Threads Across the Web: Karahana

Showing posts with label Karahana. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 January 2009

Finishing ...

I often stitch a design because I want to do the embroidery even if I have little or no interest in the finished article. Once the embroidery is complete, I move onto my next project and as a consequence, I have a large number of UFOs - Unfinished Objects.

Back in September, I wrote that Karahana was finished but not 'Finished' and she has remained in that state ever since but now I need the frame for my next Phase piece. I invest too much time and effort into my Japanese Embroidery to allow it to languish as a UFO. Besides I am rather proud of them and want to see them framed and hung.

I’ve mentioned 'finishing' several times. Many forms of embroidery benefit from some finishing, even if only a light press. In Japanese Embroidery the finishing process is rather long and more than a little scarey.

First I examined the embroidery; confirming that I truly have finished the stitching and checking for lose threads.

I then examined the back of Karahana and noticed two large loops of thread. Normally, I would trim long threads to 2mm but because these are couching threads I did not want to cut them and risk the gold work becoming lose. I dealt with those in different way.

Next I beat the work with a velvet pad to remove any dust or lose fibers.

The stitching on the reverse was then glued with wheat starch paste. In Japan these embroideries usually adorn a kimono or odi, the 'glue' secures the stitching and prevents it from too much movement. I used the wheat paste to secure the loops of thread behind a stitched area.

Next I used a damp towel to first wipe over the glued areas to evenly distribute the paste and then, with a clean part of the towel, I wiped over the rest of the fabric before ...

... I steamed the entire work from underneath by draping a wet towel over a hot iron. I have a cordless iron that make this process a little safer but a corded iron should be unplugged from the mains before putting it any where near a wet towel.

I began the drying process by holding a cool iron just above the stitching, which is protected with a piece of 'finishing paper'. I keep the iron moving continuously to prevent scorching the silk and hold my free hand below the work to check that the iron is not too hot. I then left Karahana in a warm place to dry thoroughly.

The first time I went through this process, I was horrified and I still have my heart in my mouth every time I do it. While working the embroidery I take every care to keep it clean and dry, silk is easily marked even by water. Can you imagine what it is like doing this to work that you have spent months lovingly creating?

Just when you think it is finally Finished, begins the process or removing your work from the frame and mounting it.

Can you see any difference between this and the first picture?

I hope not.

And here is the lacing on the reverse of the mounting board.

Now she is Finished!

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, 10 September 2008

Karahana, Finished

Back in May, Pam left a comment about the couched threads

… I am curious about the couched thread between the leaves -- is that removed afterwards and then something else put in the space? …

I’m sorry that I ignored your question at the time Pam, but I wasn’t ready to reveal the 'secret' of the couched threads. You were half right, the threads are removed but nothing is put in their place, they are there to create an even space between the individual elements.

When I completed the first petal, I was sorely tempted to remove the yellow thread between the petal and the turn over to see how it looked but that would have been like reading the last page of the book when I had only read the first chapter. I determined to leave the couched threads in place until all the gold work was complete and then savour the moment when I removed the threads and could see Karahana truly finished. (Yes, I do realise how sad that sounds.) And as if that isn’t sad enough, I decided to remove the threads in reverse order to that in which they were stitched.

First to go was the short length of orange thread between the fifth and sixth petals.

These first two photographs show how different the gold looks with the spacer threads removed so that the background silk shows between the separate elements.

It can be a bit fiddly removing the couching stitches; I find the easiest way (once the first few stitches are removed) is to gently tug on the spacer thread. This lifts the couching thread and forms a loop into which you can insert your tekobari and then gently remove the stitch.

Some of the stitches won’t come, usually because you have caught the thread with a subsequent stitch. When this happens, it sometimes helps to turn the frame over and work from the back.

This is when you are grateful that your sensei advised you to couch the spacing threads in white couching thread. Imagine if you had used the same orange thread that you used to couch the gold!

Eventually, the only spacing threads that remain are the double row that I couched between the flower center and the petals back in March.

And then even they are gone and Karahana is finished.

