We try before you buy
This is the second in a series of articles on different fabric types, how they can be used, their advantages and advantages, and how they work with hand dyeing.
Jobelan is an evenweave created for the cross stitch and embroidery market by Wichelt. It is created with single threads, very uniform in size, and is most commonly stitched two over two. That is, using two strands of floss and stitching over every second hole.
This is the first in a series of articles on different fabric types, how they can be used, their advantages and advantages, and how they work with hand dyeing.
Thanksgiving is a US tradition, but Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday sales are becoming worldwide shopping traditions. As such, here are some late November sales you may be interested in.
You may want to bookmark or subscribe to this post as I will be updating it during the week as more sales are announced.
When: 1 December 2014 (Mountain Time, US time)
What: one day Cyber Monday sale on selected items.
When: Now – 6 Dec 2014 (Mountain time, US time)
What: discount on the following designers and themes:
When: Now – 2 December 2014 (midnight CST, US time)
What: 20% off everything, excludes gift certificates.
When: Now – sold out
What: Bulk lots of Brooke’s Books charts.
When: Now – 31 December 2014
What: Order any three kits from our website and get the cheapest one FREE.
How: Use the discount code 9999-2014
When: 1 December 2014 (midnight to midnight, CST, US time)
What:
When: 1 – 2 December 2014
What: All charts 25% off
When: 27 Nov – 1 December 2014
What: 10% of everything (excludes pdfs)
How: If you’ve placed an order already or are planning to place one now, please be patient with us! We have ~400 kit orders to process…that means getting supplies (and more supplies) in, sorting, bagging, assembling bead packs, assembling the kits, processing charges and PP invoices, then shipping…so it takes time! We’ll try to get your kit to you as soon as possible. If you “need” your order for a Christmas gift, note that in your instructions. I still can’t guarantee we’ll have it to you in time, but it let’s us know the situation.
When: now – sold out
What: selected cross stitch charts and kits at 40% off.
When: now – 3 December 2014 (noon PST US time)
What: We’d like to invite you to take 20% off your *entire* purchase
How: Use promo code THANKS during checkout
When: 29 Nov – 1 December 2014 (midnight to midnight EST, US time)
What:
Note: Download issues are common during sale periods due to sever loads. If you have an issue, don’t panic, we are happy to help to make sure you receive your order. Just send us an email through the “Contact Us” link on the website, and we will assist you as soon as we can. If, for some reason, the contact form won’t work, feel free to email me direct at nikki@heavenandearthdesigns.
When: Now
What: 20% off entire cross stitch order!
How: Enter JJS20 at checkout
When: this week
What: 50% off all scriptures and hymns designs.
When: Now – 30 November 2014
What: 40% off all charts (excludes ezine).
When: 28 Nov – 9 December 2014
What: 25% off entire order
How: Use coupon code FRIDAY14
When: Now – 11 December 2014
What: 50% off Couchman Downloadable Designs.
How: Use voucher code: PET
When: 28 November – 2 December 2014 (midnight to midnight)
What: 25% off all in-stock flosses (except DMC 6-strand floss)!
40% off all patterns & kits!
75% off all remaining punchneedle & quilting patterns!
When: Now – next newsletter
What: Join their newsletter and receive 25% off all scissors
How: Add a note when paying to to say you received notice of this sale through their newsletter.
When: Now – 1 December 2014 (midnight EST, US time)
What: 20% off Alessandra Adelaide,Amy Bruecken, Barbara Ana Designs, and Imaginating
When: Now
What: All our Stitchbow storage items are now on sale for the next few weeks with at less 10% off everything in the range!
When: Now – sold out
What: All in stock merchandise is on sale at 30% off.
How: In order to receive the discounts orders must total $10 or more before discount is applied! The shopping cart WILL NOT show the discount but it will be applied before shipping and you will receive an email telling you what we have and what your discount is. If you pay by PayPal, your invoice will show the discount and the items to be shipped so no extra notification will be made. Please note that PayPal invoices are sent after the order is pulled and shipping charges are determined.
When: 27 Nov – 1 December (US time)
What:
GIFT CERTIFICATE BONUS SPECIAL: Receive a 20% Bonus Gift Certificate with Purchase of any Gift Certificate in $25.00 increments. WHAT??? THAT MEANS …When you Purchase a $25.00 Gift Certificate .. you will receive a FREE $5.00 Gift Certificate!! Purchase a $50.00 Gift Certificate & receive a FREE $10.00 Gift Certificate!!
Purchase a $75.00 Gift Certificate & receive a FREE $15.00 Gift Certificate!!
Purchase a $100.00 Gift Certificate & receive a FREE $20.00 Gift Certificate!!
Purchase GC’s in ANY $25.00 increment and receive a FREE GC valued at 20% of that purchased GC .. the “Free” Gift Certificate is for use effective January 2, 2015!!!
