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From: Bama
Date: 09-06-2004, 12:32 AM (1 of 11)
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Years ago, I made alot of pillows with chicken scratch (sometimes called snowflake embroidery) or candle wicking on them. Long before I started making quilts. I had forgotten all about those techniques until I ran into an old friend I used to work with years ago. She asked me if I still made them. I said no, not in a very long time. Hmmmmmm......... I ran a search on Google and found alot of sites. An elderly man that we worked for taught me the chicken scratch embroidery. He and his wife made beautiful quilts with chicken scratch. I learned how to do candle wicking in Home Ec. class. Looks like there's one more thing added to my want to do list.  Someday  Maybe I'll start with a couple of small things, like Christmas ornaments. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116 
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From: Magot
Date: 09-06-2004, 03:10 AM (2 of 11)
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I've never seen chicken scratch before Bama, very country look. You could do small hearts for Christmas cards to scratch your chicken itch!
love and kisses, Jan
Guts-R-Us Cells a Speciality DNA to order. |
User: Magot
Member since: 12-22-2002 Total posts: 3626 
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From: Karebear
Date: 09-06-2004, 07:50 AM (3 of 11)
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Bama... Well I have a site bookmarked for the scratch.. and I have printed out the freebie heart... I LOVE this Sew-whats-knew... I can have all of these dreams of need to s which keeps me young and ALIVE> Thanks Karen Karen
http://www.dancingwicks.com "If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." --Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
User: Karebear
Member since: 01-24-2002 Total posts: 338 
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From: Bama
Date: 09-06-2004, 10:48 PM (4 of 11)
Magot, Christmas cards are a good idea.  I was thinking about doing the hearts and making little stuffed ornaments with them. The couple that made the chicken scratch quilts used mainly star patterns that looked like traditional quilt blocks. Beautiful!! I think it would be pretty along the bottom edge of curtains too. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 09-08-2004, 07:18 PM (5 of 11)
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Bama, I have a UFO that is a star (one of those 8 pointed ones) on peach colored gingham.. I think I may finish it and make a pillow out of it.. Its the traditional look, not the abbreviated kind like that freebie heart pattern.. My Mother taught me how to do that.. She was 70 when she learned how (my age now) and I was 50. (I think both of us showed that you are never too old to learn) We made Christmas ornaments, pillow tops, pockets for aprons and then a matching border on the apron..I loved that work, I could do it while watching TV in the evenings.. I was working back then, and liked to do something like that in the evenings.. 
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
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From: Bama
Date: 09-08-2004, 11:12 PM (6 of 11)
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Libby, what kind of shapes did you do for the ornaments? The chicken scratch I did looked like the stitches on that heart pattern, with white floss making the "circles" and the dark floss only on the white squares in a double crossstitch. How is the traditional kind different? I'm thinking now about doing something on a Christmas stocking. Guess what I found? A chicken scratched square of a dove that I did YEARS ago. It's on brown gingham  but at least I can refer to it to remind me of the stitches. I know I still have a book of patterns from the 80's somewhere in the sewing room closet....I rarely ever throw out a craft book.Anyone ever seen burgundy or barn red gingham anywhere?? |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: Bama
Date: 09-08-2004, 11:20 PM (7 of 11)
| I just remembered, that man that taught me that stitch used a small crochet cotton for his embroidery thread. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 09-10-2004, 08:40 PM (8 of 11)
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The traditional was is this... 1. There are 3 kinds of squares on gingham.. Solid color, lighter color, and white.. 2. on the solid color squares make a Smyrna Stitch.. X over another X to make it look similar to *.. 3. on the lighter colored make an X. 4. Now,,, on the white squares, take your needle under the thread on each of the 4 sides and do this 3 times (3 circles) in each white square.. --- I suggest you take a piece of gingham (large check) and make a test piece. a diamond shape or square or circle... Outline your shape with a contrasting thread so you will know where to work and then go to it.. If you will notice, all the embroidery is done with white thread, no colored thread, like that heart had.. I was taught that this method I described was the traditional way to do 'chicken scratch'..Now , here is a site that does use color as an outline.. check the animal pillows , scroll down under the 2 books that show first..http://www.goldingcraft.com/chickscr.htm These are really cute.. We always just made what looked lace shapes with the all white.. Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022
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From: Bama
Date: 09-11-2004, 07:04 PM (9 of 11)
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Thanks Libby, If I'm understanding it right, it sounds like the difference in the traditional way and the way I stitched it is the medium colored square. I always stitched just a dash - in them, not an X, and connected stitches around them to form the white circles. I'll have to try your way too. 
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User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: plrlegal
Date: 09-12-2004, 10:06 PM (10 of 11)
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Bama here's a web site that has the general directions for chicken scratch embroidery www.pegasusor.com/chicinst.htm I'm in a quilt group with a lady that does beautiful chicken scratch embroidery and has made several quilts with it. I'm in the process of learning. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 09-13-2004, 01:05 PM (11 of 11)
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I stand corrected... The dash on the mixed color square is correct.. I looked at that example on that website and that is exactly like we did..(with the exception of the dark color outlines) That is new to me.. we only did geometric designs..
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022
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