Floral Glove - your questions answered!

Thank you all for your comments.  I will attempt to answer your questions.

Firstly - Hints for Satin Stitch

When stitching satin stitch on the leaves the first stitch is made along the centre vein of the leaf.  It is stitched from the base to the tip and the tip should be 'hyper-extended' - ie made one needle width longer than the traced outline on the tip.  This adds to the illusion of length and gives a pleasing shape to the leaf.  The following stitches are stitched following the traced outlined.

 In the stitch guide, the principal "less is more"is recommended.  This means that when stitching leaves and petals you should avoid the temptation to create shorter and shorter stitches as you move from the centre to the outside curve of the leaf.  Too many short stitches on the outside edges tends to make the leaf look short and squat rather than long and slender.

Another tip I like to use, which is not contained in the notes for the floral glove, is the technique of polishingthe threads once the area has been stitched.  Although this technique is usually applied to padded satin stitch, I found it  worked quite well with the Soie Paris silk threads.

Susan O'Çonnor provides a very good description of this technique in her book Monograms The Art of Embroidered Letterspublished by Country Bumpkin.

Polishing consists of rubbing the threads with a large tapestry needle in the direction that the stitches lie. The stitches are flattened and packed together to create a smooth lustrous finish.

Secondly - How long is a piece of string???

I'm not sure how to answer the question  relating to how long it has taken to stitch the glove.

I am not a fast stitcher.  I tend to get lost in the moment and relish the time spent stitching.  I also tend to be a bit of a perfectionist - so "reverse stitching" (unpicking) often takes up precious stitching time. I am still struggling with the pre-traced design - I am finding the inconsistency in the tracing of the design elements hard to overlook.  While some of it can be fixed by reshaping the elements when the backstitch is applied around the outside edge before filling with long and short or satin stitch, in some areas this has not been possible.

Also I am easily distracted when it comes to embroidery and am prone to working on multiple projects at any given time, and while I am working on them I am thinking about the other half dozen I would like to do! 

Having said that I haven't found the project a burden as far as time is concerned.  (Even though Lesson 2 has arrived and I haven't completed Lesson 1).  The foundation work always seems to take a fair amount of time and I like to complete all of the backstitch around the outlines of my deign first so that I can get into a rhythm with the long and short stitch and satin stitch.

I am still keen to go ahead with the Masterclass even though there will be an overlap with the projects.

 

Comments

[Elmsley Rose]

I'll see you at the Master Class!

And investigate this polishing/stroking threads concept :-)

[Julie]

I am also taking this class. Everytime I pick it up to begin it, I take one look at how small the design area is and put it down. I think I am intimidated by how small the design is as I have not worked one this petite. Any insights?

And I am signed up for the Masterclass also! I couldn't pass up the opportunity, even though I will have several classes/projects going at the same time.