This skirt was embroidered between 1610 and 1620. It is exhibited in the Glasgow Museum. I used it as the inspiration of the underskirt or petticoat of Katherin's dress. The original is a riot of colors with silver accents. The silver has turned black over the years so it does not sparkle like it would have when new.
Here is the overall design for the skirt. Much of it will not show when she is dressed but since I don't know just how much will, I decided to make the design larger than I thought that I needed.
When I am working on my floor stand, I usually only stitch an hour a day. Any more than that and my back hurts so it takes quite a while to finish a project. Plus there are so many other things that I need to work at and stitch on.
Instead of the polychrome of the original, I am using a wonderful woad blue silk for the background. I have decided to use gold silk Soie de Paris thread in three shades plus a fine English metallic gold.
The thread is a filament silk so it has great sheen.
This is progress from day one. I basted the design on the silk and started the gold.
Day two - Hour two
I have added a bit more gold and started the leaves. I am going to get the tendrils and leaves stitched before I start any flowers. I added the spool so that you could get an idea of the size of the work.
Day three - Hour three
A bit more gold and a few more leaves.
Day four - Hour four
I feel like it is growing nicely. The needle is a size 13 so it is tiny but very sharp. I am just removing the paper in the area where I am stitching that day. As I get more done, I will cover up the embroidered area so that the threads don't get rubbed.
