Hello all, new to embroidery here

Sounds like you are thinking of crewel type embroidery which is/was used for curtains and linen is the best fabric for crewel. I never wash the linen prior to doing the embroidery.

Go here

and note the crewel kits and then come back and tell us if that is the type of thing you want to do. 'Embroidery' is a rather encompassing word .

If you've never embroidered, and have never sewed, embroidering and making a set of curtains might be a tad overwhelming as a first project. Of course, you can do it. People have been stitching since the first man stepped on a needle. But that does not imply you don't need skills or not take time.

I'd experiment with a pillow first - maybe even a couple of pillows - for practise. Experiment with weights of thread, and the stitches you want to use. Curtains involve a LOT of fabric - a lot more than you want for a doodle cloth.

As for washing your fabric, it is often recommended with draperies that they be treated as you plan to eventually clean them. If you plan to dry clean them, as many people do, then I wouldn't bother. As for washing, I don't think linen shrinks, but it might have a lot of sizing in it and the fabric will probably soften up a great deal. This may or may not be desirable. You can experiment washing a swatch and see what it does.

Look around in some of the fabric/decorating stores. There might be some pre-embroidered fabric you can buy to make into curtains.

Take a look for some books on Arts and Crafts textiles, and perhaps on May Morris's embroidery. I saw a great one a while back but unfortunately I can't remember the name. You might also take a few books on curtain making out of the library.

Good luck! Dora

Keith with your enthusiasm I'd say they would be a breeze.

Edna

Dora's suggestion of perhaps taking a small piece of cloth and practicing first is good, sometimes linen starts looking pretty messy if you take out stitching too many times. It would also give you an idea of how difficult it was going to be for you to finish curtains as you want them. Then proceed to the curtains if all is well.

Do you have any books to help you with how to do the stitches? If not this is a good site

- they have a stitchdictionary. I have seen some curtains done with crewel - they were most attractive. One set was here in Nova Scotia at an old house which is open to the public, the lady of the house did them in the 20s and a friend in England did some for herself. She had seen the material for curtains at John Lewis in London but the price was astronomical per metre, so she did her own. Took awhile but she wasn't in a hurry. You should definitely use an embroidery frame, I generally use a four inch frame for crewel and move it around. If you try a small piece first, after you finish it you stretch it and block it. That is always a mind altering moment, what looked rather dismal and unattractive suddenly takes on a whole new look lol I would not wash good linen before stitching on it, having some stiffness to it helps.

Let us know what you decide. It's very ambitious but not impossible!

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It looks like those examples include both somesimple embroidery and some applique. Best wishes, Ericka

Ericka Kammerer said

Before clicking on the link, I was thinking that appliques would work up faster for a novice than 'pure' stitching.

Being frugal and cautious, I'd first do a small trial run using the same material and thread that would be used on the bigger project. I'd also experiment backing the material with a stabilizer and would definitely work the pieces using a hoop or frame.

Light bulb time: purchase pre-made plain curtains and then do the motifs (leaves) as appliques which could be attached with fusible webbing. Edges could/should be protected with fray check. Once attached, fabric markers could be used to outline the appliques and draw the stems, etc., if Keith didn't want to hand stitch those parts thus creating unique multi-media works of art ;-)

Finally, we all know how some people stress over the way the back of stitching looks so Keith might want to think about putting a lining on the curtains.

Another Anne wrote: Finally, we all know how some people stress over the way the back of stitching looks so Keith might want to think about putting a lining on the curtains. === Not only that, but exposure to sunlight will cause the fiber in the curtain to break down over time, to the point where the curtain could fall apart when he has them cleaned or washes them. So yes, he should line the curtains. And if he plans to clean the curtains by washing them, he should pre-wash and pre-shrink the curtain lining. Dora

I thought those leafs were stenciled on and then outlined using stem stitch and satin stitch.

Those stitches aren't particularly hard to do, but I definitely would practice on scrap pieces of fabric before I put needle to curtain. I think if you really want to do it, and practice, practice,practice, this is a project that you could tackle. I've always thought that wanting something badly enough, and having the courage to plunge right in, is half the battle.

Good luck. As you can see, there are lots of us in this newsgroup who are willing to give you their ideas and you can feel free to follow your own instinct on what's best for you.

Good luck.

Lucille

I don't think stabilizer on crewel work for curtains would be a good idea. They would never hang nicely.

All I can say to that is having seen curtains done the way Keith wants to do it, they are beautiful. They are long lasting, so the effort is worth it. All he needs to discover is whether he can do the stitching, he already has the linen to do the curtains.

They should lined, mostly because that will protect the colours in the threads/wools from fading.

An excellent site for a stitch dictionary is:

is a textile professor at a university in Australia and has a wonderful site with loads of information. You have received some great advice to make this a successful project. If you are using large motifs (such as the ginko leaves) you could also try Rumanian couching, as opposed to applique.

