materials and equipment Archive - Page 4 of 5

Testing Fabric Suitability for Schwalm Whitework

By Luzine Happel on 9. May 2015 / blog, materials and equipment, tips and tricks / 3 Comments

In my post “Linen: Embroidery Fabric from Flax Fibers”, I explained the importance of using pure linen appropriately manufactured for Schwalm whitework.

Recently, one of my customers sent me a small piece of fabric. She got it from her grandmother, and it was originally purchased for making embroidered bed sheets. My customer thought the fabric was linen, but she wondered whether or not the texture would be suitable for embroidering in the Schwalm technique. So, she consulted me.

I share with you here the steps I took to determine whether or not her fabric would be suitable for Schwalm embroidery. I hope it will enable you to analyze your own fabric.

The swatch measures 10.5 cm in the width and (up to the withdrawn thread line) 10 cm in the height. At one side it has a selvage, so I could easily classify warp and woof.

First visual observations:
At first glance, the fabric looks densely woven and, as such, suitable for Schwalm whitework. But observing the fraying at the edges, I could see that the warp threads are much thinner than the woof threads. Also, the fabric does not show the slight sheen typical for linen; this lack of sheen might indicate cotton material.
A burning test makes no sense because both natural fibers burn in the same manner – quickly with a big bright flame, smelling like burned paper and leaving a light and fine fly ash.

A closer look:

Looking through the thread counter the threads/cm of the fabric are easily determined. I can ascertain that the fabric is not only different in the thread count of warp and woof (this could possibly be adjusted by “refined” thread withdrawing), but there are also differences among the warp threads. While for the woof 18 threads/cm are used, in the warp there are in places 20 threads/cm, in other places 21, or even 22. Such a texture will create an uneven structure of the withdrawn filling patterns. Perhaps, this is appealing for some people, but not for all.

Practice test – thread withdrawing:
Both the horizontal and vertical threads can be easily withdrawn.

At once it is clear that the thinner warp threads are much more strongly twisted than the thicker woof threads. (Warp threads must be more stable so that they will not always break during the weaving process.) The warp threads of this fabric were easily withdrawn in one piece. This indicates both a strong twist and long fiber bundles.

Untwisting (A fabric thread is stretched between thumbs and forefingers of both hands and slowly turned against the original twist direction. As soon as it splits, the thread is slowly pulled apart. Out of the separated thread ends single fibers can be picked.) the threads show that the woof threads more easily strip down into single fibers than the warp threads. The single fibers of the woof threads are longer than those of the warp threads. This hints at cotton material for the woof threads.
(Cotton fibers have a length of 10 mm to 55 mm, flax fibers have a length of 20 mm to 40 mm.) The fineness of both is approximately the same.

The heckled flax, which is used for spinning, still consists – though hardly heckled – of fiber bundles held together by the glue of the plant. But these fiber bundles are very different in thickness and so for linen threads typical bulges develop. With this in mind, by comparing the warp threads and woof threads experience tells us that the warp thread (image below, upper thread) shows the typ cal linen bulges, however the woof thread (image below, bottom thread) is uniform. This is especial ly easy to see by stretching the respective thread between the hands.

Also, this is a sign of two different materials used for the warp and woof.
(However, I do not have a microscope and an exact material analysis is only possible in a laboratory.)

Looking at the withdrawn Limet grid, it is easily observed that – even though the fabric is stretched very well in a hoop – the thicker woof threads have a tendency to shift out of place.

Practice test – embroidering:
Threads easily shifting out of place makes embroidering very difficult. Only with a great deal of effort will it be successful.

After 5 minutes of boiling, the fabric shrunk; 10.5 cm became 10.2 cm and 10 cm became 9.5 cm – a normal percentage.
After drying, the fabric feels soft – another indication of cotton fibers.

Final result:
In consideration of the above observations, using this fabric for embroidering Schwalm whitework is not recommended.

So, if you have a “mystery” fabric that you are considering to use for Schwalm whitework, simply invest some time in examining and experimenting with the fabric as outlined above.
The time spent beforehand can prevent frustration and disappointment later on.

