The Camberwell Panel – Four
Cotton And Satin
This shows the cotton twill with the basic outline transferred to it for embroidering. I decided that the whole ship would be made on this cotton twill and then the twill applied to the background fabric over the sky and sea fabrics, with some padding to raise it. I checked with my client (my cousin, remember!) to be sure that she was happy with raised and padded appliqué, rather than wanted something very flat, and on receiving an intrigued and enthusiastic “Go for it” started planning what would be padded and by how much.
The photo also shows the satin that I chose for the hull, with the design, again, outlined in running stitches.
Progress on the hull
The next stage was to apply a layer of navy net and a layer of navy gauze to the satin where the hull was in shadow, and stitch over those edges in navy satin stitch. I built up several layers of net at the forefoot, with lines of stitching to add form.
Then I added a layer of tawny net to the light side of the hull to cloud the colour slightly and stitched along the main plating lines of the hull to help reveal the shape.
The next stage on this piece was to stitch over all the edges that will not be covered by other stitches and fabrics to ensure that no raw edges show. At various stages in the project I chose different stitches for this job, but in this particular case I used buttonhole stitch to make the edge crisp and clear.
this is beautiful fabric although it doesn’t look the easiest to work with…
You are achieving those shadows with a good depth. Coming along.
What a lovely deep rich colour.
Buttonhole stitch – good idea with holding down those edges, that tend to splinter!
I’m couching that knittedthick gold thread I showed you over my edges to hide the splintering.
The perspective of the boat at that angle is excellent – it looks real 🙂
I love watching this progress 🙂 Like the idea of using gauze for the shadowed areas, I wouldn’t have thought of that!
One of the great things about this project was the regular e-mail discussion about materials and techniques. The last time I embroidered was in the early ’70s (Godmothers and Goddaughters Table Cloth – I’m the one in the middle) so my knowledge of stitching is pretty rusty. One of my hobbies is interior design so I’m not bad with colour and texture and I think I was able to comment intelligently.
I agree with Elmsley Rose and Carolyn – your persepective and what you’ve achieved with the shadows are wonderful. I wish I had your ability to envisage.