Needlelace...it's time to start !

In the last months I have been focused about needlelace topic, the mirror I am re-acting has really a lot of parts made in this tecnique so was imperative to understand more about.
I started from threads... which kind ? thickness ? colour range available ?
In old Stumpwork needlelaces, different thicknesses of silk threads where used and silk size is related to the size of the needlelace one is going to make. From what I have seen in old works, a least two different sizes where used. Flowers, leafs and small elements where made in a very fine silk thread comparable with a modern 100/3, larger parts like dresses and grounds where obtained using a thicker thread comparable with a modern 40/3 or Perlè.
The old silk was less twisted than the modern ones available  but I believe it's nearly impossible to find on the market a kind of silk that matches perfectly with the old one so I will have to accept a compromise.
In the photo you can see different small tests, these are my final tests after having tryed many other silks that where absolutely not working well.

Devere 18 threads: is a 3 ply filament silk, S twist and has  a nice "body". It does not catch on hands also if is a filament kind and is a real pleasure to stitch with.
This size makes this silk a good candidate for small needlelaces, pity that the green gold called Basil is not available since many months so the colour range for historical  greens is not complete; good range of browns available.

Devere 36 threads: same as previous, double the thickness, same colour range of the 18 threads. Ideal for larger needlalce parts.

Au Ver A Soie 100/3: is a 3 ply spun silk, similar in size to Devere 18 threads.
Because is a spun silk and has a lower amount of twist, is a bit less "bodied" compared to the Devere 18 th. so needlelace comes out a bit "softer" but this is not a problem specially if corded buttonhole is used.
Has a great colour range ! This will be my choice for flowers and leafs.

Au Ver a Soie Gobelins: is a 2 ply filament silk, not very "bodied" and less twisted than the previous ones. Personally I don't like so much the look that this thread gives to needlelace as seems me a bit messy but this is just me.

Au Ver A Soie Perlè: is a filament silk, with a nice body similar to size 40/3 so much thicker than the others. Colour range available is pretty good and it's an easy silk to use.  I really like the look that this thread gives to larger pieces of needlelace so this will be my second choice for grounds and dresses.

Not shown but tested, Mulberry Silks 3 ply filament F40/3 is also a very good option to AVAS Perlè as is very similar , maybe a bit stiffer which in some cases is not bad. Good colour range available but is not listed in Mulberry  web site so ordering this silk is always a trouble as one needs to refer to the colour sets listed in the other kind of silk and ask to convert them in F40/3.

Coats Faro is a filament 3 ply 40/3 buttonhole silk, generally used by taylors to hand stitch buttonholes. Gives nice results like Perlè and Mulberry but I don't know if it is easy to get everywhere and I don't think it worths the research ( I found some spools  as bargain for few cents in a stock house that's why I have it).

Hope this helps...
And what about you ? What do you generally use or plan to use? Please share your experience and suggestions with stumpwork needlelace !

17th C. Queen Butterfly Little Cushion

The inspiration for this little cushion came after seeing a wonderful panel embroidered in queen and tent stitch at the Metropolitan Museum you can see here:

http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/es/original/DP157562.jpg

then I decided to reproduce a fragment, the little butterfly located in the lower left part near the deer.

Here is the final result: it's stitched on 35ct Northern Cross linen using Piper's silks in historical colours. The interlaced metal stitches where made using an extra fine gilt passing on silk (7S by Leoni-Felisi ) and the cushion is backed with a dark green silk velvet handyed by me surrounded by a 5 finger loop braid. The little tassels are made covering a 6mm wooden round beads with Turk's head knot then attached to a little piece of braid.

I have learned a lot from this little project, size is only 8,5X8,5 cm,specially about how finish it and the tassels have been a real trouble and needed a lot of patience but I think it worth every minute I spent on it !

Today is an happy day because I was so long without a finish and I hope you will like it too !

In the sun light !

A special thanks goes to my dear friend and great embroiderer Claudia Brilli Cattarini-CBC Needlepoint - for her suggestions and encouragement.

At Victoria and Albert Museum and ...5 minutes.

