Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 10:26:20 -1000
From: [email protected] (Karen Green)
Yup. For those of you not subscribed to the ACORN (publication of the
Kingdom of Atlantia [mid-Atlantic SCA region]), the cover I did is
currently up at http://www.georesearch.com/ktemp/acorn.jpg
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 11:32:11 -1000
From: Jan McEwen
I, too, am a blackwork enthusiast, albeit a novice. I'm working on a
sampler in the style of the samplers of the 16th and 17th centuries,
silk floss on linen ground.
I've found a wonderful blackwork source on the web:
Blackwork Embroidery Archives
http://www.pacificnet.net/~pmarmor/
Printed blackwork patterns:
For Borders (primarily):
_A New Modelbook for Spanish Stitch_ by Kathleen Epstein, 1993.
_An Anonymous Woman: Her Work Wrought in the 17th Century_ by
Kathleen Epstein, 1992.
"Reversible Blackwork: from Both Sides" in _Mary Hickmott's New
Stitches_, No. 41 p. 50-57.
"Beautiful Blackwork (Blackwork Band Sampler)" in _Needlework_, May
1997.
"Queen Jane's Cuffs" by Ciorstan MacAmhlaidh in _Tournaments
Illuminated_, No. 83, Summer 1987.
"Some 16th Century Border Patterns for Blackwork Embroidery" by
Brighid ni Chiarain of Tethba in _Tournaments Illuminated_ No.
92.
"5 Blackwork Designs from Holbein" by Yseult of Broceliande" in _The
Elfhill Times_ (Sorry, I didn't note which issue).
Fill patterns:
_Blackwork Embroidery_ by Elisabeth Geddes & Moyra McNeill,
1976.
_Blackwork_ by Lesley Barnett, 1996.
_Blackwork_ by Mary Gostelow, 1977. (Has excellent historical
background)
_The Art of Blackwork Embroidery_ by Rosemary Drysdale, 1975.
_Blackwork Embroidery: My Methods & Techniques_ by Jack Robinson,
1995.
_An Introduction to Blackwork_, by Lady Shoshonnah Jehanne ferch
Emrys (Susan Evans), Compleat Anachronist No. 31, 1987.
_Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book_ by Erica Wilson, 1973 (has a good
chapter on blackwork)
"Reflections of a Tudor Garden" in _Mary Hickmott's New Stitches_ No.
51.
"Anne Boleyn (blackwork version)" in _Mary Hickmott's New Stitches_
No. 8
"Catherine of Aragon (blackwork version)" in Mary Hickmott's New
Stitches, _No. 7.
"Jane Seymour (blackwork version)" in _Mary Hickmott's New Stitches_
No. 9
"Elizabethan Revival" in _Mary Hickmott's New Stitches_ No. 47.
"Temple of Dawn" in _Mary Hickmott's New Stitches_ No. 45.
"Blackwork Chessboard" in _Needlework_ March 1994.
"Anne of Cleves (blackwork version)" in _Mary Hickmott's New
Stitches_, No. 10.
[There are also blackwork designs in _New Stitches_ for Henry VIII,
Katherine Howard, Katherine Parr, and Mary Queen of Scots, but I
don't have those - although I'd love to get copies of them]
I haven't been able to get Mistress Ianthe's _New Carolingian
Modelbook_, but I bet it has some patterns in it.
Can anyone add to the list? Sorry for the long post...I have more
patterns than I thought I did.
Catriona,
fiber arts jack-of-all-trades
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Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 12:14:57 -1000
From: Jacquie Samples
Diane Hare asked:
>BTW, has anyone found a source for a true 36x36 count linen? ...
short
>of weaving ones own?
I have found that Zweigert fabrics (I only use linen, so I don't
really know about the rest that they manufacture) are quite good, and
very consistent. I know of two mail-order places to get them:
Wyndham Needleworks at the following URL:
http://www.WyndhamNeedleworks.com/index.htm
Nordic Needle at the following URL:
http://www.needlearts.com/nordic_needle/index.html
Both of these shops are friendly, helpful, and quite prompt in
sending out
orders. If you need the mailing addresses for them, just let me know
and I
will forward them on to you.
I also imagine that your local needleworking/ craft shop could order
you
some if know exactly what you need, that is color, size,
manufacturer, etc.