I would not put a backing of any sort behind the embroidery. However, I would line the draperies.

Dianne

Keith Carls>

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Hallo New Embroiderer !!! As a Veteran crafter sewer etc,, i would recommended you to Wash your cloth before sewing it .. Best advice i can give you, to buy a cushion size piece of intended material and make a cushion with your intended embroidery, I admire your decision , to make your own curtains. But Alas have met , and still do meet to many people who think that handcrafting something, is easy work ... Sorry to disappoint you , but Handcraft needs some practice. Starting right away on a big [ and rather Costly ] project , might be more intimidating than you think ...Try a cushion , than maybe a Bed cover ,, after this you might have an idea of waht you intend to make ... and how your Body and mind feel with it. Maybe it will fit you more to print the curtains ??? maybe buy several cloths and sew them together for Similar if not the same Image ??? Best of luck , mirjam

Hi, Mirjam

Thanks for all the suggestions in the replies... from everyone!

I didn't mean to imply that embroidery or other craftwork are easy. Just that I'm willing to try something new and work at it to make it come out to my satisfaction. For example, I just finished painting my living room with a faux painting technique that I'd never done before. Lots of experimenting, then I ended up having to paint two of the walls twice, and one three times! But it came out great, exactly what I was looking for.

That is a great idea to try a sample first. The curtain panels are quite a bit narrower than the width of the fabric I bought, so I'll have lots of extra material for practice.

I think I know what my next steps need to be. I've saved up several designs I like, and now I need to print them out at approximately the scale that I want to use. I can rough-cut the curtain panels and temporarily clamp them to the window frame so I can hold up the printed designs to better judge which one I like best and what how big it should be. I have Paint Shop Pro on my computer, so I'll take whatever design I like, make minor changes, and scale it up/down as needed. Then with the final design chosen, I can try it on a practice piece (or two... or three....) first.

Someone commented on applique, and yes, on the 3-leaf gingko design that I linked to, they do it with applique leaves and embroidered borders and embroidered seed pods. Would the applique make it an easier project? I would think so... less embroidery that way. And I like the way it looks as well as other designs with all embroidery.

I plan to take the final design and lay it down on an improvised light box, or the window at the right time of the day, and trace the pattern on the fabric with a water-soluble marker. Hope that will work okay; it's the only method of transferring the pattern to the material that I can think all the way through and understand all the steps.

Oh, and I do plan to add lining to the curtains. To cover the back of the embroidery work, protect the curtains from the sun, and also hold out more light when the curtains are closed.

Thanks again.

He is going to do crewel type embroidery on linen - he should most definitely NOT wash the linen before stitching, it will make everything much more difficult.

Hi Keith:

There is one resource which I haven't yet seen mentioned (but my server doesn't always catch all the posts). Have you checked your local public library for books on "Crewel Embroidery" or "Traditional Embroidery".

I have done a lot of crewel, and was always taught NEVER to wash the linen before completing the needlework, but to run a line of machine stitching (or masking tape) along the cut edge so it will not fray.

Linen usually shrinks like crazy the first time you wash it. This has a side effect of tightening up the weave so that the stitching is held more tightly and is thus less likely to come undone. However, it does mean you need to leave very generous margins on your work. My usual modus operandum is to work the piece, wash and iron the linen (the aforementioned library books will give precise instructions, or you may come back here) and then finish it off.

Good luck with your endeavor, come back when you need more help.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

That water soluble marker is great for sketching out the design. However be sure your fabric does not get warm, perhaps lying in sunshine. It seems once that stuff has been warmed, it is no longer water soluble. Otherwise, I love those pens.

I just draw or trace my designs on the unwashed linen with a plain, ordinary HB or #2 pencil, sharpened to a fine point. A light box is very good for this. I use the largest frame I can fit on the linen and comfortably hold in my hand (or a huge one on the Gripit stand). If the pencil marks rub off while the work is in progress, it is a simple matter to retrace them. Some people feel that the graphite from the pencil will rub through onto the embroidery fiber, but in all the years I have been using this method it has never happened to me.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

Keith Carlson said

Yes, no, maybe to less embroidery ;-)

If you trace and then cut the design shapes onto different fabrics than your base linen, you'll have to decide how you want to attach the resulting applique. I usually do buttonhole stitches around the edges, mainly because I haven't mastered the 'invisible' slip stitch.

I can relate to being confused by processes ;-)

I'm sure you know that you can print parts of the design and then piece the print outs together if larger than you're able to print on one page. Once thee part are assembled, you could trace everything on heavier weight paper for a reusable template. I've found freezer paper is wonderful for this process.

Another way to transfer a design which has worked well for me: use an iron on transfer pencil -- in a nutshell, you reverse the image before printing, then go over details with the pencil, place the paper on the fabric, iron ;-)

Ack this is a text only group!