Saturday, September 26, 2020

Peacock feather started

This is my tribute to the people who created the original museum quality peacock feather dress. I drew it on a sturdy piece of silk, thank you Cynthia,  and it's less than half the size of the original. So I adapted the design a bit, and there'll be more adjustments as I go.

This blue pen is heat fugitive -- vanishes when heated. In this case, between the silver and gold work and planned beading, the lines will probably be covered anyway.

I don't happen to have any real beetle wings handy, like those used for the eye, so I used Indian metallic thread, brought back from Mumbai by a friend. I'm couching this down, meaning the metallic thread lies on top of the fabric, stitched in place by a finer thread. It's a medieval stitching technique. This is called topside couching. There's another form, underside couching, for heavily stitched garments to be worn. It's flexible. Here the topside is fine.

To people used to the six plies common in embroidery thread, this is a surprise. It's got many plies. You need to thread it, though, in order to draw it through the fabric once at the beginning and once at the end. This  entailed a search for a needle with a long enough eye to accept all the plies, and a sharp point, to pierce the fabric. And a second search for a smaller needle, tiny eye, to use one ply to stitch invisibly.

The search for the needles took longer than I expected, and involved trial and error with the metallic thread. And reminded me that drawing a rough design and choosing fabric and threads and fitting needles, is all part of stitching. It's not what comes before stitching!

But once started, it was so peaceful and happy to be back with couching again. I love to do it, because you have to respect what the thread wants to do, and gently push with the needle to ask it to lie in the designed shape.

 I moved the shape off-center as I worked, liking that better than the static effect of symmetry. This silk is sturdy enough not to need a backing, and when it's drumtight on the hoop, you can hear it pierce the fabric and the gentle hiss of the thread passing through. This was a bonus, stitching music!

You really can't dictate to metallic thread. Or any thread, for that matter, as  spinners and weavers and knitters and crocheters can tell you.

11 comments:

  1. I've probably mentioned this before, but how I wish my mother, a master needle worker, were here to chat with you.

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    1. Me too, Joanne. Me too. It's lovely to have a kindred spirit around. There's a history of women in the west doing embroidery, and it's so good to feel a part of it.

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  2. Lovley needlework.
    In the 1960s, peacock feathers were standard decor.

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    1. Yes, they return every generation. If you look back at textile history you'll see them returning. Like fashion in other contexts.

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  3. I was mesmerized reading this, Liz. And to top it off you had stitching music! I can hear it!

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    1. Couching is a nice technique to try in your own work, too. Doesn't need to be gold work.

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  4. I just know this is going to be beautiful. I love the peacock feather colours. I pay homage to you working with that metallic thread though. I have a cross stitch table cloth, 9/10ths finished and the last bit is in gold metallic thread. It drives me crazy the way it unravels. Mine has a white core which makes it worse.

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    1. Metallic threads are really not designed for repeatedly piercing the fabric. They can't stand the abrasion. The gold thread I used for the next section which you'll see soon, is real gold thread, not hard to work with. I was given it by my goldwork teacher. Way out of my budget.

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    2. Lucky you. Looking forward to see this as you continue.

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  5. Metallic threads are notoriously difficult to work with. I have a product called 'Thread Heaven' (it's like a soft wax) that I run the thread through prior to use and it helps a lot with the fraying issues.

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    1. I have used this too but the thread still drove me crazy.

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Thank you so much for commenting! it means a lot to me to know you're out there and reading and enjoying.