Crewel Embroidery Made Easy

Men and women are usually into fashion, and that is where the importance of Crewel embroidery came from. The lightly stenciled patterns in the fabrics of dresses, which are then embroidered over by a cotton thread, are samples of this needlework. It is the type of artful stitching that gives elaborate handwork on every pattern or design on clothing, may it be on shirt, jacket, shawl, hat, or pants. It is classified in the free style art of weaving or needlework, which means that the craftsmanship lies solely on the finished design net of the underlying fabric. It also involves distinct materials to ensure perfect needlecraft:

- Embroidery needles- are especially designed needles varying in sizes and holes. There are some that are straight while some are curved for even easier stitching. For Crewel embroidery, there is also a set of these needles applicable for the handwork alone. These are usually sharp and elongated eyed needles.

- Embroidery threads- are cotton threads that vary in color, thickness, and materials. These are usually named in numbers to easily identify which will be used in a specific design. When doing Crewel embroidery, using the right number and set of materials for its thread is very important as it heavily influence the end product of a design.

- Embroidery Floss- is a kind of thread composed of six loosely twisted strands. It is available in a variety of material: cotton, silk, rayon, sheen, linen, and metallic ones. Usually, it has a length of 8.7 yards or 8 meters as a standard.

- Embroidery hoops-are oval or circular rings that comes in two?s. These are used in fitting in the cloth to avoid any miscalculation in the needlework. The larger of the two circles have an adjustable screw for tightening the hoops together so the fabric will be stretched for easier stitching. Machine frames are different as these are in rectangular shapes.

- Crewel Embroidery demands sturdy and weaved tightly base fabrics to keep the needlework from sagging. It also provides tension while the design is being done but the use of frames like hoops is still very important. It ensures that the design will never distort of crumple during and after the needlecraft is done.

The stunning technique of Crewel embroidery is also a long way to follow. In fact, these are museum pieces traced back to the early 1500s as part of European culture. It was introduced when the East started trading their fine wool, although the word crewel was used even earlier in 1494. It refers to wool yarns used in crewelwork. The word is also used as a joke that means the cruelty of the needle?s pricks every practicing person will need to endure.

To date, the culture lives on and it spread across continents. Women, especially, are drawn to the relaxing process of crewel embroidery. Mothers love designing and producing designs they love their families to wear and homes to use. Also, this technique of needle craft is among the best employment nowadays due to the high demands of fashionable dresses and home fabric decorations.

It's materials are also widely available over the counters and even online. On top of that, formal trainings and schoolings are also offered to those willing to embark on it as either a business or simple pastime.

The Different Types of Embroidery Thread

In simple embroidery tasks, there are only three things to consider to get going. These are the fabric, needle, and of course the embroidery thread. Any type and kind of these materials will do but not if designing a cloth with embroideries. The task will surely need a complementing size, texture, and color of thread.

This is because the thread is what will remain over the fabric so ensuring that the thread will not distort or twist in place is very important. For that, you can choose the right partner for a specific needlework from the following types of embroidery threads:

- Embroidery floss or stranded cotton. This type of thread is composed of six strands of twisted threads of cotton, silk, rayon, linen, and the newly added novelty materials of flosses. The cotton ones are usually used in hand embroideries like cross stitching and the likes. The shiny silk and rayon are more used in Brazilian embroideries, while linen threads are used on periodic costumes.

- Perle cotton, pearl cotton, or French coton perlé is another type of embroidery threads. This is an S twisted thread that is composed of 2 plies of thread. Like the rayon floss, it is extremely shiny. It is popular in three sizes and weights and is best described in numbers like No. 3, 4, and 8 with 8 as the smallest.

- Matte embroidery cotton or French coton à broder is the participation of French in the needle art. It is a matte-finish, which simply means not glossy in layman?s terms. This is the type of thread that has 5 plies of twisted thread.

- Medici or broder medici is a branded thread from the famous DMC Group. It is a fine, light-weight wool that is used for everyday hand embroidery. To date it is no longer patent to its manufacturer

- Crewel yarn is another type of a especial thread used for Crewel embroidery. It is a type of thread that is composed of 2 plies of fine yarn of wool. Sometimes a wool-like acrylic is also applicable as a substitute.

