[h-cost] Embroidery Question
Hello all! Let me preface this by saying that I don't know that much about embroidery. I want to put gold couching on velvet. Should I make a frame big enough to accomodate the entire pattern piece? I would think that a hoop would damage the velvet, so I'd rather not do that. What if I'm embroidering an entire skirt? Do I need a frame big enough for that pattern piece as well? Orshould it be embroidered on a different fabric and appliqued onto the garment? I'm not as concerned with historically accurate techniques, yet, as I am with just getting from point A to point B with as few migraines as possible. Thanks! Victoria ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Order of the Sealed Knot/Ellowyne Wilde
Dianne: Yes, that is exactly what I'm thinking of since I do have the basic Brunette. The only problem I see is that she has a side part and I don't want to have to reroot although a wig is possible. I have the basic redhead and will order two more Ellowynes(I hope) from the Spring 2007 line. Ellowyne's friends, Rufus and Penelope, are also promised to be released "soon", which probably means this fall or later. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dianne & Greg Stucki Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 4:50 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] Order of the Sealed Knot At 12:03 PM 4/20/2007, you wrote: >Just for fun, I'm planning to dress four 16" vinyl dolls(Wilde >Imaginations Ellowyne Wilde doll)in historical or at least historical >cut/modern fabrics in RenFaire-inspired dress. >> What a pretty doll. Wouldn't the Basic Brunette make a lovely Anne Boleyn? Dianne ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Embroidery Question
Have you considered a "slate" frame? It basically sews the fabric into tension, so you could move it from place to place on the skirt without crushing the nap/pile. There is a "how to make one" in the latest TI (Tournaments Illuminated) which I am currently attempting- our local woodshop -Rocklers- offers thin slats of various thickness and content that require minimal effort to use for this design; basically cut the parts to size, glue, and drill the peg holes. Sweet! HTH Betsy -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tori Ruhl Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 8:33 AM To: h-costume@mail.indra.com Subject: [h-cost] Embroidery Question Hello all! Let me preface this by saying that I don't know that much about embroidery. I want to put gold couching on velvet. Should I make a frame big enough to accomodate the entire pattern piece? I would think that a hoop would damage the velvet, so I'd rather not do that. What if I'm embroidering an entire skirt? Do I need a frame big enough for that pattern piece as well? Orshould it be embroidered on a different fabric and appliqued onto the garment? I'm not as concerned with historically accurate techniques, yet, as I am with just getting from point A to point B with as few migraines as possible. Thanks! Victoria ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England?
OK, here's the question: I work at a Renn Faire, and would like to be able to do some handsewing, most likely linen shirts for my child. I don't want to have my plastic spools of thread flashing about! How did Elizabethans work with thread? Was it wound on spools (wooden, I assume)? Was it somehow put into hanks (like modern-day floss)? How can I make my thread look "right"? *** Rebecca Schmitt aka Agness Cabot, Guilde of St. Lawrence Bristol Renaissance Faire My arms are too short to box with God. --Johnny Cash *** ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Embroidery Question
Quoting Tori Ruhl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: Hello all! Let me preface this by saying that I don't know that much about embroidery. I want to put gold couching on velvet. Should I make a frame big enough to accomodate the entire pattern piece? I would think that a hoop would damage the velvet, so I'd rather not do that. If you stitch for *short* periods of time and don't leave the fabric in the hoop, you won't see much compression of the velvet. My piece is home, I'll try and remember tonight to check it and see. And this piece (a pouch) actually has the hoop large enough so that the pouch itself is completely within the hoop. It would help if you had a hoop large enough. A scroll frame would work too, and it might be easier to manipulate. What if I'm embroidering an entire skirt? Do I need a frame big enough for that pattern piece as well? Orshould it be embroidered on a different fabric and appliqued onto the garment? yes. :-) Applique was indeed done in pre-1700 garments when the final, fashion fabric was velvet. I don't know about later stuff, but I don't see why it wouldn't be! Other folks will know the answer to that one I'm sure. What period are you doing? I'm not as concerned with historically accurate techniques, yet, as I am with just getting from point A to point B with as few migraines as possible. If you haven't prewashed everything, applique might make it easier to clean -- especially if you're doing metal thread. You could just take the applique off ... susan - Susan Farmer [EMAIL PROTECTED] University of Tennessee Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Embroidery Question
In a message dated 23/04/2007 19:02:46 GMT Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Have you considered a "slate" frame? It basically sews the fabric into tension, so you could move it from place to place on the skirt without crushing the nap/pile. There is a "how to make one" in the latest TI (Tournaments Illuminated) which I am currently attempting- our local woodshop -Rocklers- offers thin slats of various thickness and content that require minimal effort to use for this design; basically cut the parts to size, glue, and drill the peg holes. Sweet! HTH Betsy definitely, a slate frame is the way to go. although historical correctness isn't really the point here, I often find that using the stretching (etc) methods that were known when techniques were developed makes it far easier. slate frames are known from at least relatively early medieval times, in various forms, and they make it so much easier to do many types of embroidery - especially on large areas. also, a slate frame is the best wayI know to keep work taut over a long period of time - I tend to find the tension starts to go after a while with other frames. only down side is that really to do it properly you have to have a frame big enough to accommodate whatever you are stitching (though if not practicable, you can still do it with applique. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] slate framesn
http://www.bayrose.org/needlework/Slate_Frame.html ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England?
