FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
A homage to Nastasya Filippovna
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Because of the situation with Covid I have not had money to buy materials (besides some embroidery thread) so I began my ideas around what I already had - this limit I enjoyed much. I decided that a 1850's jacket would not need that much material and that's what sparked the idea for my Character: Nastasya Filippovna, from the book "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It is one off my favorite books so I thought it would be fun to honour one of the characters on this competition. The Eyes I embroidered are Nastasya Filippovnas, its one of the first things "the Prince" ( the main character of the story) notices, he describes them as "dark, deep eyes". I tried to capture the deepness with several layers of different shades of brown. The eyes are the window to the soul so I wanted them to show her despair and beauty in a subtly hunting way. I choose the lillys as a metaphor for her fate, a dark colored lilly to represent the dark life she has lead. I found a site (Teleflora.com) that described the symbolism of lillys that I think captures what I want to express with them in this piece: "As the flowers most often associated with funerals, lilies symbolize that the soul of the departed has received restored innocence after death". The remaining of the decorations are based on what I usually draw when I doodle, I wanted too include this as a sort of signum.
Outline the construction…
I used red wool for the external layer, cotton for the internal layer and a lot of cotton embroidery thread. I based the jacket on a pattern I already had at home. I have never made a jacket before so it has been a lot of new elements in this process. I began by hemming the edges with a sewing machine. I wanted to try hand sewing, so the remaining elements I have handsewn. I have not handsewn much before so I learned that it is very time-consuming. I have struggled the most with time management, which in the end lead to long nights of sewing. For my next project I will make a more thought-out plan. I also struggled with pain in shoulders and hands, probably because I have no strength in my sewing muscles! I overcame these problems by taking breaks and experimenting with ways to sew ergonomically. Because I have not made anything like this before I had help from my mom explaining the different elements when I was unsure of what to do. I found the cast on stich very interesting, for when I sewed the external and inner layers together, it was fun to learn! I also learned how to blend colors when doing embroidery, very elaborate work but mesmerizing to see the threads grow into a "painting". I used Youtube for embroidery techniques and for ideas as to how to sew the lined corners of the jacket.
Very cool- I love the embroidery!
It’s a beautiful jacket. I love the materials you chose for both outer and the inner lining. I also love the red color with the embroidery.
This is one of my favorites ❤ 😍
That’s beautiful! The embroidery is delightful, and the bolero in itself is adorable!
This is a really neat jacket. The seam lines in the back are beautiful.
So thoughtfully beautiful. The embroidery is just impeccable. 👏
That embroidery!! I just love it ❤
That’s a really beautiful Jacket. I love especially the embroidery.
Oh this is really nice. I love that embroidery work! Thank you!
love this jacket and the embroidery too. Hope you like hand sewing now that you have worked out how to do it more easily and have developed those muscles!