Thursday, October 22, 2009

Ribbons, Padded and Not


I've started on the green ribbons tied around the Rabbit Geisha's waist.  In the photo above, you see the unstitched ribbons which are in three shades of spring green.

The next picture shows how I have started to pad the ribbons around her waist and down the front of her kimono and how I am not padding the green ribbons on the right side that flow out behind the Rabbit Geisha.



I decided that I wanted dimension in the first set of ribbons but none in the ribbons that are flowing toward the background.  I'm using four plies of Mandarin floss (#M817) for the darkest green and the lightest part of the overdyed Needle Necessities overdyed cotton floss (#199) for the lightest green.

I'm using gray Very Velvet (#V215) for the padding.  This color is one I bought for a specific project that needed just a little touch of velvety gray.  I have a lot of it left and have found (courtesy of someone who mentioned it was a great padding material on their blog, was that you, Pat?).  I would caution you not to use gray or other dark colors to pad under white or light colors such as pale yellow, but for my greens, it will work nicely.

Note how I have slanted the Very Velvet to lie opposite the direction of my green stitches.  Also note how I am trying to change the slants to indicate the different ways the ribbon lies.

If you can't see the gray Very Velvet well on the green, I put a length on top of one of the pink ribbons also so you could see it better.  Remember to keep the Very Velvet untwisted as you lay down your foundation.  It can turn on you if you aren't paying attention.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

8 comments:

NCPat said...

I fess up, it was me......

marianne said...

guess what I am going to say? NOT! (how did you ever guess?)

Front Range Stitcher said...

Very neat Jane, looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Thanks, Madonna. I am looking forward to how this turns out, too. Stitching painted canvases is like a journey without a map. You never know what you'll see on the way or exactly where you will end up.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

LOL

I canNOT guess. LOL

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

I thought I remembered you gave me the Very Velvet tip, Pat. But when you have a memory that is starting to play tricks on you (starting? Ha! It's always been that way.) you are never sure.

Thanks. It's been a very useful tip!

Ginger said...

Hi Jane....just a "tad" to add to your bead discussion.

After decades of beading and ka-jillions used, I finally found out what the seed bead sizes mean. It's how many you'd line up, hole to hole, to make an inch. Simple, huh?

The size per canvas mesh only matters when you want to solidly bead a design element. Otherwise, use what gives a look you like.

Love your kimono

Ginger

PS I just got my hands on some #22 and #25 seed beads. What'll I do with them? Hmmmm

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

OOoooOOO! Thanks, Ginger. Knowing what the sizes mean is great. Thanks for the nice compliment on the kimono. It looks very pretty in person but that doesn't always photograph well.

I'd use seed beads that small on a 40 count silk gauze piece. I never can find beads small enough for silk gauze pieces and have to use French knots instead. I know you'll have fun finding something great for your treasure house of little beads.