OK, maybe we need a break from all that Celticness. Here’s a
new idea that I’ve been playing with, and although this is just a pilot project
and not entirely successful, I think that the idea does have potential
The idea of moths and butterflies perched on old manuscripts
is not original – you can see similar things on all sorts of design websites.
But I thought that it might be particularly adaptable to embroidery – the
subtle shine and colour of the embroidered insects would contrast nicely with
the dusty old manuscripts.
After a lot of searching I found a good on-line source of
old documents – the archives of the Smithsonian museum – and found several
pages from old books on entomology, which seemed appropriate to use with
butterfly designs. I then printed these documents out on special paper-backed
fabric sheets that can be put through an ink-jet printer.
I then chose a few of my old butterfly designs to use. The
designs had to be modified a bit – for a start I decreased the density of the
stitching so that the background would show through a little bit. Then it was just a matter
of stitching the designs on the printed fabric, although I did slip a sheet of
Mylar under each insect to give it a bit of shine
Butterflies (and a moth) embroidered on a printed manuscript
The results aren’t perfect, although they are interesting.
The smudginess and irregularity of the printing aren’t down to me – they were
there in the original Smithsonian document. But after looking at the result for
a while I think that the irregularity actually adds interest to the whole thing
So – a mildly successful first attempt. I have a lot more thoughts
on how to use it in other ways, so this isn’t the last of the idea