ZORRO – Part 3
Once everything was tacked down, I thread-painted the horse and rider. Several shades of Aurifil 50 wt. grays were used on the horse. Using the comic’s cover art I stitched in the direction of the anatomy emphasizing the muscles. Learn more about this in my step-by-step thread-painting recorded demonstration.
After completing the horse, I used the template to mark the lines, and began stitching the rider.
*Tip: when you want something to stand out, switch to a thicker thread. For the highlight on the hat, I used a denim needle 90/14 and Aurifil 12 wt. thread on the top and 50 wt. in the bobbin. This requires some practice on scraps as every machine needs the correct tension adjustments
Framing the art became necessary before adding the sword. The blade in the original art broke the border of the moon. I wanted to make the art quilt more dramatic, so I added a black 3” sashing all around the art. I chose a shiny black satin fabric fused with Pellon shape flex.
To learn more about choosing the correct stabilizer for your textile art, please read my “Let’s talk stabilizers” blog.
GOLDWORK
In order to understand how I created the hand embroidery in this piece, I want to take this opportunity to explain, “Goldwork”, which is not necessarily about the color. The sword and riding equipment required some unusual methods in order to create the look and feel of metal. I chose to use silver bullion embroidery wire for the sword. It comes in a variety of iridescent colors and is easy to find in embroidery shops and online.
First, I added the silver embossed metallic fabric for the sword and basket. This fabric is usually found in the specialty section for gowns and bridal wear. Again, much like the cape, this is a delicate fabric which frays, so I added liquid Fray check to keep the edges crisp.
Next, I slowly added the coiled wire trim using the goldwork technique. Goldwork was initially introduced in the late 1700s to decorate costumes for the church and royalty.
Do a bit of research as it’s a fascinating craft and there are many tutorials on the internet for beginners. It requires tiny stitches couched over the metal coils with the wire ends punched through a hole at the beginning and end of the work and secured in the back.
Thank goodness this is wall art and needs no laundering! It’s delicate and tedious work, but the results are very rewarding.
The horse’s bridle and chest band were created using a combination of metal beads and jewelry hand sewn into place using my favorite nylon beading thread by NYMO. I purchased the assorted pack with 10 colors. Do a search for NYMDMIX1. This part felt as if I was dressing the horse for a black-tie affair!
Using the template with slits cut into it, I traced a thin chalk line onto the horse and hand beaded the silver embellishments one-by-one. For years I stressed over beading as I always felt as if I was taking two steps forward while 3 steps back. Everything changed when I began using the CORRECT needles!
My favorite go to beading needle is by BOHIN #10.
To be concluded in Part 4…
