Embroidered Heraldic Banner Device

 A new family member has been keeping me very busy the last several weeks, and bringing that special level of insanity that only a puppy can add! Completed projects seem to be few and far between, and there is so much cleaning to be done. But I did manage to get a banner device done for my local device banner.

The device banner project is a group project which records local SCA heraldic registrations in chronological order, with heraldic devices sewn onto a series of banners.

The banners look great, record the history of our group, and enable a fun guessing game at events. We have six banners so far, with registrations sewn under the devices of the Baron and Baroness of the time.

                                            Banners 2, 3 and 4 on display at an event pre-Covid.

One of the locals didn't have time to complete their device so I offered to help them out. The device is made of felt with applique and embroidery.

Split stitch was the main stitch used, with a little bit of whip stitch and couching. Crochet cotton and DMC embroidery floss were used also.

Mamluk Counted Embroidery

I started a new embroidery challenge with my local group of SCA embroiderers last month after seeing Mistress Miriam's Mamluk embroidery class at Politarchopolis University. Mistress Miriam graciously shared her notes so that we all had a sound research base, and I've been quite excited about the opportunities for future projects. I want to do some non-counted pieces, but I thought that I should try some counted work first.

I haven't done any counted embroidery since my early teens (I started cross-stitching at about age eleven) and I have already learned a lot. I have spent more time unpicking errors than actually stitching so far.
I have learned
* that I had a false appreciation of how good I actually am at counting
* the medication I was on has affected my eyesight more than I realised
* I shouldn't try and do counted work when I need to concentrate on something else
* my recollection of how much I dislike counted work was underrated 😃

It has been a very stressful week with multiple catastrophic technical issues (which is probably not the best time to work on this type of embroidery) so there have been a lot of errors. I have re-started a couple of times. The base fabric is a very loose weave, so the black thread has a tendency to slide under the base threads. To combat this I am working over two threads rather than one.

I am slightly further along than shown in this picture; I am onto the next line of embroidery (which now has an uneven motif in one corner). I decided to leave the wonky mistake in as a reminder to myself to concentrate.

Heraldic Favour

Another project that I completed recently was a heraldic favour. It is a simple sash with a representation of my device embroidered on it.

 I marked the design out by tracing it with frixion marker.

I embroidered the design with split and satin stitch. I tried to add some texture to the satin stitch. I added a shiny black bead for the eye.

 I sewed the panel into a sash and added some gold braid at the bottom.

I made the pin by adding a hat pin to a purchased heraldic seahorse pendant.

A&S Pentathlon Display Table

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am running an A&S Pentathlon in my local group to get people motivated to do Arts and Sciences and to develop new skills. At a recent event we held a display table where people could show what they have been working on. I only had two of my five entries available for display; I am working a coif with purple embroidery, and I also displayed my second piece of braid woven on the rigid heddle loom.

An A&S display table is an excellent way to let people showcase what they have been working on in a no-pressure environment. People can come and have a look at people's projects and documentation and hopefully get inspired to try something new or develop an existing skill or knowledge area.

Hand sewn tunic by Lord Faelan and my braid and embroidery

Class notes and sundial by Master William and embroidered game board by Lord Faelan

Hand-sewn doll's dress by TH Baroness Linet

Klosterstitch angel by Lord Faelan

Embroidered ferrets

It is change of season here, and the weather has gone from quite warm to suddenly very wintry. Naturally there has been a spike in coughs and colds and other illnesses, and I have been sick with various viral and bacterial infections for over a month. This coupled with a hand injury has made my usual slow progress even slower (although that hardly seems possible)! I have had a lot of projects to work on for other people. Here is one that I was working on for a friend.....

One of my friends was invited to join a peerage Order, and his partner asked me to help her with a new jupon for him. She designed it and provided the materials, and I just needed to embroider some stem stitch outlines for her.

I worked these cute little guys in three strands of DMC floss in a split stitch. Once I was finished, I gave them back to my friend and she cut them out, needle-turn appliqued them down and couched thread around the outside.

The finished product was a work of art and a real credit to her. It shows how relatively simple (although time-consuming) techniques can be combined to create very dramatic designs. It has also inspired me to start thinking about different ways of incorporating embroidery into clothing.

Photo credit: C. Lindner

Split-stitch Embroidery on Linen Hoods

Another project for the big event; seam treatments and some embroidery on linen hoods.
The hoods were cut out and sewn up by my friends, I just had to flat fell some seams and do some hemming. Then it was time to mark out the embroidery. The cypher was designed by Sir Eva von Danzig.

 I traced the design onto tracing paper and marked around the outline with a really big needle. This left big holes around the outlines of the letters. I then pinned the tracing paper into place on the hood and drew over the outlines with a Frixion removable pen. The result was a line of dots marking the outline of the letters

The design is worked in split stitch embroidery in DMC cotton floss.

