Chilly Hollow Newsletter Article April 2008

Time to pour your favorite beverage, unplug the phone, settle down in your favorite chair--we're going to look at laying tools!There's been an explosion of new styles of laying tools for our stitching pleasure. The most expensive and probably most beautiful a stitcher might use are the glass ones. They come with a lifetime repair warranty and you can also purchase a bracelet to keep your glass laying tool safe but ready for use.

http://www.stitchelegance.com/Laying%20Tools/laying_tools.htm

These are made by the glass artist Michael Ernst. His website has more photos of laying tool colors. Note that he also makes glass crochet hooks and knitting needles. Also, under What's New he has a new hook tool and lovely floral buttons.

http://glasspens.com/layingtools.html

You may have heard of the mellore, which is an English goldwork tool for handling real metal threads. It's sterling silver, fairly expensive, and although you can use it as a laying tool, that's not really what it does. It is designed to punch holes and hold real metal threads in place while they are couched down or bent. Here's a photo.

http://www.berlinembroidery.com/mellore.htm

You can buy a stainless steel "mellore" from M's Canvashouse for $40 less.

http://mscanvashouse.com/shop/product509.html

As we've seen above, laying tools come in all sorts of materials. The wooden ones are both comfortable to hold and very pretty. The metal ones are unsurpassed when it comes to laying silk flosses. These two websites have a variety of laying tools shown with brief descriptions.

http://www.berlinembroidery.com/tools.htm#blt

http://www.stitchers-paradise.com/Display_Case/DC_Laying_Tools_Items.html

The metal Best Laying Tool (also called the BLT) was designed by Shay Pendray. It's very similar to the Japanese Tekobari except is a bit shorter and is less expensive. You can buy it in a gold-plated version now. Some folks prefer the feel of the gold version or think it prettier. The tip of the gold plated BLT is not gold, however.Rainbow Gallery distributes a very nice metal laying tool in a wooden holder and case called the Rainbow Laying Tool. If you like how wooden laying tools feel, but want the more pointed tip of a metal laying tool, this might be the one for you. The wooden case goes over the metal tip when this isn't in use. The set is expensive, but less than buying a laying tool and a wooden case for it separately. The wood each case is made from varies. Two examples are below.

http://www.homesteadneedlearts.com/detail.cfm?ID=59

http://www.a-z-needlepoint.com/products/rainbowlaying.shtml

You can buy regular lovely turned wooden laying tools here as well as a wooden case for your tekobari or BLT. They also sell bracelet-laying tool combos.

http://www.firesidestitchery.com/FIRESIDE/FSgeneralpages/woodaccessory.htm

These wooden laying tools come in a black tube for storage. Note that you can use the awl if you want a shorter laying tool.

http://www.turn-of-the-century.com/embr.htm

If you are into bling, you can buy beaded wooden laying tools.

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NN&Product_Code=6738

or Tiny URL

http://tinyurl.com/5rg7gp

Bone laying tools are made from cow bone. I suspect they are a replacement for ivory laying tools. Ivory is a banned substance to protect elephants now, but you might find an antique ivory laying tool. These are all carved and very pretty.

http://www.flyingneedle.com/acatalog/Laying_Tools.html

You might want to use a bone needle if you are undecided whether to actually invest in a laying tool. I have one that is three inches long, not four as in this example.

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Category_Code=E09-00-00&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6745

or Tiny URL

http://tinyurl.com/5kr89r

You can also use the large needles used in plastic canvas embroidery or just the largest tapestry needle you can find. I've found a big plastic needle for kids at crafts stores which works just fine in emergencies (but these often have ridges that might not do well with silk or other tender threads). I often pick up my size 18 needle and use the eye end as a laying tool when I have one stitch to straighten.

Hummingbird House makes a pewter laying tool. It's called the Elizabethen laying tool. It is the longer, slimmer laying tool in this photo. The fish-shaped item is actually an awl but it can be used as a laying tool if you like shorter laying tools.

http://www.robinsnestdesigns.com/detail.cfm?ID=130

http://www.stitching.com/stitcherysquare/needlaccess.htm

Their Celtic Laying Tool is actually a fancy trolley needle made of pewter.

http://www.robinsnestdesigns.com/detail.cfm?ID=123

Trolley needles and thimble laying tools are metal laying tools that fit over a finger. These are particularly good for folks who don't want to hold a laying tool. You've already seen a fancy pewter trolley needle. Here is the basic version. You wear it on a finger or thumb with the needle side on top or bottom as you prefer. You can squeeze the open sides a bit for a better fit.

http://store.apneedlearts.com/trolleyneedle.html

Grip-it Plus makes the thimble laying tool called The Perfect Stitch. It's essentially a thimble with a needle attached to the side and the top cut off. You'll need to know your thimble size for the finger you plan to wear it on to get a good fit.

http://www.needlepointtooltime.com/product/005

Zecca makes clay handle laying tools in fun colors and shapes. I am dying to actually try one of these out. I buy laying tools according to the feel in my hand. I like a shorter tool and need something that isn't heavy. It's a good idea to hold any laying tool you plan to buy to check if it is too fat/thin/long/short for your own hand size and the grip you exert.

http://www.zecca.net/products/layingtools.html

Now that you are curious, here's how to use a laying tool, with a photo of stitches done with and without a laying tool.

http://www.kaleidostitch.com/content%20pages/Tips/laying%20tool.htm

I find laying tools an essential in my NP toolkit. I have a great variety that I use and switch tools if one doesn't seem to be handing a certain thread well. I also change them according to how tired/hot/cold I am. I am thrilled there is this much choice in such an important aid to our stitching and hope you enjoying picking out a laying tool for yourself.

Fan's Do-Over

Last night I managed to pull myself together enough to rip out the yellow edging on Fan's left sleeve. Then I restitched it. If you look at yesterday's photo, you can compare the look of the slant I used today to the one I tried yesterday that I didn't like. The moral of all this is to use your pencil on your copy of your canvas. If I'd done this, I would have had a better idea of how to orient the long stitches.

I also pulled out a few of the border stitches right under Fan's geta sandals. The bottom edge of the border is one thread narrower than the top. So unlike Butterfly (the other Asian girl in the set) Fan's border is not the same on all four sides. This is fine, my stitch is easy to compensate and the compensation along the bottom won't be noticeable, but I forgot this was the case when I put the stitches in around her feet. So they came out also but I ran out of time to restitch this area.

I also stitched the rest of Fan's hair. The side near her cheek is almost done. The stitching's done but somehow I need to add a bit more of my black Soy Fiber there to build it up to look like the slightly poofy top of her head. So this isn't quite finished but it is close.

I hope to work on the border and background tonight and perhaps finish the stitch on her kimono.