This is a cross stitched piece that my wife, Marie, entered in a needlework competition some years ago. It was entered in the "Most Innovative" category. It was entered there because she used silk gauze (the top layer) and two other layers of aida to form a three dimensional effect of what was intended by the designer (Told in a Garden) to be a flat basic pattern.
It required her to choose what would be seen on each level based on
perspective and it required her imagination to fill in the voids that were caused when sections of the original pattern were placed on different levels.
I as the framer, had to mount the gauze and the other layers separately, contouring the second level over foam core match the floral trail and aligning each layer to match the others. This is easier since she filled in a few stitches in each side of the voids.
The first mat was cut to follow the shape of the scroll work at the bottom of the gauze. This was done by tracing the scrolls and setting a compass to the desired distance and drawing the pattern on the rear of the mat where it matched the straight sides.
The filigreed work was done by drawing a pattern that filled in 1/2 the void from the scallops to the straight v-grooves and then flipping it over to create a mirror image on the other side of the mat. The scallops of the second mat were traced using the compass set at 1/4 inch and following the bottom mat. The scrolls were cut using a Dexter-3 cutter, cutting out the openings and leaving the desired filigrees. Spacers were also placed between the two mats which were both cut from 8555 Bainbridge mats.
I was taught that it is better to use the same or similar colors the more involved the cuts so not to cause too much distraction. I think this accents the pattern very well even though it is one of the most involved mats I have ever cut. We charged $85 (for the mat) for the only duplications we ever did in a hope to discourage request. It didn't work. So now we use it to show case our design ability and have featured it in a Newspaper add.
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