Kay Paczkowsky displayed some of her Dimensional Embroidery at the Buhl Public Library during National Library Week! This is how she describes her embroidery process:
The threads I use consist of fine silks or wools that come from Australia. The majority of my work is done with silk. I begin a piece by thinking about what I want to make, sketch it, and choose my threads and beads. I draw the flower petals, leaves, and all pieces that will stand away from the background fabric and trace, cut, and mount them on wool felt. All stitches are very small and done by hand. After I stitch around each piece I couch a very fine gauge wire over the stitches. Working over the wire, I make long and short stitches filling in each piece with a multitude of tiny stitches, shading as I go. Each petal can take from two to five hours depending on its size and intricacy. When the petals are completed for a flower, I cut them outside the wire edge and stitch them into the desired flower shape and bend and mold them. The centers of the flowers are then finished with decorative stitches and beads. When all pieces are completed I place them on the background fabric and arrange my design. I stitch any background detail on the fabric and then attach the dimensional pieces. A completed picture can take up to four hundred or more hours to finish depending on its size and intricacy. My finished product never turns out exactly like my original idea, but keeps changing as I work. A great deal of the fun is not knowing what I will end up with and being surprised at the outcome.
The threads I use consist of fine silks or wools that come from Australia. The majority of my work is done with silk. I begin a piece by thinking about what I want to make, sketch it, and choose my threads and beads. I draw the flower petals, leaves, and all pieces that will stand away from the background fabric and trace, cut, and mount them on wool felt. All stitches are very small and done by hand. After I stitch around each piece I couch a very fine gauge wire over the stitches. Working over the wire, I make long and short stitches filling in each piece with a multitude of tiny stitches, shading as I go. Each petal can take from two to five hours depending on its size and intricacy. When the petals are completed for a flower, I cut them outside the wire edge and stitch them into the desired flower shape and bend and mold them. The centers of the flowers are then finished with decorative stitches and beads. When all pieces are completed I place them on the background fabric and arrange my design. I stitch any background detail on the fabric and then attach the dimensional pieces. A completed picture can take up to four hundred or more hours to finish depending on its size and intricacy. My finished product never turns out exactly like my original idea, but keeps changing as I work. A great deal of the fun is not knowing what I will end up with and being surprised at the outcome.
