Diploma-Module 1- Opus Anglicanum inspired embroidery

First, very clumsy tries I must admit, in split stitch and gold thread couching:

This was inspired by the Fishmongers' Pall, however I didn't want to copy it exactly, but gave it a more modern haircut 😉

I only had one silk thread which used mainly, adding regular DMC embroidery floss (3 plies) for the face.

For the hair I used DMC Diamant Grandé. The gold thread is couched . I filled the spaced in between with green DMC floss.

Things I've learned, apart from how tedious this kind of embroidery is:

- gold is hard to photograph

- changing the direction of the split stitch, allows for more contrast as the light hits it differently

- I should have used more contrasting threads for the face.

A little sample with brick stitch for the couching of the gold thread. When I did the stitching, I didn't have the DMC Diamant Grandé, which is recommended in the Domestika video by Elena Ciarrocchi, instead I used packaging thread.

One technique I learned in this video came very useful. The teacher used a looped thread to pull the gold thread to the back. This avoid having to thread the tiny ends through a needle. 

 

I must admit that I failed when I tried to to the underside couching. I guess I didn't use the right background fabric, so the thread used for the couching kept on coming to the front.