It feels as if I have been stitching this Phase for a long time, but both Phase I and II took me 12 months where Karahana has only take 6 months. I have really enjoyed stitching this design and hope to do another gold work design in the future but in the short term I will be happy to get back to stitching with silk.

Thank you to everyone who left comments or emailed support and encouragement throughout this project, I greatly appreciate your kind words about my work.

Happy Stitching

Tuesday, 9 September 2008

Karahana, finished but not Finished

Before going to Manchester for the Stitching and Creative Crafts Show and the day I returned, I’d managed a few hours stitching on Karahana.

I’d completed the outlines on the trefoils, before I left and made a start on the stems, which are worked in a line of staggered diagonals with #1 gold half hitched onto the needle. A line of staggered diagonals is the Japanese embroidery equivalent of stem stitch.

After the weekend I worked the remaining stems and redid the outlines of the two completed leaves. I’m much happier with how they look now.

With only the top stem and leaf to finish, I was confident that Karahana would be complete by the end of the week! Never count your chickens!

It was Sunday before I was able to hold a needle again and then only for a few minutes at a time. Fortunately, all that remained was not time consuming; 30 minutes stitching in the morning was sufficient to couch the top stem and later that day I was able to complete the final leaf.

It is very satisfying to see the gold work complete on Karahana, I have thoroughly enjoyed stitching her. All that remains now is a little 'finishing' before I do the actual finishing process and mounting.

Happy Stitching

Monday, 18 August 2008

Karahana, trefoils

It is frustrating to have so little stitching time when I am tantalizingly close to finishing Karahana. An hour here, an hour there, I have finished padding and stitching the trefoils, next I have to outline them with a couched pair of #4 gold.

For me stitching with #1 gold over the padded shapes has been the most difficult technique on this design. From some angels my stitching looks awful but from others it looks ok. I all depends how the light catches it.

Happy Stitching

Sunday, 10 August 2008

Karahana, stems and trefoils

Lucky me, I was able to stitch Friday evening, all day Saturday and much of Sunday. Better still, on Saturday I was stitching with friends. Sue invited me to join her and Jenny (another member of the Bournemouth Crew) for a days stitching at her home.

Jenny, a very experienced stitcher and accredited teacher of Japanese Embroidery, was adding the final touches to Yushoku Summer, the Phase XI design. After learning all 46 techniques in Phases I-X, students learn about 'sensibility' through Phases XI-XX. Yushoku Summer is stitched on a special fabric called Ro that is woven with a row of holes in the weft valley and is used for summer kimonos. Sue informs me that Jenny completed the stitching on Sunday. Well done, Jenny.

Sue is also close to completing Bouquet from the Heart of Japan, a Phase I design that she is stitching as a practice piece. It is common practice to stitch a practice piece along side or between Phases to consolidate the techniques you are learning.

With so much stitching time I was hopeful that I would finish or at least come close to finishing Karahana but as usual I grossly underestimated how long things would take me.

I did manage to outline the two woven effect leaves with a couched pair of #4 gold threads and to complete the lower part of the stem in the same way.

After my initial elation at completing the bottom half of the design, something bothered me about the way the leaves joined the stem; it looked clumsy. I examined the photographs supplied with the box chart and those that I took at Bournemouth (there is always a stitched version of the Phase pieces available during the class for students to refer to) and could see how it differed from mine. I am going to rework mine. It won’t take terribly long and I will not be satisfied if I leave it as is.

The trefoils are padded in the same manner as the flower centre but not as fully. I used two layers of padding cotton (four strands) and one layer of silk (four strands on the central part and 2 strands on the outer parts). The stitching is a horizontal foundation in #1 gold. As usual the foreground element is padded and stitched before the elements behind them. In this case the center part is uppermost.

When all three parts are padded and stitched, the trefoil is outlined with a couched pair of #4 gold.

I probably still have as much stitching remaining as I manged to do this weekend.

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, 6 August 2008

Karahana, woven effect

As discussed yesterday, last weekend was stitching free so here is one I did earlier.

