Calling All Iconographers

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Miserissima

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I am learning about iconography and it’s been a process in art appreciation. I didn’t understand a lot of what I was seeing until I started to study a bit. Recently I decided to find a simpler pattern to embroider (in redwork fashion, which means coloring the outlines of a pattern).

After a little bit of Googling, I can tell you that I know what colors not to use! However, I see that in images of the Theotokos and the Christ child, Mary will be wearing a red mantle and the infant is wearing…a lighter red or perhaps orange robe. Is this correct?

Also, I need help in choosing the right colors because I am unfamiliar with this icon I’d like to embroider. Can anyone tell me the title of this icon so I can look up a colored-in version? I am touched by the way Jesus is clutching Mary’s veil in this example.
 
The Infant Christ is wearing a white robe which represents his holiness and purity and a gold cloak, which represents his divinity .If you are going to embroider an icon why don’t you go all the way and do a “gonfalon”?😃 Gonfalons are banners with embroidered icons on them that are used in the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Orthodox-church-Banners-embroidered-/24/!CCRhS2gBmk~$(KGrHqQOKkIE0YRojg,kBNKi7MYwLQ~~_3.JPG
 
My dear friend - there is a full color image of the source icon for the template you had referenced in the OP, found here, right on the Betsy Porter website on which you found the sketch

It is the Mother of God Eleousa, or “Virgin of Tenderness”, icon (third entry down on the linked webpage)
 
The embroidery supply company, DMC, did a series of cross stitch embroidery patterns for ikons of Christ, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. You will find these, on occasion, on eBay. They each have a thread code and color code for DMC floss on them.

If you can read Ukrainian, there are a series of magazines and books just for embroidering ikons. You can usually find copies of these also on eBay.

Hope this helps…
 
Thanks for all of the replies!

Byz, I blush at how I can overlook the most obvious. I was confused by Christ’s garments because the “gold” color didn’t match the gold of the background. The robe shows up more of a yellow (or sometimes peach) so I was left scratching my head, easily confused, LOL!

CatholicLife, The gonfalon is gorgeous, but my embroidery skills are limited mostly to redworking, like this:
mariepearson.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_122/8ee44ffbef79cf5ffff8c22ffffe41e.JPG

Patchunky, I was watching eBay and landed something like this to make for my son’s godmother. Woul dyou be so kind as to give me some keywords I can cut and paste to search for Ukrainian Icon Patterns?
 
Miserissima said:
Byz, I blush at how I can overlook the most obvious.
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No worries! My mom shares your interest in embroidered icons, and I remembered cruising the website with her some time ago.

Hope you, baby and family are well, and glad to see you have taken this up as a vocational hobby!
 
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