My travel to London was not only for the Knitting and Stitching show which was only my secondary goal as the main reason was to visit the 17th C textile department at Victoria Albert. The collection is located in the left Gallery just upstairs the main entrance.
We went there on Friday 11th in the afternoon as the Museum on Friday is open until 10.00 pm but...at the desk they told me that in the evening that Gallery is closed so I should come back in the morning!
Can you imagine how annoying was this as I was having only the day of Saturday left and I was afraid to not have enought time to go also in Portobello market.
To not waste the time, we had a look to some other departments and I have been really impressed by the painted and stained glasses that are exposed there, absolutely magnificent ! but all art is magnificent, isn't it ?
On Saturday morning we where there again and....at the desk they told me that as six attendants where sick, the Gallery that day was CLOSED ! Believe me, I was nearly going to cry ! I tried to complain but they said it was impossible to visit that department and also most of the embroidery of my interest where not there but somewhere else (I did not understand where) to be restored.
I was totally desperated, I was finally in there so near to those Stumpwork and raised embroideries and THAT door was closed !
I surrended (for a while) and we went at the second floor to see the porcelain department. All in that large room was gorgeous and we have found a good reason to come back...photos ! Yes, it was possible to take photos but we had no camera so...next time !
Going downstairs and every step more near to the exit, I was feeling more upset so I realized that what was happening was not right ! You cannot close just because of sick staff it's the Victoria and Albert ! and I come from Italy is not just around the corner !
So back to the desk asking to talk to a manager. He came in few minutes, I told him about my passion for historical embroidery and implored him to give me just 5 minutes to see the Martha Edlin casket and the unfinished Mirror; I think he saw the desperation in my eyes and said : " let me take some keys and I will give you your 5 minutes" followed by a nice smile.
The time he took to go and come back was never ending, I was afraid something else could happen but he finally arrived with a bunch of keys and took us in THAT room, just in front of the window containing the mirror and casket...finally !!!
The time I had was really 5 minutes and he was waiting on our back, so all my attention was on materials used as I already well know the design of both embroideries.
What I noticed :
* Needlelace on Mirror was made using different sizes of thread, a finer one for small elements which I can say it could be a modern 100/3 silk (Au ver a soie 1003) and a ticker one for larger parts like dresses that could be a modern 40/3 silk (Mulberry silks).
Silk in needlelace was not shining so probably it was a spun kind.
* long and short stitched parts on Mirror where surely made using a filament silk as those where really very shining still after all this time, size and kind of thread similar to Pipers silk floss gloss or to one strand of Chinese silk from Suzhou (Yeppie ! I was right !).
*The tickness of silk gimp on Edlin's casket making the leafs on front panel, is really very similar to the one that Access Commodities is recently selling, really very fine and soft. Maybe the construction of the gimp is not exactly the same but tickness is ok.
* The range of colours well matches with the historical line actually available on the market.

My 5 minutes are ended and it's time to left, don't ask me what else was in the room...I don't know!
Again a good reason to come back having all time available and take photos and notes !
Anyway sincerely thanks to Mr. Manager for those 5 minutes !

The mirror here:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O77494/mirror-frame-unknown/

London and the Knitting & Stitching show

One of my dreams has always been going once again in London; I have been there 10 years ago and absolutely fallen in love with this lovely town. So at the last minute, me and a very dear friend Silvia, decided to go from Thursday to Sunday to see the Knitting & Stitching show in Alexandra Palace and then have a walk around the city in the other days.

We arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday and after the check in to the Hanger Lane Premier Inn Hotel (a really nice Hotel) we went to visit Harrods, I have never seen so much luxury and wonderful goods all together ! Sadly my camera is not working well so no photos, the ones you see in this post are taken from the web.

On Friday morning we went to the show; I have seen Nicola Jarvis exibition that was very nice and have also found very interesting the exibition of Phillipa Turbull with some old Crewel embroidery that where lovely.

The show was full of all you can imagine about needlecraft and knitting and was a real joy !

Saturday was the day of Portobello Road Market at Nothing Hill, we visited only the part related to antique and collector goods, I wanted to buy everything !

See those incredible walls that are located in to a cloth store, an amazing collection of old sewing machines !

