doing all the Stem Stitch Scrolls was first up, it wouldn't have made much difference.

Then it was time to start stitching and this is where I got up to before life intervened and my Intermediate Crewel Class started.

I didn't like the Long and Short Stitch in the Blue Leaf, that was going to have to come out for sure. It looks a bit like Block Shading to me - no long and longer happening here! 

I did have some 'thread encounters' when bits of the tacking thread seemed to get stubbornly intertwined into the crewel wool and made life a little difficult, especially if it involved a knot. 

I wish I had read Mary Corbet's Needlenthread : Transferring an Embroidery Pattern using Tracing Paper before I started as I could only agree with her conclusions:

• think very carefully about the colour thread you are going to use, it turns out not to be as invisible as you first thought
• Mary recommends no knots - I did knot as I went, my mistake and I wouldn't do it again
• remove the tracing paper carefully, it comes away readily enough but so might your stitches
• have tweezers handy, you will need them to tease out those last bits of fluffy tracing paper or stubborn bits of thread

This technique does a good job transferring your design accurately, I would do it again.

It will be a while before Design No. 11 makes another appearance, all the while that Blue Leaf will bug me!

Design No. 11 Selected

I was successful in my application to do the EGV Intermediate Crewel Class but there was a little bit of time to fill before it started so I selected another design from Shelagh Amor's book - Crewel Embroidery - A Practical Guide.

I had admired this design from the moment I saw it. All those gorgeous scrolling curves and such a variety of stitches to work.

There were some other things I wanted to try as well:

• using another fabric not the usual linen twill
• working a larger design on a frame (fabric measurement is 50cm x 40cm)
• trying out a different transfer method, this time tacking the design through tissue paper.

Fabric

I had recently bought some twill fabric at a Craft Fair in two colours. This fabric was a fairly heavyweight linen/cotton mix and was quite sturdy. I did ask around about a good test to see if a fabric can handle Crewel Embroidery and testing French Knots with 2 strands of Crewel wool in a Size 3 needle seemed a reasonable trial. My fabric choice was fine.

I chose the natural stone colour to use but did decide to back the fabric with some lightweight interfacing. I had an idea at the time of what the completed piece might turn into so wanted to cover all bases.

Design Transfer

The design was then traced onto tissue paper directly from the A4 page in the book. This is a particularly good feature about this book, the designs are life size and instantly usable. No mucking around with photocopiers or trying to re-size the patterns bigger or smaller. Everything is ready to use.

Framing Up

By now I had read about Slate Frames and how Crewel Embroidery is traditionally done on such frames. Slate Frames are different from Tapestry Frames in that the side bars have holes spaced along them to enable the fabric tension to be controlled effectively.

Slate Frame side bar and cotter pin

However Slate Frames aren't as readily available as Tapestry Frames and can be relatively expensive so I settled for buying a Tapestry Frame large enough to trace the complete design. 

I imagine you could roll the fabric around the end rollers of a Tapestry Frame if you had an even larger design but that would entail lots of re-lacing and re-tightening of screws and wingnuts. Now that would be a distraction if you were well into the stitching!

But for me and and as I wanted to give working with a larger frame a try, I was very happy with my Tapestry Frame set up - so far, so good.

Majestie Finished

Having finished my Beginner's Crewel Class project I turned my attention back to my Majestie project, confident now that I would be able to complete it.

You can read about the Majestie project in previous posts:

• Taking that First Step
• Setting Up Majestie

And this proved to be the case.

 My observations from doing this design from the A-Z of Crewel Embroidery were:

• the instructions were at times quite difficult to follow with my level of experience as some of the stitches that appeared in the sample picture and had threads allocated to them in the Embroidery Key didn't have specific instructions
• I tested using one thread or two but would have appreciated knowing what the designer used - I ended up using two because I thought it gave the best coverage
• there were threads that I substituted when I couldn't get the Cascade House mohair. I was recommended Gumnut Daisies and while they did produce a different finish I don't think changed the impact of the overal design. The Gumnut Daisies thread was absolutely lovely to use and I would use them again.

I completed the design on a relatively small piece of the linen twill so I thought I would be limited in what I might choose to do with this piece.