A&S Century Challenge - Secret Scribey Projects

#100DaysofAS
I've been working on projects for other people and doing scribal work, so no photos. I do have a picture of my special helper. :-)

A&S Century Challenge - Chemise Band

Today I marked out a simple embroidery design to go on a chemise band.

I used Frixion marker which disappears when ironed.

A&S Century Challenge - Embroidery Design

Today I spent my time working out a non-counted embroidery design. I am quite pleased with the result but I can't share photos until it is finished.

A delightful shopping trip!

I had a fun trip into my favourite costuming/cosplay shop today. I got to see the new premises and check out the new stock, as well as pick up some bargains!

It really is a one-stop shop for trims, notions, habby and embroidery threads. I got some hardware to bling up my new balzo, a chain, some ribbons, buttons, and lots of wool threads, so I am very happy.

If you are in Adelaide, pop in!

SCA Banner Device - Squirrels

After a couple of false starts, I recently managed to get another banner device finished.

The device is made of wool felt. The design elements are cut out and sewn on. Then embellishment is added with embroidery. I initially used tapestry wool, but the result was too thick and bulky so I unpicked it and used some fine embroidery wool. The ermines were made from large seed beads and drop beads, and the small details were sewn with DMC cotton floss. Some metallic thread was couched down, and then I added another piece onto the back to make the shape more solid.

The completed piece will be added to the Baronial device banner.

Update

I haven't posted much lately because I have been unwell, and I have been struggling with my projects. One of the problems I have been having is with my hands, which are not working well. This has been making it difficult to get the embroidery for the 'Perfectly Period Pink' IRCC Challenge done on time.
Also, I tried on my blue front lacing dress and it looks pretty awful. I must have lost a lot of muscle tone during my recent illness because it is too big (! what a shock - that has NEVER happened before :-)  !) Now, it just looks sloppy.  (I am happy with the way it looks on the hanger.) That setback has made it hard to keep my motivation up to finish the complete outfit. I will get back into my regular exercise routine, keep plugging away at the Realm of Venus mini-Challenge, and hopefully, when I get back to the project it will look better on me.

ICC Mini-Challenge - 'Perfectly Period Pink' Update

Like many costumers and SCA participants, for a long time I have been inspired by the extant 'Pisa dress'. I love the colour, the richness of the velvet, the style, and (most of all) the embroidery.

The Pisa gown from http://centuries-sewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/pisagownModa.jpg

images of the Pisa dress from  centuries-sewing.com

Image from Moda Firenze by Bruna Niccoli  and Roberta Orsi Landini

I have always wanted to try my hand at a version of the embroidery on this dress, so the ICC Mini Challenge seemed like a perfect opportunity. I chose to work on a pair of sleeves to give me an idea of how I would go if I decided to make a version of the whole gown later on.

There are other well known-examples of embroidered bands on Italian dresses, particularly those of Eleanora de Toledo:


Eleanora de Toledo by Bronzino (1543) from es.wikipedia.orgArchivo:Eleonora_di_Toledo_1543_Agnolo_Bronzino.jpg




Eleanora de Toledo burial gown bodice, image from http://aneafiles.webs.com/
(See also Anea's excellent article at http://aneafiles.webs.com/renaissancegallery/stays.html )

Image from Patterns of Fashion by Janet Arnold

Image from Moda Firenze

The embroidered panels on the 'Pisa' dress (copyright K. Carlisle) from http://cockatricearts.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/extant-dresses-in-pisa-updates-on.html - check out this site for an excellent article

I loosely based my embroidery design on the original on the extant 'Pisa' dress. I doodled until I found a design that flowed well and which resembled the original design. I then photocopied the panel and stuck the copies together until I had a repeating design. I photocopied that into a long continuous piece.

After pre-washing and ironing my fabric, I traced the design onto one edge and experimented with different types of thread and different stitches. Although the extant Pisa dress looks to have a lot of couching on it, I decided to avoid couching if possible. I have used couching to secure metallic thread on sleeves in the past, and I found that the couched threads regularly caught on aiglets and hooks and eyes, resulting in pulled threads. I didn't want to go to the trouble of embroidering sleeves that wouldn't wear well.

The pink chain stitch on  the right was the one  I decided to use

I tried the design in several crochet cottons and embroidery cottons. Budget was a factor, as I knew I would end up using a LOT of floss. I tested light and dark pinks as well as gold, and in the end settled on a DMC cotton floss as it sat really well with no fluffing. I also changed my mind about stitch type; the double running stitch I originally planned to use lacked impact, so I changed to chain stitch.



The next step was marking out the design panels ready to embroider.

(I had been so busy with other projects that I was almost a week into the challenge before I got to this stage!)


 I bought some fabric tracing paper which works like carbon paper, except that the design washes out in water. What a brilliant invention! I laid the 'carbon' paper on the fabric, and then put my photocopied design panel over the top and traced around the design. The only part of the design that I wasn't sure of was the little circles in the centre of the motif. I plan to try and change them into spirals.

I started embroidering the design in chain stitch. I haven't decided yet what stitch to use for the spirals.