Pink Pincushion

Copyright Tricia Wilson Nguyen for Thistle Threads, 2015

MATERIALS continuous line for the complex design. There are several
cross over spots between petals that you will need to fol-
Silk Fabric (Pink) low through the photographs and Diagram 2. Diagram 3
Gilt Russian Rococco (V.V Fine) shows the general technique of couching. The corner ele-
ment is made up of three motifs, a central one with the
Cordon Color No. 1006 flower and two side leaf motifs. Each is worked in a con-
Silver Matte Bullion #4 tinuos couching thread that is sunk to the back of the silk
Silver Check Purl #6 fabric at the beginning and end of the thread.
Gilt Diamond Check
Spangles (F3 size) On the back of the fabric, lay the ends of the couched
thread along the couching stitches and whip stitch them in
Gold Tire Silk Thread place using the excess couching thread (TIRE silk) and
Silver Tire Silk Thread cut the ends to about 1/2”.
#8 Embroidery Needle
Large chenille needle for sinking There is another tear drop shape to outline between the
Backing Fabric (Pink Silk Velvet) gimp curls, as shown in Photo 13.
Stuffing GIMP CURL
GENERAL STITCHING INSTRUCTIONS The curls that stretch between the corner elements are
worked by couching down a piece of the Cordon Color
Trace the design from Diagram 1 onto a piece of silk of No. 1006 along the line with the silver TIRE silk thread on
your choice (Photo 1). I have used the silk lining fabric the light colored stripes about 1/8 inch apart. You will
from the Cabinet of Curiosities, in this case the pink. I need a large needle to sink the ends (Photo 8-9).
used a Pigma pen to trace out the design using a light
table. Outline the couched cordon with a line of gilt Russian
roccoco (V.V. Fine) on both sides starting at the tip and
GILT COUCHING OUTLINE couching it with the gold TIRE silk. Carefully sink the
Couch the Gilt Russian Rococco (V.V. Fine) with a strand
of gold TIRE threads along the traced line as shown in
Photos 2-7 for the center part of each corner motif.
Designs like this cross the couched threads to keep one

Diagram 2. Couching path for corner elements. The numbers

represent the places where the gold thread crosses over previ-
Diagram 1. Tracing diagram ously couched thread. The x’s are where the thread starts or
ends.
1
 SPANGLES AND MORE
The last details are the addition of spangles and short
lengths of the Gilt Diamond Check. The locations of the
spangles and the short pieces of check are found by
examining Photo 31.
Come up at the spot a spangle is needed with a gold TIRE
silk thread and thread a spangle onto it, moving it to the
surface. The cut a very short piece (~1/16”) of the check
and thread it onto the TIRE thread. Then place the nee-
dle through the center of the spangle. The check will hold
the spangle in place on the fabric (Photos 27-29).
Diagram 3. Couching Diagram
In several places, short (~1/16”) long pieces of check are
ends of the gilt Russian rococco into the silk. On the sewn by themselves to the surface to add extra decoration.
back of the fabric, lay the ends of the couched thread
along the couching stitches and whip stitch them in place FINISHING
using the excess couching thread (TIRE silk) and cut the
ends to about 1/2” (Photos 10-12). To finish the pincushion, I marked the back of the silk
1/2” all around the edge of the stitching to make a
PADDING sewing line. I then placed the front of the embroidery
against a matching piece of silk velvet and sewed around
Once the outlining is done, use a leftover piece of six or the sides, leaving myself a 3” area unsewn to be able to
seven stranded cotton from your stash in a light color to turn the piece. After trimming it down to 1/4” seam
work a few padding stitches in each of the teardrop areas allowances, I turned the piece carefully not to catch the
that will be filled with bullions or check pieces (Photo 14). bullions and checks.
The stitches only should fill about 75% of the area as seen
in the photos. I then pushed out the corners carefully and stuffed, clos-
ing up the raw edges with a slip stitch. If you desire, there
SILVER FLOWER PETALS are many thick twisted metallic cords that can be used as
edgings. There may be some in your Frostings Boxes in
Photos 15-18 show the flower petals being filled with addition to the Gilt Grecian Twist on the website.
Silver Matte Bullion #4. As a general set of instructions,
diagonal stitches with the silver TIRE thread will be made
as if you were filling it with satin stitches, except that you
are threading the pieces of the bullion onto the needle
before you finish each stitch.
Carefully cut a piece of bullion before every stitch, trying
to match the length of the stitch. If the bullion kinks or
sticks up over the surface, you can unthread that stitch
and cut off a rotation or two of the wire to shorten the
piece. If you need two or more pieces the same length,
the ends can be held together and clipped at the same
time.
Fill one petal at a time and then move onto the next.
SILVER DROP OR ROOT
The bottom of the flower stem ends in a drop or ‘root’
that is filled with Silver Check Purl #6 using the silver
TIRE thread. Again, cut short pieces of the silver check
to equal the length of the TIRE silk stitch you would
make as discussed above (Photos 19-22).
GOLD LEAVES
The leaves on the corner element are filled with the Gilt
Diamond Check and are sewn down with the Gold TIRE
silk thread (Photos 24-26). The tear drop shape between
gimp curls is also filled in with the same threads.
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Photo 1. Photo 2.

Photo 3. Photo 4.

Photo 5. Photo 6.

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Photo 7. Photo 8.

Photo 9. Photo 10.

Photo 11. Photo 12.

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Photo 13. Photo 14.

Photo 15. Photo 16.

Photo 17. Photo 18.

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Photo 19. Photo 20.

Photo 21. Photo 22.

Photo 23. Photo 24.

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Photo 25. Photo 26.

Photo 27. Photo 28.

Photo 29. Photo 30.

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Photo 31.

Photo 32.

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Photo 33.