Jizee6687's Weblog

We are going on vacation to India tomorrow, I might not post any entries while Iam there.I hope I can work on my embroidery over there, last time  a crack  on my right pinkie  did not allow me to work for a whole month. InIndia the navarathri and diwali festivals are celebrated in a grand manner.Asusual there will be lots of sweets,lentils,shopping,  and indigestion.

Happy Navarathri! and Happy Diwali!

Iam finishing my darning sampler with this last few explorations.

pattern darning-8

The fish pattern is widely used in weaving ikat.I seem to have an Idea of this pattern darning now. I had an interesting time working on this month’s stitch explorer.Thanks sharon for introducing this embroidery to me and thanks for following my progress. the whole sampler in two parts-

pattern darning part-1

pattern darning part-2

Next stage of my exploration on pattern darning-

pattern darning-7

Iam still working on small motifs and borders.the two flower samplers  were not as I thought they would be.Iam working mainly with  pearl cotton.

darning sampler-6

 I have been exploring some more on this pattern darning.Also  attending vedanta philosopy lectures this whole week. because of which  couldn’t post  any entry. .I enjoyed doing this peocack. this pattern is adapted from phulkari embroidery, In which the whole surface is filled with surface satin, to break the monotony,this pattern darning is used in between.Red grey and cream pattern is typical Ikat pattern.

Pattern darning -7

Iam adding some tiny borders also. whenever I work on this sampler,I want to do some project using these stitches,  but  still  waiting for inspiration.

pattern darning -8

This violet motif reminds me of dhakai embroidery[bangladesh].Let me see how I go from here.

I have been slowly learning this embroidery. I am also thinking where I can make use of this darning stitch.

sampler -5

Iam just doing the darning patterns  based on the woven designs, some are too big too adapt fo r the experiments.

Since I have been going on and on about the  Ikat weave  for this month’s stitch explorer,This is just a sample from the book-IKAT TEXTILES OF INDIA by Chelna Desai-

These patterns are bold and quite common in the northeastern part of India. Iam always fascinated by them, and waiting to use them for my embroidery ideas.This month pattern darning gave me a perfect excuse .I  try and use them for small scale- cross stitch patterns, kutch  work designs .Being a weave it is geometrical.The yarn is first dyed with the pattern and hand woven.

My sampler on pattern darning-

pattern darning-3

Now movingon to  mono colour, I also learning from kasauti and phulkari embroideries.

To understand this stitch better I have using Ikat weave as an inspiration.This is helping a lot .I have also started on considering the possibilities of  phulkari and kasouti.In Phukari, the pattern darning is  used extensively,  but they don’ t use even weave fabric, but any other fabric like, cotton, chiffon, silk.  Typical motifs which can be filled with this stitch are drawn.The wrong side of the fabric doesn’t carry much thread[ to avoid damage].

In kasouti,the basis is holbein stitch,these pattern darning motifs are incorporated in between . Both holbein stitch designs and pattern darning designs can be drawn on graph paper, [easier that way].

Now for my sampler-

8 patterns

As you can see, I have been experimenting  with colours.till now it has been tie and dye ikat weave patterns.

I did a few more experiments on Pattern Darning.The  Ikat weave gives many possibilities,but the motifs are too big to be used for sample stitching.

9 patterns

I started using stranded cotton also to get the effect.I browsed the stitch explorer flickr group for  some inspiration, wonderful  work done by the participants.Thinking I’ll trya few more on I kat weave to under stand the working of this stitch.Some phulkari and kasauti embroideries also adapt this stitch in their designs. I have to study them too.This is the first time I am posting entries ,while working  on the sampler.Wondering  how many variations  are possible?I often visit Elizabeth [great inspiration]. Thought Why not try doing it this way?

I am working on this month’s stitch explorer -Pattern Darning. Needle weaving  Iam yet to start,mixed media and contemporary style Iam yet to comprehend.

Iam using ‘Ikat weave ‘ to help me in exploring this stitch.My first few steps-

first 6 patterns

Iam using perle cotton.it is not producing the effect. I ‘ll start using stranded cotton too[4 strands].This time it is not a band sampler,Just small patterns.

Flora had enquired on embroidering on tunics.I  have been working  on tunics  for some time now.

1st step-choosing the pattern for the tunic.[from fashion shows,magazines etc]

2nd step-Incorprating  it to my requirements.

3rd step- choosing fabric ,colours.stitches

4th step-Drawing the pattern on paper.

5th step-tracing or copying the pattern on to fabric.

6th step-colour co ordinating with embroidery strands.

 7th step-Actual working on the piece, I spend atleast   2 hours  a day on that piece and alternate betwwen large and small projects.

The first 6 steps are done over a period of many weeks[which leaves me  with lots of UFO's],

once the piece is  designed and ready for embroidery, I work continously till it is completed .

Hope this answers your question.

Today I have started my experiments on “Darning’  from the stitch explorer challenge .Initially Iam planning to  adapt some “Ikat” weave patterns for my experiments, once I get well established in this technique,I’ll browse the sources posted by Sharon.

Iam putting on hold my  tunic embroideries  for the time being. My friend Padma from Shilpi wanted a embroidered blouse for her daughter, but with a crack on my finger I couldn’t work then.I started this blouse a few days back, It is a very simple pattern,done on the back and sleeves-

motif on sleeveKutch work is the base for this pattern, I just embellished with other stitches. She chose the color combinations.border pattern on blouse