It started with a shell

Then the lines in the small drawing were exagerated, some removed and others added.

It became an egg.

And another view

I covered a marble egg with a double layer of plastic food wrap.  Next I soaked a piece of coarse fabric in water based adhesive slightly diluted and wrapped it around the egg making sure it was completely smooth and solid. Once I was happy I left it to dry standing in an egg cup for about 24 hours, turning it once.

It can be a messy job, so I always work on the counter in the kitchen keeping it protected with a sheet of plastic.  I had one sheet of strong plastic just the right size for my counter and washed it after every new task.  15 minutes over the clothes line and it was dry again.  I still have it somewhere and it is well marked with the the various coloured paints I used down the years.

Once the fabric was dry, I carefully made a slit in the fabric and slowly slipped out the marble egg and the plastic wrap.  Once again I left the fabric shape sit for another day to make sure it dried from the inside.

The outer decoration was completed with exagerated long stitches and large french knots roughly following the lines of the drawing above.  Once I was happy I used a piece of silk to line it in a loosly gathered pattern.  That was the most difficult part of the whole exercise.