Chapter 8: Complex Samples

In this section I started with some more variations based on the starfish, and then tried a couple of examples with other star shapes.

Sample 1: The background layer was pale aqua cotton patterned with darker aqua dots. This was chosen to match with the middle layer which was a hand-dyed cheesecloth (from my dyeing day described earlier) in a dark aqua. The middle layer was bonded to the background with bonding powder and then the larger starfish shape was outlined in running stitch which was then whipped with a pale blue thread to give a solid outline. Then a top layer of orange-yellow painted fabric was applied and a smaller starfish shape outlined in backstitch with variegated orange-brown thread. This was then cut away on both sides of the stitching to leave the shape outlined in a strip of fabric 2-3mm wide. The top shape was enhanced with lots of small orange-brown running stitches and then the outline of the background starfish was enhanced with more running stitches in a blue metallic thread. Finally some of the middle cheesecloth layer was trimmed to form a smaller square than the lower layer, and the edges were frayed to add to the decorative effect.Overall I was happy with this sample and liked working with the frayed fabric, so may try this again in a future piece. I liked the subtle effcets of some of the stitching, but perhaps need to improve the contrast a little.

Sample 2:In this sample the bottom layer was a solid orange and the middle a sheer tan fabric. A blue-green fabic with a wavy batik-style pattern was placed on top. The starfish design was outlined in running stitch and then the top layer of fabric was cut away inside the shape to reveal the starfish in an orange-tan colour. This was then enhanced by working around the outline in stem stitch with gold thread. Trapunto padding was added to raise the star shape above the background fabric. Sections of the star shape were repeated by working rows of threaded running stitch in blue pearl 8 thread to add further emphasis. I was pleased with the effects achieved with this sample, but found it difficult to work the padding into the narrow arms of the starfish.

Sample 3: This sample began with a piece of nuno felting that I did at a workshop I attended with my Embroiderers' Guild group in April 2008. I tried to outline crude starfish shapes with the woollen strands and then work them into a sheer apricot fabric. It turned out that this fabric was synthetic and although the wool fibres did not penetrate all the way through, they adhered sufficiently on one side. I liked the effect created on the other side of the fabric, where you could see the outline of the shape in a muted colour and the surface was all crinkly, so I decided to use this in my third sample. An orange fabric with a gold pattern applied with paint was used as the background. A starfish shape in a two toned blue fabric was bonded to this with Vlisofix. The blue nuno felted piece was placed on top and held in place with small running stitches. This was then embellished with lots of blue seed stitches and gold detached chain stitches to enhance the crinkled effect. Small beads in blue, blue green and bronze were then applied randomly to the crinkled surface. Some of the pattern in the blue underlayer was outlined in blue stem stitch on the top surface and 3 blue beads added for emphasis.Finally much of the apricot sheer fabric was cut back and the ends frayed to give a wispy edge and a single starfish bead (gift of a friend, Helen Harvey) added to the bottom left side. Again I was pleased with this sample because the basic felting was fairly ordinary but I was able to turn it into an interesting finished piece. I would also like to thank Christene Boseley, the tutor for the felting class, which was a terrific experience (I had never tried felting before but really enjoyed it and plan to do more).

Sample 4: In this sample I decided to incorporate a torn paper shape as I had not done this in an earlier module. I selected a mid-blue fabric as the background, then tore a star shape from orange tissue paper and bonded it to the blue fabric. A square of orange sheer was placed on top, lightly held with bonding powder and a double row of blue machine stitching applied between each spoke to hold it in place. This was further enhanced with hand stitching.Firstly a solid orange line was couched between the two rows of blue stitching. Then the centre was worked with two rows of running stitch to outline it, a brown cord was couched in a mis-shapen circle and a "flower" worked in chain stitch in the centre, finished with a French knot. Some large straight stitches in light blue and orange brown were added randomly to break up some of the solid orange areas and then rows of running stitches in two blues, orange and tan worked at an angle from the edge of each spoke to the edge of the fabric.

Sample 5: In this sample I decided to use the basic 8 armed star I had used in some earlier work, but to add a different star feature for the top layer. The one I chose was a section of one of my earlier cut paper shapes. I chose an apricot background fabric, then added a tan sheer on top. I then machined the outline of the 8 armed star in a copper metallic thread and cut away the inner part of the shape to reveal the apricot shape underneath.I then did 3 more rows of machine stitching along each arm on the apricot to bring up the star shape. A single row border was also added to hold everything together. A painted blue sheer was placed on top to create the second star shapes. These shapes were outlined with two rows of blue running stitch (sewing thread) and the unwanted fabric cut away. Finally, a feature was added by working three 8 armed stars in blue pearl 8 thread to mimic the one in the background. Although my machining needs improvement, this is one of the samples that I really like, mainly because the colour combination works well and the star shapes complement each other.

