Embroidery

Embroidery is a textile technique that is more difficult to do with metal wire.

The nearest I have been was to do stitches with yarn to add some colour and possibly make the edges somewhat more protected.

If we shift focus away from jewellery, there is of course the ancient tradition to adorn luxurious clothing with gold and silver embroidery. This is how metal can add something to textile.

If you want to zoom in closely on a silver fabric with silver ornaments from the 18th century, made for a Scandinavian royal wedding, then follow this link to the Swedish Royal Armoury Museum: https://livrustkammaren.se/en/queen-sofia-magdalenas-dress

As I was reading about gold embroidery on Wikipedia, I realised that I could probably make an entire A to Z talking only about different types of metal thread: Bullion, Crinkle Cordonnet, Faconne, Japan thread, Lizerine, Milliary wire, Oval thread, Passing, Roccoco, Spangles, Twists… Adding some Aristocracy, Embroidery, Gold, Impressive, Kings, Needlework, Queens and Velvet, I think we’d have most of the alphabet covered.

Shoot, did I pick the wrong theme…?

I have always liked the idea of mixing hard metals with soft techniques. This year, my theme for the A to Z challenge is “Metal meets textile”. From A to Z, I talk about work with metal wire, textile techniques like crochet and knitting, show some pieces I’ve been working on, share some thoughts on metal, textile and jewellery. I hope that you’ll find something of interest to you!