Images Magazine Digital Edition May 2018

www.images-magazine.com MAY 2018 images 39 TIPS & TECHNIQUES Method 1 First, with standard 40wt thread, you can repeat each individual stitch – often called ‘bean stitch’ when applied to straight stitching. Stitches are repeated in an odd number of passes so that they can progress in a single direction. One ‘bean’ commonly uses the same or very closely grouped penetration points at the beginning and ending of the group, with three, five, or seven ‘passes’ of thread, building up thickness with the multiple stitches. Most software allows similar settings in satins, allowing you to determine the ‘satin count’, meaning that the straight pass of a satin stitch can be repeated much like a ‘bean’ stitch an odd number of times, while the angled pass is a single stitch connecting these thick stitch groupings. You will have to lower your density settings to make up for the added density of the multiple passes. A ‘single pass’ satin at 0.4mm density has the same stitch count as a ‘triple-pass’ satin set at 0.8mm density, but you’ll find that you get less coverage than with evenly spaced stitches. The edges are also rougher with these widely spread ‘passes’ of thread, but with the concept of handwork being less smooth and perfect-looking than machine work, the sparse coverage may actually be desirable. If not, you will have to use structural underlay and heavier densities to make up for the increased spacing; just be careful not to overly affect the hand of the garment by overdoing the density. W hen a customer asks for a hand-worked look, whether it’s to reproduce vintage linens or to create a bohemian-chic, folk embroidery, ‘peasant blouse’ neckline, they often have the same qualities in mind. No matter the graphical content, these pieces almost always share characteristics that we can address through clever digitising and the use of some easily sourced, speciality threads. By briefly exploring these stylistic cues and discussing how you can create and tweak them for our own designs, you’ll be able to produce everything from reproduction handwork to folk-inspired looks that push beyond the classic style into new areas of expression. Most customers are looking to emulate a rustic, simple execution. They tend to expect thick, individual stitches and, sometimes, a rough texture. To them, classic handwork is the woollen, twisted thread used in crewel, or the cotton floss and counted motifs like cross-stitch and the motif stitches of folk embroidery. There are two simple ways to produce a stitch that looks ‘thicker’ than your average machine straight stitch. [Above] This traditional Slavic flower motif in a wool-blend thread was digitised at less than half the density needed for standard threads Automatic artisan Erich Campbell explains how to create a hand-worked effect on an embroidery machine