Jacquie Samples
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Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 19:15:54 -1000
From: "Susan J. Evans"
Here's some more books for blackwork:
Ain New Forbuch "Ien der Weyssen Arbeyt Augsberg", originally
published in
1545. A facsimile edition was published in the 1960's I believe. I'll
have
to dig through my stuff and see what the facsimile date is. Borders
mostly.
"Blackwork and Holbein Embroidery" and "Reversible Blackwork" by Ilse
Altherr. Some period patterns documented. Excellent instructions for
advanced needleworkers.
"Renaissance Patterns for Lace, Embroidery and Needlepoint" by F.
Vinciolo. Available from Dover. All-over and border patterns. (Has a
few patterns that include dogs, BTW for the lady that was asking.)
Facsimile edition - beware - some of the stitch counts as listed in
the plates are not correct - and guess how I found _that_ out! Oh,
well, the unicorn is drinking from a partial fountain instead of a
partial unicorn drinking from a complete fountain. BTW, there's a
period lace panel in the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston
that had the same problem with this pattern. I nearly dropped onto
the floor laughing when I first saw it.
Also, some of the patterns that are supposed to be symmetrical aren't
- they drop off somewhere in the middle of the pattern - so you have
10 stitches on one side and 8 or 9 on the other. Graph them out if
you're going to use this source.
"Tudor and Stuart Fabrics" by Cyril Bunt, 1961. Part of "The World's
Heritage of Woven Fabrics" Mis-named book as the entire work contains
embroidered pieces. Some blackwork including several examples of
pre-printed designs on linen - both hand-drawn and block printed -
period kits!
"A Pictorial History of Embroidery" by M. Schuette, 1965. _The_ book
for
historical embroidery examples. All well documented pictures and 99%
SCA
period time frame. A little blackwork - scrolling type on late 16th
C. clothing. (Scrolling - I mean the type where there's a vine going
all over
with flowers, etc. enclosed by the scrolls of the vine.)
"The Needle's Excellency" by J. Boler, 1640. Free embroidery patterns
good for the plants, etc. used in the scrolling type of
blackwork.
"Shorleyker's Scholehouse for the Needle", 1627. Same as above.
"True Perfection of Design", 1567. Counted patterns with alphabets,
hunting scene and border designs.
"Counted Thread Patterns from Niccolo Zoppino's Esemplario", 1530.
Cross stitch and blackwork patterns.
"Counted Thread Patterns from Niccolo Zoppino's The Universalis",
1537. Border and panel designs for cross-stich and blackwork.
The last five listed are available from Falconwood Press. All counted
work was re-graphed for clarity as well as accurate counts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 04:06:44 -1000
From: [email protected] (Kim Salazar)
>Can anyone direct me to so medieval styles and better patterns,
say 1400 to
>1500 to choose from? I have done a search of the web but have
little to show
>for it.
Finding blackwork patterns from before around 1510 won't be easy, but
please don't let that discourage you. I'm still looking!
Black silk embroidery on linen was certainly done in Chaucer's time
and later, but finding visual evidence of it in paintings,
illustrations, or as artifacts is difficult. I don't think anyone can
say how Chaucer's "cole blak silk" was stitched.
Some styles of blackwork almost certainly postdate the first third of
the 1500s. The two that come to mind as being later scions are
scrolling inhabited blackwork and "peppered" blackwork. (My
appellations).
Scrolling inhabited blackwork is the style in which architectural or
vegetative framework encloses (usually) leaves, fruits or flowers -
or sometimes a geometric ornament. These large motifs are heavily
outlined and filled in with teeny geometric counted thread patterns.
"Peppered" blackwork is very similar but instead of the geometric
patterns, shading is provided by tiny straight stitches or knot
stitches. This produces an effect much like stippling - not unlike
the shading in woodcut and copperplate illustrations.
I'd nominate "step style" double running stitch as the leading
candidate for the form of blackwork most likely for early production
(pre-1510).
Kathleen Epstein (academic needlework historian at the University of
Texas, Austin) has found sources indicating the linear tradition of
step-style double running stitch in the Islamic world extends back as
far as the 13th Century. My rendition of an early pattern she
identified appears in TNCM on Plate 64:3.
It has a slightly different look from the early stepped patterns from
the first Modelbooks in that the design is not formed by the
convolutions of a
single "base line" of double running stitch. Also Epstein's Egyptian
original was worked in several colors and has evidence that some
areas were in filled using encroaching satin stitch.
