stitched by Cicely Siller
This series of embroidery with ribbon on wooden panels by Cicely Siller is just gorgeous. See more embroidered loveliness in her shop.
May 24, 2013
Birth announcement
stitched by Cicely Siller
This series of embroidery with ribbon on wooden panels by Cicely Siller is just gorgeous. See more embroidered loveliness in her shop.
May 23, 2013
Girls' stitching
Olá! Continuing on last week's theme, Child's day celebration... I bring you this week an idea that you can try with girls, I would say girls older than 8 years old... I believe that at this age it's very important to choose projects that they can use in their daily life...
Last month I've coordinated a workshop with some girls and boys... The girls were all 9 years old and they told me they would love to make a hairpin! The boys were younger and not so enthusiastic about having a new hairpin. :)
Some time ago I developed a kit to make an embroidered hairpin using, as always, Portuguese materials and patterns. I adapted motifs from this book and burel or cork fabric were the materials chosen. These are great materials, not only because they are Portuguese, but above all because they don't unravel, what makes them very easy to work with.
With these girls I "re-adapted" the motifs, making them easier. The most difficult part was transferring the pattern. Burel is very similar to felt... I used the same technique as explained here, embroidering through both tracing paper and burel. I have to admit it was not too easy, but they managed to do it all by themselves.
They were very proud with the results and all the color choices worked really well. Mothers loved the final work, too. You can't see their faces, but believe me, they were smiling!!
Last week I was with my younger daughter and we met one of these girls, I hadn't noticed, but my daughter told me: "she's using her hairpin"!!!
Last month I've coordinated a workshop with some girls and boys... The girls were all 9 years old and they told me they would love to make a hairpin! The boys were younger and not so enthusiastic about having a new hairpin. :)
Some time ago I developed a kit to make an embroidered hairpin using, as always, Portuguese materials and patterns. I adapted motifs from this book and burel or cork fabric were the materials chosen. These are great materials, not only because they are Portuguese, but above all because they don't unravel, what makes them very easy to work with.
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| Embroidered hairpin in burel |
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| GIrls and their handmade hairpins |
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| Proud girls... |
I hope this can inspire you to make a project with your girls, and please let me know if they liked it!!!
May 21, 2013
Tutorial Tuesday
Hello Everyone! Hope you are having a great Tuesday.
Today's tutorial was inspired by my darling friend, Nadia. She mentioned that cactus embroidery would be fun. Since I live in Tucson, Arizona, and we have cacti in abundance here, I thought it would be fun to create a little pincushion with a cactus embroidered onto it. Pun intended!
I drew some prickly pair cacti, using the ones surrounding my mailbox as a model. The pattern is available for you here. To make this little prickly pear pin cushion you will need the following:
-Two pieces of fabric cut into 6 by 4.5-inch rectangles
-One piece of felt cut into a 6 by 4.5-inch rectangle
-Sand or Emery Sand to fill the pincushion (I found some at the craft store)
-Scissors
-Embroidery hoop and coordinating floss
-Sewing machine
Step one: Transfer the cactus pattern onto one fabric piece and stitch. I used DMC No. 8 floss on natural cotton muslin.
Today's tutorial was inspired by my darling friend, Nadia. She mentioned that cactus embroidery would be fun. Since I live in Tucson, Arizona, and we have cacti in abundance here, I thought it would be fun to create a little pincushion with a cactus embroidered onto it. Pun intended!
I drew some prickly pair cacti, using the ones surrounding my mailbox as a model. The pattern is available for you here. To make this little prickly pear pin cushion you will need the following:
-Two pieces of fabric cut into 6 by 4.5-inch rectangles
-One piece of felt cut into a 6 by 4.5-inch rectangle
-Sand or Emery Sand to fill the pincushion (I found some at the craft store)
-Scissors
-Embroidery hoop and coordinating floss
-Sewing machine
Step one: Transfer the cactus pattern onto one fabric piece and stitch. I used DMC No. 8 floss on natural cotton muslin.
