Embroidery on the Garnet Purse Finished

I did it! I completed the embroidery on the Garnet Purse while traveling home from Colorado right after the Fourth. One of the things that I really lika about this pattern is the unusual (for me anyway) stitches. This flower is made using two concentric rings of chain stitches, then a detached blanket stitch worked through the center of the inside ring and under both sides of the outside ring. I'll bet you couldn't tell that from looking at it! The petals are made with one of my favorite stitches, the fly stitch, but this time with a twist.

Then the outer petals are made with a normal, untwisted fly stitch. Looks good, doesn't it?

The small petals are heart shapes made using plain chain stitch, going from the center to the point of the heart on each side. The center is then a whipped spider's web with bullions around it. Sorry, no closeup of that one.

The leaves on the large flower stems are a bit unusual, in that they are made with blanket stitch, angling the anchor stitch so the stitches curve to form the leaves. I didn't think I would like this, but after making a few, I decided they were pretty simple and effective. What do you think?

I did make a change on the long stems. The pattern called for a twisted chain stitch, making sure to twist one side of the pattern opposite from the other. After I did several stitches on the right, I found that I wasn't twisting properly. As I was getting a bit low on thread and didn't want to risk taking any thread out, I decided to stitch chain stitches and fill them in later with a backstitch. Hmmm, that approach probably used quite a bit more thread than I would have used if I had taken out the untwisted chain stitches. Notice the shadows? This photo was taken in my daughter's back yard, where I was stitching and watching my darling little granddaughter.

And here is the final embroidery. The large flower center was made with a row of chain stitches, then filled with french knots. The original called for Ghiordes knots, but I didn't want that much dimension, so I stuck with tried and true french knots. Not very original, I know, but I like it.

Now on to construction. This is a fairly standard purse pattern which I won't modify other than to add an extra pocket or two to the inside. This is the lining fabric, The Adelaide Collection by Michelle Hill for In the Beginning Fabrics.  It complements the garnet floss beautifully, doesn't it? Or maybe it's the other way around. I hope to have it finished and ready to show all of you by the end of the week.

If you would like to see all the posts relating to the Garnet Purse, just click here. Happy Stitching!