Rainbow Gallery's Very Velvet Line

Needlepoint.com's latest video is all about Rainbow Gallery's Very Velvet and Petite Very Velvet.

https://needlepoint.com/blogs/needlepoint-know-how/thread-talks-all-about-very-velvet?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=2024_12_21%20Gift%20Cards&utm_klaviyo_id=01EY909FHC6PR7KJ94JR0X7ZVR&_kx=spGqMUEEs3Pe26tF9Jkghd_FvizqCNqZrcu-EtTsuNa-X-jY5kdJAFI_-tT2BvST.TxAVmM

I recommend you use a larger eyed needle than usual and a short tail as the needle eye will wear through the thread to expose the cord.  You can just cut that bit off but using a larger needle delays the wear.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow

Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com

and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

© Copyright December 22, 2024 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Threadaholic Alert: Mary's Favorite Threads Video

If you love threads, you'll want to watch the latest video by FiberTalk.  Yes, I know FiberTalk normally does podcasts, but this week they interviewed Mary McGuire on camera to learn about her favorite threads.  You will see Mary's projects and hear her explain what thread was used where. Very interesting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUGuTvFVEuE&feature=youtu.be

By the way, I'm guessing that these are the Wubbers flat-nosed pliers Mary mentions at the end of the video.
http://www.wubbers.com/babyflat.php

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 10, 2018 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Is Your Very Velvet Kinky?

Does your Very Velvet and Petite Very Velvet have kinks from being wrapped around the cardboard cards it's sold on?  Not to worry!  Sally London of Rainbow Gallery posted ways to get the little dents out on Facebook and kindly allowed me to repost them here.

Sally says:

"Petite Very Velvet and Very Velvet are technically a flocked chenille which creates the velvet look and it will crush if pressure is put upon it. This is a man made thread and with the machine that we use to wrap the cards with this does occur on some cards.  I have discussed with our machine operators to PLEASE do not put too much tension on that final thread across the back when they cut and take each card off the machine because visually when the customer sees this sometimes they freak out. If you happen to purchase a card like this, unwrap the thread crossing the back and run your fingernail over the back and that plumps up the velvet. You can also get a few drops of water on your fingers and run it along the back of the card to help plump it up.  These are simple tricks that usually remedy the situation.

Very Velvet is one our top selling threads and at times some extra care is necessary to resolve these issues. I hope you find this information helpful and thank you for bringing these issues to our attention and for stitching with Rainbow Gallery threads."

Thanks for the tips, Sally!  I love Very Velvet and Petite Very Velvet so it's nice to know how to remove a little dent if I find one.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright May 2, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

One Fat Caterpillar

Kimberly is stitching some of her small designs to use for a class at Black Sheep in Orlando.   She wanted to use a certain thread but it's been discontinued.  So she had to improvise and came up with rows of bullions in two colors of Petite Very Velvet.  Looks like one big fat caterpillar!
http://akimberlydesign.blogspot.com/2015/08/more-bullions.html

The moral of the story is when you can't do what you planned, get creative.  You never know what fun things you'll come up with.

Here's a bit about the class, just in case you will be in Orlando this fall or winter.
http://www.theblacksheepshop.com/module/class.htm?classId=94021

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 14, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

The Alligator Comes for Christmas

Jude Designs' Christmas Alligator

It is pretty hectic here in Chilly Hollow as we try to finish some renovations before company arrives for the holidays, but I have gotten a bit done on the small Christmas Alligator ornament from Jude Designs. Here you see the background almost finished and his red stocking cap finished except for the white fur trim.  For the background I decided to use Double Cross, a stitch Vicky DeAngelis talked about on her blog.
http://mostlyneedlepoint.com/its-all-about-the-finish-part-2/

I used Double Stitch on my Cat Topiary Garden for sone of the evergreens and it is a beautiful stitch. However, it is a thread hog and I ran out of the 18 count size of ecru Silk Lame Braid # SL03 I was using for the big crosses.  That's why I worked on the stocking cap before finishing the background while I waited for an emergency shipment of Silk Lame Braid.

By the way, step two of Double Stitch is the tiny cross stitches.  They are in a similar color in Impressions (#1146) but because of the difference in textures, the Double Stitch has some depth and interest to it, besides having the sparkle of Silk Lame Braid.  I like having a lot of metallics on Christmas ornaments to help them stand out among all the other Christmas decorations.  One thing I didn't notice until I did the scan for this posting was the loop of thread laying on top of the red stocking cap above the alligator's left eye.  This is a bit of the metallic from the Silk Lame Braid which untwists itself as you stitch.  I use short lengths of thread to minimize this, but you can still have something stick up at the end of a length of thread if you aren't careful.  Interestingly, I don't have this problem with the smaller Petite Silk Lame Braid, perhaps because the twist is tighter.

In the photo the right half of the background has the tiny cross stitches added but I haven't gotten to the left half yet.  I also still need to do the background between the tail and the head but I ran out of steam last night and went to bed.

The stocking cap is done in the new shaded Petite Very Velvet.  Rainbow Gallery shows off the colors of regular shaded Very Velvet in the link below so you can get an idea of the colors available.  Sorry but I couldn't find an online color card for the Petite shaded.    I am using V810, which seems to be similar to the regular Very Velvet's Holiday Reds.  I used Interlocking Goblein which is done in horizontal rows and allowed the colors to fall where they wished.  
http://www.rainbowgallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=1251

Once I finish the background, I plan to use Don Lynch's basketweave beading technique on the blue Christmas ornament.  While I run around like a maniac, getting ready for Christmas, you can wander over to Don's website at Associated Talents and see how he does basketweave beading.
http://www.atneedlepoint.com/Guides/HE-801-GUIDE.pdf

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Overdyed Very Velvet UPDATED

Overdyed Petite Very Velvet

One of the new threads introduced at the January 2011 TNNA market is overdyed Very Velvet.  Most of us have seen Very Velvet (or the Petite Very Velvet, sized for 18 count canvas) in the shops as it is a very popular thread for anything that needs a velvety look. Rainbow Gallery has now come out with overdyed versions of Very Velvet, some of which a friend sent me to show to you and stitch with.
http://www.rainbowgallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=1251

As you can see in the photograph and in the link, the colors are mostly a light to dark range of one color.  I think the reds will be very popular for a red velvet Santa coat since you won't need to do anything to have a subtle shading.*  My personal favorite is the subtle grays but the brown card will be perfect for tree trunks in a forest or for animal fur.

Many thanks to Rainbow Gallery for a great new thread to add to our stitching tool box.

*UPDATE:  While on my annual Woodlawn exhibit and shopping extravaganza, I ran into Ruth Dilts of Needlepoint 101 and 202 fame.  Ruth showed me a small Santa she was stitching using the red overdyed Petite Very Velvet.  She created a Bargello pattern on his coat front, mirror imaging the sides so that the shades of red played out on both sides exactly the same way.  It was gorgeous and very imaginative--a great use of this new thread that showed it off beautifully.
http://www.ruthdiltsdesign.com/newest.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com