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A cry for help from NZ to The World of EmbroideryI hope that this is not an imposition, but I am sure that you, or someone you know, may be able to help us.
A group of the North Shore Embroiderer's Guild members have been asked by Auckland City Council to replicate the curtain of an old picture theatre. The Council, as a millennium project, has restored the theatre. It is a marvellous 1920s 'eastern' extravaganza with elephants, panthers with lit red eyes, gold everywhere, and a starlight ceiling with moving clouds. The curtain is a straight fall, and is approximately 13 metres by 18 metres. The original was sold in the 1970s with the Wurlitzer organ - sort of thrown in as nobody wanted it. It was dark maroon velvet with appliqued trees and bushes on each side, and in the middle, two flamingoes in a pond. The flamingoes are each about 2 metres tall. The basic technique is applique, one layer deep, so it was put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The pond had diamante braid to give the glitter and shimmer of water. The pieces seem to have been glued to brown paper (presumably the pattern), and then they have been sewn onto the background with a spiralling chain stitch.
Our problem is that the Council have had the new velvet background curtain made up, and are asking us to figure out how to machine sew into the middle of a 18 by 13 metre rectangle. We have investigated sailmaking machines, and think that they could be used in a pinch, but it would still mean rolling or folding the velvet to fit it through the throat of the machines, and we are loath to do this. We have asked museum conservators, Kath De Forges (of the Globe hangings) and theatrical people here for advice, and have come up with nothing.
Can you suggest any techniques or machines that would be appropriate?
We would be most grateful. Thank you.
Susan Brookes, brookesfam@clear.net.nz