Still, the stepping is very marked and it does look like an
"ancestor" of the European step style works. Some step style patterns
in the earliest modelbooks TNCM 52:2, 52:3 (both 1524) and 51:3
(1533)also have no "base line".
Finding more representations of this highly important ancestor of a
form of
blackwork is problematic. It was practiced mostly in areas under
Islamic
cultural influence. Given that religion's prohibition on portraiture,
the
evidence likely to be found would be the actual artifacts. No doubt
some
of these lie in museums and private collections around the
Mediterranean,
but (so far) have been unpublished in Western language secondary
sources.
Step style stitching in bands first begins to appear in Christian
Europe around the time of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of
Aragon (1509). One of the early names for this work was "Spanish
Stitch".
Lots of the early published patterns feature crosses TNCM 48:2
(1527), 45:1,2 (1524). Idle speculation follows: The styles popular
in post-Reconquista Spain - derived largely from the Moslem Iberian
heritage - were adopted and given a deliberately non-Islamic design
feature to emphasize the cultural assimilation/annihilation of the
time.
Citations for Epstein's work include:
Epstein, Kathleen "A Stitch through Time: The Journey of an Islamic
Embroidery Stitch to Europe and the New World" Brochure of Textile
Museum Exhibit, May 27-Oct 16, 1994. Textile Museum, Washington,
DC.
Epstein, Kathleen "Concernynge the Excellency of the Nedle Worcke
Spanisshe
Stitche" Piecework Magazine, Jan/Feb 1995, p. 79-83.
Epstein, Kathleen "A New Modelbook for Spanish Stitch." Austin,
Texas: Curious Works Press, 1993.
She's also written "An Anonymous Woman and Her Work" and at least one
other
small collection of counted thread patterns from historical
sources.
If anyone has other sources for pre-1500s blackwork, I'd love to
know.
Kim Salazar
mailto:[email protected]
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/salazar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 09:33:26 -1000
Subject: Re: HNW - blackwork coif
I am also making a blackwork coif, black silk buttonhole twist on the
whitest linen I have ever see. I'm only doing a large motif on the
flat back portion, from the 'pmarmor' website which has already been
cited. I also have a 1976 Leisure Arts publication "Blackwork" by
Marion Scoular. Got it at the used book store and it still has the
red and black threads included. Found a treasure also, the summer
1970 issue of "Embroidery" magazine, published by The Embroiderers'
Guild from England. This issue includes a picture of a pair of
embroidered bellows once belonge by Mme. Pompadour; two
nineteenth-century bobbin lace fans with a picture of the counted
thread pattern of a Tudor lady and gentleman; two Welsh quilts form
1688; a pattern book from 1794 to 1823. But the real treat for me is
an article on "Stitches found in Elizabethan embroidery" by Jennifer
Walkinshaw, complete with three closeups (although in B & W) of
stomachers and a whole page of stitch diagrams.
What fun!
Jane Weidman
Martha Grace Handworks
[email protected]
-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 18:35:34 -1000
Subject: Re: HNW - Pre 1500s blackwork (long also)
Hi!
Kim Salazar wrote a delightful intro to blackwork history in 500
words or
less (concise!) in her last post, and asked,
> If anyone has other sources for pre-1500s blackwork, I'd love to
know.
Just like most other historical blackwork enthusiasts, I, too, have
been looking for early examples, particularly from before the Infanta
Catalina went to England and entered our history books as Catherine
of Aragon.
I do have a couple painting examples you didn't mention, though. In
Milia Davenport's _The Book of Costume_, look on page 358. It is a
small, black and white photo of a 1488 portrait of Lady Margaret
Beaufort, King Henry VII's mother. Her veil appears to be decorated
with a large blackwork pattern. I'd love to see the real painting,
instead of that little bitty colorless photo. But that is the
earliest instance of anything I'd call blackwork that I've seen (And
thank you, Mistress Astra Christiana Benedict, for pointing it out to
me).
There are also a couple Spanish paintings in the National Gallery of
Art by the Master of the Catholic Kings -- "The Wedding at Cana" and
"Christ Among the Doctors" that have clothing and table linens that
appear to be decorated in blackwork (in this case, in red on the
clothing and blue on the linens). These paintings are ca. 1496 or
so.
