Stumpwork Acorn and Oak Leaves

 Before you  begin this tutorial...let me include a disclaimer: This is NOT my best work.

It could have been...I tried to have it be...but the choice of threads used...almost ruined it. Or, the choice of transfer methods...which every way you look at it.

Anyway, I used a water soluble stabilizer and printed the design...and stitched over. The soluble is easy to use, and I'm very busy...but it needs to be removed with water. The threads I chose were Krenik Soie d'Alger...which are about twice the cost of DMC Cotton...and I "assumed" that that would mean they are color fast as well. Not so...the colors ran...and trying to work with that issue caused my satin stitches to become loose and wobbly. So, please forgive the "errors" and just see the tutorial for the "how to do" that it is intended to be. Thanks...hanging my embarrassed head. :)

Surface embroidery is enhanced with a dimensional leaf to portray the leaves and acorns. The squirrels and chipmunks are sure happy to see these begin to drop from the mighty oak’s branches.

Supplies Used:

·         Sheer Fabric (model used 1 layer of silk scarf, 2 layers of organza)

·         Background Fabric of your choice (model used fine linen)

·         Thin wire for larger Stumpwork leaf (12-18 gauge)

·         Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer (or use your favorite pattern transfer method)

·         Embroidery Thread in brown, gold, orange, and red/orange for the surface embroidery leaf. NOTE: The model was stitched in Kreinik Soie d’Alger in colors #4213G, #2546G, #4116A, and #645A. However, these were proven not to be color fast as they bled when the finished project was placed in water to remove the water soluble stabilizer. Therefore, if you use these threads, trace the pattern or use a tissue paper pattern instead of water soluble.

·         Cotton or silk sewing or embroidery thread in white for the Stumpwork Oak Leaf.

·         Embroidery needle and hoop

·         Promarkers (or permanent ink marker) in a dark red, orange, and yellow.

The surface embroidery work is best done in two threads, often combining two colors. Here are the combinations used for the model: acorns and center vein = gold/brown (#2546/#4213); acorn cap = dk brown/dk brown (#4116A); leaf inside = gold/orange (#2546G/645A).

Step 1: Hoop the background fabric, with the small leaf and acorn pattern transferred for stitching. Here is the design printed on the stabilizer, and trimmed close (to reduce the amount that needs to be removed later on). You can see that this water soluble creates a good printed image. The paper backing peels off and the design has a "sticky back" that stays on the fabric as you stitch over it.

Step 2: Use a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch to embroider the outline of the oak leaf; a Satin Stitch to embroider the base of the acorn caps; and a Split Stitch to embroider the leaf veins. I'm not sure that the mixed thread colors was the best choice for the acorn it looks a bit rougher than it is.

Step 3: Fill in the acorn cap with French or Colonial Knots.

Step 4: Embroider the inside area of the leaf with Split Stitches. Be careful to align these stitches with the direction of the adjacent side-veins. Work one section between these veins completely before proceeding to the next. Note that the direction of the stitching will change slightly as you progress up the leaf.

Step 5: When the embroidery is completed, remove any water soluble or other paper/tissue transfer paper. Remove the hoop. (NOTE: IF you do not want to do a stump-work leaf; the second leave can also be stitched just as this first leaf was; you only need to include BOTH leaves in the pattern transfer rather than just this smaller leaf.)

Step 6: Hoop the layers of organza and the silk scarf. The scarf is on top. The silk provides a solid tightly woven layer to ink color into later on. The organza layers provide more substance to the piece but do not increase the density of the piece because their weave is more open than the silk is. The design should be already transferred to the silk fabric.  The water soluble stitch stabilizer works really well for this pattern transfer.

Step 7: Cut ten-inches of wire. Bend one end at a 90-degree angle, about a half inch from the end. Using the white thread, couch this bend into the stem end of the leaf. Sew through all layers as you couch the thread down. Try to keep your needle angled slightly under the wire as you stitch, this will keep the couching stitch tight to the wire. Make a stitch about every 5mm (or about every ¼ inch). As you work around the leaf shape, couching the wire in place…use a second larger needle (like a Chenille) or a stiletto tool to “shape” the wire.

Step 8: Continue to Couch and bend the wire. At times, this requires a slight forward step with the Bending Tool, gently bending and them more forward movement with the tool; and gently bending some more. This works better than trying to get the shape with a single bend…that will only give you a sharp angle. The goal is to match the curve to the leaf pattern shape.

Step 9: After the wire has been completely couched in place, trim the stem ends to about 1//2 inch. Use the same white thread to create a tiny Buttonhole Stitch around the wire. This secures the fabric tightly into place. Working with thread will take a little time; but do not use two pieces thinking it will be better or faster. It will just give the leaf a bulky edge and ruin your efforts. The “ridge” of the Buttonhole Stitch should lay on the INSIDE of the leave design…not along the outside for this specific pattern. This gives the edge a smoother line rather than a ridged one.

