Palace of Versailles
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Versailles, Marie Antoinette and a Textiles Journal
I really didn't want to look around Versailles, I wanted to stay in Paris!
All I knew about Versailles was that a group of politicians signed something there.
When I got there I was absolutely amazed by the place! You've never seen somewhere so huge and magnificient in your life. I don't think you can understand fully why those peasants were revolting until you get there!
I only got to stay there for three hours (and I queued for 1.5 hours) which is such a shame because you could spend a week there and not see everything.
Versailles, textiles, women of excess!
About this lens.
This "book", which at the moment is just a collection of ideas and textiles pieces, was originally going to be a fabric travel journal about my trip to Paris. As I've had the front cover and a few pages hanging around for almost a year, I decided I had to use them for something soon. Versailles is the part of my trip that I enjoyed the most and I wanted to find out more about the place and celebrate it in my textiles work.
I'm using this lens to generate ideas and inspiration for making my textiles journal.
- Find out more about Versailles
- Wikipedia entry for Versailles.
7gypsies in Paris
I really wanted to get hold of this book before I went to Paris.
7 Gypsies in Paris (7 Gypsies)
Amazon Price: $22.00 (as of 02/16/2012)![]()
I'd seen a few images from the 7gypsies in Paris book and I wanted to do something similar with my visit- expect in cloth instead of paper. I started sewing some textiles pieces together that I could use as background "pages".
Broken Sewing Machine
My sewing machine broke before I went to Paris so I had to leave my unfinished "pages" behind. I had planned to sew into them by hand whilst I was sat on the coach.
Ideas for my Textiles Book
Versailles inspired textiles art.
The main textiles piece for the book cover is a red velvet which I then layered up with some other tiny pieces of fabric and covered with organza to keep it all in place. I might carefully melt some of the organza away to make this look like an old book cover and reveal the velvet's texture.
The Gardens
The magnificient gardens of Versailles.
The Gardens. The view from the palace.
The Garden...
...and its problems.
Read about the Machine de Marly below to discover one unsuccessful attempt to keep the fountains running.
Most of the decoration at Versailles is based on the celestial bodies.
- Find out more about the gardens
- Wikipedia entry for the Gardens of Versailles.
- Find out more about the Marly Machine
- Wikipedia entry for the Marly Machine.
Marie Antoinette
Louis XVI's Queen.
Versailles is so huge it has a hamlet inside the Palace grounds! This is Marie Antoinette's hamlet.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to walk around the gardens or see the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette. I'd love to go back again one day and walk around the grounds.
- Find out more about Marie Antoinette
- Wikipedia entry for Marie Antoinette.
Embroidered Gardens
It might be fun to sew a Versailles-inspired garden onto a page spread of my book.
Embroidered Knot Gardens: Using Three-Dimensional Stumpwork, Canvas Work & Ribbonwork
Amazon Price: $24.03 (as of 02/16/2012)![]()
Ever fancied beating the WI entries in your local village fete? Try using this book to inspire sewn mini gardens that will have you winning first prize!
Historical Women
Marie Antoinette-inspired textiles.

Marie Antoinette
Find out more about Marie Antoinette.
Vogue Photo Shoot for Marie Antoinette
Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette.
The Orange Trees of Versailles
A novel set at Versailles.
The Orange Trees of Versailles
Amazon Price: $3.44 (as of 02/16/2012)![]()
A story about 13 year old Marion who blends perfumes that catch the attention of Louis XIV's mistress.
Textiles and Furnishings
Opulent fabrics of Versailles.
Imagine sleeping in this bed! There's so much gold everywhere- I think I'll have to focus on gold and the sun in my textiles book. Also check out the wall paper. It has red flocking on it which was protected with perspex- but I saw one naughty man reach up above the perspex and stroke it!
Versailles Books
Find out more about this enormous and luxurious place!
Furniture and Decoration
The interior of the palace.
I could embroider some of the shapes and patterns from these photos onto my textiles pages with metallic gold embroidery thread. Maybe it would be possible to use fabric glue to stick and seal gold leaf onto textiles.
Madame de Pompadour
Louis XV's Mistress.
- Find out more about Madame de Pompadour
- Wikipedia entry for Madame de Pompadour.
Madame de Pompadour...
...on Amazon.com.
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Reader Feedback
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Michey
Feb 8, 2011 @ 4:00 pm | delete
- Love your lens, I lensroll to my Versailles lenses
Thanks
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MeltedRachel
Feb 12, 2011 @ 1:17 pm | delete
- Thankfor visiting :D
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WordCustard
Jan 22, 2011 @ 8:24 am | delete
- I love your tours of historical palaces. Versailles looks sumptuous!
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MeltedRachel
Jan 22, 2011 @ 12:46 pm | delete
- Thanks for visiting :D
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Kyecerulian
Dec 1, 2010 @ 10:19 am | delete
- Beautiful pictures! I've visited there myself and I loved it.
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About Melted Rachel
Rachel Cox- Textiles Artist.
by MeltedRachel
I'm Rachel, a textiles artist from the southwest of England.
I love using recycled materials to create one-of-a-kind:
textiles art pieces,
handbags,...
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