Background Details

I always like to try to produce items which are 'made from scratch'. I am a little flexible in the way in which  I judge whether or not I am achieving this, since I don't produce 'raw materials' - don't have a flock of sheep, grow my own flax etc. Neither do I dye basic yarns, fibres and fabrics. However, I do like to consider the 'background' for my embroideries as part of the design - rather than just the 'support' on which the design sits.

I have a stash of fibres - merino and other wools, silk, mohair, mostly hand-dyed - although not by me. These might be felted, (wet-felted, needle-felted, or felted on an embellisher machine), they might be stitched on to a background (couched or - if the fibres are long enough, held by a 'web' of stitches), been bonded as one layer amongst sheer fabrics......

Yarns - and I have a very extensive stash ( mostly very small quantities of each) - commercially produced but also hand-dyed/ hand spun including some 'art yarns', rare breed wools and some from a local flock - which is lovely. I have wool, alpaca, silk, cotton........ and their blends, all 'weights', some vintage, most colours imaginable ( although often find that I don't have the colour I want in the fibre I have in mind in the required weight - but I'm not supposed to be buying any more?!!?). In order to produce backgrounds from yarn, I have knitted, crocheted (both with/without felting of fulling), woven (using several different techniques), couched or felted ( most recently using my embellisher machine).

Fabric - new or up-cycled ( and some vintage in both categories) - which may be hand-painted, torn into strips and then used as yarn (see above), bonded (particularly layers of sheer fabric), appliqued or patchworked.

Lace and ribbon - both new and vintage - used layered over another fabric or as a central panel.

Scrim - hand-dyed (although not by me), layered over another fabric.

Hessian - well this one is ongoing - having found a scrap under a box whilst looking for some more lace - I really am easily distracted! I may have a finished piece to show you later!

---o0o---

UPDATE

(31/2 hours later)

I love the effect I have achieved with the hessian (although it was so time-consuming that it will be impossible to make many brooches this way). Here is the background:

The hessian has been stitched over red felt, using tiny cross stitches at the 'intersections' in the weave - alternating metallic red and gold threads.

I then framed the brooch in twisted strands of 'un-ravelled' hessian - stitched in place with the metallic gold thread. Finally, I was able to stitch the rose design in a mixture of woven parcel ribbon, silk and organza ribbons, with other details added in embroidery thread.