Amanda, Your opinions are so obviously based on loads of experience. I cannot tell you how helpful I find your videos. It is almost as if you anticipate every question I have and everything I wonder about. Seeing actual skeins of these silk threads has been very useful. I am just venturing into silks in the samplers and mandalas I am working on. I can make more informed decisions when placing my orders. Thanks again for a brilliant video. Bev
Fantastic video - I have been saving it to watch when I could get some nice peace and quiet to drool over all the beautiful silks :). It's really useful to know how they all stitch up relative to DMC thread and how many strands are used. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your love of silks! Before I started watching your videos I really didn't know what was out there besides what is sold at my local craft store. (Which is not much!). You have definitely encouraged me to step out and try new things! I'm so excited to try out some silks!!
I agree with Emily I love to watch your videos. You are so informative and interesting. Thank you for taking the time to do the movies and I hope you do a lot more
Great video Amanda! I love to see all the differences in silks. I think I will like to try some when I will decide to start Ink Circle Rosetta. I will seek your advice for sure when I get there!
Again, very informative and enjoyable! I love to see and hear what you will be sharing with us, makes the other side of stitching....specialty stitches and threads not appear to be so intimidating.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful collection of silks. I would love to try them, just can't afford them now but will in the future. I really want to do a sampler on linen with silks and know it will be lovely when done. Thanks again!!
Just so you know, I was so excited to log on this morning and see TWO new videos from you! I haven't watched yet, because I need to shower and breakfast and things before I can sit down and watch. EXCITED though. :D This video could not have come at a better time, though. The materials for my Chatelaine (including some silks!) are due for delivery between 14:36-15:36 today, according to Sew and So! :) I'll comment again when I've watched it. :D
MrsMilkybarKid I've watched the video now and it was really awesome! I learnt a lot. :) I've got a couple of waterlilies threads for my chatelaine, as well as some needlepoint inc and one thread gatherer silk. They're so beautiful! I didn't realise how soft they'd be. One thing I did want to know that wasn't in the video is how to actually open one of the skeins, but I'm hoping that will be pretty self-explanatory.
Yep pretty much! Some people cut the knots (in Waterlillies for example) attaching the silk to the card - but I always undo them to make sure I get every millimetre of silk that I can lol! After that you just unwind them and then it's up to you how you manage it. I cut a length as and when I need one and then wind the skein back up as it was and put in a floss away bag, the cut length I loop through the thread tag, but that is just me :)
Great! :) Thanks for the advice. Just waiting for one colour that was out of stock (typically, the one in the middle of the design) and I can get my chatelaine started! :) I'm debating doing some progress videos but all I have is a webcam. I don't know if that'd be good enough!
Great video - I paused after 10 minutes to grab a pen and paper to make notes! Like going back to school but with a subject I was really interested in. It also turned out to be an expensive watch as I have just been online to order a selection of silks. I thought the best approach was to order a few colours I loved and to try them out myself. Even better as there is a sale on Eileen's site today. I looked for the butterfly garden pattern but couldn't find it so I plan on downloading the tralala pattern to try instead. I would also like to try the HDF silks - I presume you are getting your supply from the US site? I may have to hold back on ordering those until payday :) I would love to watch you next video but I'm worried it may precipitate another spending spree!
Hi Claire, the Butterfly Garden was a little Dinky Dyes exclusive so you probably won't find it anywhere now. I have a talent for being a great enable when it comes to all things cross stitch! When I first started on my thread obsession I did the same and basically bought silks in my favourite colours to try out as well as charts (like Chatelaines and others) that were charted for silks. There are of course other silks available other than the ones I showed in the video and I do have other brands in my stash. HDFs are only available directly from Vicky in the States, so you have to bear in mind the tax and handling charges for those depending on the size of your order - I know not everyone is bothered by that, but I like to mention it just in case :)
This was so informative I can't thank you enough. I will do my Indian Model in HDF since I am new to silks and I can convert the DMC colors. Thank you so much.
