Tucks

4:6:15

What a glorious thing to do!  A great froth of loops and lines of variegated zig-zag stitching.  I can see what a wonderful edge this would make.

 Whilst this technique produces some really attractive results my colour scheme is possibly a bit too subtle.  This is the result of having such a narrow colour range and it might be worth trying to develop a more intense and complex blue so that there's a greater contrast between the blue and the white.

Machine Zig-zag Stitching and Flotsam and Jetsam

Feed dogs down, darning foot and wing needle in place, zig-zag set at 5 and tension adjusted and I'm ready to stitch.  I'm using one of the rectangular DoubleTrouble frames which will only fit under my needle and darning foot if I remove both and reapply them.  The frame is too deep and consequently gets in the way, however it does give me a better shaped area in which to machine stitch.

I have already removed a fair amount of threads, both horizontal and vertical second guessing how I might replace them -- in waves, tufts and knots, looping, twisting, spiralling, plaiting and wrapping.  As I work the activity becomes organic more threads are removed as needed and though not quite all are replaced I decide to stop.

4:6:12

As this piece evolved I was reminded of the flotsam and jetsam along the shoreline and how debris clings to the more permanent structures, such as steps and groynes.  It's also reminiscent of the wear and tear suffered by things like the lobster pot below: the rope becomes too frayed and then it needs repairing.

Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load.  (oceanservice.noaa.gov)

4:6:13

44:6:13

Straights and Diagonals

I'm not sure whether this fulfills the brief of diagonal stitching on the crossovers, maybe it's simply some free expression.  I've also used needle weaving on this sample.  What I was trying to explore was the letter shapes in the word ENCODED (4:2:19).  These were sharp and angular and definitely diagonal, but without crossing the empty squares it wasn't possible to recreate them.  Only the fine needle weaving seemed to achieve those shapes successfully.

In preparation for this piece I tried out some fine needle weaving on a small 8 x 8 grid (not posted).  The letter shapes were achieved by snaking the fine thread across the intersections and the effect seemed insignificant and not really what I was being asked to do.  So on a walk by the sea my mind played with scale: this sample nearly becoming rug sized!  It is in fact 25 x 20 cm.  Though I was able to use a thicker range of threads on the larger piece of fabric the letter shape issue remained the same.  I do realise that these letters are only a vehicle for the stitching and don't have to be literally letters, but I would like to achieve some sense of these shapes. Hopefully though I've managed to make stitch marks that are rhythmic, even if they are not the shapes I would like to achieve.

Colour balance was another thing I tried to work on and double wrapping some bands of drawn threads helped soften some of the colours and integrate the scheme more.

So what do I especially like?  That the sample is like a mended net and the way the tufted threads stick out randomly.  Also the way thick clumps of withdrawn threads are wrapped round those remaining.

Finally, having commented about photographing grids against a white background, I've taken an image of this "net" against the wax resist work I did in Chapter 2 (4:2:29).  I do like this idea of layering with small glimpses of what lies beneath showing through holes in the top layer.

4:6:11

4:6:12

Hardanger and Russian Drawn Threadwork

Withdrawn threads in a grid with stitching on the bars using two techniques: Hardanger and Russian Drawn Threadwork.

The first thing I notice in this photograph is the square spaces. The white table makes the work seem insipid rather than emphasising the patterns made by the mainly lustrous threads.

As I've just commented most of the threads selected have a sheen and spring.  This spring doesn't make them easy to control: the wrapping has that handstitched quality that marks out handwriting from using a computer font. Where I've simply wrapped the thread singly round the horizontals and verticals it loops expressively, but not regularly and would need tying to remain in place.  The same can be said for the two odd-men-out: the linen thread and the raffia.  Needle weaving is a different matter, it's fixed and looks almost like seeding.

4:6:6

A new batch of dyed fabric.  I've included an image of this so that the surprising range of soft blues and mauves that resulted can be seen.

4:6:7

Different tones of fabric need different shades of thread.  Luckily I've build up quite a collection.

4:6:8

I decided to try the Hardanger again this time using matte threads with less spring and pulling them more tightly.

Below are some examples of Russian Drawn Groundwork.  Whether the thread is self-coloured or variegated it makes a very lovely textured finish.

Just glimpsed are the withdrawn threads woven into the surrounding area and this is an idea I can consider using again.

                                                                                         

4:6:9

4:6:10

Finally this set of samples has machine stitching on the drawn thread grid.  I've used a wing needle here with a range of threads.  The thickest are wound on the bobbin with a finer one on top.  Although I practised beforehand the thick thread shows the imperfections in the stitching.  It's difficult to control when working upside down and I probably need to be clearer in my own mind about how I'm moving the fabric under the needle.

