Double Flower, Outer Flower

While in Cambridge, I had made a start on the outer part of the double flower and it kept calling to me to be finished. The first stage is to stitch the 'curls' on the outer petals. These are done in diagonal layer with bright pink flat silk. I found it difficult to get a good shape to the curls and each one took two or three attempts before I was happy with it.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

When all five curls where complete, the inside of the petals was stitched in fuzzy effect. The box chart suggested the same bright pink as the curls but Tamura-san said that he thought this might be too 'flat' and invited us to experiment with the colour for this part of the petal. After much consideration I opted to use the mauve that will be used elsewhere in the design. I think that the bluey tint helps the flat petal to recede and the curls to stand out.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Tamura-san also suggested that we add a 'shiner' to the weft valley layer of fuzzy effect. He explained that traditionally the shiner is added above main thread since most embroidery is done on kimono or obi and therefore viewed from above. However, Tamura-san is aware that in the west, an embroidery is more likely to be framed and hung on the wall, in this case, he suggested that the shiner might be more visible if placed below the main thread. I elected to use a single strand of 0.8 gold, placed above the mauve thread, where I hope it will catch the light and sparkle when displayed on the wall.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Finally, the main 1T mauve thread and the 0.8 gold thread are couched together with 0.5T mauve using vertically holding stitches.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I am very pleased with the completed flower and the new techniques that I learned stitching it.

Happy Stitching