All Gift Certificates are good for one year from date of purchase on anything found at Stitches N Things! And yes, these can be redeemed on-line! We can even SEND YOUR GC VIA E-MAIL to your recipient for you!
When: Now – 18 December 2014
What: Closing down sale, all stock 50% off
When: Now – 31 December 2014
What:
When: 28 November – 1 December 2014 (EST US time)
What: use coupon code BF2014SALE17 to save 17% off your total purchase from the website. I rolled a 20 sided die to come up with the discount.
When: 1 December 2014 (Mountain time, US time)
What: 20% storewide. ALSO an extra 30% off the overstock page
When: Now – sold out
What: Overstock clearance sale of Aida fabrics and white willow design charts.
When: 1 – 7 December 2014
What: Purchase ANY 2 charts and you can select a 3rd one FREE, and we will also give you FREE SHIPPING (in Canada or the US).
When: 3 December 2014 (midnight – midnight
What: 15% off Winter Wonderland fabric
When: Now – 15 December 2014
What:
Last updated: 2 December 2014
Hand dyed fabrics; or why doesn’t the piece in my hand look anything like the picture on my screen?
Very broadly speaking, there are two main types of techniques used to hand dye fabrics used in cross stitch:
Immersion is when you make up a bath of coloured liquid solution and you put the fabric into the solution. Scrunching, wrinkling or tying the fabric produces the mottled colours we love so much.
Painting is when a thicker coloured solution is dripped, sprayed, painted or melted on the fabric. These techniques give the dyer more control over where the colour goes, allowing some detailed scenes to be produced.
Ice dyeing is a version of painting where you cover portions (or the whole) fabric in ice pieces. The dry colourants are put on the ice pieces. As the ice melts, the water wets the dry colourant forming a coloured solution on the fabric.
There are a number of different types of fabric we stitch on, and they are made from of different natural or artificial fibres.
Natural fibres such as cotton and linen absorb dyes more readily than artificial fibres, so Aida, Hardanger, Linen and Monaco will come out darker than the other fabrics (given the same conditions).
The below is a set of images of the same fabric:
In reality, my fabric is none of these; it is similar to the first two but much more vibrant. A bright lime green. So why don’t these reflect what we see?
Very broadly speaking, the cones in eyes that see colour, fall into variations of Red, Greenish Yellow and Blue/Violet based on whether they are short, medium or long wavelengths.
Monitors, digital cameras, mobile phone displays, but use a Red, Green Blue (RGB) display. Each pixel on the screen is built by driving three small and very close red, green and blue light sources. These light sources overlay each other to differing degrees to give the differing colours. Usually these separate sources are so small as to be indistinguishable, which tricks the eye to see the intended solid color. When all RGB are on, we get white.
When printing an image, printers generally use the CMYK colour model. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. For printers, shades of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are overlayed on top of the paper (and on each other, to given the colour we want. When all CMY are used we get black. In practicality, most printers don’t give a true black, more of a muddy black, which is why blacK is the fourth colour used.
To sum up, eyes use wavelengths to see colours. Digital devices use the subset of colours created by Red Green and Blue lights, heading towards white (full light). Printers use the subset of colours created by Cyan, Yellow and Magenta, heading for black (absence of light).
There is no possible way for either monitors or printers to accurately reflect the full range of colours that our eyes can see.
As well as just showing us these fallible pictures, some dyers use words to help us understand the real colours of their fabrics: “this colour is a bright medium Chartreuse“. Don’t underestimate the value of this, I once saw a tiny picture of a fabric on my monitor and it looked to be lovely velvety deep blues morphing into black. When the fabric arrived it was splotchy red and black, like lava and volcanic rock.
Or they compare it to something that we can see in life; as we are stitchers, DMC floss is something we are likely to have at hand: “the approximate DMC colours for this fabric are 437/3827, 3053 and 3859”
OK, so we’ve seen a big picture of the fabric we love, we’ve read the description and checked the floss colours so it should be perfect right?
There are just some variables in hand dyed fabrics that you can never plan for. The minerals in the water used in the dye bath, the temperature of the water versus the temperature of the ambient air on the day it was dyed, the humidity levels, whether it was line dried or tumble dried, these can subtly change the characteristics of the final piece.
These are three examples of the same fabric, dyed to the same process by the same dyer, each bought months apart:
But you know what, we use hand dyed fabrics because we want something different, we want something unique and we want something that adds that je ne sais quoi to our project. Just remember, when planning to use the same hand dyed fabric on more than one design:
ALWAYS BUY THE WHOLE AMOUNT OF FABRIC AT ONCE.
The same fabric in the same dyelot, dyed at the same time on the same day is the best way to minimise differences in your hand dyed fabrics.