The three leaves on Karahana are stitched in a design called woven effect. I have already used this technique on Venerable Friends and I like both the stitching and the finished effect. You begin by laying a weft foundation, but unlike a normal foundation where you cover the fabric completely, for woven effect you lay two stitches then miss a stitch resulting in a stripped effect. When the entire motif has been filled in this manner, stitches are laid perpendicular to the foundation at 5mm intervals.

The perpendicular stitches are couched between each pair of foundation stitches. This holds both the foundation and the perpendicular stitches in place. Stitching into the space between the original stitches then completes the foundation. These stitches also serve to hide the couching stitches and the perpendicular stitches now appear to weave under and over the foundation. Finally the new stitches are couched half way between each perpendicular stitch so that they also appear to weave in and out.

For the scroll on Venerable Friends the foundation was stitched in flat silk and #1 gold was used for the perpendicular stitches; on Karahana both the foundation and the perpendicular stitches are worked in #1 twisted gold. I like both versions but I think that the twisted good looks really effective.

I stitched this leaf while in Bournemouth earlier this year. Last night I completed a second leaf slightly smaller that the smallest petal. Where as it took me 4.5 hours to fill the petal with #4 gold couched round and round, it took me little more than an hour to fill this leaf from start to finish.

Happy Stitching

Thursday, 31 July 2008

Karahana, the last petal

When I am nearing the end of a good book I feel compelled to finish the book as quickly as possible. Not by reading faster (like most things I do, I read slowly and don’t know how to read faster) but by spending every spare minute nose in book. It is the same when I am nearing the end of a stitching project; I want to spend every spare minute stitching. The paradox is that when I complete the project or finish the book, I know that I will feel sad that it is over.

My feeling is that when all the petals on Karahana are couched, the remaining elements will stitch relatively quickly, so I think I am nearing completion. Even if that proves not to be the case, stitching the petals was such a time consuming exercise that it was like a mini project; the desire to finish the petals was compelling enough on its own. Throughout the week I have snatched an hour here and half an hour there, even getting up at six o’clock this morning just to finish it (that’s early for me). I actually woke up at four o’clock and was very tempted to get up then, knowing how frequently I underestimate the time needed to do anything, but the poor light convinced me that I should stay in bed!

On this occasion the two hours I thought it would take proved sufficient time to finish the petal without rushing.

This is the smallest petal and it has no turnover like the other petals so it took considerably less time to complete, even so it took me four and a half hours to stitch petal number six. I wish I had kept a record of how long each of the other petals took.

At 8.00am it was still heavily overcast and beginning to rain but even in such low light levels the gold gleams. It truly is beautiful substance both to look at and to work with.

Now I have all the satisfaction of having completed the mini project and still have the excited anticipation of stitching the remaining elements using different techniques. A bit like finishing a good book but already having the sequel to begin reading straight away.

Happy Stitching, indeed.

Friday, 25 July 2008

Karahana, the fifth petal

I had some unexpected stitching time at the beginning of the week that allowed me to complete the fifth petal. This petal is smaller than those I have already stitched but I also think that I am stitching slightly quicker than when I began. I suppose that is to be expected.

After completing each petal I wonder whether to continue with the petals or to have a change and stitch a different element. With only one small petal remaining I will definitely complete that petal before turning to the leaves, stems and stamens.

I feel that I have reached a turning point with this piece now and expect the remainder to be completed relatively quickly, provided I get some stitching time.

Happy Stitching

Monday, 23 June 2008

Karahana, another petal

I determined to make some time for Japanese Embroidery this weekend and was able to complete the third petal on Karahana.

I have got used to my varifocal glasses now and I think the stitching on this petal is better than on the second petal.

This is how it looks so far. The remaining three petals should take rather less time to stitch than their larger neighbours. I just have to determine to make time more often!

