Drawn Thread Work Stitchery

Stitchery ideas for decorating fabric and needle weaving on bands of withdrawn threads
Ref 4.6.1a and b
A)Top row;variegated perle thread
Second row; procion dyed cotton tanne and cord thread experiment with letter shapes using weaving and buttonhole stitch -more practice needed!
Third and fourth row; As many of my pulled threads were short used them to knot threads together.  An 'm' should be visible in third row! Not sure if I am seeing things but in pulling  six threads into a horizontal 'v' shape in fourth and then catching them with a series of knots the image reminds me of  4 .2.21 scribbler 'calligraphy' image.
B)  Top row: Needle weaving and buttonhole stitch
Second and third row; fabric strip weaving and wrapping
Fourth row; diagonal fabric and jute thread wraps
Fifth row; herring bone stitch

                                                                                                                              Ref 4.6.2   Moving on from the dyed yellow cotton I decided to pick a looser, bulker structure of fabric.  Taking advantage of a friends dyeing session with procion dyes the following happened...an overwhelming green and pink. While pleased with the fabrics that came from the session I was concerned that they were not in this modules chosen theme, however made the decision to use the hessian  as I wanted to experiment on the looser weave!

Ref 4.6.3                                                                                      Ref 4.6.4
The diagonal stitching on bars sample, 4.6.3, shows threads that were dyed in the procion session, string, perle,cotton ribbon and strips of fabric.
In 4.6.4 diagonal stitching on cross sections shows variegated perle threads being used

Introducing  machine stitching into the next two samples, tucks being held with hand stitches in 4.6.5, left .  Dyed string being used to connect the machine caught threads in 4.6.6, right. For me this piece had a look of the Arbroath Declaration about it, see 4.2.3.

Having gone off piste thought it was time to return to a more charted territory and dyed some even weave cotton fabric with Brusho dye.  While painting a large piece of fabric, to allow me to obtain longer threads, I tried to ensure interesting blocks or strokes of colour where on pieces that would provide the base for combining more hand and machine stitching. Ref 4.6.7, on right was an exercise in diagonal step machine stitching which proved problematic and uneven.  Pulling out threads and then enclosing the remaining threads was difficult and at one point the title for this piece was - 'when you are in a hole stop digging'. But, not for the first time I persisted! I often find that lessons that stay in our mind are where you struggle and this would be a classic. Lesson one: pull out a very even grid, lesson two: make the width of columns to be stitched of a size that the zigzag stitch will cover. lesson three: Increase tension on stitch, lesson four: diagonal means alternate steps, and before filling the page with lessons oversewing doesn't make it better!

As progress was made on the next two samples the use of the wing needle was an answer to one of the lessons, however as in all this things I realised that the weave I was using didn't get the results from the wing needle.  While it did provide holes to stitch through the double weave held the fabric fairly rigid. A lighter fabric would have produced a more obvious hole.
                                                        Ref 4.6.8                                              Ref 4.6.9a

Ref  4.6.9b mounted

While considering the use of stitching to make lettering I was interested to find this advertisement from Audi.  It showed how missing lines did not detract from being able to see the meaning of the sentence!

Button making

 Buttons or brooches - stick pins could be added to these individual pieces.  Initially took photos of these on complimentary fabric but feel they look better set out in a more uniform arrangement.  
                                                               Ref 3.7.1                                                                     Ref 3.7.2

The top right hand button in 3.7.1- in which  twinned ombre perle thread was worked around paper 'spikes'. The top right hand brooch in 3.7.2 was a selection of threads mounted on soluble fabric, layered with beads onto a piece of suede, mounted on thin sheet of silver and then hand made card - it was one of a series made inspired by skies in the Western Isles.  
While doing these pieces it reminded me of others made before using paper yarn and basket making techniques. Two of the pictures below show pieces used as jewellery the central picture shows the begin of one of my small pots - using figure of eight weave

Now for a bit of spiralling fun, a  brooch - Highland fling  range- where spiraling wire forms the base of the body and a Celtic twist at the belt line.  Inspiration thanks to Serena de la Hay, Wicker Man and Mary Heumansperger's book Fabulous Woven Jewellery.