Frost is a medium-weight 100% rayon floss made by EdMar-Co. for Brazilian dimensional embroidery. Frost is temperamental. Frost is wannabe Lola, but picky, picky, picky about being used.
Don't give up on Frost, though, and give away all of your Frost to your Friends. You can do a lot with it (besides making tassels). It's all in the needle you choose, all in how you work with it.
Frost has a twist similar to Lola - try a rolled rose with Lola and next to it, make a rolled rose with Frost. You'll see they look the same; one is only smaller.
There are some interesting things one can try to make Frost your Floss Friend. First, if you are making bullions, try a larger (#1 milliners needle) instead of the #3 usually recommended. You can work your bullion down to the correct diameter as you finish the stitch.
Because of its twist, Frost (and Lola) produce realistic, rounded flower stems and are a perfect choice for leaves with parallel veins, such as lilies, tulips, iris and other flowers.
The upper curved line is a flower stem made with Frost using Brazilian outline stitch, in which the floss is held below the line of stitching (exactly the opposite of S-twist threads shown in needlework stitch books).
The lower stitching shows the floss held below, but I'm also stitching a lily leaf with side-by-side rows of outline stitch. See?
Now I'm going to talk about Frost and its kinky habits. Bad Frost! Bad Frost!
See the arrow in the picture above, pointing to a nice collection of twisties, just while I'm making ONE little stitch! *sigh* (You can double click the picture if you want a REALLY good close-up...)
I've found out (oh, by the way, I do my outline and stem stitching with an embroidery or chenille needle with a larger eye. It just seems to work better.) that - with Lola and Frost, and especially if you are doing some satin stitch - you can 'unwind' the floss. The other thing you can do is to LIFT the stitch a little ways with your needle and then settle it back in place. Somehow this relaxes the twist and the threads look nicer.
OK, I exaggerated a bit in the photo above, but when you try it, you'll see what I mean. Lifting or 'un-twisting' your floss (or dropping your needle) are a good idea when working with our lovely rayon.
Here I've lifted it a bit before settling it in place -- and you should try that while holding a camera and snapping pictures!
Here's the finished lily leaf and the stem, all stitched with Frost:
Oh! --and those stamens up there? Well I'll give you a twofers.
That is my own discovery (and a much better pistil stitch) - that I have named "Cast-on Pistil Stitch". For those who read here, you've gotten the entire tutorial when I first developed the stitch. It's here and here, or you can go back to the September 2011 posts.
Just always remember, when you make a Cast-on Pistil Stitch, you come up where you want the knot to be. See?
Then take your fabric bite (the length of the pistil stem). Come back up where you want the knot to be and cast on one or two times.
Place the floss behind the needle, and go down and out right there (you can't go down and out anywhere else!):
This is a better picture of the leaf and stem made with Frost. This is also from one of my newest Millefiori designs, which I named "South of the Border". (I should have given it a "Lily" name because it has several new Brazilian dimensional embroidery stitches and ideas for lilies. I stitched the original design with lots of hot salsa colors, and now I'm trying another version with more muted, gentle lily colors (or will try to). I'll keep snapping pictures and sharing them. Here's the original Millefiori design which will be available for you to stitch in a couple of months, South of the Border:
Don't give up on Frost, though, and give away all of your Frost to your Friends. You can do a lot with it (besides making tassels). It's all in the needle you choose, all in how you work with it.
Frost has a twist similar to Lola - try a rolled rose with Lola and next to it, make a rolled rose with Frost. You'll see they look the same; one is only smaller.
There are some interesting things one can try to make Frost your Floss Friend. First, if you are making bullions, try a larger (#1 milliners needle) instead of the #3 usually recommended. You can work your bullion down to the correct diameter as you finish the stitch.
Because of its twist, Frost (and Lola) produce realistic, rounded flower stems and are a perfect choice for leaves with parallel veins, such as lilies, tulips, iris and other flowers.
The lower stitching shows the floss held below, but I'm also stitching a lily leaf with side-by-side rows of outline stitch. See?
I've found out (oh, by the way, I do my outline and stem stitching with an embroidery or chenille needle with a larger eye. It just seems to work better.) that - with Lola and Frost, and especially if you are doing some satin stitch - you can 'unwind' the floss. The other thing you can do is to LIFT the stitch a little ways with your needle and then settle it back in place. Somehow this relaxes the twist and the threads look nicer.
Here's the finished lily leaf and the stem, all stitched with Frost:
That is my own discovery (and a much better pistil stitch) - that I have named "Cast-on Pistil Stitch". For those who read here, you've gotten the entire tutorial when I first developed the stitch. It's here and here, or you can go back to the September 2011 posts.
Just always remember, when you make a Cast-on Pistil Stitch, you come up where you want the knot to be. See?
I hope these hints and tips for using Frost will encourage you to give it a try. After I finished my embroidery, I looked around for The Cats. Usually they are sleeping on top of my table under my bright light and tactlessly suggesting that I go somewhere else to stitch. Cuthbert, however, is safely hidden in a new box, out of sight of Emmy (in the background, caring less...)
Rosalie
Digitizing services is a trailblazer in the realm of digitizing services, specializing in transforming intricate designs into stunning embroidered masterpieces. Our team of seasoned professionals leverages cutting-edge technology and a profound understanding of design intricacies to bring your vision to life with precision and finesse.
ReplyDelete