Mahl stick, homemade version

Now that I am occasionally drawing and painting larger, and using an upright easel, I can see the advantages of using a mahl stick. I looked at them in the store and they are ridiculously expensive!!! As has many times been the case I thought "I can make that!"

This whole project took about 10 minutes, including sanding the dowel. OK, it was 15 if you count the time I spent gathering materials. The cost was less than $2 (I picked up the dowel at an estate sale for $1). Way better than the nearly $30 the store wanted for a mahl stick.  Sheesh!

My version of the mahl stick cannot be disassembled for easy transport, but I do not care. I took a four foot long, 3/8" oak dowel I happened to have lying around for the stick. If you don't have one lying around your house you can go to the store and get one. Even places like Michael's and Home Depot sell these, maybe not in oak though. Or you could go crazy and use walnut! Just make sure it is not all crooked and wonky. I then took a scrap of old t-shirt from my rag bag and wadded it up for the filling. I traced a circle in a scrap of leather I had lying around, cut it out, and tied it around the end using some silk fingerloop braid I wove years ago.

I thought about staining and finishing the oak, maybe putting a handle on it, and also a loop at the end so I can hang it up. Maybe I'll do those things later, or on another version. This one is fancy enough for now.

The scrap leather came from the bargain scrap bin at Tandy's. If you don't have that available there are suede-like fabrics at the fabric store, or use a scrap of cloth or something. Also it can be tied with plain twine. I just got all fancy 'cause I could, and because I like it.

Kumihimo: eight bobbin flat cord

I tried a new kumihimo pattern. This eight bobbin pattern was more fun than the last one I tried. I used crochet cotton because it is cheap. At the end of the cord I split it into two group of four cords and made a four bobbin cord from each one. That has interesting possibilities. It looks a little different on each side; I like the zig-zag side better.

A quickly written Needlebook Tutorial

Someone posted a request on h-needlework about how to make a needlebook. I do not have any information on the historical accuracy or use of needlebooks in period (SCA, that is) but the books I make are small and practical. I would love to hear from anyone that has information about needlebooks in period.

I have made several as it is a great small way to try out a pattern, material or technique and get a usable item as a result. They also make great gifts. My first needlebook had many pages and I still use it, but it is a bit bulky. The small roll up design (from an older post, below) is great for tucking into my purse for a carry along project. At least it was until I lost it recently. The little roll up model, some thread, embroidery scissors and a small project (like another needlebook) fit easily into a small ziplock bag.

The design I make now has only two pages which are actually one piece of fabric folded in half and stitched through the middle to the lining. I like to put the same size needle on each page and I have different needlebooks for different types of needles. I keep one book for the needles of my current project. I also make my needlebooks with a little pocket on the inside. The pocket holds my needle threader so it is always in the same place as my needles. It is less easy to forget things when they are all together!

A small needlebook that is big enough to hold most needles need only be two inches by three inches (or 5 by 8 cm) when closed. Or make one as big as you want.



The picture above shows different views of my most recent needlebook. The cover is two pieces of linen sewn together; one has the blackwork and the other is plain red linen that matched the wool I used for the lining. The inside picture shows the pocket attached to the lining with the pages turned to one side. This needlebook is approximately 2.5 by 4 inches.

Needlebook cover

The cover can be a single embroidery folded in half, two embroideries, or half embroidery and the back side plain fabric. Do whatever you want, there are lots of options. The "spine" can be left plain or have a ribbon or cord attached so as tie the book onto a belt.

Lining the needlebook

I line my needlebooks with felted wool. It is thick enough to give the book structure so I do not have to add cardboard or some other stiffening (keeping it simple). For embroidery that will cover the entire surface of the base fabric I use linen congress cloth because it is stiff enough that it can be easily worked without a hoop (fits into my purse) and provides some additional stiffness to the needlebook.

Cut a piece of felted wool the same size as the cover; stitch together. Leave a gap in the stitching where the cords to tie the book together will be placed. It will be much easier to attach the ties by sewing them into the seam if there is a little gap for them to fit into. Or, don't leave a gap and learn this the hard way. Sometimes that is the only way some of us learn.

The pocket is a piece of fabric cut exactly half the size of the lining. Turn under the edges 1/4 inch (or 0.5cm) and stitch to the lining. I place the opening of the pocket towards the center of the book rather than the edge. That way things don't fall out and get lost.

Now cut another piece of felted wool slightly smaller than the finished size of the book (about 1/4 inch or 0.5cm), and stitch it to the lining down the middle to create two pages. Trim any excess as needed. The nice thing about using felted wool for pages is that the edges do not have to be finished in any way because the wool does not fray (again, keeping it simple).

Tying it together

I use ties of the same cord as the edging to tie my books together. Just make sure to think about where the ties will go before stitching the cover to the lining or finishing the edge seam. I like to stitch the ties in before I finish the edges. Sometimes I get excited and forget, then when I realize this I say curse words.

Another method of closing is to use a loop and button. Here is an opportunity to use a pretty button!

Finishing the edges

When the outside and lining are stitched together there is a seam edge which may be left plain or the edge can be finished in various ways. I think a finished edge adds a special touch.

