embroidery-msg - 1/18/02
Period and SCA embroidery.
NOTE: See also the files: emb-blackwork-msg, P-Emb-Frames-art, emb-frames-msg, emb-linen-msg, cross-stitch-msg, p-x-stitch-art, dyeing-msg, silk-msg, linen-msg, beadwork-msg, 8-P-Stitches-art.
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Stefan at florilegium.org
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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: sclark at epas.utoronto.ca (Susan Clark)
Subject: Re: Period Embroidery--Help!
Organization: University of Toronto - EPAS
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 22:11:44 GMT
Greetings all!
Finally, something I know a fair bit about! I practice blackwork,
Bayeux Tapestry Style, and _opus anglicanum_ (still working on this last
one)
Foropus anglicanum, the best book isA.G.G.I. Christie's
_English Medieval Embroidery_, (Clarendon Press, 1938). There's a detailed
treatise on methods and materials at the beginning, followed by TONS
of pictures. (In black and white, unfortunately)
I learned Bayeux tapestry techniques from a little book callalled
_The Bayeux Tapestry_, by Magnus Rud. the entire tapestry is
reproduced in the book, and it's quite a bit cheaper than the wonderful,
but massive coffee table book (whose full title escapes me).
For blackwork,a good starting point is the Dover book entitled
_Blackwork_--most of it is devoted to modern blackwork, but there is an
excellent historical intro.
Finally, a good general work (if you can find it ) is _A Pictoral
History of Embroidery_ by M. Schuette and S. Muller-Christiansen (New
York, 1964)....lots of plates, and good section on technique. Good
bibliography for raiding....
Good luck!
Regards
Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester
Canton of Eoforwic
sclark at epas.utoronto.ca
Susan Carroll-Clark
Toronto, Ont.
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: habura at vccnw10.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Subject: Re: Period Embroidery--Help!
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1993 12:53:15 GMT
Another interesting book, for opus Anglicanum addicts: _Medieval Craftsmen:
Embroiderers_, by Kay Staniland (University of Toronto Press, 1991).
The author is Keeper of Costume and Textiles at the Museum of London. The
text is generally very good, but the illos are to die for: photos (both
black and white and--God be praised!--color) of period artifacts. In fact,
the only illo that doesn't show something made in our period is a set of
stitch-instruction diagrams just before the bibliography. Some photos
are high-resolution enough so that stitches may be counted (with the aid of
a magnifying glass). It's expensive, about $18 in paperback, but worth it.
I got mine from Poison Pen Press.
Alison MacDermot
(Needle Jock)
From: Joyce <jmiller at genome.wi.mit.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Gold Thread
Date: 11 Jun 1993 22:10:46 GMT
Organization: Whitehead Institute
Andrea Marie Habura, habura at vccnw12.its.rpi.edu writes:
>that I haven't been able to find a record of these techniques being used
>much in secular embroidery. Ecclesiastical and other formal, absolutely
>(the best or nue' I've seen is from the vestments belonging to the Order
>of the Golden Fleece). Secular goldwork seems to be more along the lines of
>laid cord and similar effects after about 1450. (Someone was kind enough to
>give me a pointer to some Titian portraits that use gold trim; I shall have
>to check them out).
In _The St. Martin Embroideries_, there is a very nice picture of a very
secular 14th century pouch. The figures are embroidered in colored
silks, the background is entirely covered with couched gold thread. The
gold thread is flat gold wrapped around a core (of something), very
similar to the modern "Japanese gold". Note that when couching down this
kind of gold thread, it doesn't actually go in and out of the fabric. It
lays on the surface of the ground cloth, and the silk thread (frequently
red) comes out through the fabric, around the gold thread, and back down
through the fabric. To turn a nice, tight corner with the gold thread,
leave a little slack in the gold, and pull on the silk thread to pull a
little loop of the gold through the ground fabric. The gold loop stays
on the underside, a sort of "reverse couching". Refer to "A Pictorial
History of Western Embroidery" by Schuette and Muller-Christiansen for
diagrams and more info.
Joyce
jmiller at genome.wi.mit.edu
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: period embroidery (to C Kinsey)
Date: 5 Oct 93 09:10:29
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
I got a query from Cat Kinsey on early period embroidery references,
our mailer had problems with it so I can't reply direct, hope someone
else is interested otherwise sorry for wasting your bandwidth.
anyway back to embroidery, Margrethe Hald in her book Ancient Danish
textiles from bog finds and burials describes embroidered cloth
thought to be a tunic and cape from a danish burial mound in mammen
Birka III die Textilfunde by Inga Hagg describes assorted bits of
metalwork which is more appliqued than embroidered, but it might be of
interest to embroiderers. There are plaited and knotted designs which
look like simple lace, and animal figures resembling stags.
