Tudor and Stuart Masterclass – Month Ten

Interlaced On Ladder Stitch

Interlaced On Ladder Stitch

The two stitches in Month Ten of the course are both based on Ladder Stitch foundations. You can see here that something went a little squiffy with the foundation for the Interlaced stitch. I ran out of thread in the needle and in bringing the new thread in, I didn’t keep the the tension quite right. It wasn’t clear until I took the photo with the macro lens, and cropped it to size. As it is only a practise, I shan’t lose any sleep over it – I’ll just make a mental note that Tension Matters.

The interlacing is just like the sort of interlacing I am familiar with from drawn thread work – I’ve not done it before, but it is a style I’m familiar with seeing and a construction I can understand. It would be quicker to practise the interlacing on a foundation of straight stitches, but I suspect (if only I had got the stitching right) the Ladder Stitch would create a more stable basis.

Wheatsheaf On Ladder Stitch

Wheatsheaf On Ladder Stitch

The second stitch worked on the Ladder Stitch foundation is another I recognise from drawn thread work. This is a wheatsheaf-style stitch. Other variants might include a knot instead of a mere wrap, or include two rows of interlacing in the same style. One of the advantages of this course is that it is pulling together many of the techniques I have seen before, but never had the opportunity to do.

It has also given me permission to “play”. I’m enjoying that!

8 Comments

  1. Margaret Henderson says:

    I really like that wheatsheaf stitch and your ladder foundation on that one looks great. You are right about just using straight stitches. Tricia had us do that in class to speed things up since we only had the one day, and it did pull quite a bit. Which thread are you using, by the way?

  2. Lady Fi says:

    Oh, those wheatsheaves are so delightful!

  3. karen says:

    playing????? you are so spoilt!!

  4. I have never tried gold work. Is the thread stiff to work with or is it pliable? Love your samples.

  5. Jacky says:

    Hi Rachel,

    I’ve enjoyed popping over to read your blog…..love these new stitches you try each month. Especially love the Wheat Sheaf on Ladder Stitch! Your samples are beautiful.
    Saw the photos of the rosella’s and look forward to seeing you do something inspired by their glorious colours.

    Jacky xox

  6. I especially love the wheatsheaf design 🙂

  7. These are beautiful. Now I’m going to have to sit down with a needle and thread to work them out!

  8. Janice says:

    One of the disadvantages of photographing for the blog is that you then see your work, very much warts and all, at a much larger scale than it is in real life! I often feel the need to point that out to my readers! The stitches are lovely. Some of them, as you say, look very familiar to drawn thread work stitches and don’t look too difficult to do – without the gold thread! Well done!