On Apr 23, 2007, at 11:27 AM, Rebecca Schmitt wrote: OK, here's the question: I work at a Renn Faire, and would like to be able to do some handsewing, most likely linen shirts for my child. I don't want to have my plastic spools of thread flashing about! How did Elizabethans work with thread? Was it wound on spools (wooden, I assume)? Was it somehow put into hanks (like modern-day floss)? How can I make my thread look "right"? The best 16th-century images I've been able to find seem to have thread/yarn either (1) wound into little balls, kept in a box, or (2) wound around something small, rectangular and flat (no indication of what it is, since the images are little details in the corners of paintings...) I would guess that sewing thread might have been sold in hanks, but I really don't know. I am fairly sure that silk embroidery thread was, and flat "thread winders" have been suggested as a plausible way to wind off part of a hank of silk so you could cut lengths to work with. You might find these articles helpful -- though I'll warn you, while you see a lot of the needlebooks shown here (on the "project" page in this issue) at Renaissance Faires, the documentation for them is not terribly good. They show up in re-drawings by Herbert Norris, who often (but not always) had good sources for what he showed, but never tells you where he found things :( http://www.bayrose.org/wkneedle/filum/Filum_28_workbox.pdf OChris Laning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> - Davis, California + http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com a.k.a. O Christian Ashley, gentlewoman to Lady Stafford + Chris Laning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Guild of St. George, Northern California http://paternosters.blogspot.com - http://paternoster-row.org ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] Re: embroidery on velvet
First off, you *will* see *some* compression happening if you put a hoop on velvet, no matter what you do... second, if you use too small a slate or scroll frame, the same thing will happen. Of course, I can also tell you from experience that attempting to stitch on a piece as large as a skirt piece on a frame is darned difficult. In fact I've had enough difficulty getting to the center of my (rather largeish) seat cushion on my frame at faire that I've ended up making comments from time to time about how I suspect that's why there are more professional broiderers who are male than female... arms are just too short for somethings. Now.. there's hope. I managed to work on velvet a few years ago by using one of those plastic q-snap frames and using terry cloth (you can use another piece of velvet probably instead) to cushion where it is compressed to hold, and provide more 'space' for the nap. Limiting time in the frame and lightly re-fluffing it when off helps as well. You *will* have to stretch out the clips for the frame, and it's horribly non-period, so not real event-friendly, but it will work. Creating embroidery slips and then attaching them to the skirt is period for *some* periods... more than direct embroidery for certain periods and decorative types, in fact. I haven't got a picture of my embroidery frame, but what I created (mostly from "scrap" wood) fits somewhere square between pictures I've seen for medieval embroidery and mid-1600s work... both of which look *very* similar in pictures/woodcuts, so I'm taking it as reasonably period, and appropriate. Ady B. might have a picture... but I can't remember if she's taken one of the frame at faire in the last two seasons. -Liz (Mistress Mabel Ascomb, embroideress... at MDRF) ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England?
Little balls, huh? I could probably do that! Or wound around a small card...yeah Thanks! *** Rebecca Schmitt aka Agness Cabot, Guilde of St. Lawrence Bristol Renaissance Faire My arms are too short to box with God. --Johnny Cash *** > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chris Laning > Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 6:45 PM > To: Historical Costume > Subject: Re: [h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England? > > > On Apr 23, 2007, at 11:27 AM, Rebecca Schmitt wrote: > > > OK, here's the question: > > > > I work at a Renn Faire, and would like to be able to do some > > handsewing, most likely linen shirts for my child. I don't want to > > have my plastic spools of thread flashing about! How did > Elizabethans > > work with thread? Was it wound on spools (wooden, I assume)? Was it > > somehow put into hanks (like modern-day floss)? How can I make my > > thread look "right"? > > The best 16th-century images I've been able to find seem to > have thread/yarn either (1) wound into little balls, kept in > a box, or (2) wound around something small, rectangular and > flat (no indication of what it is, since the images are > little details in the corners of > paintings...) > > I would guess that sewing thread might have been sold in > hanks, but I really don't know. I am fairly sure that silk > embroidery thread was, and flat "thread winders" have been > suggested as a plausible way to wind off part of a hank of > silk so you could cut lengths to work with. > > You might find these articles helpful -- though I'll warn > you, while you see a lot of the needlebooks shown here (on > the "project" page in this issue) at Renaissance Faires, the > documentation for them is not terribly good. They show up in > re-drawings by Herbert Norris, who often (but not always) had > good sources for what he showed, but never tells you where he > found things :( > http://www.bayrose.org/wkneedle/filum/Filum_28_workbox.pdf > > > OChris Laning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> - Davis, California > + http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com > > > a.k.a. > > O Christian Ashley, gentlewoman to Lady Stafford > + Chris Laning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Guild of St. George, Northern California > http://paternosters.blogspot.com - > http://paternoster-row.org > > > > ___ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England?
