Stitching order for the Old Bookmark
Bookmark Stitching Order
It’s important to stitch representational pieces in the right order to make sure that they “work” visually as representations of something real. Here I have numbered each of the elements from this point forward. The candle stub itself is the first, followed by the candlestick body, then the rim, then the wax dripping down the side. In this way it will be possible to make sure that the stitching goes over itself when it should.
Stitching the Candlestick - First Stage
So in this next picture I have finished stitching the cream candle stub, and then laid long straight stitches over the candlestick using Surface Satin Stitch. I don’t want to use real satin stitch as by the time I add the second layer of stitching, as I intend, this will be becoming too thick and heavy to use as a bookmark. I’m too fond of books to want to damage them by using thick bookmarks that break the spines.
I want to create the effect of a brass candlestick, so I have chosen a golden-brown variegated silk thread. I’m going to couch down these long threads to create something that will look like cast or engraved texture. I can’t create a barley-twist effect without redrawing the edge, which I don’t want to do. It will be intriguing to see whether I can create the effect I am aiming for.
If someone who embroiders ever tells you “I knew it would work” – beware. We only know that we think it will work!
Love the brass body! And that caption: Here I fell asleep is hilarious.
I wish my brass was that clean and I could swear the flame is about to flicker! It’s a flame I could stare into.
The thing that awes me is the intensity of working at such a small scale and it’s obvious that this isn’t the smallest you’ve tackled.
I’m a sucker for embroidery but so out of practice. Now, when I retire…
Looking forward to seeing the finished item. I wonder if your cousin still has the original one – and if you would be able to compare your teenage project with this one. That would be interesting.
I have a little leather bookmark with an Italian translation of this: ‘E qui mi addormentato’ (or something like that…)
The couching is a great idea!