My heartfelt thanks to Tammy Verdon of Colour Cascade Fabrics, Shari & Marilyn from Picture this Plus and Terry Diaz from Youthful Hands Needlecrafts for the use of their images for this article. Thank you also to Tammy Verdun for confirming the technical aspects of the dyeing process and Julie Dollery for confirming the colour vision section. All errors are mine and mine alone.
World Wide:
Fabric Flair has stores in UK and USA. Some products are also sold by their distributor in Australia, Sewitall. Fabric Flair fabrics are not technically “hand dyed”, they are printed on onre side of the fabric by machine, but I have included them here as they as used the same as hand dyed fabrics.
Wichelt has a range of hand dyed jobelan fabrics that are available in may needlework stores.
Australia:
Colour Cascade Fabrics Tammy has many hand dyed fabrics that would add a unique element to your stitching. Tammy offers a 15% discount for readers of this site. Use code: CSReview. Offer ends 6 December 2014.
Sewitall supplies some Fabric Flair fabrics but also hand dyes their own colour combinations here in Australia
Stitches and Spice is Australia’s only fabric and thread hand dyer.
Canada:
Enchanting Lair produce beautiful fabrics many of which can be used with their great charts.
France:
Annick Abrial creates beautiful hand dyed threads and fabric.
Italy:
Eclypse’s Colors has a beautiful range of fabrics. These can also be bought in Australia via From Italy with Love
Primitive Hare hand dyes linen in a few different “aged” or “parchment” styles that work wonderfully with her patterns or any samplers.
New Zealand:
Country Stitch has been a long running supplier of hand dyed fabrics.
Poland:
Nina’s Threads has expanded into hand dying linen fabrics.
United Kingdom:
Chromatic Alchemy is a Facebook only company that has a great range of bright fabrics.
Crafty Kitten has two ranges of hand dyed fabrics, pastels and vivids.
Jodyri Designs produces hand dyed floss and fabrics.
Polstitches is one of the UK’s longest running and best known fabric and thread hand dyers with their fabrics being recommended for charts in many UK Cross Stitch publications.
Sparklies has a large range of hand dyed fabrics that would add a such a sparkle to your project.
United States:
Garibaldi’s Needle Works is an ebay only store that produces beautiful mottled fabrics and threads.
Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie has a great range of colours to suit all projects.
Lakeside Linens have a range of hand dyed fabric where some can be “double-dipped” and others “vintaged”. Both give a uniqueness to their fabrics.
Picture This Plus is one the US’s longest running and best known fabric hand dyers. Their annual Christmas in July sale is so huge it takes until November to dye and send out all the orders.
R&R Reproductions produce aged and muted tone fabrics for their extensive range of sampler charts.
Sassy’s Fabbys has a great range of colours.
Silkweaver is the other long running and well-known fabric hand dyer from the US. Silkweaver was bought out by Zweigart USA a few years ago and there have been reports of slow customer service. I find I have the best results by ordering from the Needleworkers Delight site.
Sunny*Dyes fabrics by Youthful Hands Needle Crafts include some of the best hand painted fabrics I have seen.
Under the Sea Fabrics has some unique two-toned earth and sky or water and sky fabrics rarely seen elsewhere.
Weeks Dye Works are long time thread dyers who moved into the hand dyed fabric market. The fabric colours mimic their thread colours.
Did I miss any good dyers? Please comment below and I will add them to the list.
Did you like this Weekend Spotlight? Did it contain all the expected information? Is there anything you would like added or removed from this? Do you know of a particular chart, designer, stitch along or accessory creator you want to see featured here? If so, please head to the Suggestions page and let me know.
Was this read worth a cup of coffee?
Another Mystery stitch-along for SAL Tuesday. It’s that time of year, when the 2015 stitch-a-long are arranged and sign ups are still open.
Clair de Lune, Under the Moonlight. The subject is very romantic and seductive … but I do not tell you more …
Sign-up closes: 2 Nov 2014
SAL Duration: 3 Nov 2014 – 14 Jun 2015
I am a sucker for a stitch-a-long (SAL), especially a Mystery stitch along where you have no idea what the resultant piece will look like. Passione Ricamo has run two similar Mystery stitch alongs before and I loved the results of both of them.
Passione Ricamo stitch alongs are large and need time and attention if you wish to keep up; at times it must take precedent over other stitching projects. However, like all stitch alongs it is quite fine to lag behind, stitching at your own pace, many of us do.
Under the Moonlight includes metallic threads and many beads. I would consider it suitable for an adventurous beginner or intermediate stitcher. There will be floss replacement options given for the metallics and beads for those stitchers who prefer to use all cottons.