I have found flat winders a pain to use, so instead I found some spools that are still modern shaped but made out of wood, and wound the thread on those. I also found some old wooden spools among my grandmothers sewing stuff! You can sand off any logo or printing on the ends and you're good to go. They're easy to use (once you get passed the tedium of rewinding thread on them) and don't draw attention to themselves, which is really the point. Brava, by the way, to you for recognizing this as a problem and wanting to do something about it. I've seen too many white plastic spools at Faire and gotten too many blank stares when I suggested that they should at least be concealed when in use. MaggiRos --- Rebecca Schmitt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Little balls, huh? I could probably do that! Or > wound around a small > card...yeah > > Thanks! > > ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Re: embroidery on velvet
With a skirt, if you had the room and the funds, you could make an old fashioned quilt frame. 2 1"x4"x8' and 2 1"x4"x2' or 3' These would make your frame. tack some ticking material to the boards so that you can pin the fabric for stretching and you will need 6-8 clamps, one for each corner and 2-4 to clamp the short boards to the saw horses. The long boards would be the ones, once you stitch the end of the fabric to them, would roll the material up, and as you finished a section, roll that under and unroll the material to be embroidered. Selvage ends should be parallel to the short boards. If your skirt has shaped pieces instead of rectangles I would recommend that you mark the skirt shape of the fabric (basting stitches work well for this) then embroider the piece before cutting it out. Just a thought, De -Original Message- First off, you *will* see *some* compression happening if you put a hoop on velvet, no matter what you do... second, if you use too small a slate or scroll frame, the same thing will happen. Of course, I can also tell you from experience that attempting to stitch on a piece as large as a skirt piece on a frame is darned difficult. In fact I've had enough difficulty getting to the center of my (rather largeish) seat cushion on my frame at faire that I've ended up making comments from time to time about how I suspect that's why there are more professional broiderers who are male than female... arms are just too short for somethings. Now.. there's hope. I managed to work on velvet a few years ago by using one of those plastic q-snap frames and using terry cloth (you can use another piece of velvet probably instead) to cushion where it is compressed to hold, and provide more 'space' for the nap. Limiting time in the frame and lightly re-fluffing it when off helps as well. You *will* have to stretch out the clips for the frame, and it's horribly non-period, so not real event-friendly, but it will work. Creating embroidery slips and then attaching them to the skirt is period for *some* periods... more than direct embroidery for certain periods and decorative types, in fact. I haven't got a picture of my embroidery frame, but what I created (mostly from "scrap" wood) fits somewhere square between pictures I've seen for medieval embroidery and mid-1600s work... both of which look *very* similar in pictures/woodcuts, so I'm taking it as reasonably period, and appropriate. Ady B. might have a picture... but I can't remember if she's taken one of the frame at faire in the last two seasons. -Liz (Mistress Mabel Ascomb, embroideress... at MDRF) ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] was thread on spools in Eliz England?
Greetings, In the wills and inventories I work with the only reference to any sort of holder or container for thread has been "4 bowttes of blacke thred", which I took to be bolt (from the 1543 will of the "porter of of the King's Wardrobe"). Otherwise they just specify colour or colour and amount of thread, and sometimes fiber if it is silk. Yarns and wools they tend to get more descriptive about. Thread is mentioned extremely rarely, aside from the above exception, I have only found it in Drapers or Tailor's wills and inventories. Although, I'm sure it would also turn up in other similar trades such as silkwomen, I just haven't gathered any of their probate documents yet. Hope that helps. Cheers, Danielle At 01:27 PM 4/23/2007, you wrote: OK, here's the question: I work at a Renn Faire, and would like to be able to do some handsewing, most likely linen shirts for my child. I don't want to have my plastic spools of thread flashing about! How did Elizabethans work with thread? Was it wound on spools (wooden, I assume)? Was it somehow put into hanks (like modern-day floss)? How can I make my thread look "right"? *** Rebecca Schmitt aka Agness Cabot, Guilde of St. Lawrence Bristol Renaissance Faire My arms are too short to box with God. --Johnny Cash *** ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