One way to finish the edges is with an embroidered braid. There is an excellent tutorial on the Medieval Silkwork blog here:
http://m-silkwork.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial
This technique looks nice and has period documentation. I fingerlooped a matching cord to tie the book shut using only two loops.

Another technique is to sew a ready made cord to the seam. I have tried fingerloop braid and kumihimo. I generally use kumihimo because it is so much easier for me to do and my kumihimo looks nicer than my fingerloop braiding.

A third technique is to use tablet woven edging. Maxlu179 has a very nice photo of this type of edging in progress on a pouch he made:
http://maxlu179.livejournal.com/8947.html

I hope this information is helpful to anyone who is interested in making a needlebook. They are really fun!

Another needlecase...

Thanks Helene! (see the link to Helene's blog in the "Blogs with neat stuff" list at right) Helene patterned a motif from a German embroidery similar to one I had been thinking of patterning. Now I don't have to. In the picture of the original I noticed that the motif I wanted was also in the embroidery. I looked at her pattern and saw how I could easily adapt it for what I wanted. I used four stands of DMC cotton embroidery floss on 24 count linen Congress cloth (which is quite stiff). I am going to make a needlebook out of it. Yes, I keep making them but I find it is a nice way to try something out because the size is small and I like to make usable things. I don't want a bunch of stitching samples that I just keep in a box. Since I liked the pattern I am going to do it again, this time in wool and it will be a pouch, I think. I am still working on Vyncent's blackwork shirt but this little project was my carry around project to fit in my purse. I worked on it during free time/breaks at work. I couldn't take the shirt there so it doesn't count as a distraction, really!

And the colors are really that bright. They will show up nicely against my navy blue wool dress. It looks better in person than in the photo.

The cord next to it is a four bobbin kumihimo cord made with the DMC floss (six strands per bobbin). I am going to use it for ties and to cover the seams.

Kumihimo: four and eight bobbin cord

I saw in the Yahoo A&S 50 digest some discussion of Kumihimo cord so I thought I'd post the eight bobbin cord I just finished. It is the green and yellow one. The red and white is a four bobbin cord for comparison. Both are made from Trebizonid silk, one strand per bobbin. It really is lovely and makes great cord. I use it for chemise ties, to finish the edges of my embroidery projects, and plan to use for lacing of garb and whatever else I can think of. The Weavershand website (link on the right under "Links I like") had lots of information on kumihimo as well as inkle, fingerloop and a host of other things.

Cord happy

I love my maru dai (braiding stand)! I have been going cord happy, using up all the thread I bought when I was experimenting with different types of embroidery thread. I also made some fine cord with linen thread for plain chemise ties. The black and red cord was made with 12-ply Splendor silk floss while the black and white was also made with Splendor but split into 2 strands per bobbin instead of 12.

Maru dai bobbins

Work continues on my maru dai stand. I really wanted to make some bobbins for it so I could start using it even though I haven't finished sanding or gluing. First I tried the bobbins that look like spools but on those the thread is kept from unwinding by tying a certain kind of knot and I wasn't very good at that. My bobbins kept unwinding and it was giving me sour face.

Next I started on a version of bobbin I found in the book which is my primary source so far, The Big Book of Sling and Rope Braids by Rodrick Owen (ISBN-10: 0304348252, ISBN-13: 978-0304348251). I have used that book alone to teach myself braiding and so far, so good. This next bobbin was problematic; the corkscrew of wire that is inserted in the top of the dowel was hard to twist and impossible to make look nice and even. Then, I had an epiphany! I dug into my picture hanging kit box and took some brass loops, the kind that screw into the back of the picture frame that the picture hanging wire fastens to. The ends were pointed and threaded like wood screws (since they are supposed to be screwed into picture frame backs, go figure) so they went into the ends of my dowels really well (pilot holes helped!). Then I took a pair of pliers and pried the loop open so thread could fit in the loop and voila! it worked perfectly and looked attractive. I only made six since that is how many wooden discs I had so I photographed the stand with a sample four strand braid. It is sitting amongst the lavender in my newly renovated front yard.

Note in the picture that I used metal washers as counterweights; they are a little difficult to see in this picture. I liked them because I could vary the weight on the counterweight, also they fit perfectly on the 3/8" dowel so I can vary the weight (and thus tension) on the bobbins.

My first attempt at a maru dai and kumihimo

I started taking a woodworking class though the local adult education and I am hooked! For my first project I made a kumihimo braiding stand called a maru dai. Although is it not finished yet I wanted to try it out to make sure the dimensions were good. I liked it a lot and now I will finish it. I tried this type of braiding once before using a quickie cardboard contraption but the wood stand is much nicer to use.

I made a simple four strand braid for my first attempt and it turned out pretty well. The thread is some silk my friend Renee gave me. She dyed it using indigo and tumeric. I also have to work out a better system for the bobbins and counterweight. I don't like tying a slip knot around the bobbin and for the counterweight I used a spool of solder and some wire my boyfriend was using that happened to be handy. I'll post another picture when I have that worked out.