Silk done!! (Just kidding)

I couldn’t wait to share…I finished the silk stitching on the Bargello Roll!

You know I keep calling it the Bargello Roll but it is really called A Lady’s Sewing Roll. It was designed by Jackie DuPlessis and Diane Jourdan of Sampler Cove for The Elegant Stitch (a shop that is now closed, it was owned by Lois who is also the person behind the wonderful trims and things of Lady Dot Creates) and was exclusive to that shop. I don’t remember when I first saw the design … probably I was hunting for something else… but once I saw it I scoured the internet to buy the pattern. I must have looked for it for a couple years and at last I found one listed on eBay. It was the most money I’ve ever spent on a pattern. I won’t say how much! But I feel I’ve gotten every penny’s worth. I mean look at all that stitching!!

I tested out the metallic thread. It is Bijoux from Access Commodities. The color is called Pyrite. You stitch it with 4 strands! This is what it looks like. It will not take too long to do this but I will need to move the hoop frequently! It’s not the pain in the neck that Kreinik can be-it’s much softer and not as shreddy-but I do need to keep on with the laying tool to achieve maximum sparkle!

The finishing is intimidating! I have read the directions and was completely overwhelmed. And I discovered much to my dismay I actually have more stitching to do! The triangle point needs to be stitched twice to make a pocket on the inside flap of the roll! I’m glad I saved the bigger piece of linen I cut for the roll so I have more available to stitch for this part. I saved it because there are also 2 smalls with this set, a fob and a pin keep. I think I will also stitch those. They are considerably less stitching than the roll!!! And the finished of THOSE is much more manageable! There is plenty of linen for all of this.

Procuring the finishing materials will be tricky. I have 4 colors of Thai silk but none of them are a good match. You are supposed to use a pinky-rose color that matches the red-pink part. My pink silk is definitely salmon not rose. You also need a kind of perforated suede ribbon. I wish there was a brand or a close up picture of it in the chart pack so I could tell exactly what that is! I may just have to do my own thing! The easiest item to get will be the ribbon for the tassels. That is just from Gloriana but I will still have to order it. Maybe this won’t be an FFO in January after all!