Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Materials Part III

Dear Classmates, 
  • I would like to open this post by asking that if you have a comment or information that you would like to share for any of the posts please do so using the comment feature. Everyone who has signed up for the class during our BEE selections has the authority to add blog posts. I am hoping this blog will be a vehicle to share our progress and to help each other as we progress through the project.
  • Now that you have the full list you might like some ideas about where to purchase all these fibers.
  • As always I start with my LNS ( local needlework shop) and purchase as much as I can there because I want the owner to stay in business. If you have access to a LNS please start your shopping there. They might even be willing to order some of the fibers for you.
  • Because I am comfortable with online shopping I find I prefer to order materials my LNS does not have for myself unless the supplier only sells wholesale. 
  • In addition to the shop  whose link I gave you in the  Materials  Part I post,  below is the list that was supplied in the Cleopatra's Cat book from last year. I have ordered from Fireside Stitchery and Needle in a Haystack and have been happy with the service I received from both of them.
  • Fireside also carries the Evertite Stretcher bars if you want to try them. There is also a shop called Stitcher's Paradise that carries both regular and Evertite Stretcher bars.
  • This piece requires us to stitch a great number of Smyrna Stitches. In my next post I will give instructions on how to do a smyrna stitch for those who have not done it  before.

Materials Part II

This is the detailed list of fibers you will need for this project. While I was able to locate the new Medici wool I have compared it to Caron Impressions and the weight and color are a good substitute. However, it lists for $4.30 which makes it  more expensive than the Medici Wool. I have both and have not yet decided which I will use.   Here is a description of Impressions:
Caron Collection Impressions-Solid

A 50% wool, 50% silk blend. It is very versatile and can be used on fine linens as well as larger counts of needlepoint canvas. You can often control the look of your stitches to create either a sculptured or a satiny look simply by adding or subtracting one strand. The blend of wool and silk gives a unique appearance as the two fibers reflect light differently, giving your stitching great depth. Single strand, 50% wool/50% silk, 36 yds.              

Materials List Part I

Dear Class Mates,
Fortunately the local EGA chapter did Cleopatra's Cat last year and I  was able to borrow the book for a while from one of the members of my ANG chapter that also belongs tothe local EGA chapter. I thought it would be helpful for everyone to see what materials are needed especially the fibers so you can start to gather what you need so we can start stitching as soon as we get our book in December. At the left is a sample of some of the fibers we will be using in this project. Becase the materials List is three pages long I will do it in three posts with some comments. As stated in the page on the left DMC Medici wool was discontinued a couple of years ago. However it has been reintroduced, If you visit this website you can get the background. I purchased my skeins of medici wool from this particular store and got excellent service. They also have some of the other materials we need.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Needles - Style and Size

Type of Needle:
There are many types of needles which are designed to be used for different types of needlework. For needlepoint we use a 'Tapestry Needle'. A tapestry needle has a blunt point so that it will go cleanly up and down through the holes of the canvas without catching threads and has a relatively large oval eye to accommodate heavier fibers.

Coordinating Tapestry Needle with Canvas Mesh Size:
Tapestry needles come in a variety of sizes that coordinate well with canvas mesh sizes. As a rule the needle should slip through the canvas hole without distorting the the canvas mesh but large enough to create a path for the fiber to go through with out fraying it. The size of the needle is indicated by a number. The larger the number the smaller the needle.

  • For 14 mesh canvas you would probably use a size 20 tapestry needle
  • For 18 mesh canvas you would probably use a size 22 tapestry needle
  • For 24 mesh congress cloth you would probably use a size 24 tapestry needle
The above are guidelines. Experienced stitchers may adjust their needle sizes based on the fiber size instead of the canvas mesh size. For instance, for a thin thread you might use a size 24 tapestry needle instead of a size 22  on an 18 mesh canvas or you might choose a size 26 tapestry needle for fine thread on 24 mesh canvas cloth. Adjusting needle size comes with experience. If you are a beginner the guidelines above will work well until you develop a preference.

There are many brands of needles on the market you will need to work with different ones to develop your own preference.  Please share your thoughts on different brands needles with the rest of the class.   

How to Mount Your Canvas

Everyone has a different preference for how tight their canvas should be mounted. Some people like their canvas drum tight and others like their canvas with a little give. If you haven't discovered how you like yours yet, stretch it as tight as you can and you will discover with experience what you prefer. In addition to the stretcher bars you will need either tacks or staples. While staples can be used my preference is to use tacks since they are easier to remove if you need to readjust the tension on your canvas. Regular tacks will work but I prefer the flat headed brass tacks (Quilter's Tacks)  that many needlework shops sell. Here are two examples of tacks. the one on the left has an insertion tool and a removal tool. The one on the right has just a removal tool.
 To mount the canvas on your stretcher bars:
  1. Assemble the stretcher bars into a square or rectangle by fitting the edges together and make sure the frame is square (each corner forms a right angle). 
  2. Place the canvas on top of the stretcher bars and align the warp and the weft of the canvas with the edges of the frame.
  3. Tack the center of one edge by pushing the thumb tack through the canvas and into the stretcher bar.
  4. Pull the canvas to the opposite side and tack down
  5. Push in thumb tacks 1 1/2" to the left and right  on both these sides pulling the canvas tightly as you go
  6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 on the other two sides of the canvas
  7. Pull one canvas corner taunt and tack it down; do the opposite corner and then the other two corners
  8. Continue to secure the canvas all the way around, stretching it as you go. As you insert one tack insert the next one diagonally opposite it. Place the the tacks at 1 1/2 " intervals.
  9. If you use staples instead of tacks insert them diagonally and alternate directions to reduce strain on the warp and weft.
  10. As you stitch, the canvas will relax and begin to sag. This is normal. If the needlepoint mounting becomes too stretched out, you may have to tighten it. Do this by removing the tacks from two adjacent sides. Stretch the canvas gently and replace the tacks, first at the corners, then in the centers, then filling in.If this does not make it tight enough you may need to remove the canvas from the frame altogether and remount it as  from the beginning.