I am thinking about doing the Twisted Band Sampler with a different colour palette and have been looking at a few silks for it. The heavy variegation is so beautiful but it scares me - I don't like not being able to predict what the stitches look like. Once I do the Dinky Dyes samplers I think I will have a better idea of what the specialty stitches look like with variegation, then maybe I can strike out on my own :) Once again, I so appreciate your videos and the work you put into them! McKenzie
Yes I was thinking of you when I mentioned about the variegation, because with most ranges of silk you will get some really crazy colour combos and some much more muted ones. For that reason you may find one brand of silk suits your taste more than another. Of course you could just pick your colour palette for Twisted Band from solid solid silks so you don't have to work about the variegation - but whatever you eventually settle on I am sure it will be gorgeous! I'm looking forward to seeing those Dinky Dyes samplers stitched up :)
I really enjoy watching your videos and appreciate all the good information. After nearly 30 years of stitching I've become quite bored with traditional charts, and you chatelaine videos have inspired me to try one. I have received the PDF and am awaiting supplies from European cross stitch. I was wondering which chart you typically work from, the one in color or black and white? Can you give me any suggestions on what the best use of each type is? Also, I've rarely used a frame and it was many years ago. Even on large projects I prefer to hold the fabric in my hand. Will this be a problem with the special stitches? I plan on working top to bottom to avoid touching finished stitches as much as possible so just wondering your thoughts on this. PS your videos are fabulous to fall asleep to. After I've watched them once of course. Must be something about the accent lol. Emily
Hi Emily, personally with Chatelaine charts I find it much much easier to stitch from the colour chart - I would say it is the only time that a colour chart is my preference! Sometimes the symbols Martina uses are quite similar looking in black and white, but in colour it is much easier (for me anyway) to distinguish one colour from another. The colour chart also helps you to distinguish different colour backstitch/speciality stitch sections etc, although Martina always says to go with her written chart instructions rather than the coloured lines on the chart when it comes to these stitches. What Chatelaine have you ordered? Glad you can get through my videos at least once before they put you to sleep :)
Forgot to say - plenty of Chatelaine stitchers stitch in hand so that isn't a problem! Personally, if the Chatelaine is symmetrical I start in the middle and work outwards so I can stitch on the identical parts at the same time, but there is no right or wrong, all comes down to your personal stitching technique and preference :)
Really enjoyed the video and now I have some new brands of silks to check out! Thanks for all the work you put in doing these videos...greatly appreciated:) I don't remember if you said but where did you get the black work fleur de lis pattern? It's just beautiful.
You are so welcome Christy! I think the blackwork (by Nancy Pederson) I showed in this video was all taken from a The Gift of Stitching magazine, which you can no longer get hold of, but if you mean the Fleur de Lys blackwork that I used purple threads for which I showed in another video - that was from the Brodeuse Bressane FB group as part of a freebie SAL.
Well, what can I say except how does someone so young have so much knowledge on types of silk threads!! I just loved this video of yours and as I have not stitched with silks, you answered all my questions. However, the only silk thread that I have been able to find in Australia, is stranded Madeira 100% silk thread, and I was wondering if you have used this brand and what your thoughts on it are. I was hoping to start using HDF after listening to you, but on searching google, I can only find it overseas, and the price plus postage probably would be much more. Please let me know, how you feel about Madeira silk threads if you know of it. The thread comes in a 4 stranded five meter skein and sells over here for A$3 when on sale. Thanks for making excellent videos, Cheers,
Hi Joan! Thanks for the compliment, at 38 I don’t always feel young but age is relative! I haven’t tried Madeira threads - their silk or cotton so I don’t know how they stitch up, but I would give them a go if you can source them locally. HDF silks are no longer sold as they used to be, you can find the dyer (Vikki Clayton) on Etsy but I don’t think she sells silk so much anymore. I’m not sure if the Aussie shop/website Stitches and Spice is still operating but they used to sell all sorts of cross stitch threads and fabric, including their own line of hand dyed materials. Other than that I know a lot of Aussie Stitchers just ended up ordering supplies from 123 Stitch in the US but it all depends on exchange rate and customs much as it does here I guess. Happy Stitching!
I agree with you 100% on rayon silk. I got enthralled into buying DMC Satin floss because of the shiny color, stitched with it once and never touched it again. Worst experience ever! Since then I've noticed that I didn't really like working with thread that was artificial (i.e. not cotton or silk)
Hi! I just discovered silk threads myself and I have a couple of questions. 1) How can we differentiate silk and rayon threads? 2) How do I care for embroidery pieces that uses silk? Is it washable?
Loved the video as I do with all of yours. But I'm a little confused as to how you stitch with the hand dyed silks. Do you stitch one cross at a time or one leg of a row and then the other? not should how to get a nice varigated look from them.
