This traditional, flowing drapery design can be carved using these techniques.
As a college student backpacking through Europe, I was awestruck by the beauty of majestic cathedrals and castles. I visited these magnificent buildings every chance I got. I was scared to blink because I might miss an important detail. Without realizing it, this was the start of my passion and love for the art of woodcarving.
These magnificent buildings had walls covered with carved oak panels and a flowing drapery design. They are also known as parchment fold panels or linenfold panels. This design fascinated me as I studied how the delicately carved ends gave the appearance of cloth that gently twisted and folded over itself. Even without experience in carving, I appreciated the challenge in creating this flowing illusion in wood.
The linenfold panel mimics draped altarcloths and was first introduced as panel decoration in the late Gothic period. It is often combined with other panels in larger, paneled walls or doors. Sometimes, individual panels have their edges tapered so that they fit in grooves in furniture or doors frames.
The process of creating the linenfold shape offers many challenges. This project is a great example of how to create the illusion that perspective exists in shallow relief.
Elevation
Plan
Work In Large Scale
As you begin to carve this design, one suggestion is to create a smaller section on a larger scale. Carving the S-curve section helps you figure out some of the common problems that come up. Although it can be quite a brain-teasing task, once you understand how to create the illusion of flowing, twisting cloth linenfold can be a rewarding and wonderful accomplishment.
Who knows you may get so encouraged, youll decorate your own walls with it! Call me and I’ll give you some tips.
Prepare The Panel
The delicately carved details at the ends of the linenfold design require precise carving skills. However, it is not difficult to lower the background and prepare the panel’s curved profile with handplanes. Dan Hamilton, a professional furniture maker from Beaufort, S.C. demonstrates the techniques he used for this project. This panel is made of walnut.
Draw a depth line. To locate the depth at which the panel edge will be planed, draw a gauge line. This particular design has a depth of 15 cm.
Reduce the cross-grain edge. With a moving fillister plane, remove the cross-grain waste just short of the 15 cm depth, so any spelching can be removed when the long-grain waste is removed. The skewed blade of the fillister plane is great for hogging away waste quickly. Next, use a rabbet to clean the area to the gauge line.
Draw the profile. To locate the positions of the folds in cloth, draw the profile of the linenfold design at the ends of each panel. To remove the wood between the folds, use a plowplane. The linenfold pattern on the wood’s edge will be used as a guideline for setting the fence. (These cuts can also be made at a table saw.) Make sure you do not cut them too deep; they should be just short of the background.
The long-grain edge should be lowered. When all the grooves between the folds are completed, use a fillister plane to bring down the two long edges to just short of the 15 cm depth. Any splintering or spelching from cross-grain work on rabbets can be removed at this point. Next, clean down to the depth of the gauge line with a fine-set rabbet plane to leave a smooth surface.
Form the profile. To create convex areas within the panel, use a large hollow moulding tool. You can shape concave areas with round planes. Some areas can also be worked with a block plan to even out the surfaces. You can also use various carving gouges to touch up and shape these profiles.
Carving Tips
To define the edges, use a vertical stop-cut. This is where this carving often goes wrong. You should make vertical stop-cuts on the lines (shown red). The gouges should not cross the folded edge. This would result in a break in your linenfold edge. Stop this cut just inside this edge (at the blue line).
The illusion of depth is created by the intricate carvings along the edges of the linenfold designs. The illusion of depth should be created by viewing the panel straight on. This design requires a flowing edge. When carving this, there are a few rules to keep in mind:
Do not let any part of this line become straight; keep the edge flowing gently in a continuous curve.
This curved line should not be broken or separated.
Make sure that when you carve down the background sections, there is no visible step or transition where it joins the background that was lowered with the handplanes.
The S-shaped folds should have smooth edges and flow naturally.
One option, not mentioned in the step-by-step instructions, is to make the vertical stop-cuts at a slight undercut angle; the edge will create a dramatic shadow line. Be careful not to make these undercuts at too much of an angle or the edges will become too fragile.
A Carved Room
This stunning example of linenfold carving can be seen in the carved entranceway at Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester, Mich.
The linenfold design I chose to carve for this project is based on the wall panel details (below) of this historic house. You can see it in the Alfreds Study.
You Will Need These Tools
Quality tools made in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are all high quality. Long-handled gouges are safer and easier to control than palm gouges. The number No. in the list below refers to sweep as the number increases, so does the blade curvature:
Fillister plane for moving
Rabbet plane
Plow plane or saw
Different hollow and roundPlanes
Mallet
6mm V-chisel (60 angle)
6mm No. 3 gouge
14mm No. 3 gouge
12mm No. 4 gouge
6mm No. 8 gouge
All of the woodcarving gouges that I have used in this instruction are fishtail shaped, because they reach into tight corners more easily.
