Beginning Creative Stitchery
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CT-MMB.710 Beginning Creative Stitchery Introduction have been found in the ancient tombs of Egypt, dating from at least 5,000 B.C. Creative Stitchery is simply another way of Egyptians wore robes of beautifully describing embroidery, the art of decorating embroidered linen, and when Cleopatra fabric with a needle and thread. journeyed down the Nile, the great square sail of her ship was richly decorated with There are many kinds of stitchery. Long royal purple stitchery. ago, Peruvians attached brilliant feathers to their shirts. That was one kind of stitchery. On the South American continent, the great Powhatan, the great Indian chief, father of Paracas weavers and embroiderers of Peru Pocahontas, wore a leather robe were making some of the world’s most “embroidered” with cowrie shells. That was magnificent fabrics just before the birth of another kind of stitchery. Now, too, we Christ. Embroidery was considered to be a decorate our fabrics by stitching onto them high form of art. Peruvians spun their yarns such surprising objects as pebbles, from the luxurious fleece of the llama, the driftwood, grasses, leather, beads, or the alpaca, and the vicuna, which grazed on shiny wings of a dragonfly. Today, the high plateaus of the Andes. These however, our embroidery work is more fabrics have been preserved in tombs for often done with traditional threads and more than a thousand years, and today we yarns. can see them in many of our museums. They show the things that were important in Stitchery is an ancient craft and has always the lives of these early Americans – been considered a very special one. If you dancers, headhunters, birds, fish, and had lived in Peru 2,000 years ago and had animals. been one of those picked to spend all of her time spinning and dyeing thread, weaving it Historians have told us that embroidering into cloth, then embroidering it, you would with silk began in China. A Chinese have been a “chosen woman.” empress is said to have discovered silk when she accidentally dropped the cocoon Your great-grandmother was taught to of a silk moth into her cup of tea and then embroider when she was a little girl. In saw the thread unreel in the hot water. those days, this usually meant working with From then on, the Empress of China was the tiniest of fine stitches. This could be worshipped as the patroness of silk very tedious, which may be why so many caterpillars. The secret of their silk thread girls gave up learning how to embroider. was guarded zealously. In time, soldiers and travelers from Europe carried home news of the wonderful silkworm in China, but it was not until the sixth century A.D., Others Who Have Stitched after two monks had smuggled some cocoons back to Greece, that the Embroidery is as old as the needle, and the manufacture of silk began on the European needle is as old as man’s earliest continent. civilizations. Needles of bone and bronze In the elegant court life of the Chinese Redwork — Uses one color (red) emperors, embroidery was developed into a embroidery floss on white or unbleached high degree of artistry. A man’s status and fabric. profession were revealed through the elaborate stitches and many-colored Ribbon embroidery — Embroidery using symbols embroidered on his silk and satin silk ribbon to form stitches. robes. Smocking — A type of embroidery that decorates as well as gathers the fabric on Types of Embroidery which it is worked. Regular smocking requires a grid either transferred to or Candlewicking embroidery — A colonial woven into the fabric, such as gingham. form of embroidery worked using colonial English smocking is embroidery done on knots on unbleached muslin with pre-gathered/pleated fabric candlewick thread. Snowflake embroidery — Also known as Charted embroidery — Creating stitches by Chicken Scratch. following a chart, done on a fabric that has a natural grid woven in. Swedish weaving — Similar to huck embroidery only down on monk’s cloth. Crewel embroidery — Free embroidery Designs are a larger scale than huck worked with crewel or Persian yarn rather designs. than floss. Cross stitch embroidery — Embroidery Supplies/Materials Needed for using only the “cross” stitch, includes Embroidery stamped and counted/charted designs. FABRIC Chicken scratch — A type of embroidery worked on gingham fabric. Using certain Almost any fabric can be used for stitches, thread or floss creates a lacelike embroidery as long as the needle and design on gingham fabric when finished. thread (or yarn) can pass through the structure of the cloth smoothly. Generally Crazy quilt embroidery — Embroidering the speaking, embroidery is done on woven seams of a item made with irregular fabric. There are even