For this month's canvas, Bonnie and I are doing a stitch plan for one of the Vogue magazine cover designs available from Studio 2. I don't know the canvas count for this piece but we'll just pretend it's 18 count and go from there. It is a 10x15 design called "DECO-03 Vogue 1928" and comes with a little pearl dangle to attach as the lady's earring. You can see the canvas on the Studio 2 website, but you'll have to go to the link and then click on Vintage Posters on the left side of the page. It's in the third row, right.
http://www.studio2ltd.com/studio2index.html
Jane's Deco Vogue 1928:
I'd start with the faces first and tent stitch the skin for both with either a silk or cotton floss, using 3-4 plies. Then work the lady's neck and the bit of her collar bone showing until you get to the top of her dress. Do the bit of the gentleman's neck that is showing also.
The eyes and lips come next. I would leave a gap between the lady's red lipsticked lips by not stitching the inner mouth at all. Once the eyes are in, use stem stitch for the nose lines and eyebrows, the lady's bit of hair visible and the gentleman's hair and mustache. I'd use the same silk or cotton floss for the features that I used for the skin, by the way.
I'd also tent stitch the hands and then add stem stitch shadow lines to each. I think the lady is also wearing a glove but you could use the same thread as her skin if your lady is gloveless. I think I'd stick to a floss type thread for these, and use the same cotton or silk brand you used for the faces and features for the gloves. Now let's tackle the gentleman's monacle. I like using Water N Ice for a glossy effect. Just do long horizontal stitches and a laying tool to make sure they don't twist. Make sure you come up and go down inside the outline of the monacle. Once the Water N Ice glass is in, stem stitch around the monacle to outline it, using the same black thread that you used for his mustache.
Continuing the gentleman, use continental to outline the brim of his hat with your same black thread used for the features. Then do packed stem stitch for his top hat band (or you could couch lengths of black Very Velvet for an elegant touch). I think I would find a soft grey thread in a silk/wool blend for his top hat and elegant suit. Choose a thread that has a slight sheen to it. This is an expensive evening suit after all! Use tent stitches in your chosen thread for the brim of the top hat, then use brick stitch for the top of the hat. I think I'd then outline his gray suit with a perle type thread in an very pale gray, couching it with a matching color of floss (one ply). Forget about the buttons for now. First stitch the right half of the collar and suit in Interlocking goblein that slants /. Next do a mirror image interlocking goblein that slants \ for the left half of the suit and collar. If the canvas is large enough, you might be able to attach baby buttons in mother of pearl for the suit buttons.
Now tent stitch the white shirt front, using the same thread you choose for the gloves. Once that is done, it is time to work on the vest and the shirt collar points. These seem to be four shades of peach here. Since the bow tie is also peach, choosing threads is going to be tricky here. You need light peach for the shirt collar ends, medium peach for the vest collars and a darker medium peach for the vest around the buttons. You need darkest peach for the center of the bow tie and to reuse the darker medium peach for the bow tie wings. Since there are a ton of shades of Splendor silk, I believe I'd try to use Splendor here. I think I'd tent stitch everything (except the buttons again) except the bow tie. I'd do the wings of the bow tie in long laid, padded diagonal stitches and and then pad the center of the bow tie with long laid vertical stitches. Make the bow tie's center padding a little higher than the wings of the bow tie.
Once the vest stitching is done, you can do the buttons. This time, try either a big French knot with the same peach you used on the vest proper or do a very small circular couching. Splendor has matching colors in the silk perle size 8 line called Elegance. If you can get a little of that in the matching color, I'd use it and couch it down with the vest stranded silk. The way you go depends on the actual size of the vest buttons.
Now that the gentleman is out of the way, let's do some simple background. The perfect stitch would be something that looked vaguely Art Deco in a nice wool that exactly matches the blue shade. There are a great many Pavillion stitch variations. I like Pavillion Variation #6 from Brenda Hart's Stitches for the Millennium, page 103, but any vaguely diamond shaped stitch will look lovely here. You want a medium-sized stitch that looks Art Deco to you.
Did you make a color copy of your canvas? You'll need it because you need to completely cover the lettering and date with the background, then couch on top of it. If you can get DMC's memory thread, I think their silver would look great for the letters. Couch it down with silver blending filament or Accentuate. If you can't get memory thread, try using a silver or light gray Silk Braid in tent stitches. Even a metallic braid (size 16?) will work.
For the lady's hat, use whatever thread brand you used for his suit and top hat if you can match the red color. You want her hat to have the same texture as his, so use brick stitch for her hat also, including under the brim. Once you finish, couch a thread or two right above her eyes to show the tiny brim. You might want to continue this couched line right over the top of the brim from the left side to the gentleman's chin.
Now for the lady's clothing. She wears a dress with fan shaped sleeves and a see through net neckline. The colors are darker versions of the gentleman's vest so choose two even darker peaches than you had before for the dress proper and for the edging of the fan sleeves.
Use skip tent for the netting top of her dress, then tent stitch the darkest peach shade. Skip the gold lines that outline the netting and that are at the top of her arm at the shoulder. Go back and couch down a perle type thread in gold here. I think I would like Silk Braid as the gold is subtle. You might find a similar peach in Silk Braid with gold threads woven in. That would look very elegant but be subtle. I think the arm you see is also covered in netting so work from the shoulder to the solid part of her sleeve and cuff in skip tent again. The sleeves themselves should be tent stitched inside each fan wedge. Use more of your gold couching to outline each section and then top off the sleeves with a double couched line of the darkest red-peach color. There is an area behind her right sleeve that I don't understand. More sleeve? Regardless, tent stitch it. There is the same unexplained stuff in the left lower corner. Tent stitch it also in the right colors.
Attach the pearl earring or perhaps attach hot fix crystals to give her a dangle rhinestone earring in an Art Deco pattern.
Then frame this and think of a wonderful evening out in the late Roaring Twenties!
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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