Creating Sacred Space in the Traditional Way
Sacred Embroidery creating Sacred Spaces
Embroidery is a most timeless art. Adorning every garment and cloth from colorful designs on peasant clothes to intricate and opulent clerical vestments it is the wearer's statement of who they are. It tells a story, it tells your story... .
Bring your ideas to the table or bring a pattern. The possibilities are endless to design a piece for your personal or sacred use which expresses your ideals and history.
Some embroidery patterns lend themselves better to hand embroidery, some to machine work. The easiest way to evaluate a pattern is to send it in by .pdf or US mail and let us make suggestions for the best way to showcase your ideas.
Generalized pattern work up is included in your embroidery charge; more complicated designs may require re-working to enhance the finished product. Before any work is done you will be consulted on your pattern and what you are expecting the finished work to be like.
Of course if you are not sure about your design I am pleased to offer a design service to make the most of your ideas.
Be it monogramming or machine embellishment, hand created embroidered pieces can last a lifetime with good care.
My work is primarily done on linen, silk or cotton fabrics. I prefer not to work on Knits- they do not lend themselves to to this type of embroidery. You can submit fabric sample have fabric samples provided to choose from or I can search out a fabric perfect for your project.
These completed pieces are washed by hand, dry cleaned and carefully pressed. Care instructions are provided and any additional help you need is always a call away.
Machine embroidery doesn't have to look.... well... machine made. It can still retain a beautiful organic feel and be consistent and functional.
Traditional Cornely chainstitch work is sturdy and resilient. It can be found on clothing and draperies still in use 100 years later. Cornelywork patterns have a flowing feel to them but they can be filled in with decorative stitches. Despite being sewn with a machine there is a hand drawn organic quality to the work since the machine is controlled by a crank under the table surface.
The base thread can be augmented and wrapped with other colored thread, metallics or cording. The possibilities are endless.
There are lovely Cornely patterns waiting to be brought to life. We use technology to digitize these old gems and traditional stitching to work them up. Even simple chainstitched lines can add beauty and delicacy to linens, skirts, blouses... even paper!
Traditional patterns are similar to "continuous movement" patterns for modern quilting machines. The pattern you see is one continuous line from beginning to end and is made in a way to look like more.