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Needlelace has been a needle art form for many centuries. One
of the cradles of it's development was around Venice, Italy. From
there it moved into Belgium and France as well as England. The
basic method of work is to draw the outline of the design on a paper or
fabric to use as the couching pattern. Then cords are couched to
the outline and lacy buttonhole filling stitches are worked between the
couched cords. All the filling work is done on the surface.
These threads never go through the couching pattern. Finally the
couched cords are finished with closely spaced buttonhole stitches and
then the couching threads are clipped and removed from the back side of
the pattern. The final product is a piece of free standing lace.
To make needlelace projects more versatile for use as dimensional
units, I use fine wire in place of the cord along the outlines.
When finished these flower petals or butterflies that I have created can
be shaped without starch. On the lace angel, only the wings were
edged in wire, while the skirt and shawl used a thread cord for the
couched edges. |
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The first step is to create a couching pattern. I break from
the tradition of drawing it on fabric with India ink and then pad that
layer with several more layers of fabric. I put the design on
printer/copy paper and iron a layer of heavy fusible interfacing to the
back side. For my design packets and classes, this has been a good
solution since they are printed from my computer. The pattern holds up
for 2 or 3 uses.
The second step is to couch the cord or wire to the pattern. If
you are making a single leaf or petal, you will need about ½" of wire
extending at the base to poke through the background fabric to attach
it. I like to cover these ends with a little piece of tape so I do
not snag my threads on them. The couching stitches should be very
small on the top side where they cover the cord. The spacing can
be between 1/8 and 1/4" apart. Use sewing thread for this step.
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Next you will fill the area inside the couched outline with a
variation of the buttonhole stitch. The most basic is the single
buttonhole stitch shown here.
Use a tapestry needle that fits your thread, and a rather long piece
of thread. Anchor the thread by overcastting the couched wire a
couple of time as you position your thread at the upper left corner of
the area. Make small, closely spaced buttonhole stitches across
the top edge from left to right. At the right edge overcast the
couched wire once, and then work buttonhole stitches into each loop
between the stitches of the first row. All your work will be on
the surface of the pattern and never pierce it. Only the couching
done in step two pierce the pattern. Also you will never tie
knots. All ends are hidden by overcastting the couched edge. |
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For a lacier look, you might choose to use the double buttonhole
stitch. For this stitch anchor your thread and begin at the upper
left corner. Make two closely spaced buttonhole stitches, then
leave a space and loop and make two more closely spaced stitches.
Continue across the top this way. Anchor the thread on the
right side with 2 overcasts of the side so you give yourself a little
space before beginning the next row. Work back across making two
closely spaced buttonhole stitches over the loop between pairs of
stitches, then leave a loop as you go on to the next loop of the first
row to make your next pair of stitches. |
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When you need a very solid look, perhaps to contrast with a lacy
part, try the corded buttonhole stitch. It is also known as the cloth
stitch. For this stitch anchor your thread and work one row of
closely spaced buttonhole stitches across the upper edge. Anchor
the thread with one overcast of the right side and bring the thread all
the way across the work to the left side. Anchor it there just
under the first row. Work your second row of closely spaced
buttonhole stitches into each loop between the stitches of the first
row, and over the thread you stretched below it. |
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When you have filled the area within the couched outline, you will
finish the piece by covering the outer edge with closely spaced
buttonhole stitches, facing outward from the edge. This will cover
all the tail ends of thread you left there from the beginnings and
endings of the filling work. Hide the final tail in your work
along the edge.
Now it's time to cut the couching threads on the back side of the
pattern and pull all of them out so you can lift the finished petal or
leaf from the pattern. With the wire edge, you can shape it.
Now it is ready to apply to your stitched fabric piece. The wire
extensions need to be poked through the fabric and sewn securely to the
back side. If you have made a 2 or 3 petal grouping, you will sew
the center of it to the background fabric and then add stamens. |
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