I must say, for Spain getting so much credit for Spanish stitch, I
have found precious few instances of its apparent use in paintings of
the period. I have found several, though, both in Anderson's
_Hispanic Costume_ and in a painting at the J. Paul Getty museum, of
all places (Currently closed, but the new buildings are opening
around Christmas -- I'd go into museum withdrawal if I hadn't been
sent all over the country for work, and had an opportunity to explore
some new museums. )
I love it! :-) You've come up with still another term for the dots
version of (late) blackwork. There does not appear to be a standard
term that everyone agrees on, so I made up my own, too. I like
"peppered." -- it's wonderfully descriptive. Where have you seen
little knots used as peppering? Where can I see pictures?
I've been using these terms:
"seeded" for the small straight stitches used as a filling (an even
gray tone done with a running stitch -- it appeared much earlier than
the other two styles, below),
"speckled" for the little bitty random dots that cluster at one edge
of a form, and then appear less and less frequently, to give a dotted
shading,
"flecked" for the speckles made by wrapping a white and a black
thread in the needle and then stitching long-and-short stitches along
an edge, for shading (pointed out by Geddes and MacNeill in
_Blackwork Embroidery_; I'm using their term).
I've found British, German/ Nederlandingsh, Spanish, and Italian
portraits with blackwork in them.
Does anyone know where I can find pictures of French instances of
blackwork (any kind -- bands, fillings, anything) in the 1500s? I
cannot believe they were the only culture in Europe that didn't
practice this.... but I only have
one ambiguous portrait. (maybe blackwork, maybe beadwork, by Jean
Clouet).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 10:09:21 -1000
From: Emil Stecher
Subject: Re: HNW - Pre 1500s blackwork (long)
In Margaret Abegg's "Apropos Patterns for Embroidery, Lace and Woven
Textiles" (1978), there are two photographs of Islamic double-running
stitch embroideries. The first one (fig. 19) is described as "Open or
drawnwork and Holbein stitch embroidered upon linen, Egyptian, about
1200, Ikle Collection, Courtesy of Industrie- und Kunstgewerbe
Museum, St. Gallen." The areas of drawn/openwork are bordered with
stepped stitches, and small, triangular areas between these areas are
filled in with more stepped stitching and a cross. There is also a
section that has what may be arabic writing done in double-running
stitch. The second figure (20) is described as "Holbein stitch
embroidered upon linen, fragment, Egyptian, about 1200. Formerly in
the collection of H.A. Elsberg, New York." The pattern covers most of
the fragment shown and consists of at least 6 wide zig-zags with
crosses at each point. There is a third piece in the Schuette and
Christensen book on the history of embroidery (I don't remember the
exact title, but it was mentioned in another post). This one is
described as "Fig. 53, Fragment of robe, Egypt, 13th-14th century,
Berlin, Staatliches Museum, Thin cloth with dark grey silk
embroidery. Running and double running stitch." This is really nice.
There is a horizontal band (along the neck?) and two vertical bands.
The design going in each direction is similar, but not identical. In
both cases, there are lions separated by wide bands of geometric
patterns.
> Lots of the early published patterns feature crosses TNCM 48:2
(1527),
> 45:1,2 (1524). Idle speculation follows: The styles popular
in
> post-Reconquista Spain - derived largely from the Moslem Iberian
heritage -
> were adopted and given a deliberately non-Islamic design feature
to
> emphasize the cultural assimilation/annihilation of the
time.
Given the patterns on the pieces described above, I suspect the
crosses are just a natural design element in a piece using only
horizontal and vertical stitches.
> If anyone has other sources for pre-1500s blackwork, I'd love to
know.
Considering the numbers of Coptic textiles that have survived from
even earlier, there must be something. Has anyone else found
anything?
--Mathilde Eschenbach
(Rosemary Stecher)
([email protected])
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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 04:37:58 -1000
From: Mike Newell <[email protected]>
Subject: HNW - Your blackwork patterns & research
Hi Eowyn!
You mentined in your last message to me that a draft of your most
recent writing about blackwork, and patterns, might be seen by
Kathleen Epstein. Did she get back to you on that?
I am in a quandry because many of her books now seem to be out of
print! I am ordering her book about the Anonymous, a Woman, her Work
-- but when the Barnes and Noble person searched her database, she
found little by Epstein at all. This is very frustrating because I
finally can afford to buy needlework books!
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Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 16:24:10 -1000
From: Mike Newell <[email protected]>
Subject: HNW - French blackwork
I lost track of who was trying to find 16th century French blackwork.