I commented both at the beginning of this post and about the machine sample 4:6:10 about the uncontrolability of certain threads, perhaps this is not the right way to think about the matter.  It is instead knowing your materials and techniques and matching the right ones to suit your purpose.

Responding to Feedback

So this post is in response to the comments Sian made on Sample 4:6:5 where I stitched across withdrawn threads with the same thread to make a zigzag tracing and speculated about whether this might be an idea worth exploring.  

The first sample in this set shows the same zigzag, two zigzags crossing each other, and a third column of zigzags offset.

4:6:6

I also took the embossed paper sample 4:4:18 and interpreted its markings (something like runes) in two types of thread:withdrawn and self dyed fine thread.

4:6:7

4:6:8

Both these experiments use stitching across the bars for the diagonal markings and buttonhole for the horizontal marks.  Looking at these two images I feel the one using withdrawn threads is most successful.  The marks seem more intended yet still subtle, which is probably attributable to the thread being variegated and its crisp nature.

An Inefficient Way to Make Progress

Chapter 6: Needle weaving

A note or two before I start on needle weaving.  Firstly about fabric.  The work on Chapter 4 was done on even weave linen, a piece from stock as I commented at the time.  It was lovely and crisp and dyed well, but pulling threads was not easy and when I couldn't source more I switched to scrim with it's looser weave.  However the stuff I sourced was brown.  On Sian's advice I bleached it and redyed it and it works so well: it's slubby and easy to pull.

Now for threads: all the blue threads and fabric strips I've dyed, usually in a batch when I dyed the fabric.  It's interesting to see the subtle colour range and how beautifully they work with the fabric.

This sampler doesn't seem to have the same orderly beauty of the previous one.  Instead it turned out to be a conversation with myself: what would that pattern look like in a larger scale? with a thicker thread? with a thread that varies in thickness along its length? with something that doesn't count as  thread at all?

PAUSE

I wrote these few paragraphs before a pause of over a year.  It's been a time of relinquishing stuff, moving house, having work done, visiting our daughter in America and very gradually restabilising.  We now live in a second floor apartment looking out on beautiful trees and some distance beyond, the sea.  As we say every morning, lucky ducks!

Back to needle weaving, to which I've added over the last few days and yes it is a jumble of experiments now added to with more careful attention paid to the chapter requirements.  Below are a series of photographs giving close-ups of the stitches.

4:6:2

Wrapping different lengths of warp threads using background thread, boucle and sari silk.

4:6:3

Buttonhole stitch, wrapping at intervals and a version of tapered shapes.

4:6:4

Ribbon weaving, plastic thread weaving, a band of multi-thread weaving and finally zigzag multi-thread weaving.

These samples were all done with the fabric stretched on a frame, and it seems to me that tension is the key to success when working on drawn threads -- tension and spacing and proportion.

As I read Moira McNeil's book on Drawn Thread Work the idea that fabric could be made fragile and lace-like was very appealing.   She suggests that the thread used to make these designs is a little heavier than the background fabric.  I found this unsuccessful, so below is a tentative experiment using the same thread and I wonder if this is worth exploring further?

4:6:5

Chapter 6: Drawn Thread Work Stitchery

I've uploaded this image in extra large.  I am so excited by the results possible with what initially seemed to be such a restrained technique.  I love the rhythms that are created and the expressiveness that comes from using a range of unlikely "threads" giving depth and texture to the work.  All this in just blue and white.

4:6:1

Of course the journey to produce this piece was not wholly joyful.  My first experiments were with ribbons simply woven through the drawn threads, but the results seemed dull and I'm still not completely happy with the first row, made with a thick silk thread and rayon tape using herringbone stitch, the initial 5cm or so embellished with ties of withdrawn threads.

Row 2: a narrow band of drawn threads stitched and woven with white using tiny spiders webs across 3 threads.
Row 3: a broader band of drawn threads blue thread wrapped round 10 threads and beaded.
Row 4: a narrow band of drawn threads tied with multipurpose twine in polypropylene across 11 threads.
Row 5: a broader band of drawn threads woven and looped with a narrow linen strip across 6 threads, alternating with 6 vertical threads.
Row 6: as above with twisted chain over 10 threads.
Row 7: as above using withdrawn threads knotted over 10 threads alternating top and bottom, with tufts cut.
Row 8: three broad bands of withdrawn threads, 2 horizontal threads between, one row looped with thread of varied thickness, the second with sari strip, cross threads holding the loops in place.
Row 9: a broad band of withdrawn threads, thin string knotted and looped above and below.
Row 10: a narrow band of drawn threads interwoven with blue-grey ribbon over 10 threads, small slips of garlic paper are tucked underneath,
Row 11: a broader band of drawn thread, each 10 threads are twisted round with silk veiling angle cut then fixed with twisted chain stitch.