This is becoming a more complex project than I’d expected. But this happens so often that you’d think it’s what I would expect now.
Anyway. The Silkie chicken is teaching me a lot. At this point I think I need to apply the feathers one section at a time, make sure that section has the look I want, and then move on to the next. This is because the piece requires several different looks and lengths, all of which have to be applied in different ways. So I’ve removed the initial feather application (leaving the little bird looking quite like a plucked chicken for a bit) and started again. While the feathers were off I took the opportunity to add a little structural piece to make the body larger, to better match photos I’m using as references.
As of this morning I’ve added back feathers on the head, neck and top of chest, evaluating the look as I go. I’m posting them with a bit of trepidation as this is really showing the blow-by-blow awkwardness of learning a new technique. I’m enjoying it, as it’s kind of like solving a puzzle, but it’s a bit scary to share!
I did a similar thing in 2017 working on an early knitted image. The piece required a huge amount of added hand-stitching, and I thought I knew how to achieve the result I wanted, but I wasn’t totally sure until it was finished. I shared progress photos (on Facebook) to challenge myself to accomplish what I’d committed to, and it came out great so I said a big “Whew!” at the end.
Thanks to @somerzby for the great reference photo of buff and white Silkies. Those faces…the attitude. 藍 The Silkies page on the Somerzby website has lots of great info. And again, thanks to @doubletrebletrinkets for the pattern this project is based on, to @sulky for the 12wt cotton thread, and to @tulipjapan for the 0.6mm hook.
