RSN Diploma – Module 2 – Appliqué

Tags

#HamptonCourtPalace, #royalschoolofneedlework, Applique, French Knots, RSN

Appliqué is a technique that many embroiderers will be familiar with, especially if quilting also features in your stitching repertoire, however the RSN Diploma Appliqué Module takes this technique further into some specific elements and focuses on dimension and edges.

The brief for the Appliqué module explains that the RSN is looking for the embroiderer to be able to smoothly apply fabrics over a variety of padding types e.g. carpet felt, string padding, pelmet vilene, wool felt etc and then deliver finished edges on each element of the design. The embroiderer is free to embellish their work with threads, beads and wires etc. but needs to be careful that they are delivering an Appliqué piece and not a stumpwork. The use of a wide variety of materials is encouraged.

With all of the above in mind I approached this Appliqué module with some trepidation as I had a limited time, along with a determination to enjoy the freedom to use a range of fabrics, fibres and techniques. For my design I wanted to still incorporate the signature Oak leaves and Acorns and so my version of a Green Man was born.

Background

While many RSN students piece their background for this module, often using applique edges, I had taken a photo of a special tree during my visit to France and I wanted to incorporate this photo into my piece. The tree was growing in the military cemetery near Lille where my husbands Great Uncle was buried during WW1, and I imagined that I could see a face in the bark of the tree. I was able to find a business in the U.K. called  PRINTFAB who printed my photo onto a fat quarter of good quality cotton fabric and this became the background to my appliqué. I love how this turned out and hope I can use the approach again in a future work!

Face in the tree. Background print.

Padding

Working out the layers and types of padding and where to use each was the next step. Carpet Felt padding was new to me and I found there were really good instructions in the RSN Applique book by Kate Cross. Building up the carpet felt, which I did on a seperate hoop, gave the nose and eyebrows good height. String padding the lips was a little more challenging, though in the end I was happy with how they shaped up. Layers of wool felt brought dimension into his face, and additional wadding elevated some of the leaves across his cheeks and forehead.

Edges

One of the key requirements of RSN Appliqué is that there must be a variety of edge finishes used. I was able to use some of the leftover background fabric with the tree trunk print to make turned edges over the nose, lips and eyebrows. The leaves gave me the space to do embroidered edges such as buttonhole and long and short (his beard). Some of the fabric leaves have couched and corded edges, while leather and vinyl leaves allowed me to have raw edges.

Embellishments

I found some wonderful large and slightly oval shaped beads during that same visit to France and, after wrapping the tops with gold twist, these became the large acorns which I sewed to the piece. Other small beads were added, along with stitched tufting and french knots, and all combined to give his face texture.

Finishing

I felt that I could have continued to add a lot more embellishment to this work however time was against me as our boxes had to be packed so they could be shipped back to Australia, and the frame this piece was worked on was one of the things that had to go, so I had to get it off the frame and mounted. Also I had to keep reminding myself appliqué not stumpwork!

The RSN allows you to choose how you would like to present your Appliqué – either via traditional mounting over card or as a soft wall hanging – I chose traditional mounting. I did think later that this decision was shortsighted as this piece is 32cm on each side and took ages to mount via the RSN required method. I am however very happy with how the finished piece has come together, and I think it looks somewhat like my original design drawing .

End of the 2018 Embroidery Adventure 

My appliqué piece was finished and submitted less than 24 hours before we flew out of the U.K. and this also brings my 2018 RSN Embroidery adventure to an end. Completing 6 RSN Certificate & Diploma pieces in 12 weeks has been an effort, and something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do, and it has also the most wonderful time ever.

Thanks must be given to my wonderful husband for his support, meals, washing, ironing, packing my lunch, carrying my bags and generally keeping me sane.

I do hope to get back to the Royal School of Needlework next year so keep your fingers crossed for me – I still have 4 more Diploma subjects to do!.  In the intervening time I will continue to embroider and update you on progress via this blog.

Now holidaying in the USA!

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RSN Diploma – Module 1 completed

Tags

#royalschoolofneedlework, Canvaswork, RSN, RSNDiploma

Finished

I was privileged to be able to view some wonderful Canvaswork pieces during the Royal School of Needlework – Animals in Embroidery exhibition and as a result I have actually come to a much better appreciation of the complexity of this technique. The texture that can be achieved through a wide variety of stitchs is remarkable. It is a real pity that Canvaswork does not photograph very well as seeing the dimension and texture that can be achieved in real life has totally changed my opinion of it.

Canvas Stitches is the alternative module that you undertake either in the RSN Certificate or the Diploma, depending on which certificate technique you first choose (Blackwork  or Canvas). Having done certificate Blackwork, Canvas Stitches became my first Diploma Module.  When choosing the design for this piece I did a lot of thinking about whether to continue with the Oak leaves and Acorns theme that I had followed throughout my Certificate pieces or to move onto other images and options. In the end I decided to stay with my established theme so the all of my pieces would ‘hang’ together when displayed. The RSN brief recommends landscapes or water scenes as good for this technique, and the tutors advise against images with strong straight lines (including diagonal) as the nature of canvas is to produce blocky images. While most students will work from a photograph and try to recreate the image as closely as possible, I was keen to develop my own designs for my diploma modules and so this design was born.

My ‘Frog on a Windowsill’ certainly has to be my most travelled piece as I have worked on it at three different RSN schools – in Durham, in Bristol, and at Hampton Court Palace. The tutors in each of the locations provided great advice and each influenced different aspects of the final piece. Tracey Franklin made brilliant choices in the blended sky/mountain background colours, Deb Wilding had great suggestions on stitches that would give the frog his knobbly texture, Lisa Bilby was able to point out areas that shading would bring to life, and Rachel Doyle is an absolute star at problem solving. I think in all, as I moved around RSN venues, at least 10 tutors provided input to the piece and I feel enriched for having their support.

The personal learning that I take from this piece is that if I were to do the certificate over again I would actually choose to do Canvaswork first in the Certificate as I think the process of choosing and blending threads for this technique provides a really good grounding for being able to really see the colours needed in Silk Shading. This is only my opinion of course based on my recent experience of doing both techniques.

Another lesson I have learned in this module is the benefit of keeping the working piece very tightly stretched on the frame. Due to all the travel I had been at pains to be particularly vigilant with regularly tightening up my framed work and I was able to reap the benefits when taking my canvas off the frame to find that it had remained reasonably square. This made the mounting process just that bit easier though believe me that Canvas is a difficult fabric to mount well and very hard on the fingers!. Finally my Canvas Stitches is finished, mounted and submitted for assessment.  On to the next module – Appliqué.

Shaded background with Autumn leaves

Knobbly Frog