Phase 2: Cords Completed

Well, my least favorite part of this whole piece is done — the cords! Huzzah! I hate them so much. 😂 And to my great dismay, I found I had done one of the cords in the wrong color. I accidentally did the lavender cord below in the 603 shade of lavender instead of the 614 shade of soft plum:

It's still a lovely color, and I used it in other places in this piece, but it didn't match the rest of the cord. And as soon as I realized it, it bothered me too much to leave it in. So I took it all out and redid it in the right color:

The colors are close — very close — which is how I got them mixed up, but the 614 color is just a touch richer and deeper. I don't think I stitched the curve as well the second time to be honest, but I was so over cords by this point that I simply couldn't bear to try it again. And from a distance of even six inches, I think it looks fine.

Stitching these cords in flat silk, like the ones above, is difficult and irritating. Stitching them in metallic thread is damned near impossible and makes me so frustrated I want to scream. The metallic thread doesn't cover the padding as well, it's finicky to work with, and for reasons unknown to me, it's 10 times harder to stitch it at the correct 30-degree angle.

The last cord I had to do at the bottom of the piece started in flat silk and then almost immediately transitioned to metallic thread. Most of it was in the metallic thread, which meant I didn't take any pictures along the way because it was all I could do to keep going. I spent hours and hours on it, taking out stitches and redoing them, trying to achieve the right angle, and never quite getting there, but here it is, finished:

Ehh, it's not brilliant, but it's not that bad. I started with the light plum-colored flat silk, transitioned to the dark plum flat silk, and then transitioned to the dark plum metallic thread because I felt it would make a smoother transition than going from the light plum silk to the dark metallic thread (which is what I did at the top) — and it does look more subtle and elegant.

But those last few inches in metallic thread were where the going really got tough. It must have taken me five hours to stitch that short segment. Sigh. I don't know why I can't keep the right angle, but it really is a struggle for me. And at this point, if I never see another one of these skinny little cords, it will be too soon. But then I look at them as part of the whole piece ... and they really are lovely:

They're so delicate and swoopy, flourishing around the fan like that. From a distance, I truly love them. And also, I never want to stitch them again. 😂