My reference materials were

Kleine Textilkunde
Lisa Adebahr
Verlag Tandwerk und Technik – Dr. Felix Büchner
Hamburg 1964

Von der Faser zum Stoff
Lisa Adebahr-Dörel
Verlag Handwerk und Technik – Dr. Felix Büchner
Hamburg 1964

Weddigen Linen – The Fabric for Schwalm Whitework

By Luzine Happel on 15. March 2014 / blog, materials and equipment / 11 Comments

In my post of 18 August 2013 “Linen: Embroidery Fabric from Flax Fibers”, I explained the importance of using the appropriate materials when working Schwalm embroidery, and discussed the differences in linens. I have mentioned many times on my website that Weddigen linen is the best linen for Schwalm embroidery. However, I know that many of you have found it difficult to find Weddigen linen in your part of the world. One reason for this is that once Weddigen linen leaves Germany, the purchasing distributor (Weberei Weddigen does not sell directly to the public) can re-name it. This means that an internet search for “Weddigen linen” will not produce satisfactory results for the embroiderer looking for embroidery linen to buy.

Some days ago one of my customers emailed me with important news that I wish to share with you. Through her research and after corresponding with Weberei Weddigen, Access Commodities in the U.S., and Threadneedle Street store (also in the U.S.), she was able to ascertain that Weddigen linen is sold in North America under the Legacy linen line distributed by Access Commodities. She also learned that the most suitable linen in the Legacy line for Schwalm embroidery is “Alba Maxima” (approx. 40 tpi) which is sold at Threadneedle Street in Washington state and other fine needlework stores. Please note not all Legacy linens are suitable for Schwalm embroidery.

It is interesting to note that on Threadneedle Street’s website, the Legacy Alba Maxima is listed as a “Non-Evenweave Linen”, but it is indeed the Weddigen linen used for fine Schwalm embroidery.

If one is new to Schwalm embroidery, I suggest using a linen with approximately 34 tpi (13.5/cm). However, a suitable linen with this thread count is not easily found. For beginners who enjoy a little bit of a challenge, the Alba Maxima is perfect. And for those who have some experience and who love very fine embroidery Legacy’s Napery Ivory has approximately 50 tpi.

I would like to clarify some other points regarding the Weddigen linen used in Schwalm embroidery.
In most of my books I have stated “14/cm thread count linen”, but in my blog I have described this linen as “13.5/cm thread count linen”. The linen is described by Weddigen as “13.5”; I did not realize this when I started working on my books. I had simply carefully counted the linen threads on the piece of linen in front of me and found there were consistently 14 threads per cm, and so I described the linen as such in my books. I want to mention this because some time ago a lady visited me; she had bought Weddigen linen 14/cm thread count and, unfortunately, it was not the correct linen because it was not densely woven.

So, please be aware that you can work Schwalm embroidery on linens that have more or less threads per centimeter or inch (keeping in mind the scale of the motifs to be embroidered on the linen), but you will want to look for linen with plump threads that make the linen sufficiently dense. The linen should be as close to evenweave as possible, but some slight variation is permissible.

I hope this information will help you to find beautiful linen worthy of many hours of Schwalm embroidery.

PS.:
Just Mary Corbet left a comment providing the following information: “The Alba Maxima linen by Legacy is indeed perfect for Schwalm …..It can be found through several stores in the US online – Threadneedle Street (as mentioned), Needle in a Haystack, Hedgehog Handworks, Wyndham Needleworks……..”

PS 30.03.2014
Dione van Beynum told me, that she has all Weddigen fabrics in stock in her needleart shop in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. One can order online at http://thestitchersmuse.com

Iron-Transfer versus direct Tracing

By Luzine Happel on 26. October 2013 / blog, materials and equipment, tips and tricks / 6 Comments

Because I know that many people prefer tracing the design onto the fabric using water soluble pens, I also wanted to test this method for Schwalm whitework.
I taped the design onto a lightpad. Lightpads are perfect for tracing embroidery patterns onto fabric – also a table with a glass top and a lighted lamp below is suitable.

I marked the lengthwise and crosswise grain lines on a piece of linen (Weddigen linen, 13.5/cm thread count), and carefully positioned this on top of the design which also had perpendicular central lines drawn. The linen, thus positioned, is then taped to the lightpad.

Using a water soluble, extra fine marking pen,

I started the tracing. First I used a very light touch. On the fabric, the markings appeared in light dots at an uneven distance. So I then applied a little more pressure. This time, the lines appeared clearly on the fabric – not too fine, but also not too thick. I traced the heart shape first; the result was acceptable. Then I traced the smaller half-circles. If I pressed too hard, the tip of the pen got caught between the fabric threads and the lines became uneven. Even trying to do my best, not all curves came out as I wanted. Often the pen followed the thread line and created straight instead of curved lines.

At first sight, with the design sheet and light below, the result looks acceptable.

Viewed alone and without the light below, the tracing does not look so good. The curves are uneven and sometimes jagged – definitely not smoothly rounded.

For directly comparision I here show the same design transferred by ironing.

