STUMPWORK TUTORIAL - Behind the Neck and Clothing

Previous parts of the tutorial can be found here:

Part 5 - Behind the Neck and Clothing

Here is the fifth part of a tutorial for stumpwork portraits, inspired by Fay Maxwell, whose excellent book Ladies with Hatitude I warmly recommend.

BEHIND THE NECK

If you want a scarf, necklace or collar to go behind the neck, this is how to add it.

 Tie a short length of banana silk around the neck,

or a bit of ribbon,

or a string of beads.

Here is how I used a scrap of fabric.

Place it behind the neck,

  fold it over,

and fasten with a bead.

To make a coat with a collar,

fold the 'collar' and turn over

 Insert another piece of fabric for a dress inside the coat.

Turn in the raw edges. 

(As you can see, there is no need to cut the scraps to shape. By turning in the raw edges you will get a bit of bulk and that adds to the 'padded stumpwork' look.)

Make a simple ruffed collar by gathering a strip of fabric.

I finally dressed this portrait like this:

I took a scrap of fabric in an odd shape,

 folded in the raw edge at the top and made a V-shaped fold for the neckline.

 I pinned in the raw edges on the sides to make 'shoulders'.

I slipped a ribbon behind the neck.

Before doing anything else,

I finished the face by stitching down the neck and the chin to the background fabric, 

 and evened out her chin line. The lady got a facelift!

Then I stitched the sides and top of the 'dress'.

A smart way to decorate the clothes is to use embroidery stitches.

I selected the Basque Stitch

to make a fringed edge at the bottom.

The ribbon was fixed round the neck with a French Knot, and cut.

Next Up, Part 6 - Hairdressing. The lady has an appointment with the hairdresser's on Saturday. Until then, have fun with the clothes.