Silk and sunshine. They’re a superb mixture.
Some time again, I confirmed you the beginnings of this embroidery mission. I assumed I’d share somewhat progress on the piece at present – particularly since we’ve had some sunny days recently that had been splendid for enjoying round with completely different lighting.
This Artwork Nouveau-ish mission that we’re engaged on proper now has a considerably restricted colour palette, however throughout the colour households that we’re utilizing, we’ve got some shading occurring.
We’re utilizing Au Ver a Soie’s Soie d’Alger (which is a spun stranded silk) for all of the thread, together with some goldwork threads.
If you happen to’re not conversant in silk threads and their variations, I’ve obtained a collection of articles that may introduce you to the ins and outs of silk embroidery thread. You’ll be able to learn these articles by way of the hyperlinks under:
One side of silk that all the time amazes me is the best way that mild impacts it.
Certain, mild impacts each form of embroidery thread! However the best way mild performs on silk is de facto fascinating. It’s simply a lot extra playful than it’s on most different threads.
Take, for instance, the seemingly darkish gray-blue strip of embroidery within the picture above.
Let’s discuss the body within the daylight simply ever-so-slightly:
Not fairly so darkish wanting now, is it?
Because the lighting shifts, out comes extra blue and the entire colour softens.
Right here, you’ll be able to see the affect of shading methods on the ribbon-like body – it nearly seems to be dimensional because it balloons out and passes over the skinny bar behind it.
The sunshine helps to carry out the brightness in that space of shading.
With the body shifted barely, the ribbon turns into a bit darker, and the darker shadows stand out much more.
Stitching with Silk
If you happen to learn by way of the articles I linked to above, you’ll uncover that there are a number of several types of silk threads that you could embroider with.
Silk is commonly intimidating to stitchers in the event that they’ve by no means used it earlier than. Principally, I believe that is due to two issues: 1. the worth (good silk is costlier than customary cotton floss); and a couple of. preconceived notions that, whenever you’re stitching with costlier supplies, the needlework one way or the other have to be more difficult or troublesome.
Whereas #1 is a truth that may’t be disputed and can probably by no means change (and has all the time been the case all through the historical past of needlework within the western world), #2 is just not true.
You’ll be able to embroider with silk as simply as you’ll be able to with cotton floss, particularly if you happen to’re utilizing stranded spun silk, which, in construction and use, is very similar to stranded cotton. The distinction between the 2 is the upper pure sheen that comes with actual silk threads – a sheen that doesn’t diminish over time.
The sheen on cotton thread comes by way of a chemical course of referred to as mercerization. The sheen on silk thread is pure – it’s a part of the character of silk. Mercerization can solely go to this point to supply a sheen on cotton. And it may possibly’t actually evaluate to the sheen on a top quality silk thread.
And whereas some may query whether or not or not it’s well worth the value to sew with silk, I can assure you that the distinction between silk and cotton is outstanding on a completed piece of embroidery.
Silk threads elevate a mission.
And that’s why, with this specific design – which is swish and somewhat formal – we needed to make use of silk. The tip outcomes might be value it!
