LESSON PLAN FOR REDWORK EMBROIDERY
OBJECTIVES
- The student will learn a basic history of Redwork Embroidery and will be able to relate that history to Schoenhut dolls.
- The student will demonstrate an understanding of terms and techniques for Redwork Embroidery.
- Each student will use basic embroidery materials and learn basic skills to create the front of a square, decorative cushion.
- After completion the student will understand how to apply these techniques successfully to other projects.
VOCABULARY AND TERMS
Embroidery Floss – The standard is a 6-ply cotton thread, where each thread or “ply” in the strand can be separated and put back together to get a strand of varying thickness depending on what you need for a
project.
Embroidery Hoop – A round double hoop with a clamp you can tighten. The fabric is placed over the bottom hoop and the top hoop is placed over the fabric and tightened, thus holding the material taut, which makes doing the embroidery stitches easier. The hoop can be moved to different locations in the main embroidery if the motif does not all fit into the hoop.
French Knot – A type of embroidery stitch where the floss is wrapped around the needle once or twice and then the floss is pulled through to the back of the work. This makes a knot on the surface of the fabric. It is often used for flower centres, eyes, or round details like the antennae on a butterfly.
Line Art – A type of illustration with outlines only and no solid areas of colour. Small lines can be inside the main outline.
Motif – This is the name of the main element or picture in a design. You can use several different motifs with one theme, like using different flower motifs in a quilt with a floral theme.
Pencil Grades – A grade just refers to how hard or soft the pencil lead is. Hard pencils make fainter lines and soft pencils make dark lines that smudge more and are too messy for this project. In school for writing we most often use an HB pencil which is in the middle of the hard and soft pencils. The 2H pencil that we are using for this project is slightly harder than a school pencil as we don’t want too dark a line. You want it dark enough to see but light enough that it won’t show once you have done your stitchery.
Needles – There are many types of needles. For embroidery you use a sharp needle with a slightly larger eye that will fit all the plies of embroidery floss which are thicker than sewing thread. You also want the needle thick enough to make a hole large enough for the floss to go through so that the floss doesn’t rub and fray. A number 8 embroidery needle is a good size, but a quilting “sharp” will also work if it is big enough for the floss.
Redwork – This was the name given to embroidery worked in outline stitch in one colour throughout. At first the colour most often used was red, but later people used a single blue or sometimes green and yellow throughout. If this was done the name of the type of work was changed to “bluework” or “greenwork” to identify the overall colour used, although it was the same technique as redwork.
Skein – An amount of floss or yarn wound in a long coil. It can be rewound onto a cardboard bobbin or into a ball to keep the floss from tangling when you pull a piece out to cut it.
Stem Stitch – This is a popular and easy embroidery stitch used for outlining a motif in floss for redwork embroidery. It is called “stem stitch” because it is often used to stitch long stems.
Template – A cardboard shape that you trace around to transfer the shape easily to fabric. Templates are often used to cut out shapes for quilt blocks, but they can also be used to outline a border or shape to embroider around.
MATERIALS LIST
- 1 skein DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in red colour #304 or #321
- Embroidery needle #8 or similar sharp needle
- Cotton fabric (quilting cotton works well) – a scrap about 7 inches square in a solid light colour or very light print
- Round wooden embroidery hoop measuring 4 to 6 inches across.
- Line art approximately 2.5 inches to use an an embroidery motif. Printed on paper. Colouring book pictures work well as they are fairly simple and don’t have too many details.
- Template of cardboard 3.5” square or 3” square depending on what size cushion you are making.
- 2H pencil for tracing
- Masking tape
A SHORT HISTORY TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO THE TECHNIQUE
For hundreds of years red was a popular colour, but because it was expensive to make, it was only worn and used for decoration by wealthy people. In 1829 a better process for dyeing red was created and it didn’t fade when washed and was cheaper to make. People who were not wealthy could now afford fabrics and threads in beautiful red shades.
Gradually embroidery became more and more popular and women decorated many household items with embroidery, including bed and table linens, quilts, dish towels, children’s and doll’s clothes, pillows and chair cushions, aprons, and small bags and purses. Magazines sold patterns for these designs inexpensively and large companies had catalogues with thousands of patterns to buy. It was natural for the trendy new red thread to be made up into such decorative objects, and as it became more and more fashionable, more and more patterns were published and sold.