A recent edition of medieval world gave details of some anglo saxon
embroideries featured in last years Anglo Saxon Art exhibition at the
British museum. They were ecclesiastical and combined metal and silk
threads. The article gave far more detail than the exhibition
catalogue, if anyone's really interested I can get the magazine number
and address of the publishers from home.
Anyone out there know of other early (pre norman conquest) embroidery?
From: priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Early Period Embroideries
Date: 5 Oct 93 22:28:23 +1000
Organization: Vikings R Us
Unto the Fishyfolk of the Rialto, particularly tenth century Vikings and other
such suspect Early Period classes, greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
Jennifer of the Vanaheim Vikings writes mentioning the ninth and tenth century
Swedish finds from Birka, the tenth century Danish finds from the Mammen
burial, and unnamed Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical embroideries, then asks:
>Anyone out there know of other early (pre norman conquest) embroidery?
Here is an additional brief listing of extant embroideries from that period in
northern Europe.
Sixth-century Anglo-Saxon: fragment of wool stem stitch on lozenge twill wool
background found at Kempston.
Early seventh century Anglo-Saxon: Complicated loop-stitch embroidery over a
cushion seam at Sutton Hoo.
Mid-seventh century: couched spun-gold cuff trimmings on the overtunic of
"Arnegunde," a Frankish woman of apparent high rank buried at St.-Denis.
Probably Byzantine in origin.
Mid-seventh century Frankish: chain stitch silk on linen, "Chemise of St.
Bathilde," a Frankish queen.
Mid-ninth century Viking: Embroidery (reported in tantalizingly vague phrases)
on the tunics of the queen and servant buried in the Oseberg ship: partly
applique work. Details still unpublished, as far as I know.
Ninth century Anglo-Saxon: "casula" of Sts. Harlindis & Relindis, surface
couching and split stitch in silk and gold thread on linen.
Tenth century Anglo-Saxon: relics of St. Cuthbert including gorgeous
surface-couched vestments in gold thread and polychrome silks on extremely fine
silk net.
Mid-tenth century Viking: gold embroidery thread found with the garment
materials of the man buried in the Gokstad ship.
Late tenth century (?) Viking: Valsgarde Grave 15, Sweden, embroidered edging
for cloak in spun silver thread.
Early eleventh-century Jorvik (York): clumsy chain stitch on small samite
"relic bag."
Contact me for sources....
****************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY Frosted Hills
priest at vassar.edu East Kingdom
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
****************************************************************************
From: salley at niktow.canisius.edu (David Salley)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Contests and "Fanatical Authenticity Police"
Date: 17 Oct 93 12:47:02 GMT
Organization: Canisius College, Buffalo NY. 14208
Nicolaa/Susan writes:
> Regarding the back of embroidery being messy---
> I've gotten around the messy backp roblem by simply
> lining everything. It's period, and you can't grade down what you can't
> see. (I never knot my thread, anyway, so no problem there).
First of all, I'm speaking as someone who does NOT do embroidery, but has
too much experience running Ice Dragon A&S competitions. As I understand it,
the additional problem with judging embroidery is to determine whether the
piece is from scratch or a "kit", the latter having the pattern pre-printed
on the canvas. This is generally determined by checking the back, yes?
- Dagonell
SCA Persona : Lord Dagonell Collingwood of Emerald Lake, CSC, CK, CTr
Habitat : East Kingdom, AEthelmearc Principality, Rhydderich Hael Barony
Internet : salley at niktow.cs.canisius.edu
USnail-net : David P. Salley, 136 Shepard Street, Buffalo, New York 14212-2029
Time Traveller's Etiquette Tip #6: Your senior-most self should speak first.
From: cozzlab at garnet.berkeley.edu ()
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Contests and "Fanatical Authenticity Police"
Date: 18 Oct 1993 18:16:29 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
David Salley <salley at niktow.canisius.edu> wrote:
> [I thought]
>the additional problem with judging embroidery is to determine whether the
>piece is from scratch or a "kit", the latter having the pattern pre-printed
>on the canvas. This is generally determined by checking the back, yes?
No, it's because it's considered chic in several later-period embroidery
styles to have the wrong side look as neat and tidy as the right side.
You can't knot your thread and leave a tail, you have to weave the end
of the thread into the work so it doesn't show. You have to use the
minimum shortest distance in getting behind the scenes from the back
of motif A to the back of motif B. Et cetera. It's a form of showing
off.
Fortunately, it ISN'T PERIOD for Bayeux-Tapestry stitches, which is
what I mostly do. I've seen photos of the back of the B. T. and it
is delightfuly messy.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin
Dorothy Heydt
From: sclark at epas.utoronto.ca (Susan Clark)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Contests and "Fanatical Authenticity Police"
Date: 18 Oct 1993 21:19:34 -0400
Organization: EPAS Computing Facility, University of Toronto
Greetings....
Not all embroidery kits involve pre-printed fabric.
