Blackwork cuffs: One down, one to go

Sometime earlier this year, possibly around May/June, I decided to have a go at blackwork as a diversional A&S project*

I've never really gone in for embroidery as all that fine attention to detail is usually beyond my attention span. I decided to have a go at blackwork because it looked interesting, particularly the whole reversible concept. A long time ago I'd printed off some blackwork patterns so I had a flick through and found a strawberry motif. Knowing that Miss D was about to become a venerable Duchess and there would be cause from strawberries, I decided to give that one a go. If I turned out not to be completely inept, it would become a pair of blackwork cuffs to go with that Elizabethan frock Miss D keeps swearing she's going to make, any reign now.

As it turned out, blackwork is one of the easiest things out there to pick up. Even the reversible thing is simple once you read the explanatory notes and diagrams. The motif I'd chosen isn't complete reversible as I decided to make the strawberries red and the seeds on the strawberries are not connected to the rest of the pattern (the reversible thing relying on an unbroken line).

Though after about 6 months of doing blackwork on and off (while watching tv, at events etc..) I finally have one cuffs worth completed. The completed length is about 53cm and is worked with black and red silk thread on white linen (which was an off-cut from a smock). The pattern was from the Blackwork Embroidery Archives website and was designed by Paula Kate Marmor based on period style (i.e. this is not a period pattern, just periodesque). The pattern is shown below.

Now on the pictures:

Full length of blackwork with measuring tape.


Close up shot of the front side.


And a close up of the reverse side. As you can see, not quite reversible. Still need a bit of practice at getting the ends of the threads nice and neat.


So that's one cuff finished. Now to start on the second one.I'm aiming to have the next one completed by July. Then Miss D gets the fun task of making the frock to go with the cuffs.


*Diversional A&S Projects: The projects you start because you're sick of your current projects. In this case I was sick of doing button holes on my watchcoat and certainly didn't want to face starting to make the covered buttons. Still have one more button hole to go and haven't even started on the covered buttons.