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Karahana, Head-Hands-Feet

I don’t seem to get much stitching time lately and everything I am work on is time consuming so I am making very slow progress. Last time I blogged about Karahana I was wondering which petal to stitch next. Christine kindly left a comment and reminded me on the principle of head-hands-feet. We learn this at Phase I when we are taught how to stitch the five petalled cherry and plum blossoms. One petal is always slightly bigger and on top of all the other petals. Regardless of how the blossom is orientated, this is the head and is stitched first. The two petals either side of the head are the hands, they are stitched next. The two remaining petals are the feet. One foot is always in front of the other; this foot is stitched next and finally the remaining foot that is behind all the other petals.

Susan, of Plays with Needles, was also kind enough to email me and attached a labelled diagram of the order she stitched the petals in. Susan’s diagram suggested that after the two petals I have already stitched I should complete the right hand side and then stitch the two petals on the left. Both ways stick to the basic rule that the uppermost petals are stitched before any that lie behind them. I decided to go with head-hands-feet for no particular reason other than it feels balanced!

You can see Susan's beautifully stitched Karahana here.

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, 7 May 2008

Karahana, Second Petal

A day at home recovering from a tummy upset gave me some unexpected stitching time. What could be nicer that stitching beside an open patio door with the warm of sun and a cool breeze pouring in and listening to the birds singing. Combined with the mesmerising rhythm of couching gold work, little wonder I was feeling totally chilled out by the time J came home from work with fish and chips for our dinner.

The round and round couching on this petal was stitched entirely wearing my new glasses. I don’t think that the stitching is quiet as good as the first petal, but I am determined to get used to them and not revert to wearing the Eschenbach, which I am sure do my eyes no favours.

I am still enjoying the couching but am wondering whether to take a break from it and work on Venerable Friends so that I do not become bored with it, or whether to press on while I am into it. If I continue, I am also wondering which petal to stitch next. If I do the one to the left of the first petal, all the large petals will be finished and I’ll only have small areas of couching left. On the other hand, if I do the two remaining petals on the right, one half of the flower will be complete. Decisions, decisions! I wonder if others waste time over trivial decisions the way I do!

Happy stitching

Monday, 5 May 2008

New Glasses

It has become my habit to stitch wearing my 'old' reading/sewing glasses and the Eschenbach. On one hand I like it because the Eschenbach magnify the work so that I can see it easily, on the other hand they tire my eyes and it has become obvious to me that my 'old' glasses are no longer up to the job. When I had my eyes tested, the optician suggested that I might benefit from varifocals, so on Saturday I collected a strange and very expensive 'new' pair of glasses. At the optician’s they gave me a crash course on how to move my eyes up and down through the different focal lengths and to pan side to side with my head rather than my eyes.

My initial impression is a good one but I have to retrain myself to stop peering over the top of the glass for distance and get used to walking around in them – twice I’ve nearly fallen over as the ground rushed up to meet me!

The real test for me is "can I stitch in them?", and I am happy to report that I can. Again, I have to retrain my eyes, the reading/stitching focal length is in the bottom of the lenses – I have to drop my eyes rather than my head – at the moment this is a conscience movement but I am sure that it will become natural after a few hours stitching. The good news is that I can see (nearly) as well with the 'new' glasses as I could with the 'old' glasses and the Eschenbach. This is me threading a size 6 hand-made needle with ease.

Karahana is certainly a good workout for new glasses. I think gold work is quite hard on the eyes even in good light. This weekend the light has not been ideal; it was either overcast or patchy cloud, which means one moment you are stitching in poor light and the next the sun bounces of the gold enough to blind you, but I think I have managed quiet well. Comparing the stitches to those on the first petal, I don’t think they are quiet as good but I think when I get used to the 'new' glasses they will improve – practice makes perfect!

So now when I am stitching with one eye and watching TV with the other I will have to retrain myself to not keep sliding my glasses up and down my nose!

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Karahana, Guidelines

I’ve done a little bit of this and a little bit of that but not made much progress with anything.

I’ve started to add a second layer of stitching on the strawberry purse but am still not getting the look I want so have paused to think about it some more. I so want to make this project that I am loath to give up, but it is causing me so much trouble that I am not entirely enjoying the process.