(Cross-stitch is a good example, as is many forms of needlepoint)
Furthermore, even when there is a pre-printed pattern, you often cannot
see it if the needlework is particularly thick.
Back-checking, in my (limited) experience is usually used as a guide
to the skill of the needleworker, the idea being that skilled
embroiderers produce neat backs (which is not always true). I'vSeems to
be a sort of "county fair" attitude towards this. (I'd love to
look at the backs of some of the _opus anglicanum_ cloaks in the papal
collection and see what the backs looked like!!!:-)
My point is that back-checking (and not the kind that
Doug Gilmour does :-)....another hockey joke...) is not necessarily
a criterion that a medieval person would have used to judge whether or
not a piece of embroidery was nice or not. They may have or
they may not have. Anyone know?
Cheers!
nicolaa/Susan
sclark at epas.utoronto.ca
From: habura at vccnw02.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Contests and "Fanatical Authenticity Police"
Date: 20 Oct 1993 12:31:34 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
On checking the backs of embroidery pieces: I have the impression that neat
or "sloppy" backs in Period embroidery are dictated more by the style of
embroidery than anything else. In blackwork, the back had *better* be neat,
or the out-of-place threads will show through the fabric and spoil the
regular geometry of the design. Fortunately, most blackwork patterns are easy
to do this way; many can be done so that the back is almost indistinguishable
from the front. On the other hand, the types of embroidery that use gold
thread are not going to be very handsome in back no matter what. In surface
couching, the placement of the couching threads over the gold is paramount,
and the gold has to be couched one row at a time, so the back will just be a
series of short stitches with no particular geometry to them. (Making the back
regular and "pretty" would make the front significantly worse.) In underside
couching, the back will be composed of parallel strands of couching thread
looped regularly with little nubbins of metallic thread. Not sloppy, really,
but hardly attractive, as the couching thread is chosen for durability, not
looks.
I am in the process of compiling material for a class on medieval embroidery.
I will try to answer this question more thoroughly as I go. Look for updates...
Alison MacDermot
From: priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: viking mens clothes at Birka
Date: 30 Nov 93 09:04:41 +1000
Organization: Vikings R Us
Unto the Fishyfolk of the Rialto, greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
Jennifer the Vanaheim Viking writes:
>(If anyone gets enthusiastic enough to reproduce some of the gorgeous
>metal embroidery in the textile finds book I'd love to hear about it)
Do you mean the passementerie, the embroidery, the schlingenstich, the
brocading, or the osenstich? ;>
Dof and I have both made and trimmed garments with passementerie, the knotwork
technique; most of the work has been in craft guimpe, not in metal, but we did
discover that silver-plated guitar wire makes an excellent visual substitute
for "spiralsilber" and makes nice bead-and-loop sets like the ones in the
plates. The straight embroidery is not too interesting (stem stitch, mostly).
I have worked with brocaded tablet-weaving. Neither of us has experimented
with schlingenstich yet, so those silly little hat dingle-balls are yet to
come. I've only tried osenstich once or twice, but Dof has gotten pretty good
at it. So far he's limited his work to tubular pieces to hang pendants from,
but he wants to get some real silver wire so he can make more elegant pieces
and maybe some of those women's hanging sphere pendants. We haven't discussed
making some of the wide flat pieces yet; it might take outside funding. ;>
***************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY Frosted Hills ("where's that?")
priest at vassar.edu East Kingdom
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
***************************************************************************
From: sapalmer at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Sharon A Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: embroidery
Date: 15 Dec 1994 19:19:57 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University
Joe Cook <joe at imr.usa.com> wrote:
>Greetings from Signore Giuseppe da Borgia!
>
> As an embroidery apprentice, I am always on the lookout for news
>sources of documentation. In particular, I am interested in Italian
>Renaissance, French (12th century and Renaissance) and early English.
> Is there anything interesting out there?
I have been reading Santina Levey _Lace: A History_ ISBN 0-901286-X.
As the title says this is a lace history book, but there is a lot
of embroidery also. Including whitework, cutwork, lacis, and reticella.
There are also good costuming references for the 16th century.
I have really been enjoying this book. I have it from ILL, but
I will have to try and get a copy for myself.
Ranvaig
From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: More on embr. Tiraz bands
Date: 1 Jan 1995 18:20:11 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
I don't remember who it was that was asking about this subject a while
ago (i.e., whether the bands of Arabic writing found on clothing were
ever embroidered as opposed to being woven in). The January issue of
Piecework magazine has a photograph of an embroidered tiraz band from the
14-15th century (if I recall correctly -- the magazine was at someone
else's house) done in a black double-running stitch (sometimes known as
"Holbein stitch", I believe) on white, with rather angular letters that
appear as outlined shapes. (Oh, I give up on the description -- go buy a
copy of the magazine.) It's only the one example, but I think is exactly
the sort of thing the original question was looking for.
