Over the last day or so, I've been making a needlebook for a special friend made completely from silk fabrics.
Until now, I have used decorator weight and/or traditional Japanese dobby cloth for the needlebook cover.
I ran into a problem when I went to bond the silk with the heavy interfacing (which gives the book its sturdy, book-like quality). Unfortunately, the silk didn't bond evenly. The silk was almost too thin and was giving me a somewhat puckered, rumpled appearance with tiny creases where the bond pulled the thin silk too tautly.
What to do? I had already embroidered the flower so I wasn't thrilled with the idea of re-stitching it on a new piece of cover fabric.
My next idea was to add texture to the background, quilting the layers together. This quilted approach might help to smooth out the puckers and create a more uniform appearance to the flower background.
Because my cover is fairly small (5"x8" or so)...I needed a quilting thread that was fine and delicate enough to not overpower the silk or the ribbon flower...
Enter these fine needlework threads from YLI. This 100 weight thread is very fine and, because it's silk, it's also very strong. I use it for couching sequins, for couching stumpwork wire, for applique, for adding accents to delicate work, and for embroidering in small places.
Due to it's finer nature, it's mostly sold in quilting shops but I have found lots of uses for hand embroidery. As an extension of the 100 thread, YLI has introduced a new product called Silk Sparkle which has a strand of metallic twisted in with the plain silk.
I love this thread. The metal does not strip as you stitch with it and it gives off the most subtle suggestion of sparkle. It was the perfect thread for adding understated texture to my silk...