Step Two: Cut and prepare the pieces of the pincushion for sewing. Place the blank piece of fabric down first, then the embroidered piece of fabric face down, and the felt on top of that. Using a 1/2-inch seam allowance, sew around the pin cushion leaving a 2-inch opening along the bottom edge.
Step Three: Clip the corners of the pincushion and flip through the space that was left open in the prior step.
Step Four: Take the sand and carefully pour it into the pincushion between the blank fabric and the felt. You want to make sure the felt stays on the underside of the embroidery. Once the pincushion is filled to your liking, use a slip stitch to close opening.
Step Five: Stick your pins into the pincushion and use it up!
Hope you enjoy and have a happy Tuesday!
May 19, 2013
Patterns: Embroidery Journal
Something slightly different this week, I'm in the middle of working on a series of embroideries using patterns from Little Dorrit & Co, they're bigger patterns than I normally do, with a wider range of stitches and a large palette of colours, so I needed something to organise myself. Cue the Embroidery Journal printable from Kimberley Ouimet, a series of printable pages where you can record patterns, materials and other information about your embroidery. I don't know about anyone else but the number of times I loose track of the floss number of the thread I just happened to have run out of, so this is a life saver! I'm not sure I'm so organised as to do this for every piece of embroidery I do, but for large embroideries it's proving really useful!
May 16, 2013
First Stitches...
Olá! Here in Portugal in some weeks will be celebrating Child's Day, on June 1st. The same day is also celebrated in many other countries. So I thought of showing you some pieces made by children and explain why I believe their first stitches are very important...
Many, many years ago little girls learned counting and reading at the same time when they learned how to embroider....
Embroidery requires counting, develops concentration and logical thinking and has benefits on reading and writing by developing fine muscle coordination. Artistic skills are also at play. Deciding which pattern to embroider (sometimes making their own drawing), which colors to use and which stitches suit the image is a very powerful way of developing creativity! And of course all of us that have already taught a child how to embroider know that it is so important to be gentle- that embroidering teaches us to be patient, to be focused and to accept our own mistakes and the importance of correcting them. Most of all, stitching is great fun! And we want our children to have fun!!!
I believe that from age 5 beyond the use of needles is safe and children may start embroidering on cardboard, for instance. By painting and hole-punching the cardboard a child can make their own lacing card. Finished works can be framed, glued on a notebook or given as anniversary cards...
These cards were made reusing cereal boxes and you won't need much more material to try this with your children. They can make their own patterns, but as I was doing this at a school it was easier to make the motifs with molds. Children had to hole-punch and than use back stitch to embroider the pattern. Coloring was very fun, too!!
These photos show a class I had some time ago with 5 year old children.
At the end the teacher summed up what kids had learned: "we learned how to: thread the wool yarn, knot the end, embroider back stitch, and secure the stitches. We also learned that sometimes we make mistakes and that is very important to go back and try again. It was very fun!"
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Embroidery requires counting, develops concentration and logical thinking and has benefits on reading and writing by developing fine muscle coordination. Artistic skills are also at play. Deciding which pattern to embroider (sometimes making their own drawing), which colors to use and which stitches suit the image is a very powerful way of developing creativity! And of course all of us that have already taught a child how to embroider know that it is so important to be gentle- that embroidering teaches us to be patient, to be focused and to accept our own mistakes and the importance of correcting them. Most of all, stitching is great fun! And we want our children to have fun!!!
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At the end the teacher summed up what kids had learned: "we learned how to: thread the wool yarn, knot the end, embroider back stitch, and secure the stitches. We also learned that sometimes we make mistakes and that is very important to go back and try again. It was very fun!"
In memoriam: Kathreen
I was so sad to hear today of the death of our crafting friend and fellow blogger, Kathreen from Whip Up. Her blog was one of the first crafting blogs I ever read, and continues to be an inspiration for me. Her guest post series in 2012 is one of the most inspiring group of crafting posts I've ever read.
