Back to Heraldry A&S Main Page Back to Merouda.Com Tent Stitch Instructions Tent Stitch Defined with reference to period examples Beaded Edging Scroll down the page to find the PDF file offering instructions to make a beaded edging. There are also several articles on beaded embroidery, patterns for beaded heraldic tokens, and a lot of nice primary examples. See also the beaded veil in Clothing Accessories 1. Other Sites, Supporting Documents Designs, Period Various period patterns for period needlework, including heraldic elements. Middle Kingdom Needlework Counted cross-stitch and machine embroidery patterns for all Kingdom arms, Middle kingdom baronies, badges of office, and all Middle Kingdom awards. I’m not fond of machine embroidery, and would use tent stitch rather than cross stitch, myself, but the patterns are there for you, no matter how you choose to interpret them. Atlantian Embroiderers' Guild: Awards and Badges. Patterns for Atlantia’s awards, nice blackwork borders for members of the Chivalry and the Laurel, populace badges for all kingdoms. This site also contains a set of instructions for embroidering napkins/covers/handkerchiefs with waste canvas here.	Heraldic Arts and Sciences: Beyond the Banner and Shield Part 6: The Experiment that Became a Cup Cover As simple and as wrong as this project is, this is one of my favorites. Why? It's a great example of learning through experimentation to create something useful and SCA-compatible, even if you don't create perfection. Let me be clear, however: it was an experiment in period techniques, but the current product is best considered "peri-oid." This project came to life as part of an experiment in natural dyeing. Once the cloth had been dyed and run through the wash several times, I decided to embroider a giant purple phaeon upon it: the household badge of House Redhair. Eventually, I had a lovely square of natural dyed cloth with a phaeon embroidered upon it and no real idea of what to do with it. It sat a while. At some point in time, I saw a cup cover made with a beaded edging. In period, cups were covered in a variety of ways. There are many period examples of the hinged lids one sees on beer steins, and one of my favorite covered cups is the double cup at The Cloisters, a later period German cup that features a second piece that may serve as both a fitted cover for the cup and as a secondary cup. The Cloisters double cup even features a set of colored arms as decoration. However, I did not know any of that when I first saw the beaded edging on the round of cloth covering a small silver goblet in an A&S display. I just saw a cool and useful thing that fit the ambiance, and I wanted one. I had no clue how to create the beaded edging, but twentieth century fashion eventually brought an unexpected solution to me: clothing with beaded trim became fashionable. I found some very simple beaded trim in black and dark yellow, and suddenly, I had a way to get what I wanted. Even better, I'd finally have something useful to do with that small pheon embroidery. To replicate this project, you will need: · Even weave cloth. I used aida. Linen would be more period. · Freshly harvested dandelion blooms. · Alum · Water · Pans and basins (to boil the water and create the dye bath) · Tape · Embroidery needle · Sewing needle · Cotton crochet thread. Embroidery floss in silk or wool would be more period. In appropriate colors. · Embroidery hoop (optional) · Sewing thread in appropriate colors. · Wash-out pen. I used “Crayola Washable.” (optional. You could use pen and graph paper to create a counted chart, instead. The point is that you need to have a pattern to work from; there is a lot of evidence in period of patterns being drawn or traced directly on to the ground material.) · Embroidery clips/ small scissors. · Beaded trim. · Backing cloth Steps: · Cut cloth to size. This item is approximately 5"x5". · Dye the cloth. The process I used to dye this cloth is covered in this article. · Tape the ends of the cloth to prevent fraying. · Transfer design to cloth; I drew it directly on the cloth with the washable ink pen. More complex designs may need to be charted or done as freeform embroidery. · Thread the embroidery needle with crochet cord/embroidery floss, place the cloth in the hoop, and begin to embroider! · Remove tape, sew the beaded trim to the edges of the cloth. The beads should fall towards the center of the cloth. · Press the beaded trim over. The beads should now fall away from the cloth. · Sew the backing to the edges of the beaded trim. You are done. I am satisfied with the cover, although I think that I may later open up the backing and stuff it with cotton and herbs, that I may instead use it as a sweet bag. It's a multipurpose item! If I were to do this again, I would likely hem the embroidery cloth and sew the beading directly to the back, or just make a typical beaded edging, as in the last picture example below. The primary advantage of the current configuration is the protection the embroidered section will receive as a result of the backing. As far as the trim goes, I would also choose something with a heavier bead, and I may yet alter this project by attaching large end beads. I tried to use this beading in the same way as one uses anchored cording, and it's not really meant to be flipped and sandwhihed between two layers of cloth.
		The cover in its halfway state. The cloth has been dyed, the embroidery done, and the tape removed from the edges. The embroidery is just tent stitch. I used purple cotton crochet cord, as this was one of those spur-of-the-moment projects that I created with what I had on hand.
		A scrap of the beaded trim I used to substitute for a beaded edging. It's meant to be applied directly, but I didn't really realize it until after I'd committed to using it as a turned trim. The beads are black and dark yellow. I chose this because I wanted the cup cover to carry a mark of my heraldry as well as the House Redhair badge. The bead colors seemed a subtle way to do so.
		The back of the cup cover, sewn to the folded ribbon of the beaded trim. The back of the cover is slightly smaller than the front, to assist in keeping the beaded trim folded over. I was at Pennsic when I sewed these components together, and had to improvise regarding the pressing. I ended up folding the trim under and setting the cover under a stack of books for a couple of days.
		The cup cover in its final form.
		The cup cover in use at Pennsic. It's lovely for keeping bugs and debris out of my drink, for indicating that it's my cup and that it's in use, and for quickly locating the thing from far off while it's on a crowded, crowded table.
		A more traditional beaded cup cover. Red and white beaded edging around a circular cloth. It drapes more gracefully than the square, embroidered cover, but I generally use it as a veil for one of my sock monkey friends. Red and white serve as the household livery colors. The instructions for this sort of bead edging can be found through the link indicated above.