Mooshie Stitch Monday: My First Mountmellick Embroidery Kit

In my last post I told you about my visit to the Mountmellick Embroidery Museum in Ireland and I purchased a small embroidery kit at the museum to try stitching.

The kit included the satin jean fabric, needle, thread, pattern with stitch suggestions and stitch instructions - along with some history about Mountmellick embroidery.

Tracing the pattern.

I used a washable blue pencil to roughly trace the pattern onto the fabric.

Stitching!

The satin jean fabric is thicker than what I am used to - at first I felt as though it was tough to pull the needle and thread through the fabric - but I did get used to it after some stitching.

Here it is all stitched.

I followed the stitch suggestions (noted on the pattern photo above) with the exception of using the snail trail stitch. I also did not use the feather stitch inside the leaves and used them stem stitch instead. Just my own personal preference - because after I tried the feather stitch inside one leaf, I didn't like how my feather stitch looked :)

Finishing - Soaking and Boiling

Next I followed the finishing instructions that came in the kit.

I was nervous about this step because I have never boiled my embroidery before. Honestly, I have never soaked to remove the pattern lines either!!! Usually I use a disappearing ink. But I didn't want to use the disappearing ink because I wasn't sure how long the stitching would take me.

I soaked it in cold water with a drop of laundry detergent for a few hours. The instructions said overnight, but I could see the blue tracings were gone within a few hours. Next, I boiled it for about 20 minutes and let dry overnight.

I looked at the instructions again and realized I didn't boil it with detergent! So I boiled again - this time with a drop of detergent for about 20 minutes and let dry overnight again.

Here it is after boiling, ironed, and in a little hoop. I am pleased with the end result. I think it turned out pretty good for my first Mountmellick stitching! :)

Mooshie Stitch Monday: Visiting the Mountmellick Embroidery Museum and Buying Supplies!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to travel to Ireland to see one of my best friends get married. I have been planning this trip for over a year - so back when I was researching different whitework techniques and found out about Mountmellick embroidery - I knew I wanted to visit the town while in Ireland - especially when I found out there was an embroidery museum!

Because of a few last minute itinerary changes - the only day we could get to Mountmellick was on the very last day we were in Ireland - which meant getting there all the way from Northern Ireland. My sister-in-law Anne was with me on the trip and thanks to her awesome driving, we made the 5 hour drive all the way down to Mountmellick with an hour to spare before the museum closed!!

We arrived at the museum and one of the ladies who works there, Orla, was kind enough to open the exhibit and show us the amazing embroidery.

Sign outside the Embroidery Museum

It was pretty amazing seeing these embroideries in person for how old they are.

I mean, a quilt embroidered back in the 1870s??? An embroidered dress and cape dating back to the 1890s?? Wow.

There were pillow shams, doilies, tablecloths, etc. All beautiful and looked at though they were stitched just last week!

I feel bad - but have no photos to show you of the beautiful work on display.

There were signs asking for "no photography please", so I wanted to respect their wishes. Although, we did snap one quick photo of a part of a wedding dress on display...

Photo courtesy of my SIL Anne 

Side Note: The photo above was only taken because it was a dress on display that was not behind glass and was recently stitched. That is the only reason we took a photo of it. All of the original old embroideries were behind glass and had the signs for "no photos please. Just to be clear.

Here is a photo of the embroidery museum from their website - to give you an idea of what it looked like inside.

Photo Credit: from the Museum Website

One more photo sneaked inside the exhibit

It was lovely speaking with Orla about the history and the pieces on display. She explained they are trying to keep the embroidery alive by teaching all the children in town the technique.

They offer classes and workshops on Mountmellick embroidery throughout the year too at the museum. She says the museum averages about 300 visitors a year.

But the best part was that they sold supplies! It was hard not to buy everything, but I managed to get quite a few things! Cotton thread, needles, satin jean fabric.

I was even able to buy the book I wanted by Yvette Stanton. There are many projects in it that I want to work on and I will most likely be posting about here! (If you have this book also, let me know! Maybe we can coordinate and work on the same project together?!?)

I also purchased some embroidery patterns that are some of the original Mountmellick designs.

Original pattern designs!

So - I will begin my first "real" Mountmellick embroidery project with this little kit I purchased there. It includes some history, fabric, thread, needle, stitch instructions, and a little paper frame for the finished project.

Mountmellick Embroidery Kit

Mountmellick Embroidery Kit

Sorry for the lack of actual embroidery photos this time, but next post I hope to show you my stitching progress on the kit above!

Check out the Mountmellick Embroidery Museum's website for more information on the history of Mountmellick embroidery and here for more on the Quaker Heritage.