I am able to adjust some of the unevenness by embroidering, but not all.
The colour did not fade and it was easy to follow the lines.
After finishing the embroidery, I washed it, as the instructions direct, with clear water. At once all colour was gone; the image shows the wet piece after being held under running water for a short time.

Nevertheless I boiled it for shrinking. Starched and ironed it looks nice, but a trained eye notices the unevenness.

Perhaps this transfer method is better suited for finer fabrics with a more even surface. Another consideration must be made for the intricate Schwalm whitework designs that include small leaves, many tendrils and the half-eyelet scallops; I would not suggest this design transfer method for such designs.

Have you experimented with these products, or others? Then please leave a comment.

A Comparison of Iron-On Transfer Pencils

By Luzine Happel on 11. October 2013 / blog, materials and equipment / 4 Comments

I prefer to embroider along printed lines (versus traced lines). However, not all designs are available pre-printed on linen, nor does everybody have easy access to the available pre-printed designs. So, sometimes one must look to other options.

An approved method of transferring a design to fabric is that of using iron-on pencils. I decided to test the products of well-known companies and to share those results with you.

I obtained three different transfer pencils from:
● DEKA
● Prym
● Clover

Prym withdrew the established blue transfer pencil from the market and replaced it with a red pencil (you might still find some Prym blue transfer pencils still on the market, or have one in your supplies).
The tests were performed on pure linen only. And all three companies note in their product descriptions that the pencils are suitable for natural fibers only and are not meant to be used on synthetic fabrics. Also, all three mention that the pencils should not be used to draw directly on the fabric, but should be used in iron-transfer applications only.

Two pencils have been sharpened as well as possible, for the third I exposed about 3 mm of the core.

For each pencil test, I secured a transparent sheet of paper over a simple heart design.

Then I traced the design with the particular transfer pencil. Using an ordinary pencil I marked crosswise and lengthwise guidelines outside the design and marked a cross at the center point. A short distance from the design, I placed a letter representing the respective pencils (P=Prym, D=DEKA, C=Clover).

The Prym pencil broke once and twice I had to lengthen the core. It also left behind small bits of core debris. This pencil would become used up relatively quickly. The DEKA pencil faded a little bit. And the Clover pencil produced a very light line.

Using a needle and thread, I prepared a 20 cm wide linen strip (Weddigen linen, 13.5/cm thread count) by marking the lengthwise grain, and then marking the crosswise grain spaced to accommodate the heart designs.

The transparent paper with the traced design was positioned face down on the linen, lining up the thread markings on the linen to the guideline markings on the paper. The paper was secured in this position (please do not use tape because the heat of the iron will melt it).

The iron was heated to medium-high and I transferred the design as often as possible.

From the Clover pencil, I got one good copy. The second copy was too light to use – even though I applied the iron for a very long time.

From the DEKA pencil I got three good copies, with the fourth becoming too light to use. Although not easily discernible in the images, the lines of the DEKA pencil are very much darker than the lines of the Clover pencil.

Using the Prym pencil I had to iron a very long time – near to scorching – to get a copy. But in all I got 5 good copies; the sixth was too light to use.

What is not visible, at first glance, but is certainly not desirable when working, is the thick lines produced with the Clover pencil.

I embroidered the most clear transfer from each pencil. The remaining transfers, I laid near a window to determine how the daylight and the sunshine would affect them. After only a few hours the Prym transfers faded significantly; the DEKA transfers lost some of their vibrancy; and the Clover transfers suffered the least change.

Over the heart outline I worked very densely placed Coral Knot stitches (using Coton à broder No. 20).

How to work Coral Knot stitches is described in great detail in my book “Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework”. The progress of practicing such stitches can be followed by Kathy Andrews who is still perfecting the technique of Schwalm Whitework.
http://www.theunbrokenthread.com/blog/2013/09/25/white-coral-knots-lots-and-lots-and-lots-of-them/
And a video showing how to work the stitch can be seen here:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2008/07/video-tutorial-coral-stitch.html
However, please note that Mary Corbet´s Coral Knots are spaced too far apart for Schwalm Whitework.

The half circles I filled with densely placed Blanket stitches making half-eyelet scallops.

While working I saw no fading in the DEKA transfer.

As can be seen in the contrast of the primary outline to the outline of the nearly completed embroidery, the Clover pencil faded during embroidering.

With the Prym transfer, at first I had the impression that the Coral Knots had become pink; that was not the case. The impression of pink was due to the very wide outlines.

