Stumpwork

This is the second half of the popular Cabinet of Curiosities course.  Cabinet of Curiosities Part II - Stumpwork is designed to teach the skills needed to approach the majority of high relief embroidery seen in school girl embroidery of the 17th century.

Of the techniques used, needlelace was the most prominent and forms the first 1/3 of the course.  Twenty needlelace stitches are taught as well as their common variations, with an emphasis on how these stitches look in each of eight different thread types seen in the 17th century.  On a select number of stumpwork caskets and pictures, complex combinations of needlelace stitches were used to create patterns such as twills, diamonds, zig-zags and even more interesting ones.  The culmination of our exploration in needlelace is the fabrication of these large scale patterns for dresses and clothes.

The stitches for needlelace can be quite difficult to visualize, so they will be presented in picture,

Supplemental Patterns in Needlelace

diagram and animated form.  Smudge Animation has been making animated stitches for Thistle Threads for four years, something that students have learned to lean on when attempting a new stitch.  At the end of the course, a DVD with the animations is sent to the students to archive and use whenever needed for reference.

The remaining 2/3 of the course is devoted to the individual motifs commonly seen in 17th century work and how to stitch these motifs.  Topics like shoes and boots, lace collars, dresses, large animals, trees, stumpwork acorn forms, and dozens more are treated in full detail.  Examples of these motifs and how they were worked will be shown from historic embroideries in public and private collections to give the breadth of the how, why and what of these master works in high relief.

During the course, additional motifs and full designs are provided for those who are looking for projects

Stumpwork Mirror Shown
Worked in Class

to work with traditional 17th century story lines.  Several pictures, motifs and a mirror are provided in line drawings.  This augments the design library that was provided in Part I with new motifs and combinations ready to apply to the forms in the Thistle Threads store.

One design, a mirror with doors, will be shown in its entirety as it is stitched with basic instructions to follow along.  While the materials are not all in the class kit, many are and if a student is looking for a test project, this one might fit the bill.

Finished Embroidery on Mirror
Before Cut Out and Applied

The class kit contains approximately $500 retail value silk and metal threads specially dyed and manufactured for this course as well as fabrics, stuffing, forms, and items that are hard to find for
stumpwork, yet vital for its manufacture.

Registration is open for an Encore of this class.  100 spots will be available for the course which starts April 1st, 2017.  The course is $1199 and can either be paid monthly or in full.   International students have a shipping surcharge added into the fee.  Registration details can be found here.

Finished Mirror and some of the projects
from Cabinet of Curiosities Part I

There are roughly 100 spaces in the course for 2017.  I have not evaluated if I can run a 2018 or later version because of the retirement of artisans.  If this is on your bucket list, the time is now.