Jacobean Stumpwork – Step 5

Into the fun part of wired elements today! YAY! I’m starting with the small blue petals around the red ones. Mostly because they’re smaller, and they’re satin stitched rather than needle-lace. Again, images are contained in the gallery below the instructions, and you can see more detail by clicking the thumbnail.

Step 5

  1. First things first.  Trace the  leaf and small petal shapes onto your muslin. Make sure they’re close enough together that you can fit them all into the hoop, but you want them far enough apart that the wire and prior stitching doesn’t get in the way as you move through them. You will need to amend the shapes a little so that they come to points on both ends.
  2. Taking one piece of wire and one strand of blue floss, couch the wire down using small tacking stitches. I started the couching thread with three very very small backstitches in the middle of the petal. They will be hidden by later stitches and won’t be an issue. You don’t want to use a knot here because it will leave a lump in your petal, making it look like your plant has parasites! Hide the stitches under the wire, keeping in mind that the back of the petal will show as well as the front. Leave about a 1-1 1/2 inch tail at the bottom of the petal, and when you have completed couching it down, cut the other wire off to the same length.
  3. Using one strand of floss, either use encroaching satin stitch or long and short stitch to fill the petal, stitching over the wires as well as the muslin. Remember that the back of this will be seen as well as the front, and be careful while stitching to lay your stitches evenly over both the front and back.
  4. Repeat until you have completed all four petals. Leave them on the hoop.

Next week – leaves and needlelace!!! Eeeep!

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