***** With any variegated thread, be it silk or cotton, to get the proper effect of the variegation you stitch one full cross at a time (the English method) not a row of bottom stitches and then come back for the top stitches (the Danish method). Hope that helps :)
This was a great video. I have watched your previous videos and I can see that you also buy a lot of cotton hand dyed threads. How do you decide whether you are going to stitch a project in cotton or silk? If it's too big a topic for a written reply maybe you could do us another video. Pretty please;-)
Hi Lucy, sometimes it depends on the project and sometimes it depends on the colours I want to use! I have no problems mixing cottons and silks in the same project so if I come across a thread in my stash that I love and want to use, sometimes it doesn't matter whether it is cotton or silk - it's all about the colour. I am due to do a video on my cotton stranded and perle stash so I will try and discuss it a bit further then :)
MrsMilkybarKid that would be great. I have ordered my first batch of hand dyed threads today from jodyri and I also purchased the tree of stitches pattern. I am hoping they'll be compatible with each other.
That's great Lucy, I'm sure your Tree of Stitches will look amazing! I have Summer Tree of Stitches still to do (last year's stitch specialists SAL) and I was planning on stitching that one in all Jodyri threads. I hope you share your progress on the group as I would love to see it!
Medieval Town is a gorgeous mandala, though I expect I would struggle with the repetition myself! I have Pomarium in my stash as I joined the class when it was released - hopefully when things settle down for Martina she will release it to European Cross Stitch :)
Look at all your lovely silks! I've never tried stitching with silks before, but they look beautiful to work with.
Your knowledge of stitching just blows me away. Your like a treasure trove of information and I thank you for sharing it.
Thank you Katrina - anything to help out my fellow stitchers :)
Amanda,
Your opinions are so obviously based on loads of experience. I cannot tell you how helpful I find your videos. It is almost as if you anticipate every question I have and everything I wonder about. Seeing actual skeins of these silk threads has been very useful. I am just venturing into silks in the samplers and mandalas I am working on. I can make more informed decisions when placing my orders. Thanks again for a brilliant video.
Bev
You are very welcome Bev, I'm glad you found my ramblings useful :)
Fantastic video - I have been saving it to watch when I could get some nice peace and quiet to drool over all the beautiful silks :). It's really useful to know how they all stitch up relative to DMC thread and how many strands are used. Thank you so much!
You are welcome Nic - silks aren't scary at all, well not to stitch with but the prices might scare your bank account ha ha!
Thank you for sharing your love of silks! Before I started watching your videos I really didn't know what was out there besides what is sold at my local craft store. (Which is not much!). You have definitely encouraged me to step out and try new things! I'm so excited to try out some silks!!
Thank you so much for commenting! I hope you get the chance to try out some silks soon :).
Very informative! Thank you for this video. I'm very pleased with the time you spent on this video.
You are welcome :)
Another great video!!! Thanks!!! I have to try to stitch with silk!
I agree with Emily I love to watch your videos. You are so informative and interesting.
Thank you for taking the time to do the movies and I hope you do a lot more
Thank you Katie - I may just be running out of things to say ha ha!
Great video Amanda! I love to see all the differences in silks. I think I will like to try some when I will decide to start Ink Circle Rosetta. I will seek your advice for sure when I get there!
Ooooo yes Orietta, stitching that one in silks would be gorgeous!
Again, very informative and enjoyable! I love to see and hear what you will be sharing with us, makes the other side of stitching....specialty stitches and threads not appear to be so intimidating.
Thank you Sandi :)
Thank you for sharing your beautiful collection of silks. I would love to try them, just can't afford them now but will in the future. I really want to do a sampler on linen with silks and know it will be lovely when done. Thanks again!!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!! I have an infatuation with silks as well, but my collection is still quite small!!
Give it time Dee Stitcher :)
Great video. Thank you for all the information. You are very knowledgeable.
Thanks for watching :)
Just so you know, I was so excited to log on this morning and see TWO new videos from you! I haven't watched yet, because I need to shower and breakfast and things before I can sit down and watch. EXCITED though. :D
This video could not have come at a better time, though. The materials for my Chatelaine (including some silks!) are due for delivery between 14:36-15:36 today, according to Sew and So! :)
I'll comment again when I've watched it. :D
Ooooooo how exciting Emily! I love a stash package from Sew and So!
MrsMilkybarKid I've watched the video now and it was really awesome! I learnt a lot. :)
I've got a couple of waterlilies threads for my chatelaine, as well as some needlepoint inc and one thread gatherer silk. They're so beautiful! I didn't realise how soft they'd be.
One thing I did want to know that wasn't in the video is how to actually open one of the skeins, but I'm hoping that will be pretty self-explanatory.
