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| BEFORE |
I believe it is the little finishing touches that lift a project from "good" to "very good" or maybe even "fantastic." Above is a Before photo that shows the mermaid before I added a few touches to the design. At this point I had added a few straight horizontal stitches to her bra to connect the two breastplates. A bathing suit top just doesn't look right to me without them. I used the same red Elegance silk perle that makes up the straps to the top. Adding those few stitches completed the look for me. Without them that area bothered me and you know how it is--if something on your stitching bothers you now, you'll never be able to look at the piece without it still bothering you later. Much better to deal with the issue (whether it involves ripping out or not) now while you can and avoid the irritation later!
The second photo shows the backstitching around the mermaid's hands and along her chin (using one ply of the rose Splendor that makes up her cheeks) to define these areas. Added these few stitches really added a lot to this design. Without them, the chin and neck blended together and the fish and hands also were hard to tell apart. See what a difference a few threads make?
By the way, in the above photos I'm starting to add her hair, all in bullions using a great crewel-sized wool called EPiC. I don't know where I found this wool locally (I think Needlewoman East but I am not sure), but it is great stuff. My color is the overdyed "multitone" Apricot. It is light apricot to almost orange in color and makes great bullions. My own opinion is that a tightly twisted thread makes the best bullions although I have done them in one ply of silk.
http://www.allpointsyarn.com/APYYarnBiz/epic_yarns/epic_wool_yarns.htm
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
18 comments:
Looks fantastic, Jane. Love the finishing touches. The bullions in the hair look wonderful.
This little mermaid is just darling Jane! I noticed her hair right away and absolutely love it. I am making a note for a mermaid I have in my stash -- what a great treatment for curly hair. I knew that bullion knots could be used, but never saw it applied. Thank you for the detailed expert instruction! Happy Stitching! xoxo Kathleen
Great choice for the hair. Those bullions look marvelous!
I'm glad you like the bullion curls, Donna. With the right thread, bullions make gorgeous hair. But if you want to see HAIR, you need to look at what Ruth Schmuff has done to this piece. The stitch is called corkscrew stitch and it is done with two shades of Burmilana. I have no idea how it is made but the gardening lady has the best hair I've seen!
Silly me, I forgot the URL.
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2010/05/formal-denim-makes-for-happy.html
Jane, village idiot
Kathleen, bullions make great curly hair. I just tried to place them flowing in the right direction and varied the size by reducing/increasing the number of wraps. Occasionally I made a very long one curve by doing more wraps than there was room for the bullion to lay straight and then couched down the curve to make it stay.
Try practicing on the margins of your canvas and you'll soon get the hang of these.
You've obviously hit the mark with the bullions for hair! I just had to chime in to add my two cents. Love the look they give for mermaid hair, which should billow and flow.
Hi Jane - Your mermaid looks great and the bullions you used are perfect for the hair on this piece. The corkscrew stitch you referred to is also called detattched bullion, if that will help you find instructions for future use. Once you get the hang of it, this stitch is actually easier than a regular bullion.
Thanks for the tip on corkscrew stitches. I have heard of detached bullions but never used them. If I can find a diagram or explanation, I'll post the link here....
Nope, couldn't find a diagram. Sorry. But thanks to Peggi we know what we are looking for.
another interesting stitch is a drizzle stitch. It is a cast on stitch, like one does in knitting, and the stitch is free on the one end!
Love the hair!
What great hair!
Thanks, e-Rose. I wish I had Shirley Temple curls like the mermaid's myself.
Odette, I've never heard of drizzle stitch. I found an explanation in SharonB's stitch dictionary, though. It looks like it would make great witch hair!
http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/drizzle.html
Great little details. LOVE the beading.
She is amazing! You were right to add the stitches for the top and her hair is awesome!
I'm glad everyone likes the mermaid hair. If you pick the right thread and color, bullion hair is really easy to do, too. Once you master bullions, which isn't too hard. It's not astrophysics, folks!
Peggy, the beading is Robin's fault. She gets the credit, along with Brenda Hart, of course.
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