Framing my Antique Sewing machine

My best stitch out of the Antique Sewing machine, GFE-ASM-1-18 was done on my favourite silk, a shot oyster coloured dupion. Since these designs were released in 2018, it has been waiting to be framed, so it could sit in pride of place in my embroidery studio. Fortunately it was embroidered on a large piece of silk, because the edges had frayed badly over the years. It had also become folded, so no matter how hard I pressed it the fold is now viewable in some lights.

My stitch out of this design, which has around 112,000 stitches, was done in one hooping with my 360mm x 200mm hoop using two layers of stitch and tear. Upon reflection I think I would have got slightly better results if I had backed the silk with something like Floriani’s Dream Weave. The extra expense to do this would have been well worth the extra cost. This design takes a while to stitch out and there are 64 thread changes, so you need to give yourself plenty of time.

However I do not apologise for the many thread changes, as believe me it was necessary for the machine to look realistic. I used a total of 42 different colours, including at least 7 shades of grey, which were needed to give depth to the machine. Looking back I have no idea how long it took me to digitize it, but it was an enormous challenge at the time. It remains one of my all time favourites.

I believe I adhered to all the correct colours for my stitch out and I used a metallic silver thread for colours #4 and 51. This little sparkle adds to the beauty of this design. I think you will agree with me that the needle in the machine should be stitched with metallic thread. This design measures 339.6mm x 198.7mm (13.37" by 7.82").

Having pressed it as best I could I worked out where to trim it for the lovely matt silver frame I had bought. Over the years the frame had become nicely “distressed”, but I didn’t mind as it gave it an antique look. A plywood insert was perfect to wrap the embroidery around. The embroidery was just a little short on one side so I needed to hide this in some way. I decided that my favourite Nottingham lace as an inner surround would be perfect! This was held in place with a little fabric glue.

I experimented with staples and strong tape, and opted for the latter which held everything in place. I attached one side and then stretched and attached it on the other side. Then I did the same for the top and bottom.

Here is my finished framed embroidery. I am delighted with how it all turned out. It is a shame that it took me so long to display it next to where I sit when I am embroidering! Maybe I will be inspired to do another to match it. If I do I hope it doesn’t take another six years or more to frame it.

During the remainder of June, you can purchase the 22 designs in the Antique Sewing machine set for just $12.50, which is a 50% discount. You can embroider out just the machine in a 200mm x 200mm hoop, and add the flowers later. The machine can also be stitched out in a 5" by 7" hoop and there is a separate zip of designs and a detailed PDF tutorial for doing this. I have seen this design used for machine covers but I would love to see it embroidered on the back of a jacket! I think somebody did this but I confess I cannot find the photos. Maybe it was a dream.

Happy embroidering from Hazel