Yep pretty much! Some people cut the knots (in Waterlillies for example) attaching the silk to the card - but I always undo them to make sure I get every millimetre of silk that I can lol! After that you just unwind them and then it's up to you how you manage it. I cut a length as and when I need one and then wind the skein back up as it was and put in a floss away bag, the cut length I loop through the thread tag, but that is just me :)
Great! :) Thanks for the advice. Just waiting for one colour that was out of stock (typically, the one in the middle of the design) and I can get my chatelaine started! :)
I'm debating doing some progress videos but all I have is a webcam. I don't know if that'd be good enough!
I've just uploaded my first video. It's probably not very good but I wanted to share my WIPs and stuff! :)
Great video - I paused after 10 minutes to grab a pen and paper to make notes! Like going back to school but with a subject I was really interested in. It also turned out to be an expensive watch as I have just been online to order a selection of silks. I thought the best approach was to order a few colours I loved and to try them out myself. Even better as there is a sale on Eileen's site today.
I looked for the butterfly garden pattern but couldn't find it so I plan on downloading the tralala pattern to try instead. I would also like to try the HDF silks - I presume you are getting your supply from the US site? I may have to hold back on ordering those until payday :)
I would love to watch you next video but I'm worried it may precipitate another spending spree!
Hi Claire, the Butterfly Garden was a little Dinky Dyes exclusive so you probably won't find it anywhere now. I have a talent for being a great enable when it comes to all things cross stitch! When I first started on my thread obsession I did the same and basically bought silks in my favourite colours to try out as well as charts (like Chatelaines and others) that were charted for silks. There are of course other silks available other than the ones I showed in the video and I do have other brands in my stash. HDFs are only available directly from Vicky in the States, so you have to bear in mind the tax and handling charges for those depending on the size of your order - I know not everyone is bothered by that, but I like to mention it just in case :)
This was so informative I can't thank you enough. I will do my Indian Model in HDF since I am new to silks and I can convert the DMC colors. Thank you so much.
Happy to help and HDFs are awesome to stitch with, the added bonus being they are cheaper than a lot of other silks :)
I am thinking about doing the Twisted Band Sampler with a different colour palette and have been looking at a few silks for it. The heavy variegation is so beautiful but it scares me - I don't like not being able to predict what the stitches look like. Once I do the Dinky Dyes samplers I think I will have a better idea of what the specialty stitches look like with variegation, then maybe I can strike out on my own :)
Once again, I so appreciate your videos and the work you put into them!
McKenzie
Yes I was thinking of you when I mentioned about the variegation, because with most ranges of silk you will get some really crazy colour combos and some much more muted ones. For that reason you may find one brand of silk suits your taste more than another. Of course you could just pick your colour palette for Twisted Band from solid solid silks so you don't have to work about the variegation - but whatever you eventually settle on I am sure it will be gorgeous! I'm looking forward to seeing those Dinky Dyes samplers stitched up :)
A great video :) Looking forward to expanding my own thread collection...I need more room I think!
Thank you Chloe - you can never have too many threads in my opinion :)
Great video! very interesting and informative, may have to try working with silks at some point! :)
Yes you should, but then I would say that :)
Brilliant ! Thanks for sharing your research . Very useful : )
I really enjoy watching your videos and appreciate all the good information. After nearly 30 years of stitching I've become quite bored with traditional charts, and you chatelaine videos have inspired me to try one. I have received the PDF and am awaiting supplies from European cross stitch. I was wondering which chart you typically work from, the one in color or black and white? Can you give me any suggestions on what the best use of each type is?
Also, I've rarely used a frame and it was many years ago. Even on large projects I prefer to hold the fabric in my hand. Will this be a problem with the special stitches? I plan on working top to bottom to avoid touching finished stitches as much as possible so just wondering your thoughts on this.
PS your videos are fabulous to fall asleep to. After I've watched them once of course. Must be something about the accent lol.
Emily
Hi Emily, personally with Chatelaine charts I find it much much easier to stitch from the colour chart - I would say it is the only time that a colour chart is my preference! Sometimes the symbols Martina uses are quite similar looking in black and white, but in colour it is much easier (for me anyway) to distinguish one colour from another. The colour chart also helps you to distinguish different colour backstitch/speciality stitch sections etc, although Martina always says to go with her written chart instructions rather than the coloured lines on the chart when it comes to these stitches. What Chatelaine have you ordered? Glad you can get through my videos at least once before they put you to sleep :)
Forgot to say - plenty of Chatelaine stitchers stitch in hand so that isn't a problem! Personally, if the Chatelaine is symmetrical I start in the middle and work outwards so I can stitch on the identical parts at the same time, but there is no right or wrong, all comes down to your personal stitching technique and preference :)
Really enjoyed the video and now I have some new brands of silks to check out! Thanks for all the work you put in doing these videos...greatly appreciated:) I don't remember if you said but where did you get the black work fleur de lis pattern? It's just beautiful.
