Patching with brass – an experiment

Several years ago when I was doing my silversmithing course, I had an idea about creating a piece where I ‘mended’ a piece of denim with a ‘patch’ of impressed brass. I impressed some brass with a piece of fabric to give it a woven texture, but got no further. Some time later I was revisiting my sketch book from the course and cut out a ‘patch’ which I then drilled all round the edge to take the stitches. Once polished, it stalled yet again.

However, last week I found the perfect piece of denim  – an off cut from a pair of jeans – and with a square of apple wood from my Dad’s shed, the project was back on again.

I cut a section of the denim with one of the iconic seams running through it and frayed the edges. Next I chose some bright red perle thread to stitch the ‘patch’ on. It took less time to stitch the patch down than it had to drill just one of the holes with my bow drill!

Mounted onto the apple wood square…

… and made into an unusual brooch which I’ve listed here.

Some more progress on the bluework too. From this:

To this:

I’ve finished the eyelets at the bottom and completed the leaves and stems on the floral fragment on the right. The leaves and stems are in split stitch, a favourite of mine for filling areas.

I found an image on the internet of a flower where the petals had been created from long blanket stitches and then the top loops of the blanket stitches had been blanket stitched into to give a frilly sort of raised edge, so I thought I’d have a go at that for my next section.

It’s an interesting method, but slightly untidy for my liking! I think I’m going to seed stitch the background so they don’t stand out quite as much.

And in other news, I have just got the silk fabric to add to my linen and wool and I should soon be able to start investigating how to get ‘crocus coloured’ fabric for the start of my Dorian Gray project.

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Perks of Panto week.

As well as doing the costume for our panto last week, I was also the dame’s ‘dresser’. Those elaborate costumes can be difficult to put on, especially with hoops underneath some of the full-skirted frocks, and constant changes of wigs, shoes, jewellery etc. so we always have someone whose specific job is to help. This, naturally, means being at the theatre for every performance.

Spending every evening backstage for a week is a bit of a long haul after a full day’s work, but there are advantages. Firstly, I was on hand for all the last minute costume tweaks and any mends that became apparent over the course of the run and secondly, in between costume changes and when there was no mending, I could actually get on with some of my own work.

First of all, I finished off the second strip of James’ patchwork cushion. Here it is, alongside the first.

And then I started the feather stitching on the third strip:

I also finally finished off the second denim cuff book (the one with lazy daisy flowers) with a beaded spine.

More to come, including a birthday card I can’t unveil until the weekend!

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Completed cuff book

The applique cover of this little book experiment has been finished a while, so the next step was to cover the back of the embroidery with a lining.

I chose some hand dyed purple and turquoise feather-light silk and turning over the raw edges as I went, ladder stitched it to the back of the cover.

Finally, I divided the medley of papers into three signatures and used a beaded long stitch binding to attach them to the spine – not easy through two layers of shifting fabric!

A little selection of iridescent seed beads, matte bugles and interesting triangular beads work well together for the binding and the blue thread I used blends into the denim for the unbeaded stitches.

The thickness of the denim layers really helps it to stand up on its own.

It’s a pretty rugged little notebook! I’ve really enjoyed putting it together and even, better, the concept worked just as I’d hoped. Not often that happens!

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