Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Black thread
- Low count Aida cloth
- Embroidery hoop
- Book of patterns
- Embroidery snips
Step1
Look online or in a local hobby store for a book of Elizabethan blackwork patterns.
Step2
Stretch a piece of low count (big square) Aida cloth on a relatively small embroidery hoop. It doesn't matter where, as this is your practice piece.
Step3
Start one of the patterns that appeals to you wherever you like on the cloth with the black thread. Do not make a knot in the end of the thread, keep about two inches on the back side to weave into the threads. Blackwork embroidery does not use knots.
Step4
Practice the patterns you like repeatedly on the large square fabric, weaving the end of the thread into the back side of the pattern whenever it gets too short. As you get better and more confident, move to smaller and smaller square fabric until you are doing it on even count linen.
Step5
Congratulations! You can now do blackwork trim for any of your costumes or clothing. It does not always have to be done in black, either, that's just easiest to learn with. Feel free to get creative with your clothing, just remember that this embroidery has to be done on an even weave fabric.
Step6
Blackwork patterns come in many varieties, from open and lacy to very dense. Any picture can be plotted out to take advantage of this in monochrome, putting the open and lacy patterns where the light areas are and the denser patterns in the shadows to create modeling and three dimensional effects.
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