- Persian yarn is a thread basically manufactured from the Persian makers. This is a type of embroidery thread that is made up of 3 strands of loosely twisted yarn of wool or acrylic. This type is usually used for needlepoint.

- Tapestry yarn or tapestry wool is the last type of embroidery thread. It is composed of 4 plies of tightly twisted yarn.

All of these are basically used for hand embroidery while there are also a set of different types of yarn for machine embroidery, which are often of polyester or rayon but cotton or silk are also available.

The choice made for embroidery thread will definitely make a great intervention in the end product of the embroidery task. It is therefore expected that before making a pick, the base fabric and the needle are also considered. Ensure that the rest of embroidery materials to be used for designing are complementing each other.

Remember that as simple as a sagging base fabric can distort the entire needlework, so ensure that the hoops and its clams are always at its best functionality before going to work. Also, the numbers of the thread and needle must match to ensure compatibility before anything else.

Have Fun with Silk-Ribbon Embroidery

Give silk-ribbon embroidery a shot and you?ll be surprised with the romantic result you have come up with.

This is just among the old art forms that have become popular again these days. It uses not just ribbons but also perle cotton and embroidery floss to serve as ornamental floral motifs and stitch patterns on a piece of fabric or accessory. Embroidered by hand, silk ribbon can be made with just basic stitches to provide your stuff with antique quality embroidery. Among the various forms of embroidery, this one is so easy to do that even a neophyte embroiderer can make eye-catching patterns with a few simple stitches.

History

Also tagged as Rococo Embroidery, the silk-ribbon embroidery first appeared in England in the early 17th century. This design came up when the dressmakers in London tended to copy a French style called ?embroidery de favour.? This form of embroidery continued to appear in European fashion and had its full bloom in the 18th century when it dominated the ornamental arts and fashion in most parts of Europe. But its story doesn?t end there because rococo embroidery continuously reappears in the fashion world for around every fifty years.

Uses of Silk-Ribbon Embroidery

Ribbon embroidery showcases the finest stitches to decorate quilts, clothing, towels, pillowcases and other fabric items. It can also be utilized to embellish sachets and artworks that are framed. When stitching blooms and birds, silk ribbon is usually used. Depending on the skill of the embroiderer, this form of embroidery suits almost anything that?s embroidered including scarves, bonnets and many other fashion accessories.

House decorations can also be ornamented by embroidered ribbons. Just imagine how your lampshades, table cloths and picture frames will look like with stylish ribbon embroidery. Another great advantage of ribbon embroidery is that it can be made even without needles. When your needle seem to be out of sight, you can just tie up the silk ribbon at the place where you want it to be. Ribbon embroidery delivers a pleasurable result most of the time especially now that ribbons are offered in different colors, sizes, width and texture.

Silk-ribbon Embroidery Basics

The four things a novice embroiderer will need are: a wide-eye needle, silk ribbon, fabric to stitch on, and your own share of creativity. Remember that silk ribbons come in various width and sizes so the needle you must use should have an eye that?s wide enough to accommodate the ribbon.

One thing an inexperienced embroiderer like you should remember is ? you don?t make mistakes but variations in this type of embroidery. When you accidentally pulled the ribbon too tightly or you?ve made lopsided stitches, you only make your project realistic while showing off your personality in your embroidered piece. Further, ribbon is more advantageous than floss because it is wider, so you can work it up quickly and spread it easily.

So all is set now and you are about to begin embroidering. Bear in mind that knotting the needle in silk ribbon embroidery is far different from tying floss. Don?t make a mistake of tying a knot at the end. To make the knot, let the ribbon pass through the eye of the needle. Then fold a small border on the other end of the ribbon and pierce it using the needle. Pull both the ribbon and the needle all way through to make to knot.

Now that you have already made a knot, you can come up with wide range of attractive stitch patterns. Among the five easy stitches you can employ are ribbon stitch, lazy daisy stitch, stem stitch, straight stitch and French knots.

So there. The basics are now provided to you, have fun and enjoy your silk-ribbon embroidery project!