After learning about Italian Embroidery, when it was time to experiment with edgings, I knew I needed to delve deeper into needle lace edgings and Aemilia Ars needle lace.
When I started researching into different edgings, one of the first things I looked at was needle lace. I think it's so beautiful and there are so many different designs you can do, and you can even add beads! So I got started with my needle lace edgings and Aemilia Ars samples.
I had already done this simple edging on the previous course, but I wanted to take it further.
I started off with this fairly simple scalloped edge with beads added to the centre of each scallop.
Armenian Needle lace Edgings
I then decided to do some Armenian needle lace edgings with some beads added. I had done a little bit of Armenian needle lace before, but never added beads. There are so many beautiful edgings in this style of needle lace, but I picked two to try.
This first one is quite pretty, but I think to keep all the loops the same size will require a considerable amount of practice!
I was really pleased with this one. I was surprised to find that I found these larger loops easier to keep even, or perhaps it just doesn't notice so much if they're not! I also like the combination of the large loops and variegated thread. I would definitely do this again if I have the right piece to put it on.
Aemelia Ars
After having learnt about Italian embroidery earlier in the course, I was keen to delve deeper into the Aemlia Ars style of embroidered lace. It's not that easy to find out about when your Italian is as basic as mine! Pretty much all the books I have found are written in Italian, but you don't need to be able to read any Italian to look at the pictures and see how beautiful the work is.
I tried an edging, and added some beads!
The task was to make some mini wallhangings, so I also needed to put something in the centre of the fabric. I decided a flower I had seen in one of my Italian books would be ideal.
This design comes from 'Corso Base Due - Centrini e Inserti' by Bianca Rosa Bellomo, Carla D'Alessandro and Luisa Monteventi. I followed the instructions as best as I could. Fortunately the pictures are very clear!
I wired the edges of the flower, so that I could shape them away from the edge of the background fabric, and also added some beads. It was so much fun to make.
Once I had finished all 15 of my mini wallhangings, I wanted to try some more pieces. So I decided in between all my coursework I would try and fit in some Aemlia Ars samples, to learn how to do this beautiful work with more skill.
I did this piece using the design and instructions from 'Corso Base' by Bianca Rosa Bellomo, Carla D'Alessandro and Luisa Monteventi. Again the book is in Italian, but the pictures are very clear. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and am keen to try out some more pieces when I've finished my course.
I have a long way to go before my work is anywhere near as neat as that in the books, but I know I'll have fun practicing and I might even get to improve my Italian a bit a long the way!
After this it was time for something new again. This time I had to try and make some stitched beads. You can read about it here: Stitched Beads (claireharveyembroidery.com)
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