I will always remember her blog as a happy place that celebrates life - to her family and her partner who remains missing, we send our prayers. Thank you for the love and talent you shared with our community over the years, Kathreen, and may you rest in peace.
An interview with Kathreen on FS, last year.
I will always remember her blog as a happy place that celebrates life - to her family and her partner who remains missing, we send our prayers. Thank you for the love and talent you shared with our community over the years, Kathreen, and may you rest in peace.
An interview with Kathreen on FS, last year.
May 8, 2013
Make It Work
How clever is Sew Sewcial? I love the combo of embroidery with the silkscreen printing. Help me Rhonda, this is so stinking cute! Don't forget to check out her other creations.
May 7, 2013
Tutorial Tuesday
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today's tutorial is a little homage to the 80's, the 1980's, that is. A time when we would make mixtapes for each other and drink something called, Tab. I bought this Rock 'N Roll embroidery pattern pack from Sublime Stitching a while back, and the cassette has been calling my name ever since. Since I have this new fancy cell phone that needed a case, I figured it couldn't hurt to reminisce about the 80's every time I answer the phone.
This is a quick and easy tutorial, with no sewing machine involved. It's completely hand-stitched and protects that expensive little telephone. Because we are stitching on felt, there is no need to use an embroidery hoop, as the fabric maintains its shape while stitching. To make your own cell phone case, you will need the following:
-two pieces of felt cut to 3x5-inch pieces (you may have to adjust sizing to fit your device)
-embroidery pattern
-embroidery floss
-wax paper
-a fine tip permanent marker
-a pair of tweezers
-scissors
I am going to show you how I transfer embroidery patterns to felt or dark fabrics. This isn't the only way, and it might not be the right way, but it works for me, and I think it will work for you, too. If you want something a little more sophisticated, visit Sublime Stitching for the How-To on using transfer paper or Future Girl for her tutorial on using tear-away stabilizer.
Step 1: Transfer the pattern to the wax paper using the fine tip marker.
Step 2: Using a running stitch, attach the wax paper to one piece of felt. This doesn't have to be a beautiful stitch, because you will be removing it later.
Step 3: Embroider your pattern making sure to pull all the way through the layers of felt and wax paper. Don't make them too tight, but you don't want loose stitches, either. Sometimes your stitch might break the paper, and that's okay. Your stitches are creating the perforations that will make it easy to remove the paper once complete.
Step 4: Once your embroidery is complete, remove the running stitch and carefully, begin tearing away the wax paper. Use the tweezers to pull the paper out of smaller stitched areas.
Step 5: Take the second piece of felt, and place it directly underneath the piece you just stitched, wrong sides together. Pull the needle and thread in between the pieces of felt in order to hide the knot, and use a blanket stitch to connect the two pieces of felt along three sides.
Step 6: Slip your phone into the case and enjoy!
Now if only I had a boom box to enjoy real cassettes with...
Hope you enjoy and have a great Tuesday!
May 6, 2013
Embroidery wall
stitched by fric_de_mentol
Wow, this embroidery wall by artist ana raimundo is just stunning. Screenprinted fabric with embroidered embellishments - so lovely. Visit her Etsy shop to see more.
Giveaway Winner!
We have a winner in last week's Laying Tool giveaway! But first, I was excited to read all of your faves - I love how we enjoy a rainbow of colors - I suppose it's fitting: we are crafters. :)
But of course I couldn't resist tallying up the responses and seeing if there were any crowd favorites. I came up with a Top 5:
From the left, your faves were: Northern Lights (8), Blue Green Ocean (6), Cocobolo Wood (5), Persian Blue (5) and Abalone (5).
And now for our random winner:
Pat Upton I love the blue & yellow swirl! A favorite combo!
Congratulations, Pat - thanks to the generous folks at JR Crafter, you'll be receiving the Best Laying Tool of your choice. And thanks again to JR Crafter for sending a tool to review - if you'd like to check them out, here's a link to their Etsy Store and their website.
Hapy Stitching, all!
