Freemason Cufflinks.

An unusual commission to show you here. A pair of hand embroidered cuff links showing the Freemasons symbol.They were tiny and very fiddly to make. I used a thin machine thread for the embroidery  which is about 1cm in size. The challenge here was getting them to look identical.

Close up of the embroidery , approx 1cm in size. The backing was a navy/black flat silk.

Compass and set square symbol of the Freemasons. mounted in silver plate settings.

Custom requests.

I love it when people have their own ideas for pieces of jewellery. Some can be a challenge, but who doesn't love a challenge? Here are some I have done in the last few months.
     The peacock range was made for the Royal School of Needlework shop to coincide with their Peacocks and Pomegranates exhibition. Details of that on their website. I have not made any pomegranate pieces yet but I'm working on it. I think I am much more drawn to the peacock colours , so they got first look in.

A lily of the valley silk ribbon and silk appliqué necklace. I really wanted to get the effect of the little flowers being like little round bells and quite three dimensional. I think I have achieved it.  

This large silk shaded brooch was done for a lovely mum on Mothers day. Her name ? Iris. Stranded cottons on a white silk backing. 5cms diam.

Close up of the colours, as the flower was so small I had to use stronger colours than I would use on a large project to enable me to get enough shading into a small amount of space.

Three necklaces with the letter G and two silk ribbon roses. Silver rococo thread and sequins make up the letter. 

 

The backing of this brooch is a silver lurex/silk mix which does not really show up in the photo, it really shimmers! Some fabric painting, sequins, beads and freestyle stitching finish it off.

Close up of a silk appliqué necklace with space dyed threads. 

Three peacock silk appliqué necklaces.

Silk appliqué and metallic threads bangle. 

Another initial , this one with three roses and a contrast colour on the sequins.

Close up of the silk roses and silver rococo threads

A freesia and buds in silk ribbon on a wonderful blue silk. 

A large brooch of two ginger toms. A little amount of fabric painting then alot of stripes. I had to do some editing to make the embroidery design simpler than the photographs I was given, but I think it has made the image more striking and therefore a better piece of jewellery.

Bits and blanks.

Some more jewellery pieces. Some new ones for me ; bangles and cufflinks .
        I buy my blanks in bulk from China. This is always a risk as it can be very hard to see the quality, some are great like the blossom bangle below. Others not so much, such as the atomic bangle I made for myself.

A thistle commissioned brooch, I would have probably put a leaf or third bud on this one but the brief was VERY specific. Long and short stitch thistles.I have added some purple metallic thread on the very top of the flower to catch the light. The backing is Campbell tartan silk from James Hare Silks. 

 A snowflake inspired small brooch. Stitched in silver machine thread with a Swarovski crystal centre.  

A cherry blossom bangle, now for sale in my shop. I will be making lots more bangles as I think they are a lovely way to wear embroidery as the person wearing it can also enjoy the embroidery. 

This metal blank was not good value for money, it is really lightweight and the corners are so sharp they catch on your clothes. I cannot use these in my shop so they will all be made up for me like this one. My favourite colour in a space dyed thread , satin stitch circles with antique Italian beads. 

     

Tiny cuff-link snowflakes commission. Machine thread with mini 2mm sequins and glass beads from Prague. The backing is a navy and black shot silk.