Brilliant White

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Using just one basic colour, a mix of textures and finishes produces an eye-
How to subscribe catching, rich design
Buy back issues By Jan Iles
Photos by Alan Bennington
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Projects
About
Season's Tweetings
Colourful Wrapping
Laying it on the Line
A Jacobean Gem
Knot a Lot
Precious Petals
A Little Gem
Blueprinting on Fabric
Absolutely Brilliant
Pattern Making
with Cross Stitch
Sky Lights
New England
Button Sampler
Midnight Lace
Trees in Blackwork
Mirror Image
Machine Embroidered
Landscape What you need
Summer Shores
Make Your Mark ■ 3 squares, each 38 x 38 cm, of textured white cotton fabric (the one used here has
A Chorus of Angels rough woven lines and there is a very pale cream line in it).
A Bunch of Flowers ■ 38 x 38 cm white cotton backing fabric
Encrusting Calico ■ 2 pieces white cotton backing fabric, each 25 x 38 cm
Rock Pool ■ 24 x 24 cm white wild-silk type fabric
Pentagon Box ■ 24 x 30 cm white muslin fabric
Best Laid Plans ■ 24 x 30 cm white medium-weight white iron-on Vilene interfacing
Get the Picture ■ 3 metres (12 mm wide) white looped-edge ribbon (Offray)
Darned Landscape ■ Pearly white flat sequins: Gütermann Col.1085
Creative Goldwork ■ Silvery white seed beads: Gütermann Col.1016

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Samples ■ 1 skein white tapisserie wool: Anchor Col. 8004

Brilliant White ■ Small amount of bright white double knitting wool (brighter than the tapisserie wool)
Back to Basics ■ White sewing thread
■ 35 x 35 cm cushion pad
In Focus
About What you do
Kantha
Pattern Darning
1. Fold one of the squares of textured fabric in half diagonally. Finger-press along the
A Silver Qilin
fold to mark the crease. Open out the square and fold from corner to corner along
Crewelwork the opposite diagonal. Finger-press to crease. Cut along the folded diagonal lines
Blackwork to produce four triangles. On the longest side of each triangle turn 2 cm to the
Whitework wrong side to neaten. Finger-press and pin to hold. Place one triangle in each
Crazy Patchwork corner of the square of backing fabric, overlapping the triangles where they meet at
Raised-work Box the mid-point of each side of the backing square (see Fig 1). Pin around the sides
Goldwork of the square to hold.
Casalguidi work 2. Carefully slip the small square of silky fabric into the central gap formed by the
Wessex stitchery triangles, tucking its edges under the neatened edges of the triangles. Pin along
Bird, Bees these neatened edges to hold the silky fabric in place. Cut four lengths of the
and Butterflies ribbon (30 cm in length) and pin these 1.5 cm away from the turned under edges
East meets West and parallel to them, tucking the ribbon ends under the fabric to neaten (see Fig 2).
A 19th-century Craze
A Furisode
from Japan
Flowers & Fruit
in Silk & Silver
Mirror Glass
Embroidery
The Art & Craft
of Embroidery
Quilting from the Past
An Ayrshire
Needlework Collar
Foxy Costume
Mountmellick
Embroidery
A Shaving Apron
Stitched Stories
from India
Beetle Wing
Fig 1: Overlap triangles to form a continuous
Embroidery Fig 2
pattern.

Stitches
Index 3. Use white sewing thread to machine straight stitch close to the turned-under edges
Back stitch
of the corner triangles and then similarly stitch close to the edges of the strips of
ribbon, to secure the ground fabrics of the design in position. If preferred, this
Bokhara couching
stitching could be worked neatly by hand.
Broad chain stitch
4. Print and accurately trace the leaf motif (Fig 3) onto an sheet of paper, allowing
Bullion knots
Buttonhole stitch
enough space to reposition it, and trace it again to produce a four-leaf motif.
Similarly, trace a single leaf and stalk. Cut out the paper templates that you have
Chain stitch
made. [When printed, the design should measure 11.5 cm from leaf tip to the
Coral stitch
centre of the four-leaf motif - the point where the central veins cross - if necessary
Couching
enlarge or reduce to size.]
Cretan stitch

