Tudor and Stuart Goldwork Masterclass – Month Fifteen

Circular Interlacing Stitch

Circular Interlacing Stitch

There were two more interlacing stitches this month, Circular Interlacing Stitch and Figure Eight Interlacing Stitch.

I know I’m always talking about scale on these stitches, but I’m pretty sure that at a reasonable scale of thread to fabric, the Circular Interlacing Stitch will create a lovely neat boss which would have all sorts of wonderful uses in representing jewellery and embellishment. Instead, on my loosely-woven practise cloth it looks rather leggy and a bit thin. I’m glad to see that I got the interlacing right, and don’t have any twists or tangles in it, though!

The most difficult part of the stitch, I found, was laying the foundation interlaced crosses using the correct proportions and directions. Sometimes a larger thread count makes life harder rather than easier!

Figure Eight Interlacing Stitch

Figure Eight Interlacing Stitch

By contrast, it isn’t at all obvious that I even got the Figure Eight Interlacing Stitch right, although I am pretty sure that I did. It might have been better to pull all the wraps tighter to create a neater effect, rather than allowing the loops to create the uncontrolled springy appearance that they have at present. This is partly a result of the fact that I’m still reluctant to pull metal threads into tight loops because I don’t want them to strip their surfaces.

I do like the rich, textured braid effect that this stitch creates in the photographs in Tricia’s instructions, so I think it will be worth playing with it using different threads – not all of them metal, either – and seeing where it takes me.

10 Comments

  1. Lady Fi says:

    Both look difficult to do – that interlacing looks almost impossible!

  2. Penny says:

    Wow, can’t begin to imagine how the figure of eight strip was done! I can see that pulling too hard would surely strip the thread of it’s gold.

  3. I just started doing that figure eight this morning, but got interrupted and haven’t gotten beyond the beginning set of two.

    Don’t worry about pulling the thread tighter, although the stitch does look quite pretty looser–very lacy!

  4. Penny says:

    I love the circular interlacing stitch — I can see a row of these crossing fabric.

  5. I love those stitches. This is a long course isn’t it? I would love to do it but a eighteen months commitment is a long time. Especially when I travel so much. I’m still thinking though.

  6. They both look really effective – and difficult. I particularly like the second one.

  7. karen says:

    I would be interested to see how this looks in a different thread as it’s such an intricate stitch.

  8. Alex says:

    The figure of eight stitch looks intriguing. I wonder how it would look in a heavy perle where you didn’t have to worry about stripping the metal to get the tension right?

  9. Janice says:

    Good grief! Just looking at the figure of eight strip makes my brain hurt! The circular interlacing stitch I can figure out. Yes, it would be lovely as a representation of jewellery – as indeed would the other. Yes, I agree with Alex. Might be worth practising with a perlé no. 5 – and I think the sheen would be lovely too. I know you need to practise using the metallic threads for their unique qualities, but oh! the expense!
    Hope you have a lovely week!

  10. Melita says:

    I wish I’d have gotten to do this project – yours looks wonderful. But, I am not thrilled with using a magnifying glass. I do want to use the video stitches in one single piece. I have a silver box that has a perfect size for an insert. I’m thinking 18 count with Krienik. I just need time!