From a blogging point of view, I’m not sure that Karahana will be of much interest for a while. The next five petals are repeats of the one just completed. I can post progress reports but no real new information until I move on to a different design element.

I have made a little progress this week. With the uppermost petal complete, I have begun to the two petals either side of it. The turnovers are worked first and I have completed the two rows of couching round and round. The first round takes longest to work, as I need to take care to cover the very visible black outline on the fabric and to space the couching stitches evenly. Once this row is in place, the subsequent ones generally go a little quicker. I feel as if I am getting a bit quicker at this technique. That may be down to my growing confidence at handling the gold threads.

Before the box couching can commence, I need to stitch guidelines and add the padded lines. I have taken care to align the vertical guidelines with the now covered guidelines on the first petal. I don’t know if this is necessary since they are individual petals, but it is an important detail to me. I have also put in a single horizontal guideline on each turnover to align them horizontally as well as vertically. At least, that’s the plan!

While taking this picture, I realised that I have not done enough lines, they should be spaced every 3 mm rather than every 6 mm as I have done them. I’m glad that I noticed that before I couched all the padding cotton in place!

Happy Stitching

Tuesday, 15 April 2008

Karahana, Petal

The flower petals are worked in a technique called couching: one pair, round and round. The name of this technique describes it very accurately. You take a pair of gold threads wound onto koma and you couch them as a pair, first around the outline of the shape. This is the most important round. The pair of threads must follow the outline precisely with well-formed corners. If the first round is not correct none of the subsequent rounds will be correct either.

When you have couched around the circumference of the shape you continue to couch a second round, without ending and restarting the thread, inside the first round.

And you continue in this fashion, couching round and round ...

... and round and round ...

... and round and round until you have filled the entire shape.

The aim is to maintain an even (very narrow) gap between each pair of threads; to make definite, well formed corners and to produce an attractive pattern with the couching stitches. In this case the stitches are alternated to form a ‘brick’ effect. Depending on whether you are stitching a concave or convex curve, stitches may need to be dropped or added to maintain regular spacing. It can be difficult to determine where and when this should happen.

One petal completed, five to go. I am fond of gold work and, when I settle into it, find couching to be very relaxing, almost meditative. However, it is very time-consuming, I estimate that the couching: round and round on this petal alone took me more than 20 hours of stitching time. The amount of work still to be done on this design is somewhat daunting!

I hope that my blog gives you some insight into the techniques employed in Japanese embroidery but please note that they are not intended to be a comprehensive tutorial. There are many more things to be learnt than can be described in a few paragraphs, and I am still learning them. If you would like to learn more about Japanese Embroidery, please visit the Japanese Embroidery Centre website for a list of certified tutors, or their on-line store for publications. Alternatively, details of the bi-annual classes held by my sensei (tutor) can be found on the Japanese Embroidery (UK) website.

Happy Stitching

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

Karahana, Petal Turnover

Many years ago, I saw a gold work sampler on display in a local embroidery shop. I was very taken with it, particularly one technique that I dubbed 'wave effect'. The first time I saw Karahana, I recognised the 'wave effect' on the petal turnovers. In Japanese Embroidery it is known as box couching.

It is usual to stitch the decorative outline of a shape last, to neaten and define the edges. Unusually the turnover on the petal is outlined with two pairs of #4 gold, couched round and round before the shape is filled with box couching. A grid of guidelines is then stitched before the padding is worked. The padding is strands of padding cotton, that are couched with very close stitches to form a firm, smooth support for the gold.

The couching method used is called 'single strand, to and fro'. A single strand of #4 gold is stitched into place at one side of the shape and then laid across the shape at right angles to the padding. It is then secured with a stitch at the other end before being bent back on itself to form a pair of threads. These are couched as a pair, working back from the second stitch towards the first stitch.

To form the box pattern, the gold is only couched after every second row of padding, so that the thread is raised over a pair of padded rows and a valley is created between the pairs. This is repeated for several rows, couching into the same valley, after which, the couching stitches are made between the original pair for the same number of rows.

The valleys continue alternating in this way until the shape is filled.