Cornflower Scissor Sheath Finished!

I was kind of dreading finishing this scissor sheath because it had a new stitch on it that I don't believe I'd ever used before (at least not as an edging): the Corded Coral Stitch. And the fabric, silk duchess satin, can be very tricky to work with: it shows everything and can ravel quickly. All other pieces were cut out and prepared so I worked on the finishing steps a little each day.

 The Corded Coral Stitch was worked across the top of the embroidered piece (after being stitched to the lining) working from right to left using seven strands of black silk thread as cord, and two black strands for the coral stitch...so you're balancing keeping the 'cord' taut, and coral threads slightly taut while you make each coral stitch at a small, consistent distance around the top of the piece. Interesting.....but I did it! 

The fun got better putting the prepared front and back together. Using sewing thread and tiny stitches (remembering the corded coral stitch had to cover them) I stitched the pieces together. Okay, done.

Then more fun: the rest of the Coral Stitch around the outside of the scissor case starting at the right side of the case at the front and back join. I hid the thread knot down in the case, a bit of a trick. Same number of threads, but at the other side join I had to add two more strands to the coral stitch threads (to make a total of four), again hiding the knot of these two down in the case. On around the bottom of the case and back up to the beginning, again surreptitiously hiding the knot inside. I was glad to finish this part of the instructions!

I made a short cord (pearl cotton) using my Spinster and attached it carefully to the case top using some of the matching silk thread. Whew! Done!! Here's the final result that I'm pretty pleased with:

Now on to the matching Pin Ball that's the second part of the kit.

Cornflower Embroidery

It didn't really take that long to fill in the big cornflower of Inspirations "Centaurea" by Susan O'Connor in straight stitch. Three colors were used, each shade slightly darker than the previous. 

I left a 'void' in the flower center  (above) to allow for room of the next blue color, #1422, Glacier: slightly darker than #1421, Light Glacier. This silk Sole d'Alger is so lovely to work with. The sheen plays the light in unusual ways that adds dimension to the flower (below).

After #1422 I filled in more, and completely, with #1435, Slate. 

                      The three colors add dimension and depth.                                    

 After that came the French knots, two wraps, in Black (Noir) and Slate, randomly scattered over the petals.

After a careful pressing it's ready to be made into the scissor sheath. It's going to be too beautiful to use when it's completed!

Cornflower Scissor Sheath

 Cornflower, Bachelor's Buttons are just a few names for this lovely blue flower worked on a scissor sheath and a pinball. This beautiful kit was a class from the SAGA National Convention that I took from the designer: Susan O'Connor herself of Inspirations fame. The Centaurea project (part of the scientific name for the flower) is from Inspirations Issue #65. 

Working the scissor sheath on the pre-printed silk duchess satin was an enjoyable challenge using the Au Ver a Sole 'Sole d'Alger' stranded silk thread. So nice to work with. The sheen highlights the embroidery in different ways to give it a dimensional effect.

In class we worked the half cornflower, leaves and large stems. Now, at home, I'm working on the full flower...a little more challenging to discern the different flower petals. This color is Light Glacier (#1421), a beautiful frosty blue with a touch of gray.

The hoop is small so I have it clamped into my Elbesee Versatile Clamp in my Elbesee Floor Stand...so much better to work with hands free and keep my neck from getting a kink! I use a small piece of flannel over the hoop where it's clamped to protect the duchess satin.

So every day I'll take some stitches on this beautiful project. The sheath is really almost done so it shouldn't take long. Then I'll tackle the pinball. It's so nice to be able to just stitch!