State of the Tablecloth – 1
That transfer I’ve been working on wants to be finished, and I’m pretty much at the stage of thinking about the leaves, so just so we all know where it’s up to, I’m doing a State of the Tablecloth post.
So the petals of the purple flower are in nested fly stitches, the centre is a sort of looping interlace, and the little buds are spider’s wheels. I packed the spider’s wheels quite tightly, to raise them up and increase the texture – I know that raised elements on a tablecloth can be a problem, but it’s no problem on the falling part!
The small starflower is the only element that I’ve done as the instructions that came with the tablecloth suggested – satin stitch.
The ruffly flower – do you think it might be a crysanthemum? – seemed a perfect opportunity for buttonhole stitch fans. I might decide to whip the edges to pull out the colour progression a bit more, but we’ll see what the flower wants when the leaves are on.
Double chain stitch is easily confused with closed feather stitch, and in this case I complicated my life considerably because I changed the breadth of the stitch to match the petals of the flower. I rather like the effect, and although I said it was a complication, the actual stitching flowed quite nicely.
And rather than give you a Long Read, look out for episode 2…
I like the button hole fans!
The undershot spiderwheels are very fine. You are good at choosing less-usual stitches that work well where you put ’em. The double chain flower being an excellent example.
Printed tablecloths for embroidery look so easy, but take so much time and effort. I remember buying a partly finished piece and it took me years to get it all finished. I like your choice of stitches.
So pretty!
Always nice to see how many different stitches you use Rachel. xx
Ooooh, this tablecloth is going to be gorgeous! I love embroidered tablecloths. I rescue them all the time and if they are in usable condition, I use them as intended. If not, I cut up the usable parts to make something new. I love the buttonhole fans on your chrysanthemums. I think those will be the prettiest flowers on your cloth. You do take on the biggest projects!
I’m loving all those delicious stitches – I often have to pop off to someone like Mary Corbet or Sarah Homfray to look these up, so am learning as well as enjoying your gorgeous embroidery 🙂
The buttonhole flower is so lovely and that double chain stitch flower looks fabulous – such a great way to use that stitch!