By 1880 another man-made red dye was developed and that made this colour even cheaper to make and more popular and available for needlework designs. The contrast of bright red against a white background using plain lines and basic embroidery could be used for any picture and subject. Nursery rhymes, and figures from books like Alice in Wonderland and books by Kate Greenaway were very popular for children’s items and quilts, as were motifs of pets, flowers, and insects or animals from the natural world.
At the same time as redwork was enjoying popularity, the Schoenhut company was making wooden toys from 1872 to 1935. In 1911 they made and sold their first wooden Schoenhut doll. By 1915 they had acquired many designs for different child and baby dolls, which sold well for a time. They did not make dolls after 1924 and the company’s heyday for doll sales matches the time that redwork was such a fad in needlework. It is quite possible that little girls learning to sew and embroider between 1911 and 1924 would have made clothes and accessories decorated with redwork for their dolls, and maybe even small quilts and pillows for Miss Dolly’s bed.
OBJECTIVES
- The student will learn a basic history of Redwork Embroidery and will be able to relate that history to Schoenhut dolls.
- The student will demonstrate an understanding of terms and techniques for Redwork Embroidery.
- Each student will use basic embroidery materials and learn basic skills to create the front of a square, decorative cushion.
- After completion the student will understand how to apply these techniques successfully to other projects.
VOCABULARY AND TERMS
Embroidery Floss – The standard is a 6-ply cotton thread, where each thread or “ply” in the strand can be separated and put back together to get a strand of varying thickness depending on what you need for a
project.
Embroidery Hoop – A round double hoop with a clamp you can tighten. The fabric is placed over the bottom hoop and the top hoop is placed over the fabric and tightened, thus holding the material taut, which makes doing the embroidery stitches easier. The hoop can be moved to different locations in the main embroidery if the motif does not all fit into the hoop.
French Knot – A type of embroidery stitch where the floss is wrapped around the needle once or twice and then the floss is pulled through to the back of the work. This makes a knot on the surface of the fabric. It is often used for flower centres, eyes, or round details like the antennae on a butterfly.
Line Art – A type of illustration with outlines only and no solid areas of colour. Small lines can be inside the main outline.
Motif – This is the name of the main element or picture in a design. You can use several different motifs with one theme, like using different flower motifs in a quilt with a floral theme.
Pencil Grades – A grade just refers to how hard or soft the pencil lead is. Hard pencils make fainter lines and soft pencils make dark lines that smudge more and are too messy for this project. In school for writing we most often use an HB pencil which is in the middle of the hard and soft pencils. The 2H pencil that we are using for this project is slightly harder than a school pencil as we don’t want too dark a line. You want it dark enough to see but light enough that it won’t show once you have done your stitchery.
Needles – There are many types of needles. For embroidery you use a sharp needle with a slightly larger eye that will fit all the plies of embroidery floss which are thicker than sewing thread. You also want the needle thick enough to make a hole large enough for the floss to go through so that the floss doesn’t rub and fray. A number 8 embroidery needle is a good size, but a quilting “sharp” will also work if it is big enough for the floss.
Redwork – This was the name given to embroidery worked in outline stitch in one colour throughout. At first the colour most often used was red, but later people used a single blue or sometimes green and yellow throughout. If this was done the name of the type of work was changed to “bluework” or “greenwork” to identify the overall colour used, although it was the same technique as redwork.
Skein – An amount of floss or yarn wound in a long coil. It can be rewound onto a cardboard bobbin or into a ball to keep the floss from tangling when you pull a piece out to cut it.
Stem Stitch – This is a popular and easy embroidery stitch used for outlining a motif in floss for redwork embroidery. It is called “stem stitch” because it is often used to stitch long stems.
Template – A cardboard shape that you trace around to transfer the shape easily to fabric. Templates are often used to cut out shapes for quilt blocks, but they can also be used to outline a border or shape to embroider around.
MATERIALS LIST
- 1 skein DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in red colour #304 or #321
- Embroidery needle #8 or similar sharp needle
- Cotton fabric (quilting cotton works well) – a scrap about 7 inches square in a solid light colour or very light print
- Round wooden embroidery hoop measuring 4 to 6 inches across.
- Line art approximately 2.5 inches to use an an embroidery motif. Printed on paper. Colouring book pictures work well as they are fairly simple and don’t have too many details.
- Template of cardboard 3.5” square or 3” square depending on what size cushion you are making.