Mystery Stitch alongs are a gamble. I generally find that if you like the majority of a designer’s work, then you are likely to enjoy their mystery SAL. It is up to each stitcher to decide if the risk is worth it to you.
Passione Ricamo gives very little away about the nature of her stitch alongs. It is not until after you sign up that you receive a Welcome Pack which lists the floss, embellishment and fabric options. As the Stitch along is starting in three weeks, I have permission to discuss the floss, embellishment and fabric options here.
To join in the SAL you need to buy the chart pack. There is a secret Facebook group for those who wish to join. This is not mandatory, but there are already many conversations discussing fabric choices, fabric sizes, bead options and general stitching questions. It is communities like this that keep us encouraged and thrilled about a design when we start to feel jaded and that other new start looks enticing!
We will receive the Under the Moonlight chart in sections from November 2014 to May 2015. The sections will only arrive via email so you will either print each section out yourself or work directly from a tablet. The Welcome Pack includes a diagram of the section outlines and the dates we will receive each section.
Laura provides each chart section twice, once in black and white and another in colour. Both contain the symbol key or legend.
The black and white chart is the main chart to stitch from. Each new section will include a one-row overlap to help in lining up your stitched sections and minimising errors. The overlap row is shaded grey so you don’t accidentally stitch it again. Also on the black and white chart, Laura provides the backstitching lines in various colours, so it is easy to determine which section is to be outlined in which floss.
In a chart such as this where there are many different threads, it could be easy to mistake one chart symbol for another. The colour chart is very useful to quickly check your stitching, e.g. if you are stitching the correct green symbol or the incorrect but similar purple symbol.
To stitch the chart exactly as designed, you will need:
1 skein each – DMC 155, 156, 160, 210, 211, 310, 311, 321, 333, 335, 340, 341, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 470, 471, 472, 632, 646, 647, 676, 677, 729, 746, 747, 758, 775, 777, 801, 807, 819, 838, 905, 907, 938, 945, 951, 3021, 3023, 3024, 3041, 3371, 3743, 3746, 3747, 3756, 3765, 3766, 3770, 3820, Ecru
2 skeins DMC 645 – Very Dark Beaver Grey
1 spool Kreinik #4 Very Fine Braid 9294 – Periwinkle
1 card each Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid: PB01, PB09, PB10, PB12, PB22, PB66, PB72, PB204, PB205, with optional PB201. Dawn is using PB201 in her model stitch of Under the Moonlight.
5 packets Mill Hill Glass Beads 00479 – White
2 packets Mill Hill Glass Beads 02009 – Ice Lilac
Any suitable dark fabric of any type – some examples are shown below. (stitch count 215 x 299). This design can be stitched over 2 or over 1.
For 14ct Aida or 28ct evenweave (with 3″ border allowance) fabric size is: 22″ x 28″ or 55 x 70 or a half yard (27 x 36″).
If you have stitched any of the previous Passione Ricamo Mystery stitch alongs, you will have many of these threads and embellishments already in your stash. Listed below is the approximate cost to stitch the Under the Moonlight project if you are new to Passione Ricamo designs and are buying items at retail prices. Please note these approximations do not include postage or the optional extra floss. If you are interested in stitching this design now, there are places who are offering embellishment packs (see further below).
Chart: $16.30
Floss: $62.80
Fabric: $46.00
Total: $125.10 ($219.20 AUD or £132.60)
Australia:
Colours Down Under stocks all your floss and embellishment needs. Also some plain evenweave and Aida choices.
Colour Cascade Fabrics is running a floss and fabric pack for this Stitch Along, contact Tammy for more information. For readers of this site she offers a 10% discount. Use code PeaceOut during checkout. Code valid for the month of October 2014.
United Kingdom:
Crafty Kitten is offering an embellishment pack for the Stitch Along and is offering a 10% discount on fabric if you buy at the same time:
Polstitches is also offering floss, embellishment and fabric packs for this stitch along and a 25×27 cut of fabric (cheaper than a half yard):
SewandSo stocks all of your DMC floss and a variety of fabric choices.
Sparklies has a wide choice of colours to choose from if you wish to make your piece unique with hand dyed fabric.
United States:
123Stitch stocks all most of yourfloss and embellishment needs.
Crazy Annies is offering an embellishment pack for this Stitch Along.
Silkweavers has the following fabric suitable for this stitch along
Steph’s Fabbys has the following fabric suitable for this stitch along
Under the Sea fabrics makes the following fabrics which are suitable for the stitch along
Are you stitching Under the Moonlight? Leave a link to your photo album in the comments so we can all see the varieties of fabric and floss you have chosen.
Did you like this review? Did it contain all the expected information? Is there anything you would like added or removed from the reviews? Do you know of a particular chart or designer you want to see featured here? If so, please head to the Suggestions page and let me know.
Was this read worth a cup of coffee?