After working Chain stitches and filling patterns, I laundered the pieces. Soaked and treated with a bar of soap, all blue lines disappeared very quickly.
Although Clover warns in its product description that all lines have to be covered with stitches because they are not water erasable, all Clover lines are gone, as is the “C”.
Some more time was needed to remove the Prym lines. Washing powder and about 5 minutes of boiling were enough to erase these lines.

In the end all three hearts shined in trace-free pure white.

Old, handwoven linen — “Bauernleinen”

By Luzine Happel on 18. September 2013 / blog, materials and equipment / 1 Comment

Tags: Bauernleinen, handgewebtes Leinen, handwoven linen

– what whiteworkers should consider when buying

My article “Linen: Embroidery Fabric from Flax Fibres” garnered such positive responses that I now want to share some information about old, handwoven “Bauernleinen”.

In Germany and the surrounding countries, a relatively great number of old, handwoven linen is offered for sale by private persons via advertisements, by antique traders, at flea markets and of course on Ebay. Because most of these linen rolls were produced on farms, or for farmers, and stored there in coffers for many decades, they are also called “Bauernleinen” (farmer linen).

To show the wide range of offers, here are just two links with the search terms “Bauernleinen Ballen” and “Bauernleinen Rolle” (should the links below not work, simply type these terms into your search engine):
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_nkw=bauernleinen+ballen
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_nkw=bauernleinen+rolle

Nothing is more beautiful than a Schwalm-typical embroidery with traditional designs and filling patterns worked on old, handwoven linen.

Handwoven linen is rarely found in a width greater than 80 cm. Most of this old, handwoven linen is between 60 cm and 75 cm wide. If one wants to work a wider project, one must sew together the linen strips along the selvage.

Not all old, handwoven linen is suitable for embroidery. There are different reasons:

before production, the linen was predetermined to be used for coarser applications
the linen was not properly stored to survive in pristine condition over the years
the linen is too unevenly woven for this type of embroidery

Interesting for embroiderers are the orange marked boxes. Here one can see that after retting and also after combing, short fibers are accumulated. Short fibers are, as well as long fibers, woven into linen fabric. Such linen fabrics are used for coarser bags and for wagon cloths and other coarse items.

Only the linen fabric made of long fibers are suitable for embroidery. These fabrics have a more even and smooth look.
Withdrawing the threads of short-fiber linen is very difficult; the short fibers do not run the length or width of the cloth. The fabric threads pull apart or disintegrate and the fibers are felted.

Handwoven linen is almost always densely woven. One has to look for a fabric with a linen weave (there are also linen fabrics with a twill weave which is not suitable for Schwalm embroidery). The fabric should have a thread count between 14 cm and 20 cm; the same or approximately the same count in both directions (warp and woof).
The linen should have as few stains as possible—rust spots and spots of mold are not removable (surface dirt is not a problem and can be removed during final laundering).

If you can buy linen in person, please take notice of its feel which should be nice and not scratchy. Define the thread count. Hold the linen against the light to see if there are obvious thin areas. Ascertain that there are no spots. If, after careful inspection, you think the linen is good, ask the seller to allow you to withdraw a thread at the edge.

If you can buy linen only through pictures and descriptions, take meticulous care that the pictures are clear and the details are magnified. Threads can be counted with pictures (one a very clear, allover view, and one a detail picture—best with a coin placed on the fabric). Usually only a picture with the whole roll is shown, and this is not very useful.

If the pictures show what you want to see, and the description of the item is right, one can take a leap of faith and buy the linen—it’s a leap of faith that the linen will be worthy of your embroidery efforts. One can ascertain the true quality of the linen only when the linen is held in hand and closely inspected.

The linen shows, at the first sight, an uneven structure. The enlargement clearly confirms that the linen is woven very unevenly.

I would not buy this linen for embroidery.

This linen has a smooth appearance. The enlargement shows the even weave. The description of the item read: “white, very fine, smooth linen (see pictures); 73 cm width. The linen was not used so far, it is unwashed and in a good original condition, clean and without damages. It is jet natural gray and will become snow white after laundering. It comes from a farm in „Niedersachsen“.
This fine Quality was at the time used for clothes, for shirts, sheets and others.“

For this linen, I would take a leap of faith and buy it for embroidering.
If the pictures are unsatisfactory and the seller is not willing to send better ones, one should absolutely resist buying the linen.

materials and equipment

Testing Fabric Suitability for Schwalm Whitework

Weddigen Linen – The Fabric for Schwalm Whitework

Iron-Transfer versus direct Tracing

A Comparison of Iron-On Transfer Pencils

Old, handwoven linen — “Bauernleinen”

– what whiteworkers should consider when buying

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