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn
From: Kim.Salazar at em.doe.GOV
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: CRAFT: Embroidery
Date: 27 Jan 1995 08:44:41 -0500
Organization: The Internet
To the accomplished gentles assembled here on the bridge, a plea for
assistance in a minor matter:
I am looking for a special ground fabric used in period counted thread
embroidery (or a modern equivalent of that cloth). The particular
stitching style I wish to recreate was popular throughout the 1500s
and early/mid-1600s.
The kind of fabric I'm interested in was called "Burato", and was an
extremely fine open weave linen mesh. Burato was first cited by name
in a German embroidery book published in 1530, although pieces that
predate the mention survive.
The structure of Burato is similar to the double weave of Penelope
canvas (an invention of the mid-1800s), but the individual threads are
extremely fine, comparable to those found in muslin or 60-count even
weave linen. There are about 15-20 Burato meshes per inch.
When embroidered in Spanish Stitch (also called double running stitch,
or Holbein stitch) the overall effect of Burato worked in monochrome
silk is that of a crisp, bold design floating on a web-like
background. I have not been able to find any modern equivalent by
mail order or in specialty stores.
Regular even weave linen or the modern counted thread ground fabrics
are way too coarse. I've even tried taking muslin and fine linen and
drawing out threads to approximate the mesh structure. The result is
too fragile, and the remaining threads are too easily displaced while
stitching.
Has anyone seen something similar to Burato, or does anyone have a
lead on potential sources for really esoteric embroidery materials?
My thanks for your help, and apologies for broadcasting such trivia at
large.
Ianthe d'Averoigne, OR, OL kim.salazar at em.doe.gov
Forever a Carolingian
From: habura at vccnw03.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Embroidery Stitches
Date: 9 Mar 1995 16:04:11 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
For M. Gyelle: Much depends on the style you're trying to emulate. While
there are large numbers of different stitches, materials, and designs
that are appropriate for 13th c. Europe, there were distinctive styles.
One of the most famous is _opus Anglicanum_, which was in its golden age
in the 13th c. The "typical" stitches of this style are split stitch and
underside couching, although a number of other stitches were used when
a specific effect was desired. German whitework used neither stitch
extensively, if at all; if my memory is good (my copy of Staniland has
gone walkabout) the predominant stitches in _that_ form were various
drawn- and pulled-thread techniques, plus some cross stitch. There are
a few Scandinavian pieces that use cutwork and applique, with gilded
leather for glitz. Some researchers date Assisi work to the 13th c.
I guess the question would be: how firm are you on a 13th c. date? If the
answer is "very", I'd skip using the Bayeux Tapestry couching technique,
which I have been unable to find anywhere else. Is it Period? Sure.
Was it in use in the 13th c? I have no evidence that it was. Similarly,
you'd want to avoid techniques like _or nue'_, which seems to be a
15th c. innovation.
If, on the other hand, you just want "period", then there's a lot more
out there. I haven't mentioned later forms like blackwork and stumpwork,
which are more characteristic of the later parts of our period of study.
I would encourage you to attempt a temporally-consistent work, though.
It is very satisfying when the piece is completed; the work has a certain
balance and "rightness" to it that seems, to my eye at least, to be lacking
in pieces that mix elements of several styles. I will be delighted to help
if you'd like to try this. On the other hand, if you just want to use
Period stitches in a way that pleases you, I can help there too.
Alison MacDermot
From: priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Embroidery Stitches
Date: 13 Mar 95 10:44:45 +1000
Organization: Vassar College
Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
One of my favorite needle jocks, Alison (habura at vccnw03.its.rpi.edu), wrote:
> I guess the question would be: how firm are you on a 13th c. date? If the
> answer is "very", I'd skip using the Bayeux Tapestry couching technique,
> which I have been unable to find anywhere else. Is it Period? Sure.
> Was it in use in the 13th c? I have no evidence that it was.
There are fourteen extant Icelandic medieval/renaissance embroideries that use
the laid and couched technique of the Bayeux Tapestry. In Icelandic it's
called "refilsaumr," or "refil stitch,": "refil" is the Old Norse/Icelandic
word that signifies a horizontal frieze-style wall hanging.
The Icelanic pieces are variously dated; the earliest piece seems to be from
the second half of the fourteenth century. Many are Renaissance (in date, not
in style; they look very "medieval" to me), and some are even post-period.
The persistence of this stitch plus its name, evocative of early period frieze
hangings, suggests to me that it was indeed in use in Iceland in the thirteenth
century. But of course that's just a guess.
My source is Elsa Gudjonsson's TRADITIONAL ICELANDIC EMBROIDERY (Reykjavik:
Iceland Review, 1985). There are some interesting photos of late period
embroideries, including 15th and 16th century lacis work, in this book. My
favorite is the medieval pattern-darned interlace piece.
