Embroidery advice.

[Tengu]

I have finished my work on the Isle of Man now and am back home.

(Dont worry, I left it in its place.)

My museum work was fun, and frustrating, and I think its what I want to do in life.

I was doing leatherwork for a school handling box mostly (they wanted me to do what I was good at, and they didnt have a leatherworker...)

But I also helped out in the Textiles store, which allowed me to handle some interesting examples of crafts, ranging from an internees great coat made from a blanket (they had nice blankets in the war years) to rag rugs to the WI knitted map (a nice piece but let down by half arsed mounting amid other problems.)

They have a delightful selection of samplers and I would like to try my hand at one.

Embroidery is let down by the grim cross stitch and a galaxy of sad girly designs.

Why not the Bayeux tapestry or some glorious Chinese silk dragon?

(I rather like Jacobean designs)

I have nosied round the local car boot, and come away with a small needlepoint kit, a couple of cotton napkins and a bundle of embriodery silks. I have no hoop but Im sure I can make something.

Im sure this is enough to get me started.

What I dont know is how embroiderers mark the design on the cloth...or do they do it freehand?

 

[Kerne]

SWMBO does cross stitch from time to time and doesn't mark the cloth - she counts the stitches and their location. (I think it's called counted cross stitch).

 

[Toddy]

Kerne's right about the cross stitching, but embroiderers have special pencils that can draw a design on paper, and when happy with that, iron it onto cloth. You could also just draw out your design and transfer it with an ordinary pencil to the fabric. If I don't want a mark left on the fabric I'll sometimes just stitch running stitch outlines to give me a kind of basic pattern layout, and then just play with needle and thread.

Hoops are cheap enough to buy, but you can just tack the fabric edges around something like an empty small picture frame.
I have spare tapestry frames that could do with going to a new home, but they're a tad muckle for a caravan.
Deighton's and Brigg's transfers are still available if you want pre-designed stuff.

M

 

[Tengu]

Ill look for one of those.

 

[Goatboy]

Tengu I was in The Works book store (don't know if there's one close to you?) a couple of days ago and they had little beginers cross-stitch kits with a wee hoop for a couple of quid. They were in their big clearance sale.
Guess the family is all getting monogramed hankies for Christmas this year?



Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Tengu]

No.

Ill have a look around. Bit short of cash at the moment.

Im sure to find something at a car boot.

 

[Westnorfolk]

Hi, this is a great thing to do and got me off the fags. You don't need much but it is worth getting nice needles (i got my set after a recommendation on one of Toddy's posts about old needles on ebay) you do not need a frame or hoop for most things if you get used to spreading with hands and knee just do not stretch the cloth. Here are some sites with info and how too things

http://www.needlenthread.com/videos

http://www.luzine-happel.de/?lang=en (not so much embroidery but great fun.

http://www.embroiderersguild.com/

Dave

 

[Westnorfolk]

I also forgo Erica Wilson, so very 70's and a fantastic accent.

https://www.youtube.com/user/EricaWilsonNantucket/videos

The owls remind me of childhood in Folkstone 1975 with giant sunflowers on the wall, orange carpet and purple curtains with embroidered owl cushions and macramé pot holders and spider plants. bugger technology and bring back migraines.

Dave

 

[tombear]

For my own strange reasons I've just bought a wad of 1950s to 70s iron on embroidery patterns. One s supposed to be Jacobean in style.

The sheets just smaller than A4

If its of any use ill put it in one of the box full of photo envelopes we got in a charity shop and post it to anywhere you PM me.

Most of them are really twee children's stuff although one booklet is titled "Especially for dainty undies" ! There's some nice ones of letters in various styles and a lovely one entitled Festival of Britain 1851-1951!

ATB

Tom

 

[Tengu]

Thats really Jacobean; notice the different leaves and flowers growing off of one plant.

I really dont want to see the childrens stuff; its probably as dire as the stuff you see in the X stitch books that give embroidery a bad name.

Thanks for the offer Tombear; anything I can do for you?

 

[bilmo-p5]

Crafty Computer Paper do a range of printable fabrics which may be of use to you.

 

[tombear]

Thats really Jacobean; notice the different leaves and flowers growing off of one plant.

I really dont want to see the childrens stuff; its probably as dire as the stuff you see in the X stitch books that give embroidery a bad name.

Thanks for the offer Tombear; anything I can do for you?

No worries, i'll not inflict the other stuff on you. The wife's gone through them and some have 1930s dates, all stiff limbed teddy bears and gollowogs. Ugh! Actually some of the floral stuff for borders ain't bad she says and the booklet that I bought the lot to get on stitches is nicely done, late 1940s I guess.

Just Pm me a address and ill get it off.

Somewhere in the huge to eBay pile there's a stack of flax linen squares and oblongs, up to table cloth size, and I'm pretty sure that one of them is labeled as being a copy of a Jacobean design from somewhere or other.

ATB

Tom

 

[Tengu]

Mmm Bilmo, thats quite a site, for more than just fabrics

 

[bilmo-p5]

Mmm Bilmo, thats quite a site, for more than just fabrics

Yes, indeed.

 

[tombear]

Sheet of transfers posted.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

On this vague topic, is there any place that will print a pattern, reversed, using the heat transfer ink? The Eldest wants this

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41163/41163-h/images/wa054.jpg

on A2 so we can transfer it onto linen and get on a frame. If not ill have to dig out th light box and trace the whole thing onto the back with the special pencil I got for another project.

ATB

Tom

 

[John Fenna]

On this vague topic, is there any place that will print a pattern, reversed, using the heat transfer ink? The Eldest wants this

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41163/41163-h/images/wa054.jpg

on A2 so we can transfer it onto linen and get on a frame. If not ill have to dig out th light box and trace the whole thing onto the back with the special pencil I got for another project.

ATB

Tom

link not working...

 

[Toddy]

Can you get hold of freezer paper Tom ?
It comes in rolls up to 50cms wide. Wish I'd read your post before I posted off the fish kettle, I'd have put some in for you.
Anyway, basically you print out anything you like using your own printer onto the freezer paper and then just iron it onto fabric.
You can reverse the image of anything you can get onto the screen first.

M

 

[tombear]

Er, it's working here, I've not broken the Internet again have I?

i can get hold of Freezer paper Mary, just our printer died and there is some, let us call it open debate about what to replace it with. Certain elements are holding out for a fancy laser job that will cost about as much as a kidney while the rest just want something that prints as its been six months...

That aside I've stumbled that if you type in any key word, such as Bayeux tapestry or Jacobean , followed by "colouring book" or "colouring sheets" google pulls up line drawings that are ideal for tapestry patterns, including proper crewl patterns as well as stuff done for schools. If its not actually been done as a pattern as sure as sugar it's been done for colouring in!

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Still not found the big stack of pre printed embroidery lines yet but at least a large number of books sold on eBay including all but one of the Ray Mears that I've not looked at in years. We need to sort the rest now the easy bit has been done so they should come to the surface soon.

Anyroad we picked up these today for a total of £3.50

So the charity shops are your friend when it comes to this kit, this is the second lot we've aquired this month!

ATB

Tom