You are so welcome Christy! I think the blackwork (by Nancy Pederson) I showed in this video was all taken from a The Gift of Stitching magazine, which you can no longer get hold of, but if you mean the Fleur de Lys blackwork that I used purple threads for which I showed in another video - that was from the Brodeuse Bressane FB group as part of a freebie SAL.
Well, what can I say except how does someone so young have so much knowledge on types of silk threads!! I just loved this video of yours and as I have not stitched with silks, you answered all my questions.
However, the only silk thread that I have been able to find in Australia, is stranded Madeira 100% silk thread, and I was wondering if you have used this brand and what your thoughts on it are.
I was hoping to start using HDF after listening to you, but on searching google, I can only find it overseas, and the price plus postage probably would be much more.
Please let me know, how you feel about Madeira silk threads if you know of it. The thread comes in a 4 stranded five meter skein and sells over here for A$3 when on sale.
Thanks for making excellent videos,
Cheers,
Hi Joan! Thanks for the compliment, at 38 I don’t always feel young but age is relative! I haven’t tried Madeira threads - their silk or cotton so I don’t know how they stitch up, but I would give them a go if you can source them locally. HDF silks are no longer sold as they used to be, you can find the dyer (Vikki Clayton) on Etsy but I don’t think she sells silk so much anymore. I’m not sure if the Aussie shop/website Stitches and Spice is still operating but they used to sell all sorts of cross stitch threads and fabric, including their own line of hand dyed materials. Other than that I know a lot of Aussie Stitchers just ended up ordering supplies from 123 Stitch in the US but it all depends on exchange rate and customs much as it does here I guess. Happy Stitching!
I agree with you 100% on rayon silk. I got enthralled into buying DMC Satin floss because of the shiny color, stitched with it once and never touched it again. Worst experience ever! Since then I've noticed that I didn't really like working with thread that was artificial (i.e. not cotton or silk)
No - there really is no substitute for the natural sheen you get with real silk :).
Hi! I just discovered silk threads myself and I have a couple of questions.
1) How can we differentiate silk and rayon threads?
2) How do I care for embroidery pieces that uses silk? Is it washable?
Loved the video as I do with all of yours. But I'm a little confused as to how you stitch with the hand dyed silks. Do you stitch one cross at a time or one leg of a row and then the other? not should how to get a nice varigated look from them.
***** With any variegated thread, be it silk or cotton, to get the proper effect of the variegation you stitch one full cross at a time (the English method) not a row of bottom stitches and then come back for the top stitches (the Danish method). Hope that helps :)
This was a great video. I have watched your previous videos and I can see that you also buy a lot of cotton hand dyed threads. How do you decide whether you are going to stitch a project in cotton or silk? If it's too big a topic for a written reply maybe you could do us another video. Pretty please;-)
Hi Lucy, sometimes it depends on the project and sometimes it depends on the colours I want to use! I have no problems mixing cottons and silks in the same project so if I come across a thread in my stash that I love and want to use, sometimes it doesn't matter whether it is cotton or silk - it's all about the colour. I am due to do a video on my cotton stranded and perle stash so I will try and discuss it a bit further then :)
MrsMilkybarKid that would be great. I have ordered my first batch of hand dyed threads today from jodyri and I also purchased the tree of stitches pattern. I am hoping they'll be compatible with each other.
That's great Lucy, I'm sure your Tree of Stitches will look amazing! I have Summer Tree of Stitches still to do (last year's stitch specialists SAL) and I was planning on stitching that one in all Jodyri threads. I hope you share your progress on the group as I would love to see it!
Where can I purchase HDF silk cross stitch thread for my cross stitch pattern?
Thanks for the warning, but know that i tried the beads and love it, i will never see a pattern the same way, so i "need" to try the silks haha
I really wanted pomarium mandala but the class is over and it isn't for sale yet, so I got medieval town.
Medieval Town is a gorgeous mandala, though I expect I would struggle with the repetition myself! I have Pomarium in my stash as I joined the class when it was released - hopefully when things settle down for Martina she will release it to European Cross Stitch :)
I have no interest in trying silk...yet sat through and watched the entire video. Lol. I think I'm obsessed with cross stitch
Ha ha, well you never know when the information might come in handy Cher :)