***************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY Frosted Hills ("where's that?")
priest at vassar.edu East Kingdom
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
***************************************************************************
From: habura at rebecca.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Embroidery Stitches
Date: 19 Mar 1995 13:37:53 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
For M. Gyelle: Ah! So it's to be an actual tapestry kind of tapestry.
Gotcha. There's another (more German) style of narrative tapestry work that
is (I think) 13th c.; my copy of Staniland's _Medieval Craftsmen: The
Embroiderers_ is *still* on walkabout, but if you can get your hands on
a copy, it's in there. The technique uses fine polychrome wool in some
variety of tight filling stitch; it looks like it might be split stitch,
but it's hard to tell. It will be more work, though, beause the entire
surface is embroidered, as opposed to the Bayeux Tapestry method of
leaving the background blank. The hanging I mention tells the story of
Tristan and Isolde.
Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*
From: habura at vccnorth12.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: looking for an embroidery book, please?
Date: 30 Mar 1995 15:25:36 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
For Simonetta:
The question is, is this the correct title, or the correct author? My book
(my God, I'd forgotten about it!) is called _The Embroiderer's Companion_.
The _Esemplario_ is a copy of a late-period embroidery book, and was
reprinted by Falconwood Press, an SCA publisher (the owner is Shoshona
Jehane ferch Emrys.) Both have buff covers. The _Companion_ has a design of
interlaced needles on the cover and is comb-bound; the _Esemplario_ has
woodcuts of women embroidering on the cover and is stapled together.
(Yes, I have copies of both---how could you tell?)
Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*
From: Kim.Salazar at em.doe.GOV
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: A&S OOP? (embroidery)
Date: 18 May 1995 16:27:14 -0400
Organization: The Internet
Lady Chimene [DUNHAM%EUGLIB at mred.lane.EDU (PATSY DUNHAM)] writes:
>Tatiana's wonderful quote on how the ladies passed their time brought me back,
>in stream-of-consciousness fashion, to an embroidery question I have harbored
>for years.
>In Diana Norman's _Fitzempress' Law_ there is a list of embroidery stitches:
> "frilled work, German and Saracen work, scalloping, the perroun, the
> melice and diaper work, the peynet and the gernette, double-samite..."
>on p. 221, in the section describing the way the young women who were Henry
>II's wards were spending their days. I've never heard of most of these terms,
>and wonder if anyone out there could point me toward some documentation.
>Thanks,
>Chimene
To Lady Chimene, from Ianthe d'Averoigne, fair greetings.
I am writing this from work, and have no recourse to my full library
or notes. Please take anything said here as suggestion - not canon
truth. I'll keep digging. If I turn up any more, I'll post it too.
I haven't run across a couple of the terms you mention, and I'd love
to find out if anyone else has more information on them.
An educated guess as to what was meant, based on some research I've
been doing:
Frilled work: I'm not sure.
German and Saracen work: Probably counted thread work. Opus
Teutonicum was an elaborate form of pattern darning in which areas of
the design were outlined with a heavy stitch, then filled in with
different patterns in darning. This was usually embroidered in
natural colors or very light colored linen thread on linen ground.
Saracen work (aka Moorish work) sometimes referred to step
stitch-style counted thread patterns embroidered in dark colors on a
linen background - the ancestor of Jane Seymour's cuffs.
Scalloping: Early pattern books (circa 1524) use "scalloping" to mean
a style of applique in which a strip of fabric intended to be applied
is cut longitudinally in a manner in which the two halves when
separated, were identical (Clever! No waste!). The two haves which
(until they were cut apart fit together like puzzle pieces) were
appliqued end to end. Some German pattern books published in the late
1520s feature intricate patterns for use in this manner. I've never
attempted drafting up a sample to try out.
Perroun: Again, not sure
Melice and diaper work: Diaper work is pattern darned linen - usually
though not always worked in the same color as the ground fabric. Such
over worked linen was especially absorbent. The modern usage of
"diaper" (cover for a baby's bottom) is a descendent of the use of the
term to mean a generic (very) absorbent cloth.
Peynet and gernette: And a third time, not sure.
Double samite: Samite was a heavy fabric, presumed to be silk. Could
double-samite refer to quilting together two thicknesses of samite,
with trapunto style stuffing inserted in the pattern areas? I know
this style of quilting was practiced in period, but quilting is not my
area of research.
Sources:
Synge, Lanto. Antique Needlework. London: Blandford Press, 1982.
Scalloping
Opus Teutonicum, samite, general reference
Staniland, Kay. Embroiderers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1991.
General reference, Diaper.
Paludan, Charlotte and Lone de Hemmer Engeberg. 98 Monsterboger til
Broderi, Knipling og Strikning (98 Pattern Books for Embroidery, Lace,
and Knitting). Danske Kunstindustrimuseum, 1991.
Catalog of early pattern books in Danish Folk Art Museum. Partial
translation.
