Fall Colors, A Study in Rozashi
A study in traditional Rozashi embroidery from Japan!
Maple leaf is a very important seasonal motif and symbol in Japan. Artists in Japan use the maple leaf in almost every work including poetry, ceramics, textiles, screens and other art forms. Fall is a time of festivals, celebrating nature, harvests and times for great fun in the cool crisp air of the season.
In Fall Colors, the leaves are over a gently flowing pool. It is restful, but also vivid in color. Fall Colors is a study in traditional Rozashi embroidery. The leaves, the water, the water lines, the sky, background are a study in the stitches that are traditional to Rozashi. All stitches are upright in this technique. Some of the challenges in Rozashi are making points on leaves and curves for the water lines/currents, working the design on a small count ro and maintaining the proper tension on the ro and the silk threads. A challenge is the silk gauze which forms rectangles instead of squares, to compensation is different than working on a squared gauze. There are interlocked silk yarns in the ro that form what is called the dan. All stitches go over the dan. Some stitches are known by the number of dan they cross. The fall leaves are worked in beautiful shades of silk in a variety of the Rozashi stitches. Stitches do not pierce the dan, they only go in the holes between the dan. The water is worked in the irregular stitch and the water lines are worked in silver metallic thread in ichi dan stitch. The piece consists of working with both silver and gold metallic thread and, filament silk threads that are tightly twisted and easy to handle. The stitches include irregular stitch, a combination of ichi and ni dan straight, satin, ni dan and san dan step stitches. The background sky is worked in ni san step double stitch. The water stitches are a combination of line stitch, the irregular, and satin stitch.
The kit comes complete with ro attached to frame, all silk and metallic threads, Rozashi needle, sticking paste for finishing, a Japanese needle and a #24 tapestry needle, and instruction booklet with color images.
More about Fall Colors
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Class Details
Project: framed item; insert for box
Size of project: 5.5 x 5.5 inches
Skill level: Advanced Beginner
Time: 5 lessons, 6 months
Fee per group: $200
Text and kit price: $95.00
DMC Floss number for tassel: DMC® #742 -
About teacher Margaret Kinsey
Margaret Kinsey is an EGA certified teacher in silk and metal thread embroidery. She is certified to teach Japanese traditional embroidery. She is the designated US teacher for the Kunimitsu Rozashi Studio and studies with Fumiko Ozaki. Margaret is the 2010 recipient of the national EGA Gold Thread Award and teaches at all levels of EGA. She teaches at national seminars and chapters of ANG and EAC. She was the 2012 keynote speaker and taught at the New Zealand Embroidery Guild Conference in Christchurch, NZ, and toured, taught, and lectured additional venues in New Zealand. Margaret chaired the 5th, 6th and 7th EGA International Embroidery Conferences. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from NAN, 2021.
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More about our Group Correspondence Courses and GCC Lightning Rounds
Visit our Group Correspondence Courses page for the registration form and for more information on how our GCCs work.
Our GCC Lightning Rounds are three or four of our Group Correspondence Courses that have been hand-picked by our Education Department and made available for individual EGA members to register without a group for a limited time. Visit our GCC Lightning Rounds page to see which courses are available this quarter!
There are no refunds for course or text fees so make your selection carefully.