But of course I couldn't resist tallying up the responses and seeing if there were any crowd favorites. I came up with a Top 5:
From the left, your faves were: Northern Lights (8), Blue Green Ocean (6), Cocobolo Wood (5), Persian Blue (5) and Abalone (5).
And now for our random winner:
Congratulations, Pat - thanks to the generous folks at JR Crafter, you'll be receiving the Best Laying Tool of your choice. And thanks again to JR Crafter for sending a tool to review - if you'd like to check them out, here's a link to their Etsy Store and their website.
Hapy Stitching, all!
May 4, 2013
Guest Post: A Stitched Wedding by Grace Myers Martin
I was really excited when Grace emailed us photos of her wedding - there were so many sweet stitched elements, and I had to share it with all of you. So please enjoy this guest post by Grace!
Photography by Becca Dilley | www.beccadilley.com
When Andy and I got engaged, we were so excited to fill our wedding with our style and lots of personal touches. For him, this meant a fall date, great food and fun music. For me, this meant a vintage style and lots of hand-crafted elements.
Andy’s mom, a super talented crafter, knew just where I was coming from. We decided to knit shawls for the bridesmaids and hand stitch signs for the church and library reception. Certainly no small feat. Our excitement blinded us as to how large (and slightly crazy) an undertaking this was—and I’m so glad it did!
Andy’s mom, Mary Jo, stitched the larger signs for the church and reception. It was truly amazing to see her amazing crewelwork highlighting the two spaces. The signs are so detailed, personal and (as you can see) gorgeous. They added so much beauty to our day.
When I first saw all the embroidery she completed, I was so humbled. I could only think of all the hours she devoted to this project—and making my vision a reality.
I imagine all the time she spent stitching, all the while dreaming about the big day, reminiscing about Andy when he was a little kid and praying for our happy marriage. I think about how generous she is with her time, not just while we were planning the wedding, but every day. These stitches are proof to the joy and creativity she brings to everything she touches.
When I look at the photos of her embroidery now, I’m overwhelmed by my gratitude. I have not one, but two loving, supportive and joyful moms (and dads, too!), whom are my best friends. Working with them on different wedding projects was one of the best parts of the entire process, and something we’ll cherish forever.
We enlisted help from women throughout the families to help knit lace shawls for the bridesmaids—Andy's mom and aunt, my grandmother (my dad's mom), who coincidentally was the woman who taught me how to knit, and I knitted the six shawls. One of my favorite moments from the wedding was seeing all my bridesmaids together with their beautiful shawls knitted by women throughout different generations and branches of our families.
My first stitching project was an impromptu one that I took on after deciding to wear my grandmother’s wedding dress, which my mother also wore when she married my dad. I stitched our three names and wedding dates onto a blue ribbon, which the seamstress sewed into the bottom edge of the dress.
Even though this is a touch that no one could see, I loved that this small detail paid homage to my grandmother and mom—and their loving marriages—and made this heirloom dress that much more special.
I also began working on a larger project: a quote by Joseph Campbell that I found on pinterest (of course). I didn’t have a clear vision of how it would be used in the wedding, but I was so inspired and got stitching right away.
With a large scrap of Anna Maria Horner’s voile in a pretty light blue color, I used a chain stitch to create the letters, and added some subtle detail with backstitches. In the end, this sign decorated our head table. It’s one of my favorite embroidery accomplishments to date.
My other stitching projects were much more simple and smaller in scale. For the table numbers, I drew inspiration from BHLDN’s Hollyhock numbers and found the perfect silk dupioni fabric in a champagne color at a fabric store in St. Paul.
I stitched simple numbers surrounded with a floral and leaf motif, using the backstitch and lazy daisy stitch, then placed them into five-inch wooden hoops. I love how the table numbers, along with the beautiful flowers, soften the library space and add handmade charm.
About a month before the wedding, I finished all the table numbers and decided to keep stitching (I’m crazy, remember?) With the remaining silk, I created signs for our chair backs, echoing the floral motif from the table numbers and the light blue color from the Thomas Campbell quote. I also stitched a sweet phrase for the cake table with our family photos.