Other techniques and tools can be used, such as using a table saw to lower the outside edges.
– MM
1. Draw the linenfold profile on the top surface of the wood. Make sure that the lines go completely to the edges of the curved profiles.
2. To make a cut at a linenfold’s edge, use a 6mm V chisel. The line will remain visible. Go as deep as the chisel can safely go, approximately 341 cm. This cut begins to remove the bulk of the wood and starts to shape the cloth edge.
3. Use a 14mm No. 1 flat chisel, 14mm No. 2 gouges to mark the border of the linenfold, where the background will be lower. Make this a vertical stop-cut directly on the line and cut it all the way to the background.
4. A 6mm No. 3 gouge to flatten the background and clean up this triangle-shaped area. This section should be the same thickness as the edges of your panel. It should blend seamlessly into the background.
5. Use a 12mm No. 4 gouge, round this corner down to the background then clean up the background surface.
6. Make a cut with a 6mm V chisel to define the middle twist of the cloth. Leave the line visible. Make this cut approximately 341 cm deep.
7. Use a 12mm No. 4 and a 6mm No. 8 gouge to define the edge of the twist with a vertical stop-cut directly on the line. This should not be done over the curve or it will interrupt the continuous flow. This cut should go only to the depth of the lower twist (approximately 341 cm deep).
8 Use a 6mm No. 8 gouge, hollow out this lower folded section. Make sure this flows smoothly into the next section of the cloth (that was shaped using a round moulding plane).
9. With a 12mm No.
4 gouge and a 6mm No. 8 gouge, define the top curve of the fold with a vertical stop-cut to the depth of the middle twist (341 cm). It should not cross the curved edge or it will cause damage to the continuous linenfold edge.
10. Using a 6mm No. 8 Gouge: Hollow out the top section of the fold.
11. With a 6mm V-chisel, make a cut along the edge of the curl at the end of the cloth, leaving the line visible.
12. With a 6mm No. 8 gouge, make a vertical cut directly on this line to define the twisting edge. To preserve the continuous linenfold edge, keep this cut at the edge of the background.
13. Use a 6mm No. 8 gouge, carve out the section under this curved edge so it gently flows into the rest of the fold.
14. Use a 12mm No. Use a 4mm No.4 gouge to trim the corners and make a vertical cut to the background. Clean up the background surface.
15. With a 12mm No. 4 gouge, make a vertical cut on this line all the way to the background. You must be careful not to make any of the edges straight.
16. With a 14mm No. This section should be lowered to the background using a 14mm No.
17. You can use a 6mm V chisel to cut along the edge of your cloth. The line should be visible. This is to make sure the V-chisel can cut the cloth as deep as it will allow.
18. Use a 6mm V chisel to carve these straight edges.
19. A 12mm No. 4 gouge and 6mm No. 8 gouge held vertically to define this edge of the cloth.
20. With a 14mm No. This section should be lowered to the background using a 14mm No.
21. With a 12mm No. With a 12mm No. 4, round the corners using a vertical cut to clean the background.
22. Make a cut with a 6mm V chisel to define the middle twist of the cloth. The line will remain visible. Make this cut approximately 341 cm deep.
23. Use a 12mm No. 4 gouge and a 6mm No. 8 gouges and a 6mm No. Make sure to not go over the curved edge or it breaks the continuous linenfold edge. This cut goes the depth of the lower twist (approximately 341 cm), not all the way to the background.
24. With a 6mm No. 8 gouge, hollow this section so it gives the appearance of flowing cloth. Flow this cut into the area that was shaped with the hollow moulding plane.
25. Using a 12mm No. 4 and 6mm No. 8 gouge. Make a vertical cut at each curve to reach the depth of your middle twist (not illustrated). With a 6mm No. 8 Gouge: Hollow this section of the fold.
26. A 6mm No. To make the final 45-degree cut along the edge, use a 6mm No. This cleans up any rough edge and creates a nice shadow line.
As a professional woodcarver with a workshop in Charleston, S.C., Mary offers classes in her shop and at a variety of other locations. She also offers instructional DVDs as well as an online video woodcarving school.
Pattern Get a full-size, free pattern of the linenfold design that the author used for the panel in this article: Linen Pattern Website: Mary Mays site has information about classes and a gallery of her work.
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