Tutorial on Needlepoint
Stitching the charts:
Whilst some of the charts are easier to work, others may have varying degrees of complexity. Please do not be daunted by the more challenging of the patterns. Remember that you are in the process of creating a piece of art and this does take time and patience. With each chart, a fully integrated colour key may be printed together with the colour numbers and descriptions of the colours used. Each colour is referenced in the foreground with a symbol so that one finds it easy to identify which colour goes where.
Mounting gauze on frame:
Prepare the silk gauze by securing the edges so that it does not unravel as it is handled. An effective way to do this is by using masking tape all along the edges to protect it from fraying. Alternatively, and a longer lasting technique would be to sew a binding tape along the edge. Once your edges have been secured as above, you could (if you wish) stretch out your silk gauze on a frame. It will probably be difficult to get a frame tiny enough to accommodate the small size of the silk gauze so I recommend cutting a card mount from a sturdy piece of card paper. Cut out a window in the center, slightly larger than the size of your embroidery. Leave a border of 1” or 2" all around. Attach your silk gauze to the card mount using a stapler, glue or tape. Mark the centre and outlines of your pattern using tacking thread and a running stitch.
Whilst the use of a frame is optional, it does help in keeping work straight, and prevents you from tearing out your hair in the course of blocking your work. If you have a reasonably even tension, you may want to avoid using a frame altogether.
Working the design:
The charts are worked in single ply embroidery floss, using Continental (Tent) stitch and working from right to left, as illustrated below.
Start with a waste knot, or by going into the first stitch twice. When you reach the end of a row, turn the piece over and work in the opposite direction. When you reach the end of your thread, pass it through around six similar coloured stitches on the wrong side and snip off with a sharp pair of scissors.
As far as it is possible,
work the smaller areas first and then progress to the larger areas. This helps
camouflage the threads running across the pattern at the back as they can be
taken in whilst working the larger areas. Do not cut off and rejoin thread for
every area to be worked, instead let the thread trail until that colour is
required again. I find that it is useful to bring the needle up so that the
thread trail is on the right side of the work so that it does not interfere and
get tangled with the current colour being worked.
There is another school of needle pointers, who are rather fanatical about the back of the work being as neat as the front. If you feel strongly about the neatness factor, your stitch technique will have to be symmetrical and consistent throughout. Additionally, you will have to cut off and neatly end your thread by going into the last few stitches of the same colour at the back of the work, for each colour section worked. In my opinion, I think it is equally important to be able to work a design quickly and the cutting of thread for each section worked does not appeal to me. Perhaps the neatness factor should be taken into consideration only if the reverse will be visible but unnecessary time should not be spent on if it will be covered.
Larger areas of the
pattern should be done by using basketweave stitch. Basketweave does not look
nice on areas one or two stitches wide and for these, continental stitch is the
best. On the positive side however, basketweave stitch is the strongest of all
the needlepoint stitches and distorts the silk gauze the least. It is done by
working on the diagonal, beginning at either the upper right or the lower left
of the area to be stitched. Stitches go in one direction and slant from lower
left to upper right. The needle must be brought up an empty hole and down a
filled hole. The illustration below will make things more clear.
Please do remember not to stitch two rows in the same direction. Follow a one row uphill and the other row downhill pattern as illustrated. A bit of practice is all you require.
Blocking:
It is important to block your work, as it is likely that in the course of stitching, the silk gauze may become slightly distorted. Lightly dampen the work (on both sides), a light misting with a spray bottle will suffice. Pin your work on to a blocking board marked with straight lines. You can alternatively use an ironing board and a sheet of graph paper to ensure that your work is symmetrically aligned. Cover with a piece of cloth and steam iron, with the setting on “cool”. It is preferable to leave the piece overnight to dry.
Finishing your work:
You can finish your work in a variety of creative and innovative ways. Although the CD purchased may not have patterns pertaining to all the categories referred to below, these do form part of my collection, and I am therefore referring to finishing techniques for these patterns as well.
