Doctor Who Tapestry Update - January 2023

The joining of the panel onto the main body of the tapestry has begun. This is not going to be easy, there are sections along the edges that have little aida left to join with. What has made it even harder is that the vertical join is not a straight one but has a step in it where the previous sections were not evenly matched.

The first stage is to pin in place the new panel. You can see towards the top left of the photo where the edge steps out of line. This area might be easier to join when I get there as it will have a lot of extra aida to work with. That will be the last part to get stitched in to place.

What you can see to the top right of existing panel that is already in place, is that there is a large gap that should really have been filled before I started work on this other panel. Because of the location the only choice of stories I had to pick from to fill it were Ghostlight and Curse of Fenric.

Before I can do anything about that I need to secure the right-hand edge of the aida and bind it. The general binding I've used on the panel being attached is a black rib of wool, although it's not black edging right to the bottom. 

This binding is the first part where the top canvas is stitched on to the main body forming the final tapestry.

I've gone with Nimrod from Ghostlight, but it might just be a tight squeeze to get the top of his head in. The top of his head will form part of the join across the two pieces. I'm busy trying to complete him as well as securing the panels together.

To help hold the whole thing together I've done some rough tacking stitches using cotton to hold the ends together. I will be stitching through both layers where possible to join them together. Any visible cotton can be clipped out after.

The background here will be done in blocks so that the wool  threads cover as much of the material as possible above and below the join. This is to ensure a strong join exists between the panels.

 

It's been a bit tricky to hold the ends taunt and flat whilst tacking them together, stretched out across the bed as I need a large space to work on. But, you have to be very careful not to stitch the blankets to it at the same time. It really needs about three pairs of hands.