Ianthe d'Averoigne, OR, OL kim.salazar at em.doe.gov
From: UDSD007 at DSIBM.OKLADOT.STATE.OK.US (Mike.Andrews)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: colored, patterned cross-stitch
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 19:53
Organization: The University of Oklahoma (USA)
jcole at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (cole joan) writes:
>I believe the author is Pamela Warner. I checked this book out recently
>from the Champaign Public Library.
>Unfortunately, I also returned it, so I can't cite the ISBN now.
From the Library of Congress:
Warner, Pamela.
Embroidery : a history / Pamela Warner. London : B.T. Batsford, 1991. 208
p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
LC CALL NUMBER: NK9243.A1 W37 1991
SUBJECTS:
Embroidery--England--History.
DEWEY DEC: 746.44/0942 dc20
NOTES:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206) and index.
--
udsd007 at ibm.okladot.state.ok.us
Michael Fenwick of Fotheringhay, O.L. (Mike Andrews) Namron, Ansteorra
From: brettwi at ix.netcom.com (Brett Williams )
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: opus
Date: 7 Aug 1995 20:31:49 GMT
psyche at io.org (Psyche) writes:
>Once upon a time, Habura at vccnw02.its.rpi.ed said to All...
> Ha> ground fabric is covered with stitches. The medieval name for this
> Ha> form, according to EGI Christie, is _opus pluvinarium_.
>
>Does anyone know of any books with more informtion about this, or any other,
>medieval and renaissance embroidery? I've run through everything at the local
>public library.
>
>Lady Edelgard Erzsebet von Wuerttemberg
I have a copy of Traditional Embroidered Animals, written by Sara Don,
ISBN 0-7153-8967-X, in hardback, that addresses a lot of period
embroidery techniques within the context of the title, that of animals.
It's a general survey book-- there's a section here and there on just
about every major period embroidery technique. And, it has projects.
My personal favorite is Canis The Dog, based on a medieval bestiary
illustration from a Latin manuscript translated by T. H. White. When I
checked my copy of the bestiary translation, the project illustration
exactly copied the style and form of the illuminator's dog.
ciorstan macAmhlaidh, CHA, AoA
From: mie at faline..bellcore.com (Martin I Eiger)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: **Embroidary Patterns**
Date: 11 Aug 1995 02:16:06 GMT
Organization: Bellcore MRE
Lonewolf <h903 at jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca> writes:
>We are just starting into the SCA, and my Girlfriend is looking for some
>books on mediaval Embriodary patterns....and I am looking for patterns
>and etc for armor...I have a few but any help on ht earmor would be
>appreciated, and the Embriodary books I'd be forever in debt for...
>
>Lonewolf
For embroidery patterns, you might try consulting the FAQ for
rec.crafts.textiles.needlework.
Some books I've found useful are:
Bahouth, Candace. Flowers, Birds, and Unicorns: Medieval Needlepoint.
NY: Harry Abrams, 1993.
Don, Sarah. Traditional Embroidered Animals. NY: Sterling Publishing
Co., 1990.
Drysdale, Rosemary. The Art of Blackwork Embroidery. NY: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1975.
Montclare, Kay. Patterns From Seventeenth Century European Samplers.
(self-published; Available from Special Projects, 232 Osgood Road,
Milford, N.H. 03055-3430.)
O'Steen, Darlene. The Proper Stitch. Birmingham, AL: Symbol of
Excellence Publishers, 1994.
Note that these are basically how-to books with pretty patterns that
are passably very late period. As far as I know, there aren't a lot
of books out there that provide reasonable patterns _and_ a scholarly
study of the textiles.
Recently, I saw an announcement for a book that looks promising, _The
New Carolingian Modelbook_ by Ianthe d'Averoigne (mka Kim Salazar).
Perhaps someone else on the Rialto can provide more information (such
as whether it is available yet, and how much it costs)?
Hope this helps!
Elisa Montagna del Susino
Azure ermined or, a sea unicorn naiant reguardant argent
Elisa Eiger
elisa_eiger at prenhall.com
From: connect at aol.com (CONNECT)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period technique (Banners)
Date: 18 Aug 1995 16:31:09 -0400
Eilidh Swann of Strathlachlan said:
>>>(Diapering,
for the heraldically-challenged is the swirly brocade-like decoration
of a background). Oh, does anyone know what period diapering was
specific to?<<<
I don't know if this helps or not, but Blackwork has a lot of "diaper"
patterns for doing backgrounds. Blackwork is an Elizabethan mixture of
embroidery and cross stitch, and you can see a lot of it on Tudor and
Elizabethan portraits. It also wasn't always black on white. <g>
Yours,
Rosalyn MacGregor of Glen Orchy
Pattie Rayl of Ann Arbor, MI
From: ksalazar at saltmine.radix.net (Kim Salazar)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Kim Brody Salazar - Please read
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 01:07:12 GMT
JANA R. Covacevich <75231.147 at CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>I have just various posts regarding a book called The Carolingian
>Modelbook. Sounds great! I would like to purchase. Please
>email info to me. Thanks...
