Fragment Restoration

I found this scrap at the free store. A sumptuous little piece of embroidery, which looks like it was cut from something larger and very ineptly hemmed.

I cleaned it by dusting gently with a soft clothes brush. Then I used an old toothbrush to clean around the glass beads, which are not round, but square on the bottom with a half dome on top. The heavy cotton threads wraps around and keep them secure - there is no hole to go through. Very unusual!

After removing the orange backing cloth I used a strip of an old black linen shirt to bind the edge. Then, with perle cotton, I did a buttonhole stitch followed by a row of unattached buttonhole to create an edging. With a purple embroidery floss I stitched the piece through all three layers of block printed border, cotton batting, and the original backing cloth, which I had washed and pressed.

Then, I hand quilted the circles in the border print. I wanted to create a stable backing, but didn't want to introduce a directional line.

To finish, I tried binding the edges with a burgundy cotton that once lined a Japanese kimono. I stuffed the binding with an upholstery cording to give added dimension. I didn't like the effect so made prairie points for the first time, and was happy with the lively edge they create.

Voila!