Cushions can be finished using fabric or ultrasuede to form the back of the cushion. I get perfect results using glue to attach the embroidery to the fabric or ultrasuede. But perhaps you will be more comfortable with sewing. Stuff your cushion with some small pellets or use craft sand. Cotton wool tends to make the cushion look stiff and un-natural. I prefer the floppy look one gets whilst using pellets or sand. A nice twisted cording or perhaps even scraps of lace can be used to embellish the cushion further.
Cut out your carpet leaving a small border. Clip corners. The border can then be folded under and tacked or glued neatly on the reverse of the work. Iron flat. To camouflage the reverse of the work, carpets can be ironed onto thin fabric using some bond-a-web. Leave two sides unfinished, if you want a fringe, which can be made using a crochet hook. You could also make a fringe by cutting one edge (lengthwise) and then pulling some threads out of silk ribbon, leaving only a thin border and then gluing it in place.
To finish a bell pull, a variety of jewelry findings can be used. Just use a thin backing to hide the reverse of your work. Thin iron-on interfacing works well.
Placemats are simple to finish. A suitable backing and perhaps a nice corded border is all that is necessary.
Samplers should be mounted on card and then framed. In order to mount your sampler, cut around your finished embroidery leaving a ¼” border. Carefully apply glue to this border and then attach it to card. When completely dry, cut around the card and mount in a frame.
For the games table, footstools, fire-screens or any piece where woodworking is involved, it would be wonderful if you could do a bit of woodworking and create something with carving around the borders or with interesting cabriole legs. As an alternative, you could try buying a kit of suitable dimensions. One can also buy cabriole legs and a variety of wood-turnings separately, so then all one would need would be a table top, or a frame in which to anchor the embroidery. You can easily make this using bass or balsa wood, both of which can be easily cut with hand tools. If you are daunted by the prospect of woodworking, let me know and I will design something for you.
Books diaries and picture albums are easy to make. Just glue your embroidery onto a piece of coloured cardboard. Size your cardboard to be slightly bigger than your embroidery. Your cardboard should also be long enough to form the spine and back of the book. Make the necessary folds. For pages, cut out some pieces of paper slightly smaller than your book. To cut several sheets at the same time, use a binder clip to keep everything lined up nicely and use a template so that your pages are all the same size. Once you have your pages, clip them with your binder clip and run some glue on the edge of the pages (spine side) to keep them together. Once dry, glue these inside the book. You can also make "faux" pages by cutting a block of wood and gluing the cardboard all around. Sand the spine section to be slightly curved if you wish and paint the "pages" gold.
Your tapestry can be framed or left as a wall hanging. If you want to leave it as a wall hanging, use a non-fraying fabric as backing or treat fabric with “fray check”. Find a suitable cord or ribbon and make three hanging tabs along the top of the work. Glue the finished tapestry to the backing fabric, sandwiching the hanging tabs in between. Allow the piece to dry completely. A variety of decorative rods can be purchased for this purpose or make your own, using thin brass rods and jewelry findings. If you prefer to frame your work, cut out your tapestry, leaving a small border. Glue your tapestry to a piece of thin card, apply glue to this extra border only. You can then mount your work in a frame. Smaller pieces look great if you frame them using silk fabric or printed paper to form a border all around the pattern. As long as the colours match and co-ordinate, the result will be wonderful and really bring out the design.
If you are worried about durability, or fraying of your work over time, run a line of diluted tacky fabric glue (use a paintbrush for better control) over the stitches which border your work. If you have used silk thread, you may want to test the glue with the silk to make sure it is colour fast. If you are cutting out your work with a small border, you can run a line of glue on this border as well.
As always, I am entirely at your disposal. If these instructions are inadequate and you require further assistance, do write to me at esther@magicminiatures.com and I will be happy to help in any way possible.