Design Transfer and Line of Held Thread

One of the skills I am learning in Phase IX of Japanese Embroidery instruction is something called superimposed work.

Superimposed work is stitching on top of a stitched ground or foundation.  I've completed some superimposed work already when I laid goldwork leaves and cherry blossoms over a black twisted thread foundation.



After finishing the flat silk stitching of the box legs,  I'm ready to superimpose more embroidery details on top of what I've already stitched, building the embroidery detail in layers.

First, I need to transfer the embroidery design again.  Most of the time, I hand draw on tissue paper and transfer the design that way (the tree on my January Reflections piece was done this way).  In order to be a bit more precise, I will sometimes print the pattern onto tissue paper using the copy setting on my printer.

First, I tape a piece of tracing paper (I like Bienfang best) onto a plain sheet of copy paper...


 
Next, I set the copy setting on the lowest possible ink density.



You don't want too much ink because it can flake off and get on your embroidery which wouldn't be great.   In fact, if I were working with light colors I probably wouldn't use this printer method but would instead trace it by hand to avoid this potential problem.

Once the pattern is copied, I actually cut the sheet of tissue paper into pieces along the dotted lines.  I didn't get a picture of this step but it's kind of important.



Because the fabric is stretched on a frame, the pattern doesn't always fit the space exactly.  By cutting the tissue pattern along the dotted lines, I'm able to more accurately fit the design over the top of the box, the left leg and the right leg and baste them in place.  If I tried to fit the transfer without cutting the tissue, it would be nearly impossible to line up the design accurately.  I hope that makes sense.

Next, I transfer the design by using one of my couching threads in the color that either matches the foundation or matches the embroidery to be superimposed.  In this case, I'll be stitching the box ties and tassels using a reddish-orange silk so I used a red couching thread to transfer my design.  For the tiny metal fittings on the box legs, I used gold couching thread.

A design can be transferred using running stitch or a line of held thread.  I chose line of held thread in this instance because I like that it gives me a firm edge over which to lay my flat silk for the tassel.

A line of held thread begins by stitching one long straight stitch along the design line.  In the example below, I chose to stitch one side of the tassel...



Because the tassel side curves, my tension is somewhat loose on that thread so that I can couch the line in place over the design line.  The first couching stitch is in the center of the line (see above).

Next, I begin shaping my long stitch along the design line by couching halfway again between the middle stitch and the ends of my thread...

I continued to couch the thread evenly by continuing to divide each space in half...

Until I've securely couched down the entire design line...

If the shape is very curvy, my couching stitches will be closer together.

After I score the tissue paper and remove it from my work with a tweezer, I'm ready to begin stitching the cord, tassels and metal fitting on the legs of the box.

Now for the disclaimer.  I am by no means an expert Japanese embroiderer.  I am a student.  The information that I share here is my own experience and not necessarily the gospel as it relates to Japanese embroidery.  There may be readers who are far more experienced than I who would like to chime in and I welcome their input.  Also, my teacher may buzz in here every now and then to correct me and when she does, I will share that as well.

Thank you for coming along for the journey.  I hope you will find information here that will help you with your own needlework.

Now, I'm back to work.  Until next time!

Right Diagonals

In Japanese embroidery, one of the basic techniques for filling a shape is called diagonal layer.

Diagonal layer uses right diagonal stitches from upper right to bottom left.

With two strands of flat, filament silk I proceeded to stitch the legs of the sake box from the upper right to bottom left just like the textbook said.

I'm a little rusty at laying flat silk since I've been laying goldwork for months and months.

When I finished, I thought it looked pretty good, not great.  My silk tension was uneven which didn't worry me too much since the area will be covered by more superimposed goldwork.  That should mask some of my problems which is one reason why I stitched the legs as a bit of a warm-up...

Making progress, I thought, until my teacher buzzed in and told me that the orientation of the stitch is not to myself, the stitcher, but to the top of the piece.  In other words, my right diagonals were actually left diagonals and I had stitched them incorrectly.

So...



Out they came and I re-stitched them properly from top right to bottom left...

When I think about it, that makes more sense anyway.  If all right diagonals were stitched relative to the position of the stitcher, then they would be in many different directions all over the piece.  The correct way means that stitches will all be orientated to the top of the embroidery piece and that would be a unifying effect that makes a ton more sense.

I told you I was rusty.

Doing my best to stitch two hours per day now so there should be many more Japanese embroidery updates in the future if I'm doing my work.

Many of you asked about Mrs. Rose...I'm happy to report that she is patiently sitting in her chair with her prayer book saying her rosary while she waits for her rose bower to grow.   I've been making her leaves but Japanese embroidery and Christmas presents have risen in the queue ahead of her I'm afraid.  She'll be back on deck after the holidays.

Back to the frame with me...

A Second Pair of Hands

If you had to stitch 118 goldwork leaves on a honeysuckle vine, how many leaves do you think it would take before you felt like they began to flow from your needle?

All of the leaves on this honeysuckle vine have a very predictable shape so it shouldn't take too long, right?

Oh, if it were only that easy.  There are so many variables to account for and I am only now beginning to find a rhythm...on leaf number 86.