Chapter 7: Translating Layered Designs into Embroidery

The first 3 samples in this series were based on the starfish shape, experimenting with different fabrics, colours and stitches. The bottom shape was the basic starfish and the top layer used a second, narrower and slightly distorted starfish shape to provide additional interest.

Sample 1: Plain apricot background,painted blue middle layer outlined with irregular buttonhole and then top deeper orange layer outlined with contrasting blue running stitch were used for this sample. Whilst I liked the colour combinations in this sample, I thought the top shape was too large for the underneath layer and decided to try a smaller shape next time.

Sample 2: Compared with sample 1,a slightly smaller starfish shape was used for the top layer to see if this improved the overall composition. In this sample I used a painted mustard background, with brown fabric on orange woven paper middle layer (powder bonded. This was chosen to pick up the brown paint colour in the underlayer. The middle layer was outlined with couched gold thread and then the edges of the brown fabric were frayed to reveal glimpses of the orange underneath. A blue top layer (smaller starfish) was added and outlined with gold bars made up of two running stitches. I thought that the colour effects in this sample were pleasing and I preferred the smaller starfish shape on top.

Sample 3: The design was similar to sample 2, but worked in a totally different manner. The base fabric was a decorative bonded and layered fabric with small pieces sprinkled onto an orange background and held in place with orage net. A plain blue layer was placed on top and the shape outlined in running stitch with a single strand of variegated orange thread. The blue fabric was the same as some of the blue pieces trapped in the bottom layer. The inside fabric was cut away to reveal the negative image of a starfish shape from the bottom layer. The third (top) layer was a positive image of the second starfish shape in a lighter and more brownish orange. This was outlined with a different variegated orange couched thread (wavy line achieved by separating strands of a thicker thread) and then the border was worked in herringbone stitch using two strands of the same thread as for the middle layer.I was pleased with this sample, but found it hard to handstitch through the stiff bottom bonded layer. I think it would probably be better to use the machine for this type of approach in the future.

Sample 4: I switched to a different design for this sample to explore some other design possibilities. The bottom layer was a painted light blue "satin" type fabric. The middle brown star was made with two layers (a solid brown covered with gold painted sheer) outlined with running stitch in a variegated orange-brown thread. The top layer was a mid-blue sheer where the inner star shape was outlined with herringbone worked in a light blue thread similar to the background blue colour, and the border was held in place with brown chevron stitch in a similar colour to the middle layer.I was reasonably pleased with the overall appearance of this sample but didn't particularly like the wide points where the blue star joined the border (although I did like the border effect).

Sample 5:The design for this sample was similar to sample 4, but I experimented with moving and reducing the size of the 4 pointed star and joining the border to the 8 armed star. The bottom layer was a brown/orange patterned cotton. A painted blue sheer over a plain blue fabric was used for the middle layer, the 4 pointed star. The outline was made with a couched blue/green variegated thread and then a line of running stitch was worked in a slightly darker blue inside the couched line to emphasise the star shape. The 8 pointed star and border was made from a tan sheer which matched the tan dots on the background fabric. A single strand of a blue/orange variegated thread was used to stitch the top layer. The star shape was highlighted with cross stitch and the border with 3 rows of running stitch, with the middle sections cut away. I really liked this piece. Another time I might experiment with keeping the blue layer under the diagnonal spoke of the brown star and on top of the horizontal and vertical spokes, as this might further enhance the effect.

Sample 6: This sample had 4 layers of fabric applied separately. I tried to separate the painted blue triangular pieces in the second layer so that a bar of the orange background separated each of the blue pieces. However I did not allow enough space between the blue pieces, so this did not work out. A smaller and lighter orange piece was applied with orange backstitch on top of the painted blue pieces to give a blue border to each piece. Then a final blue fabric layer was appliqued on top in blue running stitch (thicker thread) with a different but related 5 point star shape, and the inside and outside cut away to give a final outline shape. Overall I think this design has possibilities, but more work is needed to get each element the right size to maximise the effect. I may return to this later on.