Want to purchase embroidery supplies directly from the Museum? Here is a link to their online shop!!

Mooshie Stitch Mondays: Cable Plait Stitch

Another stitch common to Mountmellick embroidery is the Cable Plait Stitch (aka Braid Stitch).

As always, Needle n' Thread has a great video tutorial for this stitch.

I drew two lines to help guide my stitching and practiced with two types of floss.

DMC floss on the left and #5 pearl cotton on the right.

I really like this stitch. It isn't too difficult to learn and I think it has great texture.

In my whitework project this week, I used part of this pattern I found on Pinterest.

Stitches included: Cable Plait, Chain and Satin Stitch.

The leaves are pearl cotton and everything else is stitched with DMC floss.

Want to read more about the cable plait stitch??

Vetty Creations explains the difference between the cable plait stitch and plaited braid stitch.

Click here to see another video tutorial.

Mooshie Stitch Mondays: Mountmellick Thorn Stitch

Let’s continue with another stitch common to Mountmellick embroidery - the Mountmellick Thorn Stitch.

First thing I realized was the lack of tutorials and photos of this stitch online. I found this video tutorial that is good, but also a bit blurry and this photo on Flickr. Both were helpful and gave me a good starting point on how to stitch it.

I read on a few websites about Mountmellick embroidery that the thorn stitch is basically a feather stitch with a French knot on every other stitch.

 

Honestly, I had a hard time with this stitch and these photos are my best example after many, many tries. I have no problem with feather stitch - but adding the French knot I found difficult for some reason! I do think it was easier to stitch with the pearl cotton than when I used regular floss.

I know this isn’t exactly how to stitch the Mountmellick thorn stitch - it definitely looks different from the few examples I found online - but that's ok. It’s my version of it. :)

This time for my whitework project, I decided to stitch a little sampler. I switched fabric because I really like how the white floss looks on the linen.

 

Stitches included: Mountmellick thorn stitch, chain stitch, cable chain stitch and french knots.

 

Next time: The cable plait stitch!

Interested in reading more about Mountmellick Embroidery? One great website I found is Vetty Creations. Yvette Stanton's embroidery is amazing. I started following her awesome board on Pinterest and I think I will be purchasing her book on Mountmellick embroidery also.

If you have ever tried the Mountmellick thorn stitch, please let me know! Or if you decide to stitch it - post your photos on Flickr - in the Embroidery Group.

Adventures in Whitework: Mountmellick Stitch

Hi all - floresita here to introduce our first new blogger on Feeling Stitchy - Michelle! On her blog, Mooshie Stitch, Michelle does some amazing, detailed stitch work with Take a Stitch Tuesday stitches and other talented projects. We are very thrilled to have her here at Feeling Stitchy with her first Mooshie Stitch Monday post - tune in every other Monday to hear from her! Welcome, Michelle!

First of all, I just want to say that I am so excited for my first post on Feeling Stitchy! :)

Welcome to the beginning of my adventures with whitework embroidery! I am a total newbie. Whitework has always intrigued and intimidated me. Especially cut work and drawn thread work.

When I was reading about different techniques, I came across Mountmellick whitework. The Mountmellick style - named after the town Mountmellick in Ireland - focuses on creating texture using many traditional stitches (including stem, buttonhole, satin, and french knots). It is typically stitched on cotton fabric with sheen and matte cotton threads.

Since I was already familiar with some of the stitches used, I decided to focus on learning Mountmellick.

There are three stitches unique to Mountmellick: the Mountmellick Stitch, Mountmellick Thorn Stitch, and Cable Plait Stitch.

Let's start with the Mountmellick Stitch. I found this great video tutorial on the Needle n' Thread website.

It was easier for me to keep the stitch even by drawing lines as a guide.

To practice some whitework stitching, I decided to start with a very small floral pattern.

It is a portion of this free pattern I found on Needle n' Thread. (She has so many free patterns!!)

Here is the finished project.

Stitched with: french knots, stem, satin and Mountmellick stitch.

I did not follow the "rules" of stitching on sheen fabric with matte cotton. I used regular DMC floss (Blanc) and a tea towel. Although, I wish I used different fabric. I was stitching very tight - which I tend to do and need to work on - so there are holes in the fabric from my pulling the stitches too tight. Oh well! It's a learning process!

I am happy with my first little whitework project! :)

Next time: I will tackle Mountmellick Thorn Stitch.

Do you have any advice for someone new to whitework?? I would love to hear from you - leave a comment! Are you currently stitching some whitework also? 

Post your project photos in the Feeling Stitchy Embroidery Group on Flickr!