Working with Japanese gold thread, couching stitches every 2mm or so, maintaining the twist of the gold, manipulating the koma in a predictable and practiced way, making good corners, etc.

There's a lot to understand.  First, the thread.

Japanese gold thread comes in a hank and it must be split in half and wound onto two wooden spools called koma.  It is very important that the thread be wound onto the spool under tension.  I am using size number 3 and it's imitation gold...



To understand the importance of having the thread under tension, you have to understand how the thread is made.  Gold (real or imitation) is laminated to mulberry paper, cut into strips and then wrapped around a silk core.

While stitching, the wraps can become loose allowing more of the silk core to show through.  This also makes the thread less taut and more wimpy.

Here is a picture of the gold thread that has loosened near the cut end...

It's not the greatest picture but you can see the lines along the thread where a bit of the silk core is visible.

By winding the koma, I can tighten and untighten the twist of the thread.  In the picture below, I have tightened the gold thread; the wraps are closer together and the thread takes on a wire-like quality.



This is how you want the thread to be when you couch it down.  The gold thread shines to optimal effect when the thread is laid this way.

That being said, to turn corners the thread needs to be softened in order to make sharp points and corners.  My honeysuckle leaves don't require as sharp a corners as my cherry blossom petals but I still have many corners to turn.  Softening the twist of the gold at the turn keeps the thread from crimping.  Once I've made the turn, I have to retighten the twist of the thread again and off I go to the next turn.

This means that there is a constant manipulation of the thread wrapped around the koma as I stitch.  Wrapping to tighten the thread, couching the thread, and then loosening the wraps at the corner to allow for an easier turn, and then tightening the thread again to couch down the straightaway section of the leaf.



This dance of the koma, together with the starting and ending the threads for each leaf, means that each leaf can take a good deal of time.  For me, about 22 minutes.  (*wink* That's what that Toggl timer is for).

Next Japanese embroidery post, I'll try to post some pictures of turning corners since a few of you have asked about that.

Needless to say, these koma are very handy tools and I use them anytime I need to couch a non-stitchable thread on a project.  This extra set of hands allows you to keep your thread under good tension so that the couched line is nice and smooth.

Koma are most often sold in pairs and can be made from a variety of woods.  The most important thing when selecting koma is the weight of the wood that is used.  The heavier the better.

The weight plus the squared off ends keeps the spool from rolling and helps to anchor the koma firmly in place.  They really are like a second pair of hands.

You can buy koma from the Japanese embroidery center here .

But don't expect to master their use overnight.

Hundreds of curlicues...118 leaves, and hundreds more turns...

Practice is the teacher.  

That's one thing that the Japanese understand.  Ten phases to teach you.  To test you.  And then you are ready to begin.  

The hardest part for me is staying in the chair.  Resisting the temptation to do something else.  And no, it doesn't get easier. 

Showing up.  Sitting down.  Keeping my butt in the chair.  Stitching for a minimum of two hours every day.  

It's starting to happen.  Competence.  Predictability.  Flow.

The Japanese understand that there are no short cuts to gaining skill.  It's work; it can be hard.

I'm getting better at the struggle.  I'm winning more and more.  My butt is staying in the chair.

Lucky Stitcher

Good luck!  

It's an almost automatic response when you encounter someone who is getting ready to take a test, perform a song, give a speech or attempt to complete three phases of Japanese Embroidery in order to graduate by October.

Wishing someone luck implies bestowing upon them all good forces that can be mustered from the cosmos to support them in their journey.  As if luck is just sprinkled down upon us like manna from heaven and success resulting from luck is accidental or the result of divine providence.

Conversely, the standard phrase used in Japanese culture when someone is facing a challenge has nothing to do with luck.

For the Japanese, the standard no-thinking-about-it reply is

ganbatte! or 頑張って！or　がんばって

Gonbatte comes from the verb form gonbaru (頑張る,　がんばる) which means to strive, to try one's best.

In other words, luck only comes through effort and working hard. 

At the end of embroidery class in Japan, my sensei would say: Gonbatte kudasai!

And the students would answer: gonbarimasu (がんばります) or  "I will work hard."

Today, I'm happy to take the luck of the Irish if it's being offered.

But I'll count on the wisdom of the Japanese and just plain get to work.

I've got class this Saturday and I'm trying to finish as much of the gold honeysuckle vine that I can by then.

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat and gonbatte!

The Cherry Bomb!

Just a quick progress report on my Sake Box -- Phase IX for Japanese Embroidery.

I've completed all those goldwork cherry blossoms and curlicues on the main round box.  Phew!

According to my Toggl timer, the goldwork on the lid only took me 31 hours. 

One of the reasons it may have taken so long was all the corners that have to be turned in each petal...

That plus sinking all the gold threads of those curlicues.  I'm so glad to have that section finished.  

I'm very fond of cherry blossoms and these versions in gold are the bomb!

After I finished the cherry bombs blossoms, I transferred the design for the honeysuckle vine on the ladle.  Yes, that rectangular shape is actually a sake ladle; the orange is the interior and the black is the outside.  It might all come clearer when I finish stitching the ladle's other components.  Then again, maybe not.

