The past couple of weeks I've been doing the preliminary work on two new projects. One is the Agecroft Sweet Bag which was published in the third quarter EGA newsletter. The other is a more complex project in the same style, Thistle Threads online course called Glittering Gentleman's Nightcap. Both projects are worked with motifs based on those found on a jacket in the Victoria and Albert Museum's textile collection
( jacket 1359-1900 and also the Laton Jacket). The sweet bag is about 4" x 4" and is worked in silk threads on linen with some goldwork trim. The nightcap is 8" x 21" and worked in silk threads, gilt silke twist and three different types of gold threads. ( I think I'll work the bag first!)
Tracing the pattern of the cap onto linen was a chore! The main motif is traced on the right side, but the cuff motifs have to be traced onto the back side as the fabric gets turned up when finished. Since I couldn't find my light box I had to stand at the window and hold my arm up to trace a bazillion little flowers and leaves. It took about an hour to complete the transfer. The sweet bag, by comparison, took about 12 minutes to get traced off.
More information on the sweet bag can be found on this review by Mary Corbet:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/04/agecroft-sweet-bag-thread-kit.html
She has pictures and a review of the thread kit put together by Access Commodities.
The Glittering Nightcap information can be found on the Thistle Threads website, here:
http://thistle-threads.com/teaching/projects/17thcentury/17thcent_nightcap.html
I'm looking forward to working with the gilt silk threads. I saw them worked in to the Plimoth Jacket at Winterthur and they're really pretty.
If I can find my camera cable I might even post photos.
