Showing Off

[ladysprite]

I don't tend to talk a lot here about the things I make, because for the most part the things I make are pretty humdrum. I crochet blankets, or baby sweaters, or scarves, I do counted cross stitch, stuff like that. There are enough other talented fiber artists reading this that I figure I'm not making anything that a half-dozen other people (or more) reading this couldn't do, and that most likely the other folks reading honestly aren't that interested in my fiddly creations.

But I've recently started playing around with a new craft, and I'm happy enough with the piece I just finished that I want to show it off.

I've done a little bit of blackwork before (for those of you who aren't geeky fans of obscure stitchery, blackwork is a form of embroidery, usually reversible, that was popular in the Elizabethan era), but mostly just samplers, and I never practiced enough to get very good at it. So I have no idea quite why I volunteered to embroider a chemise for the current incumbent royalty in the local SCA. I've never done blackwork on clothing before, I've never taken on a big project like this, and I hadn't practiced on anything less serious. But it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I've done enough general stitchery that I figured it wouldn't be *too* hard....





This is what I made. It took me a few weeks, working in most of my spare time, and the corners were a serious pain in the behind - I had to pick the first one out and restitch it almost half a dozen times before I was satisfied - but it came out pretty darn well, I think.



This is just to show off the inside - I was a little afraid that I wouldn't end up with something completely reversible. I wasn't quite sure of how to hide my thread ends, and I honestly think there's no perfect way to do it. I still have a lot to learn. I think this is a good start, though....

Comments

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!