It did take me a few months, but in time for my Mum's birthday in mid-November 2011 I had solved my dilemma. 

With twisted cord found at a Craft Fair and perfectly matching sample fabric found at the EGV's Paddy's Market, Majestie became the centrepiece of a cushion. 

Much loved and still holding pride of place on my Mum's favourite chair to this day - I couldn't be happier!

Stitching dimensions: Width 14.5 cm x Height 20 cm

Cushion Finishing dimensions: Width 34 cm x Height 34 cm

Ground Fabric: Linen Twill

Thread: 

Appletons Crewel Wool Flame Red 206, Grass Green 255, Grey Green 354, 357

Watercolours by Caron 021 Peach Melba, 093 Painted Desert

Cascade House Mohair Substitutions: Cascade House Shaded Crewel Wool Col 1790 and Gumnut Yarns Daisies 869, 829, 039

Design Source: Majestie by Avril Ambrose-De Havilland in Crewel A-Z by Country Bumpkin

Stitches used:

• Split Stitch
• Satin Stitch
• Whipped Chain Stitch
• French Knots
• Straight Stitch
• Long and Short Stitch
• Blanket Stitch
• Raised Stem Stitch
• Chain Stitch
• Cross Stitch Couching

Beginner's Crewel - Lacing and Finished

My plans for my Beginner's Crewel design was to mount the piece which meant it could remain a sampler or down the track I could frame it.

The first task was to decide on the size I wanted the final piece to be. To be honest I should have thought of this beforehand and made sure I cut my ground fabric to the right size. But I didn't so I worked with what I had.

I was able to have a 3.5 cm distance from the farthest points from the embroidery on three sides but at the top only 2.5cm. The extra 1 cm depth at the bottom of the design is regular to framing I believe. There is a little bit of math required to get those measurements just right but nothing too scary.

It is also important for Lacing that you have enough fabric on the reverse so I had to balance that as well. Fortunately I could use the waste fabric I had used to set up the linen twill on the frame. I ended up sewing a bit extra onto the top and bottom as well. This meant the reverse had 2.5cm on the top and bottom and 5 cm on the sides to lace with - just enough!

Next, cut some foam core to size:

And for a softer, plumper look add some fine wadding (I used Pellon) and glue the two together:

These were the instructions I received in the Beginner's Crewel Class. I have since learnt that there are lots of options and that personal preference plays a big part in deciding what materials are used.

Then I measured, measured and measured again. And then I measured a bit more, just to be safe.

I put the first pin in the side of foam core and just like when Blocking went from side to side to get some tension in the fabric. I pulled so hard at one point that the pin crushed the lip of the foam core and damaged it. So that was a good lesson to learn about being a little more patient and to work the tension – this is actually quite easy to do as the pins can be removed, you tug a little more and bit by bit it all evens out. Pretty neat actually. Wish I had of known that at the start. 

You can also see that I have cut out the corners of the piece in order to mitre them or at least to handle the bulkiness of the fabric at the corners.

Once all the pins are in and you are happy with it then it is time to lace.

I worked from top to bottom and then side to side.

The tip I was given was not to unwind metres of thread, rather lace some then pull the additional thread through. I hope I get better at this as I did manage to get a little tangled up at times with the pins and the thread.

And then it is finished:

Stitching dimensions: Width 14cm x Height 19cm

Finishing dimensions: Width 21cm x Height 25.5cm

Ground Fabric: Linen Twill

Thread: Appletons Crewel Wool Drab Green 333, 334, 335, 337 and Rose Pink 751, 752, 753, 754, 755

Design Source: Marj Kavanagh, EGV Beginner's Crewel Class

Stitches used:

• Stem Stitch
• Coral Knots
• Closed Fly Stitch
• Split Stitch
• Long ans Short Stitch
• Chain Stitch
• Seeding
• Squared Filling Stitch
• Couching
• Buttonhole Stitch
• French Knots
• Whipped Spider Stitch

Extra instruction on Lacing can be found at:

NeedlenThread : Finish Work, how to frame a piece of embroidery

Anna Scott : Lacing Embroidery

Berlin Embroidery : Mounting Embroidery