Il Reticello (Reticella 1) is a basic handbook for learning and exploring this technique.
The preparatory work is done by drawing threads from an even weave linen fabric with 15 or 16 threads per cm2 (but one can also begin with 12-14 threads), to give the “empty” spaces which form the basis for embroidering various motifs, choosing the most appropriate threads for the type of fabric used.
The book illustrates all the various stages for this, from the initial withdrawal of threads to the rendering of complex designs, which can be viewed in diagrams and scans of the finished projects. With practise, reticello, which originated in sixteenth-century Venice, and which I have tried to re-launch with my own interpretations in this book and subsequent publications, can be used to bring a touch of elegance and transparency to a gift (covers, pin cushions, cushion covers etc.) or to any household linen items – pillows, table centres, tablecloths, sheets, curtains etc.
Simultaneously with the publication of Volume 2 in May 2005, the first edition of Volume 3 came out, Il Reticello (Reticella 1), was also 64 pages long and in Italian and English; it was soon followed by a second edition (in August of the same year). A third edition was published in October 2006. French was added to the other two languages in the fourth edition (February 2008), which was reprinted in June 2010. The fifth edition, in April 2013, was “revised and supplemented”, though still with 64 pages, with updates gained from the numerous courses I run in this technique, especially in France, to great approval from expert embroiderers who were already appreciative of the previous edition (an extremely clear and well-documented profile of the new edition of the book was presented, complete with photos, on the Aiguille en Fête website).
After the initial introduction of the “usual” Album di Tela, I demonstrate the procedure for drawing threads from the fabric to make the grid to be embroidered, and give advice for beginners and the more experienced. I then proceed to the “School of Stitches”, following the format which has become customary in my books.
The most weighty part of the book concerns detailed explanations, with diagrams, scans and photos, of eighteen “classic” reticello designs, as they evolved in the Veneto, and as they have been reworked in various projects by some of my students.
Vol. 3 Il Reticello – € 25
unique edition in Italian-French-English
