Cutwork Windows
The earliest forms of Needle Lace evolved from embroidery, piercing the fabric upon which it was being created....First by pulling the threads out of alignment forming decorative holes, and then eventually by cutting the warp and weft and pulling the threads out to create bigger holes....adding a new dimension to the work created.
Instead of color, The play of light and shadow, transparency and opacity became the goal.
There is a certain beauty within the art working on it in the morning when the sunlight is raking through, creating dramatic shadows as it glows through the layers of linen.
I will start this exercise with a 4-sided stitch frame. this is one of the simplest of the drawn work stitches...stitches that draw the threads of the foundation fabric out of position to create the decorative effect. They used this stitch frequently on the borders of their lace or to separate regions of whitework.
For this type of work I prefer a blunt needle as the intent is to push the threads out of alignment instead of piercing them.
If I am trying to make my finished window a certain exact dimension I usually add from 1/8" to 3/16" to the dimension of my window to allow for the bound edges that will be done inside of this element.
Using a pin or needle and your points on your embroidery scissors, carefully pull up, snip and pull out a single thread to form your square.
This will give you a guide to follow which will speed up your work.
Allowing your pulled thread frame to be the center of your square, follow the below diagrams to work around it...I usually work each square over 3 ground threads.
In order to bury your tail...lay it down over the path you will be going and stitch right over top of it.
When you get to a corner, just do your best to get reoriented to go in the new direction, being careful not to let your thread go behind and obscure any of your holes. You may have to do an extra stitch or two over a stitch you have already taken.
When you get to within 6 inches of the end of your thread, you need to start thinking about how you will add on your next thread and bury your current one. You could just feed it under previous stitches on the back of your work. But I think now is a good time to practice what I call the leapfrog join method.
Cut a new thread and lay it down on your work. Go over it with the last of your current thread as you do your stitches. Then, when you can go no further, lay that thread down and switch to your new working thread, going over the tail of your previous thread to bury it. Burying threads is one of your biggest challenges in making needle lace and this method allows you to not bulk up your foundation threads by more than a single thread, which is hardly noticeable in the final product
Once you have gone all the way around, now is the time for a bit of judicious wheat starch before cutting your window.. I mix up a tiny tiny amount with water in a sake' cup and microwave it for a scant 15 seconds. The ratio of starch to water is about 1:8. You can use just about anything to apply it...I've used my finger in a pinch...just smeared it on. But here I have used a q-tip.
This will keep the edges from unraveling.
Allow it to dry. (hairdrier helps for the impatient)
A secondary effect to the starch is that if you use a big needle, you easily can mark where you want your corners to be. I count 6 threads in from both sides, then I also mark where I want to leave threads at the center of each side to remind myself not to cut too far.
Cut by sticking the points of your scissors in at the marks ...leaving a generous amount of threads intact at the center mark.
Unless you were terribly persnickety in measuring your centers, they won't align exactly across the piece. So you will need to pull some threads to figure out exactly where to cut in order to leave exactly 4 threads intact.
Threads pulled, you can be more confident in your cutting. but I would still insert the scissors and cut away from the threads you want to keep to be as safe as possible.
I have made so many mistakes while cutting.
Never cut while tired. Wait until you are fresh and clearheaded. I cant emphasize this enough.
You can pull the threads out one by one, but I am impatient. I usually cut along the threads that I pulled (next to the threads I'm keeping) and carefully pull the squares out from the other side.
Now you need to bind the edges using an overcast edge. The thread comes up through the cloth, around the edge, and through the window to the back. The natural effect of going that direction should make the edge fold over (as you can hopefully see in the photo below.)
The fabric edge will be stiffened from the wheat starch. You can use to your advantage if you want to pre-bend the edge with your fingers.
The corners will be harder to manipulate as you are trying to force the threads that are coming from both directions, but with a little practice and patience they should comply.
The window is ready to mount to your pattern!
