#will make a tutorial later

[stellacaerulea]

Night in Ruin

[pseuddamntired]

Needle Lace Resources

This is a very long post, so I'm including a cut.

Tutorial-like Things, Others' Work

An overview of the stages of needle lace (specifically learning from Alençon, I believe. They link to a documentary type of video on Alençon lace): https://www.taixtile.com/needle-lace-first-steps/. This blog has links to other resources (one link is broken, if I recall correctly).

A very approachable first project, I think. From a lace maker who has done very cool illustrations with lace, Maggie Hensel-Brown: https://youtu.be/OLuRpJ96p4Q?si=gqBWqYxa755gFozr

This channel has videos of the stages of needle lace making. They specifically demonstrate Irish lace, I believe. But the stages are very similar to or the same as the stages in Alençon lace. https://youtu.be/dZVagIFCnLc?si=d8lRnPsmz5iTM0Z_

Pierre Fouché has a video about making dense filling stitches and even doing short rows to makes curves (something I tried but did not yet succeed at): https://youtu.be/DK5cMQND3b8?si=qySmT9yaoTcpsUV9 He also does really cool bobbin lace illustrations by constructing patterns in cell-like units.

An embroiderer tries needle lace in two videos. In one of them she tries different styles from different places: https://youtu.be/eTO7dA4oyl4?si=VInx35kql115bIIo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Wa6-Qf5xw

Example of a different style of needle lace. Unsure what it is exactly. Some sort of cut work or reticella, idk: https://youtube.com/shorts/7DFogWC3tDI?si=uju74sPFbRj3_wrn

Sampler directions: https://youtu.be/oDKBfjDYBnU?si=shQYvaT4kAZD7BgV

Again, a more geometric style of needle lace. I don’t know the particulars of this style (styles?), since I’ve mostly been looking into styles similar to Alençon because I’m aiming for more illustration-like lace. This channel has multiple videos demoing and explaining that process: https://youtu.be/gJd6mkrsUCQ?si=AfVIiwljHvfismrX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dk721UwW4

Not so much instructions but video of a very skilled lacemaker working on a project: https://youtu.be/01H2GdEXLrs?si=2suFHSG4Kwa6Yl2m

Another lacemaker's work on their blog. I don’t know if they do as much lace making as they do other needle arts https://www.robesdecoeur.com/blog/needlelace-my-work-so-far

A lacemaker's work... the site is older and kind of tricky to navigate. Like. there's no home button, as far as I can tell. Album of their work: https://www.lacemakerslace.oddquine.co.uk/album/index.html Home page, I think: https://www.lacemakerslace.oddquine.co.uk/

Useful/Interesting Things to Know

Alençon lace -- specific French style from the Alençon region, which has a history of point lace and a current institution dedicated to preserving the skills and producing lace. This is the style that I was looking at examples of to try and learn from.

Search terms like different styles of lace that I’m not qualified to talk about but you can look into and do research on: Battenburg, point de gaze (very very fine work, like gauze)… More to be added as I learn about them.

The terms "needle lace" and "point lace" are both used to refer to lace made with a needle. I'm unclear on if there are subtle distinctions between them or if it's simply a matter of location. But having versions of a search query for both terms should help find more results than just using one.

Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese De Dillmont is an excellent resource to learn how to do different stitches. It seems these stitches mostly come from Irish lace, according to the book. HTML copy of book available on Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/20776-h.htm I recommend using ctrl+f to search for "lace stitch" on the page. The end of each chapter in the HTML version seems to have a link to the Table of Contents that is at the end of the entire document. It has chapters for plenty of other needle arts, so it's a good resource all around.

If you want to find examples of needle lace, look on Wikimedia Commons! Using a variety of search terms will help you find more material for inspiration/observation than otherwise

If you want to design your own needle lace depicting objects, it might be worth looking at stained glass to see how larger shapes are broken up into smaller shapes that still feel complete.

You can use multiple colors! Let yourself use multiple colors, like stained glass!

Thoughts from the Learning Process So Far (some terminology used here, look them up so you know what the actual definitions are, but I’ll define what I mean by them)

Tacking vs Couching... I'm unsure about the actual definitions so I may be using them wrong here. In the videos I’ve seen tacking seems to be making a stitch that runs along the way the cordonnet will run. Couching seems to be just when the thread that secures the cordonnet comes up through the backing and goes down through the backing at the same point. With these definitions… Tacking went faster for me than doing couching, but it feels a lot less secure and precise for the form of lace I’m making. Unless I made the tacking stitches perpendicular to the cordonnet's path, the outline cord moved too much due to tension. If it's perpendicular and not a very short stitch, it might get in the way of your filling stitches or binding off stitches. Which might be fine, since you pull them out anyways. But it would also mean more holes in the backing, and at some point the holes are too close together and might tear the backing and pattern. I don't like that. Couching—much, MUCH more tedious for me because I’m not practiced at making the needle come up in exactly the right spot. but it feels more secure to me. The outline seems to be less affected by tension as you work. And I took some shortcuts for couching that helped. I don’t couch the doubled cord, instead I whip stitch back over the already-secured cord. I might make a post to demonstrate what I mean. It kind of messes with the shape/placement of my cordonnet, but for the sake of my impatience I’m willing to sacrifice the precise shape.

