JL Walsh Silk Perle and the ANG 2011 SOTM Outlining

     I've watched the discussion about J.L. Walsh Silk Perle on the ANG yahoo discussion group range over its inaccessibility, the questionable existence of the business (it's very much in business, only one line of its threads having been discontinued, the Silk/Wool, which is available at a very few locations until the supply runs out, including scarletthread.com), and how to use it for Ro Pace's Flowers of Italy design. It's been exasperating at times, but I'm over that now.

     The latest discussion concerned how to use it to stitch the outlines in the January installment of the design. I think what confuses people is the word "perle" in the name because one doesn't necessarily use it as it comes off the skein, as well as the use of the terms "strand" and "ply." One strand of this thread consists of eight plies that are easily separated. Each ply is equivalent to a single strand of #12 perle, according to the Thread Technique Team's The Thread Thesaurus, Revised Edition. That's a mighty thick strand of thread for Congress Cloth if used as it comes off the skein! The manufacturer recommends using one or two plies on 28-ct linen, so I decided to try both on a doodle cloth before venturing onto the full-size piece on which I'll be working this design (as usual, your Remedial Stitcher is a little behind).

     When looking at the picture above, keep in mind that it's not on stretcher bars and was stitched in hand, something I rarely do. I was just trying to see which produced the most desirable effect, one ply or two plies, for the very long stitches required in the outlining. Not knowing whether we'll be going back to these long stitches and couching them with some other thread at the end, I plan to use just one ply because I don't like the way the two separating strands look in such a long stitch.

     What do you think?

     Kthxbai.