Smooth purl & check purl

A few weeks ago, I’d written a post on smooth purl.Today, I would like to give more details on that.Smooth purl is widely used in goldwork embroidery.In Indian goldwork embroidery, it’s called zardosi thread and can be seen on sarees and dresses.The purl is actually a spring-like metal that needed to be cut into small pieces and then sewn onto fabric.Some even stick it with glue.Great care must be taken when handling this purl because it can become damaged easily.

The smooth purl normally comes in small packets like these.Each packet costs me Rs 2.50 (US 5cents?).

This is the length in each packet.This piece is quite perfect but most of it are damaged.When cutting, you’ll have to discard the damaged parts.

It’s actually like a tube and you can insert a needle and thread into it.

When pulled, the purl will never go back to its original length.

This is another type of purl – the check purl.

Close-up of check purl.

I’d tried a few flower designs out of this purl which I would like to show in my coming posts.

A sneak peek into my latest project which uses purl.It’s still in it’s early stage.Not having any experience with purls before, God knows how it will look like or whether I’ll be able to complete it.Just wait and see.