Recently my friend Marge brought me a project from her church. They wanted an altar cloth to be embroidered to coordinate with the cover above. Isn't it just lovely? Trailing and seeding are the stitches used. It's a very nice linen, beautifully finished over some sort of board (heavy cardboard?)She had the altar cloth they wanted the design on. Right now I'm just doing the outline. After the committee reviews it they will decide whether they want the interior embroidery done, too.
I made a pattern from folded paper and used a dressmaker's chalk to trace the outline. As it brushes off, I just go over it again. The fabric of the altar cloth is a polyester and rayon blend. I saw that and kind of winced but it's actually a good fabric for this. Slightly sheer but with good body. It shakes out hoop marks. And, most important for me, when I unstitch it's invisible.I'm also using trailing. The cord is two strands of DMC perle 8. The overstitching is done with DMC Brilliant Cutwork thread #16. My outline is much stronger than that of the model. I did that because they wanted it plain, with no seeding, so it has to stand out. Also, this is a much larger piece of cloth--a very fine cross would be lost. I hope they like it.
I forgot how very hard it is to keep the thread exactly where I want it on the design line. Otherwise it's going along okay. I have to be careful about beginning and ending--anything off of the design line will show through.