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Cross stitch 5. Position the four-leaf template on the white muslin fabric, leaving enough fabric to
Cup stitch cut out three individual leaves, then pin in place. Adding a narrow 0.5 cm turning
Detached buttonhole allowance all around the motif, cut out the four-leaf shape. Position and cut out
stitch three individual leaves, adding the allowance as before.
Detached chain stitch 6. Using the paper templates, from the interfacing cut out to size (i.e. without 0.5 cm
Double cross stitch allowance) the four-leaf motif and three separate leaves. Place the interfacing glue
Fly stitch side down onto the corresponding muslin motif. Following the manufacturer's
Freestyle cross stitch instructions, bond the muslin and interfacing together.
French knots 7. Using very sharp-pointed scissors, snip into the corners of the turning allowance on
Herringbone stitch the muslin. Carefully and neatly fold the turning to the wrong side. Using white
Ladder stitch sewing thread and tiny hand stitches that do not show through to the right side,
Long and short stitch secure the turning on the wrong side of the leaf shapes. Reserve the three single
Open chain stitch leaves to decorate the back of the cushion.
Romanian couching 8. Place the four-leaf motif centrally on the silky square. Pin to hold and stitch in
position using white sewing thread, making your stitches as small as possible
Running stitch
around the edges of the motif.
Satin stitch
Seeding
Shisha stitch
Split stitch
Star stitch
Stem stitch
Straight stitch
Twisted chain stitch
Wheels
Woven picots

Contact

9. Using the creamy white tapisserie wool, work a line of neat and even back stitches
along the centre of each leaf and then work side lines (veins) across one half of
each leaf. Similarly, using the bright white knitting wool, work the lines (veins)
across the other half of each leaf. Refer to the leaf pattern to help you work the
lines of back stitches, but work them freely without drawing on the white fabric.
10. Using the white sewing thread (doubled for extra strength), stitch sequins and
beads in a random scattering over the silky fabric. Use a single bead to secure
each sequin (see Fig 4). This completes the cushion face.

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Fig 4: Attaching sequins and beads: bring the needle and thread (use doubled for strength)
to the surface. Pass through the hole of a sequin, thread on a bead and then take the
needle
down through the sequin and fabric.

Back of cushion

11. Take one of the remaining squares of textured fabric and one of the white backing
pieces. Place the textured square on top of the backing fabric, matching up the
sides and folding the excess at one end to the wrong side. Finger-press along the
fold and then pin the layers of fabric together around their edges (see Fig 5). Pin a
length of ribbon close to the folded edge. Pin a second length parallel to the first
but 7 cm away from it. Machine straight stitch in white along each edge of the two
lengths of ribbon.
12. Arrange and pin the three leaf motifs along the 7 cm gap and invisibly stitch them
into position. Decorate each leaf with lines of back stitching to match the four-leaf
motif on the cushion front.
13. Place the remaining white textured square over the remaining white backing fabric,
folding the excess textured fabric to the wrong side. Pin the layers together around

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their edges to hold.

Fig 5: Fold top fabric over backing fabric and pin as shown.

To finish

1. Place the cushion front on a clean flat surface with right side uppermost.
2. Position the section of the cushion back with the leaves right side down on the
cushion front, matching up the raw edges. Add the second piece of the back of the
cushion so that its folded edge overlaps the other piece of the back, lining up the
three raw edges with those of the cushion face (see Fig 6). Pin together around the
edges.
3. Working with a 1 cm seam allowance, machine straight stitch around all four sides.
4. Snip away any excess fabric across the corners and then carefully turn the cushion
cover through to the right side, gently easing it into shape.
5. Place a cushion pad inside the completed cover.

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Fig 6: Make the cushion.

Suggestions

■ Take the idea a step further by working the same design in black on black or any
other colour.
■ Keep the white theme, but alter the design.

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