Nothing highlights silk embroidery thread quite as well as a touch of gold.
When working on a project like this Art Nouveau design that I’ve been sharing with you lately, a little gold outline serves a couple purposes.
First, it brightens everything up!
Along with the sheen of the silk, this bright, liquid gleam of gold flows along with the design lines and really brightens the piece.
Just as the light plays off the silk, it does the same thing with the gold – enhancing the flow and “movement” of the piece.
We’ve already talked about how the color shifts with the silk thread.
And you can see it in the photos above – the pale blue-gray looks different from photo; the greens reflect differently, too; and the corals – they glow like burning embers, depending on the tilt of the frame in the light, the type of light source, and so forth.
The gold shifts, too, but it’s a smooth kind of glimmering movement that flows up and down the design lines, depending on lighting and the angle of viewing.
It’s quite mesmerizing.
The second thing the gold outline does is “crisp up” the outlines. It smooths all the lines out so nicely, tightening up the edges of the embroidery and giving it a very crisp, clean look.
Gold Passing Thread
We chose a single gold passing thread to use for the outlines of the floral elements on this piece.
Gold passing thread is usually found couched in pairs, as a filling. (You can see it at work in this project and in this project.)
But here, we wanted a fine, smooth outline, and I really like the way that the gold passing thread (or wire) does the job.
We’ll be adding just a touch more gold, mostly in the frame of the piece, with a couple accents in chip work.
As that develops, I’ll share the results!
The Hardest Part
Right now, I’m struggling with the hardest part of a project like this (which is intended to be a full kit, available a little later).
What’s the hardest part?
Coming up with a name for it. Any ideas?
Happy Monday!
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