In the afternoon we had a lovely walk in Oxfort street and in Soho and we also visited Liberty a beautiful old store.

So "Keep calm and carry on " as Londoners are used to say...on next post I will talk about what happened at the Victoria & Albert Museum...soon !

Super homemade trestles.

I was working on the mirror project using a pair of "craft" trestles, very light and simple ones and every time my back was hurting a lot as those where also too low.
So Fredy, my DH, decided to help me and built something that will last forever :)...after two days of work, a lot of drilled holes and sanding, here they are !

They are made in beech wood and I have also added a side shelf to have a handy place for threads and tools; each trestle weights 10 Kg and is very firm so stitching now is much more comfortable. If you have a member of your family that can help you, here are the sizes and number of pieces needed to make a pair of them:

Foots: 4 pieces 8x6x35 cm
Vertical bars: 4 pieces 8x4x73 cm
Horizontal bars: 4 pieces 6x4x60 cm
Top horizontal bars: 2 pieces 6x6x90 cm
Shelf: 1 piece 10x2x90 cm
To assembly:
n. 32 Screws: 10 cm long x 5 mm diameter
n. 16 Wooden dowel: 4 cm long x 1 cm diameter
n. 2 L shaped metal bar 4x10 cm and 8 screws 2 cm x 5 mm diameter (to assembly the shelf).
PVA glue

Each point is fixed using a wooden dowel in the middle and a screw one on left and one right side of the dowel.

Finished dimensions are: 85 cm tall x 90 cm wide.
Thank you Hubby !!

Sorry for the background, is the garage !

Raised Embroidery Mirror....a little progress.

As first I have backed the silk Duchesse with Bondaweb and a fine muslin because I wanted to be sure to have a firm and strong surface to hold the heavy stitching that this kind of embroidery requires.

Then all was mounted on a slate frame in the traditional manner.

 The pear tree trunk is padded with cotton strings and covered in raised stem stitch; most of the leafs will be in detached needlelace on metal wire. Some of the pears are felt padded and will be also covered in needlelace, some will be in full detached needlelace made on needle felted moulds.

 The rabbit is also made in needlelace (corded buttonhole) and padded with little pieces of soft cotton, then outlined in silk gimp.

 A little bit each a day the Mirror is slowly growing...if you have any questions about the tecniques that I have used just ask !

17th C. raised embroidery Mirror design

A new project for the future, a raised embroidery Mirror !

I really prefer mirrors to caskets so decided to see how I could make one; have used as main model the one from the Metropolitan museum http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/es/original/DP158570.jpg and did some changes on top plus  have hand draw all the motifs  also taken from other old unfinished embroidery where the motifs where easyer to hand copy. Then I have made them in the correct size and placement.

It's another ambitious project as it's size is 50 by 60 cm and a lot of tecniques are involved but I want to try. 

The carcass of the mirror will be made by a local woodworker here in Rome that always helps me.

Finished design but there will be a fish in the pool !

If someone wants to join me in this adventure, the pattern is available for sale and will be shipped on paper in full size at cost of € 50 including shipping worldwide, payable by Paypal, email me at fvan@live.it

The work in progress.

Elizabethan Sweetbag inspiration.

When I saw the picture of this Elizabethan Sweetbag from Fine Arts Museum Boston n.3813.44  I fall in love and decided to try to reproduce it as best as possible using the same tecnique and similar materials.

Here you can see I'm half way on the stitching of the flowers and background; have changed a bit the position of the flowers as this work is inspired to the original one and will not necessary be an absolutely  perfect copy concerning the pattern as I'm really much more interested in learning the making process.

The bag is worked on 35ct linen with Pipers silk threads, gold and silver passing on silk for the metal stitches surrounding the flowers and for the braids.

The handle and drawstring will be made in 5 loop square braiding, as in the original. The drawstring ends tassels will be made covering a big wooden oval shaped  bead using the Spanish Hitching tecnique which was used at the time to make them. Many interesting informations and tecniques are explained in Carey's book "Sweetbags" that has been fundamental for me in the making up of this project, together with a lot of personal research too.

Still there is a lot of work to do to finish it so...I must go stitching !