>--
>Jana in New Orleans...
To Janna from Ianthe, fair greetings,
Please excuse me for posting this information for all on the Rialto to
see. I've had many inquiries about The New Carolingian Modelbook, and
I thought that public announcement would help stem the general tide of
curiousity.
Here is the full citation for the book:
Salazar, Kim Brody (writing as Ianthe d'Averoigne). The New
Carolingian Modelbook. Albuquerque: Outlaw Press, 1995. ISBN
0-9642082-2-9
The publisher's addresses are:
outlaw at rt66.com
The Outlaw Press
160 Washington SE, Suite 43
Albuquerque, NM 87108-2749
TNCM contains more than 230 counted thread patterns from before 1600 -
all with specific citations of provenance and date. You can view a
sample of the book at this WWW site.
http://www.rt66.com/outlaw/tncm.html
Please let me know if you have any problems ordering the book.
Happy stitching,
-kim kim.salazar at em.doe.gov
ksalazar at radix.net
From: outlaw at rt66.com (Robert A. Goff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,,rec.arts.books.marketplace,,rec.crafts.marketplace
Subject: NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Medieval Embroidery
Date: Tue, 07 Nov 1995 10:17:59 -0700
Organization: The Outlaw Press
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////
//////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
A N N O U N C I N G
*********************************
* The New Carolingian Modelbook *
* by *
* Ianthe d'Averoigne *
*********************************
Counted Embroidery Patterns From Before 1600
In the tradition of antique embroidery pattern books,
author Kim Salazar has collected nearly 200 of the
most beautiful Medieval counted embroidery patterns
directly from their original sources. These patterns
are painstakingly reproduced in 81/2" x 11" format
with descriptions and source references on the facing
pages.
Kim Salazar, writing as Ianthe d'Averoigne, is a
recognized authority on embroidery in the Washington,
D.C.-area historical embroidery community. She has
won several awards for her needlework, including the
Nellie Custis Lewis Prize in the prestigious Woodlawn
Plantation Needlework Exhibition. She is a long-time
member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an
international Medieval re-creation organization, and
has earned its highest honor for technical merit, the
Order of the Laurel. Several of her award-winning
patterns are included in the book.
Available Now!
====================================================
For more information, contact:
The Outlaw Press
160 Washington SE #43, Albuquerque, NM 87108-2749
(505)266-3057 internet: outlaw at rt66.com
Or visit our Online Catalog:
<URL:http://www.rt66.com/outlaw/>
----------------------------------------------------
Feel free to distribute this announcement.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////
//////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Robert Goff, Head Scribe and Vellum Scraper, The Outlaw Press
(505)266-3057 - outlaw at rt66.com - http://www.rt66.com/outlaw/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: habura at rebecca.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: info on houpelandes
Date: 9 Dec 1995 19:40:49 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
The ornamented houppelande: A qualified "yes".
My main area of research is High Medieval embroidery. Here's what
I know:
1) 50 years before the houppelande turned the fashion world on
its ear, English and French nobles were wearing elaborately
embroidered mantles and surcotes. Said garments are specifically
described as embroidered in Wardrobe inventories, and contemporary
pictorial evidence suggests that a lot of the embroidery covered
the entire garment; a design with twining vines enclosing animals,
objects, and/or monsters was quite popular.
2) There are several portraits of Philip the Bold, Duke of
Burgundy, wearing a houppelande decorated with the very same twining-
vines pattern, enclosing his badge, a wood plane. The design is
in gold, highly consistent with the 14th c. examples.
However,
3) The consensus of several researchers is that the English embroidery
industry took a header around 1400, due (some suggest) to the
increasing skill of the Italian weavers in producing highly
ornamental cloth. It is certainly true that the textiles of the
period are stunning.
My guess: 15th c. pictorial evidence is inconclusive; the ornaments
on most decorated houppelandes (for example, those on the nobles
in the _Tres Riches Heurs_) are regular repeats, which could
easily be reproduced by weaving. Equally true, however, is that
the same sources show what must be embroidered clothing; two of
the noble servitors in the January page of the Tres Riches Heurs
wear hosen with ornamental bands that I believe to be embroidered.
My gut says that houppelandes could have been ornamented either
by use of brocaded cloth or of embroidery, but that the embroidery
became rarer as the cost differential continued to increase.
Alison macDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*
From: jpathomas at aol.com (JPAThomas)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: 22 Mar 1996 03:59:16 -0500
Are you looking for period examples or for instructions in period
techniques? There's a lovely book from the V & A on their embroidery
collection, currently in print, called _Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to
1750_.
Hedgehog Handworks, one of our local merchants, does mail order, has a
huge book selection and specializes in period stuff: their phone number
is (310) 670-6040.