Many years ago I wanted to embroider the collars and cuffs for a 16th
century shirt for my gentleman. I had no problem finding portraits,
and ended up using a pattern from a 16th century French portrait. I
strongly suggest you check out the portraits of Clouet (I think his
first name was Francois). He was *the* court painter, par excellance,
of the court of Francis I.
You must remember that blackwork and other fine needlework was often
being worked on garments considered intimate/lingerie. It seems to
have been fashionable for men to display such needlework on the
collars and cuffs of
their shirts, but it doesn't seem to have been as popular for ladies.
A
frustrating factor is that most historical needlework books available
to us
seem to be written by British scholars, or translated into
English.
Naturally, the illustrate their works with objects found in British
museums
and collections.
I have viewed a Victorian book by a French author who had collected
several
16th century French needlework pattern books. These pattern books are
virtually indistinguishable from the Italian and German ones of the
same
time period. I'm sure French ladies were working blackwork similar to
that
done to English ladies.
--Kathryn
SCA: Kathryn Newell
"too many centuries...too little time"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 09:39:33 -1000 To:
[email protected]
From: [email protected] (Kim Salazar)
Subject: Re: HNW - Reversible blackwork question
Catronia,
When I do double running stitch reversible blackwork I always use
several plies of finer thread rather than one thicker thread.
To minimize the number of ends that need handling, I cut a relatively
long
length and start from a midpoint of the design rather than from one
end of
the strip - winding the excess around a pin stuck in an inconspicuous
spot. I stitch the limit in one direction, then unwind the leftover
and stitch
in the other direction.
When time comes to end off, I make sure I'm taking my last active
stitch at an intersection where at least two (if not three or more)
line segments of the design meet. I leave off with a goodly amount of
floss length to go. This won't work if you use up all but the last
two inches of available thread. Again I wind the excess around
another pin and wait until after my second pass (in double running
stitch) has "completed" that design segment. I take care not to catch
my reserved final bit as I stitch.
When the "active end" of my stitching has safely passed the point
where my thread end is anchored, I unwind the excess and separate the
plies.
I stitch the plies back along the design's paths, making sure that
they all
travel different line segments away from the terminal intersection. I
like
to think of the process as "octopus-ing" the plies.
When I've completed about six stitches away from the terminal point I
turn back for one or two stitches, but instead of following the
stitches as established, I pierce the already-embroidered line of
stitching. Then I
clip off the single ply as flush as possible. (A bit of beeswax helps
too.)
I try to do these "octopi" as far from each other as possible. I also
like
to keep all the clipped thread ends on the same (less used) side. By
using several thinner plies instead of one thicker thread, the
"octopi" are very difficult to notice. Also should they fuzz up, a
one-ply fuzz is far less evident than a fat thread fuzz. Also because
they aren't whipped around the stitches, but follow the double
running in design, they don't leave slub-like areas on the
stitching's clean and even lines.
Note that no matter what you do intense wear or ruthless laundering
will
eventually raise minor fuzz ends on the best secured work. However I
have found that silk floss stitched on linen tends to "grab itself"
and stay
neater looking much longer than cotton floss stitched on acrylic
or
cotton/linen blend ground cloth.
I'm sure there are lots more good ways of doing double sided double
running
stitch. I'd love to read other peoples' methods too.
Happy stitching!
Kim Salazar (aka Ianthe d'Averoigne)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997
From: [email protected] (Conny Fitzsimmons)
Subject: Re: HNW - Reversible blackwork question
You don't say if you are using one strand of floss or two.
If you are using two strands of floss take them off the needle and
thread one strand into a very sharp small needle then work the thread
back into the ground fabric underneath the pattern for a short ways,
then back the way you
came. By going into the ground fabric the floss will be held in place
and
will be secure. You must take care not to pierce the fabric so that
is
shows on the opposite side of the pattern. Then clip your end. Then
work
the send strand in. Yes this is time consuming, however when done
correctly
you can not see where your ends are. By working the two strands in
seperatly you will not get a lump.
Catherine Lorraine
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 11:08:41 -1000
From: [email protected] (Kim Salazar)
Subject: Re: HNW - Reversible blackwork question
>> When I do double running stitch reversible blackwork I
always use
>> several plies of finer thread rather than one thicker
thread.
>
>Can you recommend specific threads that are suitable for your
technique?
>I am only familiar with silk threads that are "fat" (at least,
about the
>thickness of DMC cotton floss).