While our wedding would have been just as fun and special without all the stitching, I’m so glad that we took on this labor of love.
I can honestly say that it never stressed me out. Actually, it was the opposite: settling into the couch with our little puppy sitting on my feet, focusing on one stitch at a time helped me to relax and remember what was really important: marrying my best friend and the support of our amazing family.
With hand embroidery, there’s no choice but to embrace the slow pace and find beauty in your imperfections. It’s what I love about stitching any day, but especially in the months leading up to our wedding.
Thank you, Grace - for sharing your photos and stitching with us! For more on Grace, visit her blog.
All photos are credited to Becca Dilley, view more photos of the wedding on the photographer's blog.
Photography by Becca Dilley | www.beccadilley.com
When Andy and I got engaged, we were so excited to fill our wedding with our style and lots of personal touches. For him, this meant a fall date, great food and fun music. For me, this meant a vintage style and lots of hand-crafted elements.
Andy’s mom, a super talented crafter, knew just where I was coming from. We decided to knit shawls for the bridesmaids and hand stitch signs for the church and library reception. Certainly no small feat. Our excitement blinded us as to how large (and slightly crazy) an undertaking this was—and I’m so glad it did!
Andy’s mom, Mary Jo, stitched the larger signs for the church and reception. It was truly amazing to see her amazing crewelwork highlighting the two spaces. The signs are so detailed, personal and (as you can see) gorgeous. They added so much beauty to our day.
When I first saw all the embroidery she completed, I was so humbled. I could only think of all the hours she devoted to this project—and making my vision a reality.
I imagine all the time she spent stitching, all the while dreaming about the big day, reminiscing about Andy when he was a little kid and praying for our happy marriage. I think about how generous she is with her time, not just while we were planning the wedding, but every day. These stitches are proof to the joy and creativity she brings to everything she touches.
When I look at the photos of her embroidery now, I’m overwhelmed by my gratitude. I have not one, but two loving, supportive and joyful moms (and dads, too!), whom are my best friends. Working with them on different wedding projects was one of the best parts of the entire process, and something we’ll cherish forever.
We enlisted help from women throughout the families to help knit lace shawls for the bridesmaids—Andy's mom and aunt, my grandmother (my dad's mom), who coincidentally was the woman who taught me how to knit, and I knitted the six shawls. One of my favorite moments from the wedding was seeing all my bridesmaids together with their beautiful shawls knitted by women throughout different generations and branches of our families.
My first stitching project was an impromptu one that I took on after deciding to wear my grandmother’s wedding dress, which my mother also wore when she married my dad. I stitched our three names and wedding dates onto a blue ribbon, which the seamstress sewed into the bottom edge of the dress.
Even though this is a touch that no one could see, I loved that this small detail paid homage to my grandmother and mom—and their loving marriages—and made this heirloom dress that much more special.
I also began working on a larger project: a quote by Joseph Campbell that I found on pinterest (of course). I didn’t have a clear vision of how it would be used in the wedding, but I was so inspired and got stitching right away.
With a large scrap of Anna Maria Horner’s voile in a pretty light blue color, I used a chain stitch to create the letters, and added some subtle detail with backstitches. In the end, this sign decorated our head table. It’s one of my favorite embroidery accomplishments to date.
My other stitching projects were much more simple and smaller in scale. For the table numbers, I drew inspiration from BHLDN’s Hollyhock numbers and found the perfect silk dupioni fabric in a champagne color at a fabric store in St. Paul.
I stitched simple numbers surrounded with a floral and leaf motif, using the backstitch and lazy daisy stitch, then placed them into five-inch wooden hoops. I love how the table numbers, along with the beautiful flowers, soften the library space and add handmade charm.
About a month before the wedding, I finished all the table numbers and decided to keep stitching (I’m crazy, remember?) With the remaining silk, I created signs for our chair backs, echoing the floral motif from the table numbers and the light blue color from the Thomas Campbell quote. I also stitched a sweet phrase for the cake table with our family photos.
