Practice goldwork

 

Goldwork in period was a highly skilled profession. And while I've dabbled in embroidery I've never had the opportunity to work with gold threads. So before I attempt Goldwork on my Houppelande project I'm taking the time to practice. 

I was inspired by these two extant textiles, one 14th century and the other 15th century.

I liked the central pattern of the embroidery, but also the use of metal bezants in the beadwork.  Using metal bezants are a time saving device for me, and in period would have been an additional way to show off wealth. Many houppelandes are described having Bezants. 

And so this design is a way for me to incorporate those elements together in a way that is pleasing to me and incorporates elements from extant designs.

The materials I'm using are-

Gold metal purl embroidery thread

Gold twisted metal threads 

Fine Silk gold thread

Chalk powder marker

Natural pearls 

And a few different stamped metal bezants. 

I took a smaller piece of silk bend velvet and backed it with some scrap linen. A backing helps stabilize the velvet and makes sure it stays tighter and dosen’t squirm around. So any embroidery should keep its shape when taking off the loom. 

I then took one of my wider needles and pricked holes in my design where I wanted the gold purl threads to go. 

Then I pined my pattern to the velvet, andused the chalk marker to tap over the holes in the pattern. 

Which left me with fait lines as a guild. However I learned that these lines quickly fade and I found myself retapping halfway through and using a tailors pen to trace them over. 

This metal purl thread is made of twisted metal, and I found it can easily stretch or crimp where you don't quite want it to, and it won't go back to its original shape. I found some pins helpful to keep it from bending out of shape. 

I also discovered that it's better to cut the purl threads for points instead of trying to get it to bend in the exact right place. 

I found having a backing greatly improved my work. It didn't stretch as I worked on it, and it was much quicker. 

Progress. I experimented with the pearl border I think I prefer the top one. And I ended up ripping out the fleur de lis 3 times before arriving at a technique that I was comfortable with.  

More to come as I work through the sample piece.