Erica; Oriental Gold

Part of From the Vault. Part of Erica Wilson: The Julia Child of Needlework.

02/29/1972

This episode is all about embroidery using gold thread. Erica wears traditional Chinese dress in this episode, and begins by noting that will gold thread had been used in the Near East for millennia, the Chinese made it more practical to work with gold thread by winding the gold around a silk core. She shows off two Chinese silk robes embroidered with gold thread, both of which were made for members of the Imperial court. Since it is very difficult to sew through fabric with true gold thread, both pieces were done with a technique called couching, sewing the thread directly onto the surface of the fabric. Easier to find and much less expensive than true gold thread is Lurex, a metallic-looking yarn made from gold or silver-colored, aluminum-coated synthetic fiber. Erica demonstrates the couching stitch, as well as the Pekinese stitch, using Lurex, creating a golden snail for a sampler. Once one has mastered the technique, Erica suggests decorating a handbag with couching stitches over Lurex. Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Amanda Sikarskie.

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Series

Erica

Program

Oriental Gold

Program Number

121

Series Description

Needlework series with Erica Wilson. “Erica Wilson, noted American authority on needlework, invites the viewer to explore the exciting possibilities of indulging his creative and artistic talents. In this series of color videotaped 15 minute programs she illustrates the wide vocabulary of stitches used in many types of embroidery including traditional crewel, needlepoint, bargello, and crewel point.

As well as demonstrating these stitches, Erica gives professional hints on creating useful and decorative objects. She encourages personalizing an original or derived design through the selection of motif, materials, stitch, color, texture, and size. C. 1971-2 Series release date: 1971

Program Description

She shows off two Chinese silk robes embroidered with gold thread, both of which were made for members of the Imperial court. Since it is very difficult to sew through fabric with true gold thread, both pieces were done with a technique called ‘couching,’ sewing the thread directly onto the surface of the fabric.

Easier to find and much less expensive than true gold thread is Lurex, a metallic-looking yarn made from gold or silver-colored, aluminum-coated synthetic fiber. Erica demonstrates the couching stitch, as well as the Pekinese stitch, using Lurex, creating a golden snail for a sampler. Once one has mastered the technique, Erica suggests decorating a handbag with couching stitches over Lurex.

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Gold Decorative Arts

Needlework Instruction

Lurex

Snails Decorative Arts

Couching - Needlework

Wilson, Erica

China Imperial Court Costume and Dress

China Decorative Arts

Genres

Topics

Creators

MacLeod, Margaret I. (Series Producer)

Contributors

Field, James (Director)

MacLeod, Margaret I. (Producer)

Wilson, Erica (Host)

Mahard, Frances (Other (see note))

Publication Information

Citation

Chicago: “Erica; Oriental Gold,” 02/29/1972, GBH Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_0CE8D5B8649A484FBE504512ED70CCE3.

MLA: “Erica; Oriental Gold.” 02/29/1972. GBH Archives. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_0CE8D5B8649A484FBE504512ED70CCE3>.

APA: Erica; Oriental Gold. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_0CE8D5B8649A484FBE504512ED70CCE3

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Erica; Oriental Gold