Today I'll begin couching the gold vine on top of the foundation...

I am hoping that the lack of corners in this goldwork will make it all flow more quickly.  

Thanks for stopping by to check on me.  Now I'm back to work.

Happy Day everyone.

Japanese Embroidery: Short-Stitch Holding

When last I left off, I was beginning a technique in Japanese embroidery called short-stitch holding.  It's a method for holding the foundation threads in place when satin stitches travel over an area larger than 1cm.

So here's where I was after the satin stitch foundation...

You can see that I had laid temporary holding stitches at 1cm intervals perpendicular to the weft foundation.  

The orange section to the left is actually the interior of a sake ladle and will not have any goldwork superimposed on top.  In order to secure the foundation, those 1cm lines are used as guidelines for a technique called short-stitch holding and will be removed later.

Each stitch of short stitch holding is 8mm long and holds down three foundation threads at a right diagonal.  

Short-stitch holding stitches actually pierce the foundation threads rather than go in between them in order not to separate the foundation layer.

Once all the short stitch holding is complete, the horizontal temporary holding stitches are removed and the area is firmly held down...

This one small area of short-stitch holding took me about 10 hours to complete.  It can be very time intensive but worth the effort for creating a foundation that holds up over time and use.

When a foundation will have embroidery superimposed on top, temporary holding threads serve to hold the foundation in place while the design is transferred and stitched over top as in the example below.

Those temporary holding stitches keep the foundation secure while I transfer the design and couch the gold threads over top.  The temporary threads will be removed once I've completed the goldwork.  I also remove the tissue transfer section by section in order to preserve the silk underneath the areas that I am not working on.

Likewise, since I've finished the interior of the ladle, I'll keep it covered with tissue to protect the silk while I work on the rest of the piece...

Here's a picture of where I'm heading with these two motifs...the round box on the right and the ladle on the left...

I printed the design for the ladle's honeysuckle vine onto Bienfang tracing paper (I like this brand a lot because it is easy to sew through and tears without leaving too much pulp to pick out...

After basting the tracing, I'm now working on the process of transferring the design using a running stitch...

I'm committed to two hours per day in order to try to finish this and the two other pieces that are required for my graduation in October.

I'm also trying to finish Mrs. Rose within the next month so I hope to work on her once my daily Japanese embroidery commitment is complete.

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm off to stitch...

Japanese Embroidery: Foundations

For the last 25 years or so, I have been studying Japanese embroidery...but not really.

I began taking Japanese embroidery classes when I lived in Japan when I was in my 20s.  I've written about that experience before here and here.

Since then, I have had a push-pull relationship with the art form, taking lots of side trips and adventures that have led me far from my coursework.

I have had the most wonderful teacher in Tonie Evans, you may have met her on this post when she taught at our Guild last Spring.  Through no fault of hers,  I have been a fair-weather student, at best.

Well...I've set about to change all that by setting an intention to finally complete all nine Phases of Japanese Embroidery instruction so that I can attend Phase X in Fall 2015 at the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta.   As further incentive, I'm thrilled that one of my very oldest Blogging Needle Friends, Carol-Ann from Threads Across the Web, is also planning to be in Atlanta next Fall for class so we'll finally get to meet! CA was one of the first commenters on my blog in 2006 so we go back quite some time.

The piece I am currently working on is Phase IX, Sake Box, and it consists of a sake box, sake ladle and lots of mums.  The picture below is not the exact piece I'm doing, but it's close.  You can see the sake box in the bottom center and the "ladle" to its left.

Currently, I am working on laying a foundation of twisted threads on the sake ladle.  The foundation is satin-stitched which makes for fairly long stitches covering the shape...

In order to keep them in place, temporary holding stitches are laid 1cm apart and tacked down each cm, piercing the threads to keep them from shifting...

If there will be additional embroidery stitched on top of the foundation, aka "superimposed", then temporary holding would hold the stitches in place while the design can be transferred on top of the threads.

Below is a great picture showing the tissue transfer to the left, the tissue removed in the middle showing the transfer lines, and the actual superimposed goldwork embroidery to the right...

I've already completed the foundation work and design transfer for the sake box, now I am working on those same steps for the sake ladle.

The sake ladle won't have any superimposed work on the orange interior of the ladle so I am firmly stitching those foundation stitches in place using a technique called short-stitch holding.

In the picture below you can see where I am making 8mm stitches on a diagonal, going over the temporary holding stitches, to secure each foundation thread so they don't move.   Short-stitch holding can take a good bit of time but it is worth it.

Next, I'll be transferring the design for the goldwork vines that go on the outside of the ladle.

Now I'm off to stitch my two hours.  I'm still working on other things but Japanese embroidery will most likely show up here more frequently over the next year or so.

And if it doesn't, feel free to check up on me to make sure I'm still on task!!  I do have a big habit of getting distracted...

P.S.  You can see my prior completed Japanese embroidery pieces on this post here.

P.P.S.  You can see my BNF Carol-Ann's foundation work as well on her blog post here.