WIPW - After a Week's Inactivity

 I had no progress to report last Wednesday for the usual WIPW report. After a week's inactivity I today  have four stitches on the: 

Sunday Stitch School Stitch Sampler

#93 Rya Stitch (the untidy one in purple), #165 Lazy Daisy Popcorn Stitch (light pink and wine red ), #185 Ototomi (light pink ovals), #277 Open Back Stitch (purple, wine red, mint green).

Friday Revision Homework - Stitches 91 - 95

Wow! Of all the 19 Sunbonnet Sues I have made with Sunday Stitch School's stitches, this one was the most fun.

Here a prehistoric Sue is a Viking maiden weaving a Rya rug, a 'fake fur' coverlet.

I used stitch #91 Double Fly for the flowers,
#92 Parma for the timber weaving frame,
#93 Rya for the fluffy tufts of wool in the weave, as well as Sue's long hair,
#94 Smyrna for decorations on her dress and
#95 Chemanthy for the sun - Vikings worshipped the sun.
The rest of the picture is made up of Stem Stitch (outlines of body, and warp) and Needle Weaving (weft).

I hope the next set of five stitches will give me as much enjoyment!

Sunday Stitch School - Revision: Stitches 91 - 95

As we have learned five new stitches it is time for a revision lesson.
Click on the name for each stitch to get to instructions, pictures and homework.

91 Double Fly Stitch

I am sure you already know the Fly Stitch, so piling one on top of the other is easy.

92 Parma Stitch

This Italian stitch gives you a rich and elegant thick line. It is based on two well-known stitches, Chain and Buttonhole.

93 Rya Stitch

When Rya Stitch is used for making pile carpets it is of course used as a filling stitch, but it is very decorative just as a single loopy line. 

Many a doll has been given hair of Rya Stitch.

In the past Rya was also a weaving technique used by the Vikings to make 'fake fur' - more exotic than real fur which was easy to come by in the forests of Scandinavia.

94 Smyrna Stitch

An easy stitch that quickly and effortlessly fills up a large area.

95 Chemanthy Stitch (simple version)

This most beautiful Indian stitch is surprisingly easy. Think of all the ways it could be used for flowers, the sun, wheels, coins, the moon...

I love the spiral, spinning look.

Homework:

Use the stitches above to illustrate what Sunbonnet Sue is up to. Here is a teaser:

Sunday Stitch School - Lesson 93: Rya Stitch

Today we will learn a stitch that is used for rug knotting, the Rya Stitch.
In the 1970's there was a rya knotting boom in Sweden.
Here is a YouTube link to show you how the stitch is used for making rugs.

The Rya Stitch can of course be used for embroidery, too.
When worked on canvas it is called either Rya Stitch or Ghiordes Stitch (named after the Turkish town Gördes, a centre for hand knotted carpets).
When worked on plain fabric, and the loops cut open, it is known as Turkey Work.
Updated: Mattia tells me, the French name is Rya Point.

You need fabric to stitch on, thread and needle.
I'd also recommend a very long needle and a hoop.

Stretch the fabric in a hoop and insert the long needle from the back, so you have a bar to work the thread over.

Measure the length you want the loops to be.
Insert the needle at this point above the bar, right to left and take a small bite of fabric. Pull through.

Leave a tail down over the bar.

Let the working thread go up above the needle, and take a new stitch next to the first one. 

Pull through.

Let the working thread hang down over the bar.
Can you see the T-shaped stitch?
Next, take the needle under the bar without catching any fabric.

Now take the thread under the bar, and

make a new stitch, right to left.

Pull through, and notice how a loop has formed around the bar.

Keep the working thread above the stitch line. 

Take a new stitch. Pull through.

Once again, take the needle under the bar to make a loop.
Make sure you don't catch any fabric.

Continue making stitches in this way until you have the required number of loops.

Remove the long needle. Either keep the loops or cut them open.

Homework:

Aida Sampler, SSS Reference Chart, Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth

Friday Homework for Lesson 93: Rya Stitch

The Rya Stitch is an interesting one!

I had a look in my Swedish textile encyclopedia

and learned that the English word 'rug' is of Scandinavian origin (Norwegian 'rugga' = coarse coverlet.)
As you know a 'rug' can be a floor covering, a carpet, but also a small blanket, e.g. a travel rug.

According to the encyclopedia, it was the Vikings who after encountering oriental carpets when they went raiding and trading in the Middle East and Central Asia, brought back the idea of pile weaving.

They began to add small tufts of wool when weaving, and thereby made the first Scandinavian rya rugs. These were not used for sitting on, but for bedding, with the nape facing the body.

The Rya rugs were also indispensable on the Viking longships on the voyages to North Africa, Russia and Vinland (Coastal North America, where Leif Erikson first landed in circa 1000). The ultimate travel rug!

For the Vikings one of the most valuable items for trade was fur. Fur and wool was important to combat the cold of frosty Northern Europe, and therefore 'common' at home in Scandinavia. Maybe so common that having a rya rug was highly fashionable. The origin of 'fake fur'?

Later on, rya rugs were stitched with yarn instead of woven. The name remained though - rya rug.

So now for my homework:
Aida sampler

Sunday Stitch School Reference Chart

Teal Wool Tailoring Scribble Cloth