While our wedding would have been just as fun and special without all the stitching, I’m so glad that we took on this labor of love.
I can honestly say that it never stressed me out. Actually, it was the opposite: settling into the couch with our little puppy sitting on my feet, focusing on one stitch at a time helped me to relax and remember what was really important: marrying my best friend and the support of our amazing family.
With hand embroidery, there’s no choice but to embrace the slow pace and find beauty in your imperfections. It’s what I love about stitching any day, but especially in the months leading up to our wedding.
Thank you, Grace - for sharing your photos and stitching with us! For more on Grace, visit her blog.
All photos are credited to Becca Dilley, view more photos of the wedding on the photographer's blog.
May 3, 2013
Ok, this is amazing
stitched by Peggy Dembicer
In her photo caption, this piece took an estimated 51 hours of stitching, and having done a teeny bit of bead embroidery myself, I must say this stitcher has my respect. Peggy also does bead weaving - and to get an idea of the work that goes into that process, check out this video here.
Amazing, Peggy Dembicer!
May 2, 2013
Curiosities about pearl cotton thread
Olá! When I was writing last week’s post about a Portuguese pearl cotton, I used some terms that made me curious… When I read that Limol's pearl cotton is made of "extra long staple combed cotton fiber, gassed and mercerized" or "long staple Egyptian cotton with double mercerization", I decided to research these confusing words!!! And the same thing happened while trying to understand what "size 8" means...
I did my best to answer these questions for myself and I decided to share the results I found with you… Portuguese floss manufacturers, Limol, helped me on this, clarifying some doubts and they even captured images of the mercerization process.
Egyptian Cotton - Extra Long Staple - ELS
The term "Egyptian Cotton" is often used to distinguish high quality cotton fibers, Extra Long Staple cotton - one of the four commercially grown species of cotton. However most products bearing the name are not made with the cottons from Egypt. And even cotton that was grown in Egypt is not necessarily the ELS Egyptian Cotton!!
High quality cotton fibers are very important in the manufacturing process of cotton pearl as only these types of fibers respond well to mercerization (1).
So, often, when trying to describe high quality fibers, manufacturers refer to them as “Egyptian” (2), even when they come from China...
Cotton combed gassed mercerized - CGM
To produce the best pearl cotton you have to use the best cotton fibers (ELS) and the most demanding manufacturing procedures - combing, gassing and mercerizing (CGM).
When cotton is combed, fine brushes are used to pull out any remaining impurities, along with short cotton fibers. This process removes 15% of the volume and only the long, straight fibers remain, which prevent threads to stick and prickle.
Gassing means passing cotton thread through a flame at high speed to reduce the fuzz. This process also produces a higher sheen.
Mercerization is a treatment that gives yarns a lustrous appearance and softer feel. Technically the mercerization process, devised in 1844 by John Mercer and improved by H. A. Lowe in 1890, consists in treating cotton with strong caustic soda or certain other reagents. After this the treated yarns are washed off.
This refinement results in a permanent change in structure and the fibers become wash-resistant, stronger and thus more stable, meaning that peeling can largely be prevented. This procedure also reduces the natural fuzz along the fiber’s length and increases cotton’s ability to absorb dye.
Here (until 4th step) you'll find a great visual explanation of all the process until mercerization.
See how mercerization works in this video… The cotton threads are rolled into a cylinder. As the cylinder rotates, cotton is immersed in the bath of caustic soda.
Being expensive procedures, combing, gassing and mercerizing are only used for high quality products, like pearl cotton.
And what does it mean to have a pearl cotton size 8?
As you already have noticed, with embroidery thread, the higher the thread size, the finer/thinner the thread. The size of thread has to do with the thread sizing systems. There are fixed weight systems, which measure how much thread weighs a given amount, and fixed length systems which measure how heavy is a given length of thread.