weave fabrics and shaped pieces. plain weave fabrics. Plain weave fabrics are all constructed with an over-one yarn Free embroidery — Creating stitches under-one yarn structure. There is not following a design stamped on the fabric. necessarily the same number of threads in the lengthwise and crosswise direction of Huck embroidery — A type of needlework the fabric, as with burlap, certain linens, done on huck toweling. Embroidery is and other fabrics. Even weave is a plain worked around surface floats that are weave (over-one under-one yarn structure) characteristic of this type of fabric. that has the same number of threads running in both directions (warp and weft). An example is Aida cloth. Monk’s cloth is 2 an even weave, but is considered a basket Pearl cotton — has a high sheen. Usually weave (over-four yarns, under-four yarns) used as a single strand. Available in balls structure. or skeins and comes in different thicknesses, which can be used for special Embroidery can be worked freehand; effects. however, most often the stitcher follows a line drawing, which is transferred onto the NEEDLES fabric. Fabrics with a prestamped design can be purchased. A design on a transfer Needles come in different sizes and with sheet can also be purchased and applied to different points for a variety of fabrics. It is the fabric of your choice. Another important to take good care of your needles alternative is to create your own design that to prevent rusting, scratching, or dulling the can be transferred onto the fabric. point. Storing them in a separate container is a good idea. Surface fabrics, such as gingham, can be used to create a design by following the • Embroidery/crewel needles — come pattern of the fabric. Gingham is great for with sharp points that enable the needle beginning stitchers because it is a firm to pass through the fabric smoothly and fabric with woven (rather than printed) large eyes so the needle can be easily checks to help keep stitches even, straight, threaded with floss/yarn. and uniform. • Tapestry needles — have blunt points and large eyes and are mostly used for Waste canvas is a stiff even weave fabric counted work. used to add cross stitch designs to all sorts • Chenille needles — have sharp points of fabrics. The waste canvas is basted on and longer, larger eyes for threading top of the background fabric, aligning grain heavier threads and yarns. lines. Stitching is done through the centers • Sharps, darners and betweens — are of each canvas square. After stitched general-purpose needles for hand design is completed, basting and canvas finishing and basting. Darners are extra threads are removed from under the long needles while betweens are short design. and easy to use. THREADS HOOPS There are many different kinds of thread Embroidery hoops are two rings that fit that can be used for embroidery. together with the fabric in between held taut for embroidery work. One ring fits inside Stranded floss — The most commonly the other with a tension screw on the outer used. Comes packaged in a skein. Floss ring. Tighten or loosen the ring by adjusting has six strands which can be divided and the screw. Hoops can be made of plastic used to give a certain effect. or wood. They come in different sizes and sometimes different shapes such as oval, Persian yarn — A stranded thread that can round, and square. be divided. Used for crewel embroidery Always loosen the tension on the hoop when you stop work on your project. 3 Leaving it tight can create creases that are TRANSFERRING THE DESIGN hard to remove later. If using an iron-on transfer sheet or iron-on To use the embroidery hoop, lay the design, carefully follow the manufacturer’s smaller ring on a flat surface. Place your instructions. embroidery fabric over the ring, then loosen the outer ring with the tension screw and Transfer crayons, water-soluble pens, or place the outer ring over the smaller ring. air-soluble pens are easy ways to transfer Tighten the screw, keeping the fabric taut designs. Follow the directions provided by pulling gently from side to side not with these items. Techniques may vary corner to corner. It may be necessary to depending on the type of item used. tighten the fabric occasionally as you work. Without access to transfer pens or crayons, SCISSORS an easy way to transfer a design is to tape the pattern to a window with strong light, The best kinds of scissors to use for then tape the fabric in place over the design embroidery work are small sharp-pointed and trace with a lead pencil. The lead ones. Store your scissors in a separate pencil will wash out after the project is container (eyeglass case, plastic holder, complete. pencil box). Patterns and designs are extremely plentiful THIMBLE and can be found in many places.