Did you all miss AskSREBrad? Did your August just droop because there was no Trapunto Article? Did you wait with baited breath in hopeful anticipation for September so that you could catch a glimpse of the Candlewicking article and swap. Did you turn away in frustration when it became increasingly clear that AskSREBrad was not going to publish a Candlewicking article.
Or had you forgotten about him completely (oh how shallow and fickle the public can be)?
Watch out, he has returned. We have inadvertently taken a month off from the Challenge Series, but now we are back in black (wait, that is something else). Nonetheless, we are back and we are picking up where we left off (without that pesky Trapunto article, though)
So, here we are with Candlewicking.
Imagine if you will, that AskSREBrad is a young pioneer girl in the early 1800's (ok, I know that is a stretch, but a young pioneer man just wouldn't be stitching away, be thankful for the times we live in). AskSREBrad is loading up his home in a covered wagon so that he may head out west to find new land and new adventures. Space is limited so only the necessities can be included. You throw in your candle making supplies (so you can see, remember, no electricity where you are going), your food, your clothing, your bedding, and your family (nope, can't leave them)
Jump ahead a year or so and you are well settled on your new homestead. You begin to hear and see some examples of a new embroidery styles from Europe. Beautiful Silk threads are being couched and knotted on richly woven fabrics. White work is the rage as well. You look around and all you have are some homespun cottons and....wait.....what is that.....candlewick cotton.....mmmm... let us see....look at that....yes, that will work.
It may not have been quite that simple, but Candlewicking Embroidery is truly an American invention borne of neccesity and ingenuity. Due to the lack of money and supplies, American pioneers found that emulating a style can become a style unto itself.
Candlewicking, for those of you unfamiliar, is a form of embroidery where traditionally a white single ply thread is stitched in an outline on a piece of muslin. Highlighting these stitches and accentuating the technique is the placement of knots (colonial or French) throughout the piece. Simple stitches are mostly used; backstitch, stem stitch, lazy daisy, satin stitch and the above mentioned knots. After the piece is stitched it is washed in hot water to cause the fabric to shrink around the stitches which highlights the raised aspect of the work.
From far away, Candlewicking looks similar to Trapunto, except the raised parts are on top of the fabric not underneath. It is also similar to chenille and one technique of Candlewicking, which is seldom seen today, is the woven method, where threads are couched down in loops. This is very similar to chenille, but most of us are more familiar with the embroidered version.
Originally designs were drawn directly onto the fabric surface with charcoal or pencil. (Today that is still an option, as well as iron on transfers) Quilting patterns were and still are a great inspiration for Candlewicking patterns and many of the designs are direct copies of quilting designs. Similar to Redwork, versatility, any line pattern can be adapted to Candlewicking. This makes coloring books and outline design books a great resource. Copy a design onto white paper and play with adding dots (to represent knots) to see how you can enhance the design. Remember, the blank spaces are as important as the embroidered spaces, so always look for secondary patterns that appear there.
What do you need in materials? Not much. If you are going for traditional work, grab some high quality muslin and some Candlewicking thread. Candlewicking thread is sold in most craft stores, it is a off white one ply thread. If you cannot find Candlewicking thread or want to try something different, Cotton a brodier or any fine ply of knitting or crochet threads will work. Even perle thread will add interesting luster to the project. Stranded thread does not work well, though because of the way it will lay. Usually two or four strands of thread are used to stitch.
Often you will see Candlewicking combined with Crewel work. While that is lovely, here on the silk ribbon list, we are going to combine our lovely art with Candlewicking for even more glorious results. AskSREBrad is even sure some adventurous soul will venture out of the white world of Candlewicking and use color threads.
Candlewicking on the net is a bit sparse, but here are a few links to help you out.
http://www.white-works.com/candlewicking.htm
http://crossstitch.about.com/library/weekly/aa073000a.htm
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1731.asp
http://crossstitch.about.com/library/freepatterns/candlewicking/blcw_acornleaf_double.htm
http://crossstitch.miningco.com/library/freepatterns/specials/blspecial_backtoschool_fall.htm
http://www.embroiderysa.co.za/best/candlewick1.html
(Embroidery Machine Patterns)
http://www.needlearts.com/howes_needlework/
http://www.geriantics.com.au/editorials/161_candlewicking.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/7247/candlewick.html
Also, you might want to bone up on your knots.
Colonial
http://www.serve.com/marbeth/colonial.html
http://hometown.aol.com/hblossomxs/page14.html
http://www.cross-stitching.com/knowhow/technq11.htm
http://www.anu.edu.au/ITA/CSA/textiles/sharonb/stitches/frenchknot.html
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/features/embroidered-hanky/2.asp
French
http://hometown.aol.com/hblossomxs/page14.html
http://www.anu.edu.au/ITA/CSA/textiles/sharonb/stitches/frenchknot.html
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/features/embroidered-hanky/2.asp
http://knitting.about.com/library/blfrenchknots.htm
http://www.needlearts.com/articles/article_2/article_2.html
http://www.stitchguide.com/stitches/embroidery/stitch_pages/emb_french_knot.html
http://needlemaid.home.att.net/FrenchKnot.htm
Enjoy! Swap information can be found here!