Pearl cotton uses a fixed weight system that is called "thread weight". Within this system, a thinner thread will measure more for a given amount than a thicker thread… And thinner thread will have a higher number than a thicker thread… In very simple words and trying not failing exactness: having a pearl cotton size 8 means that 8 meters of thread weights 1 gram.
Maybe you already knew all this stuff... If so, sorry for boring you... If not, I hope you enjoyed as much as I did learning more about this material that with our hands we use to make our dreams come true...
As I'm not an expert I may have failed to explain all this with accuracy. So, you are invited to contribute with your own knowledge and your thoughts...
I did my best to answer these questions for myself and I decided to share the results I found with you… Portuguese floss manufacturers, Limol, helped me on this, clarifying some doubts and they even captured images of the mercerization process.
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| Pearl cotton balls size 8, my photo |
Egyptian Cotton - Extra Long Staple - ELS
The term "Egyptian Cotton" is often used to distinguish high quality cotton fibers, Extra Long Staple cotton - one of the four commercially grown species of cotton. However most products bearing the name are not made with the cottons from Egypt. And even cotton that was grown in Egypt is not necessarily the ELS Egyptian Cotton!!
High quality cotton fibers are very important in the manufacturing process of cotton pearl as only these types of fibers respond well to mercerization (1).
So, often, when trying to describe high quality fibers, manufacturers refer to them as “Egyptian” (2), even when they come from China...
 |
| Skeins used in agulha não pica kits, my own photo |
To produce the best pearl cotton you have to use the best cotton fibers (ELS) and the most demanding manufacturing procedures - combing, gassing and mercerizing (CGM).
When cotton is combed, fine brushes are used to pull out any remaining impurities, along with short cotton fibers. This process removes 15% of the volume and only the long, straight fibers remain, which prevent threads to stick and prickle.
Gassing means passing cotton thread through a flame at high speed to reduce the fuzz. This process also produces a higher sheen.
Mercerization is a treatment that gives yarns a lustrous appearance and softer feel. Technically the mercerization process, devised in 1844 by John Mercer and improved by H. A. Lowe in 1890, consists in treating cotton with strong caustic soda or certain other reagents. After this the treated yarns are washed off.
This refinement results in a permanent change in structure and the fibers become wash-resistant, stronger and thus more stable, meaning that peeling can largely be prevented. This procedure also reduces the natural fuzz along the fiber’s length and increases cotton’s ability to absorb dye.
Here (until 4th step) you'll find a great visual explanation of all the process until mercerization.
See how mercerization works in this video… The cotton threads are rolled into a cylinder. As the cylinder rotates, cotton is immersed in the bath of caustic soda.
Being expensive procedures, combing, gassing and mercerizing are only used for high quality products, like pearl cotton.
And what does it mean to have a pearl cotton size 8?
As you already have noticed, with embroidery thread, the higher the thread size, the finer/thinner the thread. The size of thread has to do with the thread sizing systems. There are fixed weight systems, which measure how much thread weighs a given amount, and fixed length systems which measure how heavy is a given length of thread.
Pearl cotton uses a fixed weight system that is called "thread weight". Within this system, a thinner thread will measure more for a given amount than a thicker thread… And thinner thread will have a higher number than a thicker thread… In very simple words and trying not failing exactness: having a pearl cotton size 8 means that 8 meters of thread weights 1 gram.
Maybe you already knew all this stuff... If so, sorry for boring you... If not, I hope you enjoyed as much as I did learning more about this material that with our hands we use to make our dreams come true...
As I'm not an expert I may have failed to explain all this with accuracy. So, you are invited to contribute with your own knowledge and your thoughts...
April 30, 2013
Gorgeous stems
stitched by Robyne Melia
I'm fascinated by the colors and texture in this bright, lovely piece. This beautiful design is based on a butter stamp and was stitched by Robyne Melia. Robyne was also sweet enough to include a drawing of the design in her blog post - for more on this gorgeous project, visit her blog. Gorgeous work, Robyne!
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