Goldwork – Week Two

Study Abroad in London: Week two of Goldwork by Giovanna Veltre. 

Our second week of Goldwork, we learned how to pad with soft cotton. We also learned a technique called cut-work. Padding with the soft cotton versus felt allowed us to manipulate the cotton threads into the exact shape we needed to stitch over. After we padded with the soft cotton, we began the cut-work. We threaded through cut pieces of bright check and pearl purl. We stitched these over the soft cotton.

Cut-work was the last gold technique we learned. After completing goldwork, we moved onto our final motifs. We pricked and pounced our designs onto the canvas.

After the design was pricked, we applied the pounce to the design. Then, we used gold watercolor to keep the design from smudging on the canvas.

After the transfer was complete, we then began stitching. I decided to use satin stitch for the petals. As my stitching progressed, I started to experiment with other techniques; I used French knots because I liked how voluminous they could be. I then used felt padding to create the same effect. My design is very colorful, so when I used the gold, I incorporated the wool threads. I stretched the pearl purl and then wrapped the wool threads around them. I then couched these hybrid threads onto the felt padding.

I really enjoyed working on our final motifs and I am excited to continue this in my practice. Overall, the second week of goldwork was a lot of fun and I have learned so much. I miss it already.