Ground Fabrics

I am EXCITED to  announce that we have been able  to reproduce both the 40ct Old White Linen and the 20 ct  Montrose Linen with another historic weaver!  They have new names but are interchangeable as they were made to match.

Currently I am offering three hard-to-find high quality ground fabrics for use in making 17th century caskets and mirror frames.

40 ct Restoration Linen = Old White 40 Count Linen

This ground fabric is a nice 40 count linen that is equally good for embroidering upon as well as doing counted work. Great as a ground for stumpwork mirrors and caskets as you can switch between the techniques.

This is a new weaving and the size is different from the old as well as new pricing.  

The piece being offered is a full yard (71" x 36") which is large enough for a full casket with some left over for stumpwork stitch trials.  

24 ct Rain Barrel Linen = Montrose 1750 Linen 

This is a natural linen that is tightly woven. Tightly woven linen is important so that the glue that will be used to attach the embroidery to the box doesn't weep through to the front of the embroidery.  Rain Barrel Linen is approximately 24-count linen. It is sold in 1 yard pieces (71" x 36"). This linen is appropriate for caskets worked in tent stitch, queen stitch and other counted techniques. Because of the tight weave, the entire ground does not have to be covered.  It is the base of the Five Seasons Casket such that the graphs fit the sides of the cabinet.

Sunflower Seed 30 ct Linen

This linen is the same natural color as the Montrose linen but is 30 count and a similar hand.  It is the new substitution for the now sold out Montrose linen (but a different count - so no graphs I have will work).  But it will make a wonderful ground for anyone who wants to trace a design and work it counted.  It is sold in 1 yard pieces (72" x 36"). 

This is a new linen that came out of the reproduction of the Old White Linen I had been using.  The story - we sent instructions and a sample of the Old White Linen and Montrose Linen to an Italian company to try to reproduce.  While their first try at the Montrose was correct, they mistakenly thought we wanted a 40-count linen that was even weave and with holes you could see - not the 40-count embroidery linen we were asking them to make.  It arrived after the sample meter was woven and I had to reject it as a substitute for the Old White (the second try was the new Restoration Linen).  BUT....

This is an amazing linen for counted work - 40-count with holes you can see.  So we decided to order a batch to be made of it for counted samplers or those with whitework!  

I am selling it in fat half sizes - 36" x 35"

This is ONLY if you already own a casket.  There are no more caskets available for purchase.

These are the graphs for the Five Senses Casket. The graphs are provided for all three sizes of caskets (Double Casket, Flat Casket with Doors and Flat Casket). There are several options:

 1) Buy the graphs to go with the 24 ct Montrose linen and casket you have

2) Buy the graphs and 24 ct. Rain Barrel linen (reproduction of the Montrose linen).  Use your soie paris from stash and supplement it to work it for your casket

3) Buy the graphs, 24-ct Rain Barrel linen, and all 165 tubes of soie paris needed.

4) Buy the 165 tubes of soie paris

A slate frame (16" rollers with 14" or 16" slats) is suggested for working.  It is strongly suggested that you sign up for a finishing kit as soon as they are available again.

Your user/password will be activated for the graphs folder.  The graphs for each side are presented in order of the casket stitch along.  A full graph and then close up graphs in color with symbols superimposed as well as only symbols are included.