Backing material... To use fabric in backing like the instructions usually say, or not? Idk. For me, it’s hard to find the right hole for the couching stitches when I can't see my pattern from the back. It took a lot of trial and error until I got a feel for how to predict where my needle would come up. I don't like the way the poke-and-check method of stitching the cordonnet down tends to rip the pattern up (at least, with my easy-to-access materials. Probably better with better materials and more practice. Using my thumb to find approximately the right spot helped, but not enough). So I just used a sandwich of tape/paper/tape as my backing. If you're willing to fuss around with fabric in your backing, it might make it easier to remove the couching threads after you're done, and when I tried. The directions I've seen usually say to use a backing of doubled-up fabric, clay paper (I'm unsure what this is. might be a thicker paper than cardstock, or it might be paper made to contain clay particles. Probably more like the first option), and contact paper. My last attempt at making a backing used notebook paper (or other type of paper) with packaging tape on both sides to provide a smooth surface and structure. I think it worked fairly well, and I didn't have to figure out where to buy contact paper (or figure out exactly what contact paper was).

[narsh-poptarts]

Attempt on the mock fit for the vest!! This is the first time I'm doing a bigger clothes-related sewing project so I'm really hoping it goes well

Apollo Justice one day soon I shall be you <3

feat my really dirty mirror

[biblically-accurate-dca]

keep it up!

[pinacoladamatata]

trying a very different approach to color ala tim mcburnie style and it's making me melt. figured i'd share it bc Idk it's more complicated but I like the way it's making me think/plan

thumbnail and rough sketch that i liked so much i turned it into....

and then made several color thumbnails/messed around w them for awhile

until finally settled on this one

and then

so the current foliage lines look like this and they're on 11 different layers (i'll merge some to be back, mid and forground in a bit)

(i also started on solas' head just ignore it for now)

and next step is really spend more time on the construction layer for lavellan and the wolf statue (solas is ready to be lined bc i drew him first)

then color with flats using quick masks instead of by hand like i'm used to c:

this is all wayyyy more layers than i'm used to but I do kind of like it so far; particularly the color thumbnail and construction layer/phase part

[chucklepea-hotpot]

André Kaczmarczyk, I don't know who you had to sell your soul to to make this happen, but it was worth it.

or: @your-friendly-sleep-demoness and I saw Cabaret on stage and now I am a changed person.

[eteisvalssi]

x

[mrsimqle]

Running up the walls rn

[clownowo]

Guardian of the Eastern Gate and the One Entrusted with a Flaming Sword by God: Principality Aziraphale

[majachee]

Sokka's face shape eludes me... very hard to translate it into my round, chubby art style for some reason...??

[mspoodle1]

[bitegore]

Hello artist. Before you is a finished, rendered drawing you have just finished working on. It looks dull and lackluster to you. Your art program has a "color curves" feature. Will you use it to add some variation to your colors, or will you perish like a dog?

[nyaagolor]

lets try this again with the heights lol

Ur a godsend thank you so much!! Sorry for the inconvenience with this-- tumblr sure is a functioning website. That being said:

SV Character Heights but they're actually correct this time

Main Characters: Protagonist: 60 inches - 5'0" Nemona: 66 inches - 5'6" Penny: 60 inches - 5'0" Arven: 65 inches - 5'5" Sada: 67 inches - 5'7" Turo: 70 inches - 5'10" Gym Leaders: Katy: 69 inches - 5'9" (without hat) Brassius: 70 inches - 5'10" Iono: 64 inches - 5'4" (with heels) Kofu: 71 inches - 5'11" Ryme: 67 inches - 5'7" (with heels) Tulip: 77 inches - 6'5" (with heels) Grusha: 68 inches - 5'8" Pokemon League: Rika: 68 inches - 5'8" Poppy: 38 inches - 3'2" Larry: 77 inches - 6'5" Hassel: 77 inches - 6'5" Geeta: 72 inches - 6'0" Academy Teachers: Miriam: 66 inches - 5'6" Tyme: 67 inches - 5'7" Clavell: 67 inches - 5'7" Dendra: 69 inches - 5'9" Jacq: 71 inches - 5'11" Raifort: 73 inches - 6"1" Salvatore: 75 inches - 6'3" (jeez) Saguaro: 77 inches - 6'5" (HELLO????) Team Star: Giacomo: 70 inches - 5'10" Mela: 60 inches - 5'0" Atticus: 67 inches - 5'7" Ortega: 54 inches - 4'6" Eri: 75 inches - 6'3"

[rosykims]

thought abt solas as eurydice again

[veilk]

shoutout to people who make kandi tutorials on youtube forever and ever

[sameboot]

Trying to paint a house without bursting into tears challenge