Earlier this week I got the monthly catalog from my favorite sources for embellishments, Fire Mountain Gems. In the catalog were several pages of lovely copper flowers. They are intended to be joined together to make various necklaces or other jewelry, but they have fantastic possibilities for needlepoint.
This search takes you to many different copper components. You’ll find the flowers in the last half of page 1 and first half of page 2.
The components are colored with epoxy and all have a gold finish. While they some dimension, they have flat or nearly-flat backs, as you can see in the side view, above. This means they will sit beautifully on your needlepoint. There are many styles, sizes, and colors.
They vary in size from 14mm (about 1/2 inch) to around 1 inch for the largest. This makes them an excellent scale for needlepoint. They will fit on many canvases. Right now they have 16 different designs on their site.
I think these could be great focal points on a needlepoint piece or you could use a bunch of them to create a garden. One warning though, they are a bit expensive, the smaller ones are $3.42 and the larger ones are $5.83 when bought in packages of 2 components.
Attaching the Components
The simplest ones to attach have a hole in the center, above. To attach these use a large seed bead, or Pony Bead.Bring your needle up through the center of the flower and through the bead. Bring it back into the canvas, skipping the bead and only going through the center of the flower.
Because the bead is the flower’s center it can match or contrast.
Other components, above, have areas of narrow lines of exposed metal as well as the center hole. Often these are larger so they will need additional attachments beyond the center bead/ To attach these use a very thin metallic, such as Petite Treasure Braid from Rainbow Gallery, to match the metal. After you have attached it through the center,start attaching it by going over some of the exposed metal lines with the metallic thread.
You don’t need to do this with every line, four at the compass points is the minimum for secure attachment. You might want to do more so that a pattern is created in the metallic.
Finally, a few components, above, have neither of these things. These are the hardest to attach. The process is the same as with the metal lines type but you will need to decide in advance where you will attach the flower so that your thread will match. If you are attaching over the petals, make your stitches on each petal fdor a good connection. If you are attaching over the center, make at least three stitches.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Marie White says
Great idea! ???