I mostly use Krenik silk floss. Its plies are marginally thinner than
those of cotton floss. I've used some really fine Japanese silks too,
but for double running stitch I like the firmer finish and sharp
corners produced by the twisted silk strands. As I wrote, I was
thinking of stitching with two plies of the Krenik rather than one
ply of a heavier thread like buttonhole or tailors' silk.
>What is a "relatively" long length?
If using a free standing large scroll frame (stiching area of about
15x20 inches) I can get away with a much longer length than if I use
a smaller scroll frame or a tambor (round) frame. The length of the
thread used depends on the type of thread used, the ground fabric,
the number of abrasive frame "relocates" (if any); and the available
stitching area. On linen, I like to stitch with lengths of silk
around 15 inches long. If I'm doing double sided blackwork in silk on
a large area frame I can work with a length of about a yard.
>> By using several thinner plies instead of one thicker
thread, the "octopi"
>
>I read somewhere that it is not desirable to use more than one
ply when
>doing the Holbein stitch since on the return trip the needle will
tend to
>separate the plies and it will be noticeable. I guess extra care
not to
>split the stitch will take care of this?
I do take a little bit of care not to separate the strands when I do
the return trip, but I don't find the effort is a handicap. My
stitching method tends to obviate piercing the established stitching
line. I try to "stagger" my returns so I tend to emerge in the
established stitching hole but above the existing thread, and
re-enter slightly below the thread of the next stitch. When first
worked, the result can look a teeeny bit like stem or outline stitch,
but if you work at a good tension and take care not to pierce the
established threads (a blunted needle helps); it quickly relaxes and
looses the staggered slant.
The only other concerns when working multiple plies - especially of a
shiny stuff like silk -are to make sure they feed consistenly through
the eye of
the needle, and that they lie flat side by side on the surface of the
work. I guess it's a matter of habit now and I rarely notice doing
it, but when I stitch I rotate the needle in my fingers to "undo" the
twist that the stitching process can introduce (Note that not
everyone has this problem). In this manner I rarely get to the end of
my stitching length with one ply longer than the other (or
others).
I hope I haven't been overly confusing,
Kim Salazar (Ianthe d'Averoigne)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Anthony Boring (spc)" When doing embroidery (esp. two-sided, like blackwork) and using an even number of strands (like the two that I often use), cut the thread at twice your normal length. Then take half of your normal number of strands (I would have one strand that is double normal length), fold
them in half, and thread the ends through the needle (having the two
ends on one side and a single loop on the other). When you make your
first stitch, leave a bit of the loop on the back side and put your
needle through the loop when you return to the back side. Pull taut.
For the other end of your thread, you just wrap it around a stitch
a few times and trim close.
The loop method is adequate for starting a section that runs in a straight line when using 2 plys. If you are switching directions after that first stitch, the loop *will* pull the thread off towards
the side.
Notice, I only said adequate...*not* preferable. You will get a
spot where the plys are split slightly on one side, and a sometimes
noticable bump on the other. Using finer plys and weaving back in or
through the ground material (if possible) tend to be safer bets.<
Now, if you are working blackwork that doesn't have to be
reversible, the loop method is great (as long as the weave isn't so
loose (if not for starting a straight line) that the thread is
noticeable from the front.)
Elizabeth Talbot of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury mka
Elizabeth McCrary
Subject: Re: BLACKWORK
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 21:27:40 -0400
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 15:57:10 -1000
From: Liz Herman/cozit
Subject: HNW - Reversable Blackwork and the "loop method" start
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From - Fri Oct 17 18:54:55 1997
Subject: Re: BLACKWORK
Date: 13 Oct 1997 16:26:50 GMT
I have to admit that I do _really_nice_ reversable blackwork (no
brag, just fact...) Marion Scholar, a leading light in blackwork
with the EGA, recommends what I, in fact, do: work on even-weave
fabric, not aida (which is scarcely period, anyway) and work each
stitch of the double-running (Holbein) over two threads. This makes
you less likely to accidentally pull the stitch under the fabric
thread and mess up your pattern, and allows you to work the
working-thread ends _over_one_ along the line of the pattern and
_under_ the over_two stitches. I usually go back about four stitches
(8 over_one stitches). Give just a little tug on the thread end and
watch it disappear completely. Carefully (!) trim the actual end off
close to the stitching on the back. Then let your local Laurel try
to figure out what you've done...