The Peacock Étui | Enchanted Embroidery

When it comes to putting on a show and drawing attention to oneself, it’s hard to beat the flamboyance of a peacock.

After all, if you have ever seen a male peacock in action, you quickly appreciate the origins of the saying ‘proud as a peacock’.

It’s not surprising that he has such a reputation though, when you consider he’s been blessed with a tail that consists of over 200 feathers that, when folded away creates a train measuring up to 1.5 meters (5 feet).

The main event, of course, is when he unfurls this magnificent display to reveal a stunning kaleidoscope of glistening feathers that, at full stretch, span an impressive 1.2 to 1.8 meters (4 to 6 feet).

This week we’re starting an epic adventure as we review the projects from the brand-new book Enchanted Embroidery | The Stitched Art of Jenny Adin-Christie.

The first project to step into the limelight fittingly is the peacock.

The Peacock Étui by Jenny Adin-Christie is a three-dimensional rendition of this stunning bird, complete with a detachable tail that doubles as needlepages.

Having waxed lyrical in recent weeks about Jenny’s formidable skills as a needlework artisan (or as some of us like to opine, her ability to seemingly bend time and space with her needle and thread!) we’re thrilled that today you get to appreciate some of her mastery firsthand.

Now before we get too carried away, part of what makes Jenny so remarkable is the fact that she has created these extraordinary works of stitched art in such a way that we too can make them. These projects are not just for us to admire, Jenny wants us to experience the joy of creating them ourselves.

She achieves this by holding our hand and guiding us bit by bit through each component of the project.

This is very similar to the Lao Tzu’s philosophy that ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’.

As such the instructions for The Peacock Étui are broken down into the following very manageable segmentations:

Tail; Feathers; Body; Head; Neck; Breast

If you have ever had the privilege of attending a class with an accomplished needlework tutor, you’ll often find a common approach when working on more involved or complex projects: break down the design into a series of smaller projects and enjoy them as if they were individual achievements.

Sometimes we have a tendency to rush from one element to the next or stress about how many more steps remain, yet there is great joy to be had in celebrating the completion of each section, no matter how small or how many steps still lay ahead.

This is great advice to keep in mind when it comes to working on any of Jenny’s projects and, as a master tutor herself, she has laid out her instructions accordingly.

While we don’t have time today to cover off every aspect of brilliance that you will uncover as you work through this project, here are a couple of our favourite parts:

Head & Neck – Jenny has crafted the covering for the head and neck using needlelace techniques that not only follow the contours of the 3D model perfectly but also transition to the body with detached blanket stitch scallops and a beautiful metallic mesh ribbon.

Tail– the iconic peacock feather has been represented on the tail through a series of stylised designs that use a selection of delicate metals, silks and sparkling crystals to add lustre, vibrance and texture. The fettuccine ribbon pleated along the edge looks superb and the magic reveal of removing the tail is achieved through cleverly placed press studs.

One of the other aspects of Enchanted Embroidery that we thoroughly enjoy is all the wonderful little tips and tricks you pick up by reading through the instructions.

Here you’ll learn all kinds of clever ideas as well as technical and creative solutions that Jenny has come up with.

For example, perhaps you decide to design and create your own three-dimensional bird but haven’t decided how best to cover the body. In Enchanted Embroidery you’ll learn how Jenny utilises a combination of felt and needlelace and how best to apply them to an irregular shape.

Taking it one step further, when it comes to adding feet, you may not be 100% sure how best to attach them to your project. In the book you’ll read how Jenny solves this problem and can then apply this approach to your own application.

One final note…

On page 72 in the book, you will see the Peacock photographed sitting atop a Mossy Hillock. This is a companion project (that also has a kit available HERE) and has been designed by Jenny to the same scale as the peacock to give him the best vantage point to really strut his stuff!

The finished étui measures 9cm (3 ½") square x 9cm (3 ½") deep and kits are now available to purchase using the link below.

Once completed, the Peacock Étui is going to become a project that you admire time and time again. Not only is it visually stunning in every way, by the time you have plied your time and talent into creating him, you and the peacock will have become very close, and he’ll be permanently putting on a show for you in appreciation for bringing him to life.