Step 10: Using one strand of the white, embroidery the leaf veins with a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch.

Step 11: Cut the leaf from the background fabric leaving some border around the wire.

Step 12: Trim close to the wire to remove all of the excess fabric. A pair of sharp pointed embroidery scissors make a great tool for this task.

Step 13: Use the red Promarker to ink the outside stitched edge of the leaf. The ink will automatically wick to the inside area of the leaf a bit. Just touch the stitching along the outside edge. NOTE: If you do not want to use the Promarkers...you can use a Green/Orange color of sheer fabric and thread instead; and omit Steps 13 and 14 then.

Step 14: Use the yellow Promarker for the inside of the leaf and the orange Promarker to color the veins. These colors will begin to blend together. If you have used a water-soluble method to mark the leaf shape, then soak the leaf to remove these marking. The ink will run some, but it will only enhance the blending effect. Dry completely.

Step 15: Tightly twist the two ends of the leaf’s wire at the stem edge. With a large needle or stiletto pierce the background fabric at the “circle” on the pattern sheet. Bend the leaf wire at a 90-degree angle and insert the twisted double wire into the background fabric. Flip over the work, and couch the wire ends down on the back. Sew through the prior embroidery work only, and do not pierce the fabric.

Here is the pattern for the small leaf and acorns, for the surface embroidery technique.

Here is the pattern for the large leaf, for the stumpwork technique.

And, here is the pattern all together, just in case you want to do the entire design using surface embroidery techniques. You can size these as large or as small as you like.

I'm off to take out the satin stitches and redo...when I get a new photo...I'll post an update to this post.

Hugs!

 

Arlene's Beetle - Finished

Here is how my first stumpwork beetle has turned out. I'm pretty darn happy with it. The process is really quite easy to follow (thanks to Arlene's great instructions)...and I'm already working on a smaller version.

 This white one is resting on my June crazy quilt block for CQJP 2012...which will be completed shortly I hope!

Beetle Class - Wings

I started with Arlene's Beetle Class this past week, and decided to try my hand with a white beetle for my CQJP blocks. The wings were supported by wire between two layers of organza. This was not the way my instructions has suggested...but one layer was too thin to stitch through, so I added a second layer which made me working with an organza sandwich! Leave it to me to make everything "different"...but, I liked the idea once I got to stitching. The wraps for the wire were tedious...again because of "my adjustments" as I decided to use regular sewing thread in white to do this with. Do you know how many "wraps" it takes to cover these beetle wings wire? A LOT!But, I still think the effort was worth it. I finished by covering all the organza with beads, on the back side I glued a thin layer of Angelina Fiber so I would not see all the threads from my bead work.Next week we create the beetle body...so there will be more to this after that lesson.I recommend Arlene's class...the instructions are detailed and not difficult to understand...and she allows you the flexibility to adjust and apply your own Artistic Style...which I love!So, watch for her classes over at www.joggles.com if you are interested in stumpwork of this type. It's hard to photograph white on white....but, these babies really sparkle in real life!

UTS Plant Life

The Under The Sea block continues. I wanted to add some more plant-life, and a woven detached plant will be first.The little round plant is a Pandora large hole bead that I'm wrapping in green Perle cotton. The woven tall plants are easy to create, but a little tedious.

Here is how the tall plants were made: To help keep the plant the same width from top to almost bottom, I put two pins in the background fabric horizontally; and to set the height I put one pin in vertically. The base threads will be woven around these pins.

First, needle up at the base of the plant. Bring the thread under the heads of the pins (right side), around the head of the vertical pin (top) and under the points of the pins (left side). Needle down back near the start point, but not in the same hole. Needle up close to the start point, wrap thread behind the vertical pin.

 Next, change to a blunt tip tapestry needle (or use the eye of the needle you already have, as I have) and weave the end of the thread over the middle thread and under the right thread. This begins the weaving process. Go from side to side weaving the thread over and under as you would in making a basic weave. (If you go over a thread in row 3, then go under that thread in row 4, etc) Keep moving from left to right...then from right to left...weaving. Keep the thread loose. Slide the needle up toward the top to "srunch" the threads up tight.

The plant shape will begin to form as you weave back and forth. Keep the horizontal pens in until your weaving gets close then remove one at a time as the weave builds.

Continue in this manner until you reach the bottom of the plant. Take a few tacking stitches to anchor the bottom securely and keep the weaves from shifting.

Remove the vertical pin and you can see that the plant is detached and free standing except at the base. If you did not want the plant detached...a small stitch could have been taken at the top when you began the weaving process to anchor it. 

 

It is also possible to stitch the detached plant without the horizontal pins in place as guides...but the stitches have to be kept loose so as not to pull the threads to tightly and distort the shape of the plant.

And, here is the last vertical plant...the last step was stitching down the Pandora bead.
 Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial...and will try this stumpwork technique on a project too.