Among the various types of needlework, and in particular, embroidery, a separate type of creativity stands apart - church embroidery. Many faithful craftswomen embroider icons on the canvas with threads that are not inferior in beauty to real pictorial icons, and beautiful canvases with embroidered plots and images of icons can become both an adornment of temples and an adornment for your own home. Nowadays, interest in icon embroidery is reviving, and more and more craftswomen are able to recreate complex and beautiful church images on canvas. As in the case of pictorial icons, embroidered icons are created in several stages, which we will tell you about in this article.
Instructions
Step 1
The basis for embroidery is a sturdy wooden frame with fabric stretched over it - just as a wooden board is the basis of a pictorial icon. Place the embroidery frame horizontally and do not move it in the process. Frame preparation is the first step in the job.
Step 2
The second step is to find the right fabric to stretch over the frame. The choice of canvas depends on the technique in which you will be working, and if you are going to fill the entire canvas with embroidery, choose linen or coarse calico. If the embroidery will have a noticeable colored background, use silk and velvet, under which a liner of linen for fortress is stretched.
Step 3
Pulling the canvas over the frame and securing it well, proceed to the third stage - transfer the pattern that you will embroider to the fabric. It can be applied either directly to the fabric, or you can attach the paper with the pattern to the fabric, and then sew the outline of the pattern through it with small hand stitches, and then remove the paper.
Step 4
At the next stage of work, after the pattern is already outlined on the canvas, select the threads for embroidery. Only silk threads are suitable for embroidering icons - silk embroidery has a beautiful shimmer and shimmers in the light, decorating the icon, and the embroiderer can vary the angle of inclination of each stitch in order to change the angle of light reflection from the embroidery.
Step 5
At this stage, you need to start embroidery, and here you will have to choose different techniques for applying stitches to the fabric, which are most suitable for different parts of the design. Use a split stitch for tight sewing, while embroidering with straight or twisted thread to change the texture of the fabric.
Step 6
When embroidering clothes and folds of fabric in the drawing, use a thicker twisted thread, and when embroidering church images, use the thinnest silk. The seam "split" is the only one allowed for real embroidery of icons - all other seams divide the image into fragmentary stitches, and the icon must be integral and inseparable.
Step 7
In church embroidery, filling the canvas with silk thread is also complemented by sewing with beads and pearls, which can be used for the rich setting of the icon.
Step 8
At the last stage of the work, cover the embroidery from the wrong side with a mixture of flour and mustard, which will glue it together and protect it from harmful influences. After that, after waiting for the paste to dry, remove the rigid embroidery from the frame and place it under the glass.
