Work continues to gnaw on my life and spit out the bones, but I do have something to share. Caroline, a regular reader of the blackwork discussion group on Yahoo, used a line unit pattern from TNCM to make a sweet biscornu:

The pattern she chose is the Brier Rose Twining Border (Plate 51:1). It’s one of my own as opposed to a pattern with a specific period source, and it’s one of my faves. I really like the way she’s taken the corner and adapted it to fill the top of her pincushion with a chaplet of roses. I’ve used the rose pattern several times, but always as a longer border run either with or without the corner; and I’ve never played with working the flowers and stems in different colors.

What’s a biscornu? It’s a little eight sided pillow-type pincushion, made up from two squares of fabric of the same size. They often have a bead, button or stitch dimpling the center to accentuate the shape. Some are stitched on both side, some on one. Biscornus have become more popular recently, with the enthusiasm for them starting in Europe a couple of years ago. Their popularity has blossomed because they’re a charming little project, ideal for showing off counted or freehand embroidery. They’ve been featured in recent issues of both print and on-line stitching magazines and blogs, with lots of free patterns on line. There’s a nice article about making biscornus here.

To get the odd shape (which is the origin of the name, from the French for “quirky,” or “odd shape”), the two squares are sewn so that the points of one square align with the center of the sides of the other (think about taking the two and matching them exactly, then give one of the squares an eighth of a turn clockwise or counterclockwise). Caroline has finished hers especially nicely, with neatly done stitching along the seam. You can see the point of her bottom square matching up with the center of the stitching on her top, ornamented one.

In any case, great job Caroline! A lovely (and useful) little project. I’m delighted that she thought to share the joy of her needle with me, and that she consented to give permission for me to share it with you.

If you’ve stitched, knit or otherwise worked something from one of my patterns and would like to see it posted in String’s gallery, please let me know.

Technorati : biscornu, blackwork, counted-thread, embroidery