Embroidery on paper is a blended embroidery technique. There
are three main stitches you will use most frequently when stitching your motto.
1.The Basic Satin Stitch
Begin sewing on the left side of the
pattern, then follow your angle until the pattern ends, always keeping your
floss on a 45 degree angle. (see diagram-the grey area represents the printed
pattern). Think of your perforations as boxes, each hole making up one corner.
You will always stitch from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. This is
known as a satin stitch. The lengths of the stitches can
vary depending on the printed pattern. "Satin" stitching is a long, flat,
back-and-forth stitch made from one side of the design to the other and has a
smooth appearance when finished. Again, some of the stitches may be very long while
others may be short. (see diagram) Stitch from a to
b then c to d, etc. This will allow your
variegated thread to gradually change colors and will conserve
thread).
2. The Tent Stitch
 The tent stitch is just a 2
hole satin stitch. (also called a half cross stitch.) Work from left to right as
shown in the diagram. The grey shaded area represents your printed pattern. You
will notice that the stitching is only done over the print. (Work from a
to b, then c to d, then e to , etc . You will
be stitching into some holes twice, as in the case of d and f.)
3. The Back Stitch
To Back Stitch, bring your needle
up a few holes in front of
your desired starting point (s ee diagram) and stitch
back to your starting point. Stitch from a to b
then c to a again, then d back to
c and so forth…—see diagram!) Follow the scrollwork exactly. Try to
keep the back stitches the same length. When stitching around tight curves, the
stitches may need to be smaller. This is fine! But most importantly follow the
scrollwork.
(b is the desired starting point although you pull your needle
up through hole a))
Stitching your motto: First steps.
To begin your motto,
use the tapestry needle enclosed in your kit. Using all six strands of
floss, thread the needle without knotting the end.
Pull your needle and thread from the back of the paper up through the front,
holding a small length of floss (or a "tail"). Be sure you do not pull
the tail through. Now, you will follow your samplers detailed stitching guide to
guide you the rest of the way. This will tell you the stitches you should use
for each part of your motto, and which colors you should use.
When
stitching the lowercase letters in a word, it is a good idea to try to
keep each of the letters in the word the same width. For example, if a lowercase "a" is three holes
wide, then make the next lowercase letter the same width. Sometimes the printed
pattern will fall between two holes, so this is where keeping each letter the
same thickness comes in. Continue working on
the letter, until you have completed it.
When you finish a letter, run the needle through the backside of the
stitching so that the thread is secured. Clip the end of your thread closely
leaving a short tail that will not show on the front of your paper in
areas without part of the printed design. Now you are ready to move on to
the next letter. Make sure you do not "jump" with your thread to the next letter
or you will see thread between letters where it does not belong. Secure your
thread, clip your thread and move on to the next letter.
To
fill in the "scrollwork,"
(usually vines or other narrow lines) you will either use a tent stitch,
a scattered cross stitch or a
back stitch. You may be asked to cross stitch along the pattern
line. Usually in old mottos, the cross stitch is only every few holes to give the
overall appearance of delicate fancy work. You could choose to back
stitch.
The back stitch moves along quickly and does not
have to be stitched on the 45 degree angle.
There are no "hard and fast" rules about sewing your motto-- do what you
think looks the nicest. No two mottos will stitch up exactly alike. Most old
mottos vary in stitching style. It is obvious that the women of that
day used whatever threads they had available to them, in any mixture of textures or colors. This
adds character to your vintage pattern and also gives you the freedom to
experiment to see what you like the best. You will find that many
of the questions you first have about stitching your motto will be answered by
just trying it. It is easy and fun!
Some other tips:
I find that the most comfortable stitching position is to place the punched
paper on my lap and stitch in that position.
When the printed pattern on the motto falls between two holes, choose
whatever hole looks the best to the eye and makes the letter look smooth and
neat. You may have to try each hole to see which is the best. Remember to
consider how wide the other letters in your word are and then stitch to the best
hole.
To give your motto a truly vintage look, lightly shade around your stitching
with a brown artists pencil (I prefer to use Prismacolor® pencils, which are
available at your local hobby and craft shops. You can buy them by the
piece...so you don't have to pay for a whole box when you only want the brown!) This gives the motto an old,
worn look. Another favorite trick is to gently rub some brown matte eye shadow
around your stitched design. My favorite color to use for the task is Mary Kay's
Signature Eyeshadow shade Copper Penny. This is easy to remove if you decide you don’t like
the way it looks. This is my favorite method!
Many old mottos had a glittery gold or silver foil behind them to accentuate
the tiny perforations in the paper and give a shimmery Victorian effect to each
motto. We include gold foil in each kit. When you are done stitching your motto,
simply crumple your gold foil into a ball and then spread it flat behind motto.
Then frame as usual. For an old, primitive look, do not use the foil.
Remember that you are working with paper and it will rip if pulled too
hard. Also, it will crease if it is folded. If, while you are working on your motto,
you notice that it has become creased, you can use a warm, dry iron on the back
of your paper to smooth any wrinkles.
Do not use steam, as this will leave watermarks!
Most importantly, RELAX and enjoy your newly found past time! Each motto is
an original work of art as no two mottos stitch up exactly alike. It is fun and
you will be pleased with the quick and beautiful results you achieve!
I hope you enjoy stitching your motto as much as I do! They
will be treasured heirloom pieces for years to come!
Please feel free to send me high quality pictures of your finished motto as I
will be displaying them on our Wall of Fame. Mail photos to: Vintage Needleworks
28 Elm Street, Halifax, MA. 02338. I look forward to seeing how you have
decorated your home with them!
Illustrations and text ©2002 Vintage Needleworks.
Questions or comments? Contact
sarah@vintageneedleworks.com
Thanks so much for visiting!
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Vintage
EMBROIDERY
ON PAPER!