Van Dyke Stitch with Reverse Chain Start

Van Dyke stitch is best worked in metal threads or tightly twisted cotton or silks.

For this tutorial, #371 gold wire was used to create a leaf motif.

It could also be used to create veins on a leaf worked in silk, as shown below.

Start out with a few Reverse Chain stitches (reference Reverse Chain tutorial if you aren't already familiar with this stitch).

For Reverse Chain, the working thread is brought to fabric surface, looped around the previous chain stitch, and then plunged to the back of the fabric through the same hole.  To create the legs in Van Dyke, the working thread is brought to fabric surface slightly to the left of the chain stitched row (working towards your body), looped around the previous chain stitch, and then returned to the back of the fabric, slightly to the right of the chain stitches.  See photo, left.




As you create each loop or chain, increase the distance between the legs as shown here.

Keep a firm, but not tight, tension.  Pull only enough to keep the "legs" straight.

If creating a shape such as this one, you will begin to reduce the length of the legs as you come to the final point and the last stitch will be a Reverse Chain.

Variations on a Holly Theme

          "Again at Christmas did we weave

The holly round the Christmas hearth;

The silent snow possessed the earth,

And calmly fell our Christmas eve"

Tennyson

Many of you will recognize this holly motif from a coif at the V & A Museum. (acc no. T.25-1975).  It's been dated between 1590 to 1600; silk and silver-gilt embroidery on linen.  There are at least two coifs featuring this holly motif in a repeat fill pattern.  Unfortunately, I have photos of the 2nd coif, but didn't record where it came from.  

On the V&A coif, all 3 leaves are filled with a simple blackwork running stitch motif.  On the 2nd coif, the top center leaf has a heavy center vein worked in silk.  It doesn't appear to have a fill stitch and I can't make out what stitch comprises the vein, but it looks like Chain or Van Dyke.  I can't post a pic of it on my blog since I didn't take the photograph.  If anyone knows of another coif with this holly pattern, please let me know via a comment or email (kservello@comcast.net)

For the Holly Pocket Ornament shown at the top, I used Au Ver a Soie's (silk) 109 perle and 945 gobelin and #4 gilt smooth-passing wire on a sandy colored 40 ct. linen.  Stiches used are Outline, Blackwork fill and Reverse Chain.

On the Holly Mini-Pillow, above and left, I decided to try 50 ct. linen - I wanted to see how difficult it would be to stitch my delicate fill pattern on 50ct.  It's wicked-close and I don't think I would try it on a large piece, like a coif, unless I was only filling a few spot motifs with it. The same threads were used as the first ornament.

Here you see how I chose to fill the holly berries. I couldn't see how they were filled on the V&A coif, so I decided to fill them with reverse chain stitch.  I think it came out very nicely.

I made these in 2008.  Looking at the V&A coif again today, I realized the  goldwork stitch in between each holly motif looks like the cross variation of Guilloche stitch.  Anyone else care to comment?  I've ordered a hi-def pic of it so I can see it better.

Here's the third variation, actually my first attempt.  I used French knots to represent the upper holly berries.  I should have filled the area in more with berries, but, in "real life" it doesn't look as sparse in that area, probably because the branch looks longer on camera due to the curve in the linen.  I also used Fr. knots to fill in the 2 meduim holly berries below, with and outline stitch around them, which looks very nice - it makes them look raised.  Today I'd choose Spiral Trellis stitch.

Elizabethan Purse : Peascods & Posies

The Peascod greene oft with no little toyle,

Hee’d seeke for in the fattest, fertl’st soile,

And rend it from the stalke to bring it to her,

And in her bosome for acceptance woo her.”

William Browne of Tavistock

This is a project I finished several years ago.  I designed this purse in preparation for travelling to Plimoth Plantation to help with the embroidery of the Plimoth Jacket, currently on display at Winterthur.  Prior to this, I had never done any non-counted Elizabethan embroidery, so I wanted to practice before I worked on the jacket.  I had just taken a class in Richmond, VA from Chris Berry thru the Embroiderers' Guild of America (EGA).

The purse is the same front and back, except for a color change or two.  All stitches used are Elizabethan period stitches.

I used Kingston 50 ct cream linen, silk buttonhole twisted threads from Au Ver a Soie and Mulberry Silks, and #5 smooth passing gold wire from Golden Threads.

The lining is a cornflower blue that matches the medium blue silk thread.

The leaf shown here is worked in Up & Down Buttonhole stitch.

Lady bug is worked in Spiral Trellis stitch.  A wonderfully fun stitch to work, and it can be padded to produce a really 3D effect.

The vine is done in Reverse Chain stitch using #5 smooth passing gold wire (real gold).  It's one of the first things that non-stitchers are drawn to on this purse.  I've been told that it looks like I laid a gold chain down on the purse and attached it.

The red caterpillar is worked in Ceylon Stitch.

Here's a photo of the peascods before the embroidery was cut off the slate frame.  You can see a bit of the peas peeping out of the pods.

The caps are Ceylon stitch, the pods are worked in Detached Buttonhole stitch.

The blue flower, Columbine, that you can see a bit of is worked in Trellis stitch worked on a diagonal.