Historical Sampler – Another Borage

I’ve done another borage in detached buttonhole stitch, in a single strand of Royal Blue DMC thread.

I used the Royal Blue because this is the colour I used in the veins of the gold borage, and I wanted to help bring that colour out.

The sepals were just in straight stitch. The same green as the sepals of the gold borage, to also help ‘group them together’.

The spike was outlined in chain stitch to give it a clean outline then filled in with satin stitch laid at different positions to give it some texture. It was done in a single strand of Madeira cream silk and my black vintage artificial silk from Sally.

The spike is a better shape that the one of the gold borage since I was able to draw it on the existing design (remembering the original designs didn’t have spikes) rather than trying to insert it between two existing fishbone petals as with with the gold borage.

I am unsure whether it outline the borage or not.

I don’t want to outline *everything*, but it’s hard to see the details of the petals. This photo below shows the borage in place with the other motifs :

What do you think?

The examples of the borage that I see in extant embroideries usually aren’t outlined. Plymouth’s aren’t.

And what do you think of my detached buttonhole stitch? (The calyx of the rose bud doesn’t count – I had less practise with D.B.S. and with GST then)