After designing and doing most of the stitching of my Royal School of Needlework (RSN) certificate Jacobean crewelwork module, the end was in sight! By chatting to my fellow students, I learnt that the mounting would take about 1.5 days. So to be on the safe side, I planned my stitching to be pretty much done by the beginning of class 7.
This meant that I needed to do most of the stitching at home. I also made sure I planned ahead how I was going to get the most benefit from each class. You of course don’t need to do that as the tutors will support and guide you as much as you need and want. I was just keen to complete the module within the minimum required 8 lessons, especially as money was tight.
My last bits of stitching went pretty well. So far I’d managed to avoid doing much unpicking but I experienced a couple of rounds of it with the acorns! When I stitched them up as per my colour plan, they felt distractingly dark. I guess because the purple wool I was using was a darker shade than in the stitch plan. Annoyingly, I found myself doubting my choices a bit as I reworked them, but I was happy in the end!
I really appreciated the great advice I got from the tutors around finishing touches that helped elevate my design. For example the small touches of my accent colour on the acorns and the fox’s eyes.
Mounting
After the tutors confirmed my piece was ready to come off the frame, it was time for the mounting to begin!
Most of the talk I’d heard about mounting left me feeling a little apprehensive of this stage. Tricky, time consuming and sometimes even painful was the general impression I’d been left with!
In summary, the steps involved are:
- Accurately cut out your mount board
- Tightly glue calico to your board
- Pin your design into position on the board, while ensuring that the fabric stays on the grain
- Herringbone stitch your fabric to the calico all around the back, ensuring that your fabric stays taught
- Fold and pin cotton sateen to the back in order to hide your herringbone stitch
- Slip stitch the cotton sateen in place so that it is taught and there is no stitching visible
I’m afraid I didn’t take many photos of this process, so I’ll try and remember to take more next time!
The step I had the most trouble with was pinning my design in the correct position on the board. You’d think that keeping the grain of the fabric lined up to the straight edged board would be easy. But since the linen has a much more visible diagonal weave this was harder than I expected. After a couple of false starts I got there in the end!
I think some students find the herringbone and slip stitching a bit tedious. Especially as the Jacobean is probably the largest piece you’ll be mounting for the certificate. But I managed to get into a good rhythm with it and actually found it quite relaxing. I also made it more interesting by challenging myself to get the stitching as tight as I could – I was determined not to lose marks for loose stitches!
My finished Jacobean crewelwork piece
And so, after many hours of work, my Jacobean crewelwork was ready to hand in. I’m not ashamed to admit that I feel pretty chuffed with it! Especially as when I started researching the certificate course, the Jacobean crewelwork module didn’t get me all that excited. But I’m happy to report that I’ve developed a new appreciation for it and look at this technique in a different light now. I’m even keen to do some more and experiment with different colour schemes.
It felt a little weird handing my work in, knowing that I wouldn’t see it again for a few months as I’d gotten very attached to it!!
Looking back, it feels quite amazing how much I’ve learnt through the course of this module. I’m really excited to now make use of my new skills. And of course continue onward with the next module of blackwork! Here’s a link to the course I’m doing.
What do you think of crewelwork embroidery? Have you tried it or would you like to?
Your work is beautiful, I’d love to try Crewel work but I’m really not sure where to start
Thank you so much Yvonne! I’ve got a couple of kits that you can find in my shop (the polar bear and walrus) that I designed with beginners in mind so they are great starter projects and walk you through absolutely everything. They’ll also be available as PDF patterns soon if that suits you better. I’m working on more crewelwork kits and patterns along with more tutorials and tips on the blog, so hopefully those will be helpful. If you sign up to my mailing list I’ll keep you up to date with all my latest resources and tips.
Have made one crewel project and loved it. Would love to fo another but would prefer to work with a kit. Please help. Thanks.
Hi Michele, great to hear that you loved your crewel project! I think it’s a lovely form of embroidery 😀 You can check out the crewel kits that I have available at https://elaraembroidery.etsy.com in case any of those take your fancy.
Best,
Alex
Where do u go for rsn diploma, certs even classes, please
Hi Susan, I mostly go to Hampton Court Palace for classes (the location is an added bonus!). They also have other venues around the UK and now have online classes, all the details can be found here: https://royal-needlework.org.uk/courses/
I’m so afraid that I will fail at this, the way I fail at everything else. I want to take classes but I am too frightened. Going to Hampton court Palace for classes sounds wonderful.
Hi Heidi, I’ve found the tutors to be very supportive, so I’m sure they’ll get you through and the program is very flexible so you can take more classes if you need. The RSN also do a number of day (and multi-day) classes that you can take at Hampton Court Palace which aren’t assessed. I did some of those before I signed up for the certificate, which was a great way of both checking that the teaching environment suited me and to build up my confidence before starting the certificate. In case it helps, I also like to approach things like this as an experiment – an experiment can’t fail – it might produce an unexpected (or undesired) result, but that’s just a piece of data to learn from. Good luck and one stitch at a time!
The finished piece is beautiful. I’ve always loved embroidery since home economics class in high school ( too many years ago to count) but I’ve only recently become more interested in it now. I live in the US so the idea of on line classes is very intriguing. Thank you for sharing your work.
Hi Mischelle! Thank you for your kind words. Great to hear that you’re getting back into embroidery, I find it such a delight! Yes, all the online class options open up so many more possibilities! I’m not sure of your level, but I’m putting the finishing touches on an Introduction to Embroidery online course in case that’s of interest for getting back into it. Happy stitching!
This piece is so beautiful! I am curious how you did the darker circles among the Griffin stitches in the large leaf… the laidwork seems overwhelming, but I’m excited to give it a try!
Thanks Susan, there are so many possibilities with laidwork, I like the approach of experimenting and having fun with it and see what happens!
Hi!
I bought it recently and I’m about to start my project. I will use cotton thread instead of wool just as you suggested in the manual. I am very much afraid to do the fox. I am still trying my best to practice shading and other elements are not the problem but fox… it’s less structured if you know what I mean. I hope I will manage with your detailed instructions. I love the pattern!
Hi Magdalena! Lovely to hear from you. Wishing you lots of happy stitching hours while you work on this project! I’m sure your fox will be delightful, for me one of the best parts about stitching animals is the way we give them q unique character through our stitching (whether intentionally or not!!). Happy stitching!