Double Flower

I said that the first 3 flowers each contained a special technique, actually this one didn’t! The flower is Tamura-san’s own design, based on one in his inspiration source. The central flower is a cherry blossom, stitched in 3-1 twist with self-padding. Self-padding means that the same thread is used for padding as for the decorative stitching. I chose to stitch this element first as it is one that I am familiar with, I thought that it would calm my nerves, and by and large it did.

The face petal (the largest petal) is always stitched first. The padding stitches are laid perpendicular to vertical top layer. Each petal is padded and stitched before starting the next petal.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

After the face, the two arms are stitched and finally the legs. One leg always sits slightly under the other and this leg always stitched last. This may all sound very controlling but hundreds of years of modifying and improving technique have shown this to give the best finish.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

When all five petals are stitched, the stamens are added. In this case they are created with a single stitch of 3-1 twist with gold. Normally, straight stitches are couched, but Tamura-san’s design stated no couching. The central flower is completed with a single round knot in the same pink/gold twist, that Tamura-san called a seed.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Unfortunately, nearly every photograph I took during the classes is out of focus, I have salvaged some that hopefully demonstrate the various stages.

Happy Stitching