- 2H pencil for tracing
- Masking tape
A SHORT HISTORY TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO THE TECHNIQUE
For hundreds of years red was a popular colour, but because it was expensive to make, it was only worn and used for decoration by wealthy people. In 1829 a better process for dyeing red was created and it didn’t fade when washed and was cheaper to make. People who were not wealthy could now afford fabrics and threads in beautiful red shades.
Gradually embroidery became more and more popular and women decorated many household items with embroidery, including bed and table linens, quilts, dish towels, children’s and doll’s clothes, pillows and chair cushions, aprons, and small bags and purses. Magazines sold patterns for these designs inexpensively and large companies had catalogues with thousands of patterns to buy. It was natural for the trendy new red thread to be made up into such decorative objects, and as it became more and more fashionable, more and more patterns were published and sold.
By 1880 another man-made red dye was developed and that made this colour even cheaper to make and more popular and available for needlework designs. The contrast of bright red against a white background using plain lines and basic embroidery could be used for any picture and subject. Nursery rhymes, and figures from books like Alice in Wonderland and books by Kate Greenaway were very popular for children’s items and quilts, as were motifs of pets, flowers, and insects or animals from the natural world.
At the same time as redwork was enjoying popularity, the Schoenhut company was making wooden toys from 1872 to 1935. In 1911 they made and sold their first wooden Schoenhut doll. By 1915 they had acquired many designs for different child and baby dolls, which sold well for a time. They did not make dolls after 1924 and the company’s heyday for doll sales matches the time that redwork was such a fad in needlework. It is quite possible that little girls learning to sew and embroider between 1911 and 1924 would have made clothes and accessories decorated with redwork for their dolls, and maybe even small quilts and pillows for Miss Dolly’s bed.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Part 1 – Preparing the Fabric
- Wash, dry and iron the fabric. Washing will pre-shrink the fabric and remove any sizing from the manufacturing proses. Sizing is what gives the fabric extra stiffness to allow it to be stored on a bolt. Pre-shrinking the fabric will ensure that the stitching does not pull in if washed after embroidering.
Miss Prim has prepared the fabric for the students and has provided a selection of motifs they can choose from for their embroidery.
1) In the centre of your piece of fabric, carefully trace around your square template with a pencil. This will be your cutting line when you have finished the embroidery.
2) For the next step you can use a window. Tape the paper with your motif on the window pane, using a small piece of masking tape in each of the 4 corners.
3) Place your fabric right side up over the top of the paper and centre your motif in the square you drew earlier on the fabric. Each side of the motif should have the same mount of space between it and the sides and corners of the square.
4) When you have your picture centred, have a friend tape the fabric to the window while you hold it in place. This way the fabric won’t move when you are tracing.
5) The light from the window will show through and you will be able to see and trace the lines very clearly. Using a 2H pencil, trace the lines from your picture onto the fabric.
6) Check that all the lines have been traced and are dark enough to see. Once complete, carefully remove the masking tape and take your fabric and picture off the window.
Part 2 – The Embroidery
Miss Prim will demonstrate the stem stitch and French knot stitch, and students will practice on the extra fabric outside their motifs. Miss Prim will discuss the nap of floss and how to pull the floss through so the nap will lie down and not fuzz up and fray. She will also show the students how to start and stop a line of stitching without a knot.
1) Cut a length of embroidery floss that is 18” long. For this project we are using only 2 threads or plies of the 6 plies that make up the strand of floss. To separate the strands, hold the main strand and gently pull out one strand. Lay it flat so it is facing in the same direction you pulled it out from. Keep hold of the main strand and pull out a second strand of floss. Lay it next to the first strand and then put the two strands together, matching up their lengths at the top.
2) Thread these 2 plies of floss together through the eye in your needle. You are now ready to follow Miss Prim and practice your stem stitch and French knots.
3) When Miss Prim has seen that you understand the stitches and can do them nicely, you can start embroidering with stem stitch on your motif. It is easiest to start on a longer line so you have a chance to get into the rhythm of stitching and making your stitches the same size before doing a more complicated curve or small detail.
OVERVIEW
Students will complete their stitching over a number of classes, and then discuss the application of these techniques for other stitchery projects. Some examples of completed items and patterns might be found in books that students can discuss.
Sewing the finished embroidery into a pillow will be covered in future classes on sewing.
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