Fabric versatility...

In praise of calico…

 

Calico can also be a very versatile fabric. Different types of heavy calico can be strong enough to withstand constant overstitching and some types of lighter calico can be softly stretched and twisted in order to develop fabric sculptures.

Considering calico...

Fabric selection for machine embroidery…

I have used calico for machine embroidery for many years. In addition to the advantages of calico as a ground for fabric paints and printing inks, washed calico can provide a subtle and receptive surface for the application of commercial and natural dyes.

Stitch selection and threads…

I frequently use a hand sewn overcast or couching stitch or a buttonhole or blanket stitch in order to combine different threads together, thereby creating a particular visual effect through variations in tone, colour and texture. These stitches can also be very useful when I want to include tiny amounts of a special thread in a specific section of a fibre work. I have used overlays of buttonhole and zigzag stitches on my sewing machine in order to achieve this task as well. Interesting effects can be achieved when the top stitches are completed in fine threads over heavily textured or variegated threads.

Stitch selection and embroidery threads…

I really enjoy reading books dedicated to the creation of a range of sewing stitches. These dictionaries or encyclopedias of needlework are not only useful teaching guides, but they also provide historical and cultural information about the evolution of different stitches and their uses. I still have a copy of the Encyclopedia of needlework by Therese de Dillmont (DMC Library, Revised edition), a book that I first placed on my shelves when I was sixteen years old. The section on stitches for mending tasks was originally intended to be a very straightforward guide to stitches that could be used for practical household maintenance tasks, but I have often referred to this section for inspiration when I want to use running stitches for visual representation in pictorial works.

Finding subjects for fibre works...attention to detail...

I frequently developed visual representations by highlighting fine details, such as the textures on leafy grasses, ground cover plants and small bushes, tree bark, or the lines on sandy deposits, pebbles and rocks.

Finding subjects for fibre works...

An earlier phase in my working life was devoted to the development of representations of natural environments, especially seascapes. I created imagery through a combination of drawing and painting exercises in the natural environment as well as a studio environment. I also referred to my own site photographs as a means to develop compositions and highlight significant details within those compositions.

Preparing machine embroidery...thread combinations...

Preparing for machine embroidery…

Preparations for machine embroidery should also include the consideration of unlikely combinations of thread in order to represent particular surface textures, reflections, and shadows. I have sometimes combined commercially produced sewing machine threads with commercially produced embroidery threads as well as textured or metallic threads originally produced for knitting or crochet work. Machine embroidery can be sewn over a foundation of metallic crochet thread applied through the use of hand stitching, or specialty metallic machine threads can be sewn over hand embroidery in order to depict reflections and splashes of light.