Best of luck!
Mistress Angelina Nicollette de Beaumont
MKA Karen Allen
From: habura at lib103.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: 22 Mar 1996 15:09:40 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Hi, Caelainn!
In my opinion, the best in-print embroidery book for our period is Kay
Staniland's _Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers_ (University of Toronto
Press, 1992). It's expensive for a paperback but worth every penny.
You will also want to go and make friends with the Interlibrary Loan
folks at your local library. Look for books on textile history,
medieval liturgical garments, and portraiture.
You can also Email me. My specialty is Gothic embroidery.
Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*
From: brettwi at ix.netcom.com(Brett Williams)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: 22 Mar 1996 17:07:58 GMT
"John H. Hagen" <hage0176 at tc.umn.edu> writes:
>I would like to learn more about Medieval Embroidery and would like to
>find some good source books to buy. I have already looked in the Known
>World Handbook so I have a list of maybe 10 books that I am sure
>are out of print. Do any of you currant Needle Jocks have any
>suggestions for other source books that may be easier to find? I am a
>beginner, so at this point I have nothing.
>
>Thanks in advance...
>Caelainn Mhoireach
>MKA Dawn M. Hagen
I have a recent copy (1990) of Sara Don's "Traditional Embroidered
Animals", a British import (ISBN 0-7153-8967-X) which is chock-full of
pictures of SCA period works. It's organized by one technique per
chapter (1: The Bayeux Tapestry; 2: Animals in Medieval Ecclesiastical
Embroidery; 2:Sixteenth Century Canvaswork;4: Elizabethan
Creatures...). There's even a pretty good black and white photo of a
seal bag in the Guildhall in London that holds a charter dated 8 June
1319.
While it's in way really scholarly or truly comprehensive, it's a good
way to start. I particularly like the 'project' for "Canis the Dog", an
embroidery interpretation of an illustration from a mediaval bestiary
translated by T.H. White-- someday I'll attempt it in my Copious
Amounts of Spare Time...*sigh*...someday.
ciorstan
From: alisoun at bcn.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: 23 Mar 1996 15:43:26 GMT
Organization: The Berkshire County Network
> "Caelainn Mhoireach" <hage0176 at tc.umn.edu> writes:
> I would like to learn more about Medieval Embroidery and would like to find some good source books to
> buy.
>>>>
Here is a selection of fairly recent books. My interest is Elizabethan embroidery, so there is a strong slant
toward the late 1500's. Also, stop by my home page, http://bcn.net/~alisoun for some photographs of my
embroidery, lace and clothing re-creations.
Lady Alisoun Fortescue of Maplehurst
Books:
Arnold, Janet. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd,
Leeds: W. S. Maney & Son, 1988.
Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Frances Pritchard and Kay Staniland.
Textiles and Clothing c.1150-1450, London: HMSO, 1992.
Epstein, Kathleen. A New Modelbook for Spanish Stitch,
Austin: Curious Works Press, 1993.
King, Donald and Santina Levey. The Victoria and Albert
Museum's Textile Collection Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to
1750. New York: Canopy Books, 1993.
Montclare, Kay. The Jane Bostocke Sampler. Privately
Printed, n.d. (available with a kit from The World in Stitches, Littleton Common, MA)
O'Steen, Darlene. The Proper Stitch. Birmingham, AL:
Symbol of Excellence Publishers, 1994.
Staniland, Kay. Embroiderers. Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 1991.
Wardle, Patricia. Guide to English Embroidery. London:
HMSO, 1970.
***************************
Pat LaPointe
alisoun at bcn.net
http://bcn.net/~alisoun
***************************
From: rgoff at outlawpress.com (Robert A. Goff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 14:23:40 -0700
Organization: The Outlaw Press
"John H. Hagen" <hage0176 at tc.umn.edu> wrote:
>I would like to learn more about Medieval Embroidery and would like to
find some good source books to buy.
You might try a catalog called Hard to Find Needlework Books, 96 Roundwood
Road, Newton, MA 02164-1217, 617-969-0942. They carry, among other
things, our "New Carolingian Modelbook: Counted Embroidery Patterns from
Before 1600".
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Robert Goff, Head Scribe and Vellum Scraper, The Outlaw Press
(500)447-0070 - (505)255-9801 (fax)
rgoff at outlawpress.com - http://www.outlawpress.com/outlaw/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: Tonya Stapleton <needlewerk at tiger.avana.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Medieval Embroidery
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 19:31:47 PDT
Organization: Avana Communications Corp.
> I would like to learn more about Medieval Embroidery and would like to find
some good source books to
> buy. I have already looked in the Known World Handbook so I have a list of
maybe 10 books that I am sure
> are out of print. Do any of you currant Needle Jocks have any suggestions
for other source books that may
> be easier to find? I am a beginner, so at this point I have nothing.
>
> Thanks in advance...
> Caelainn Mhoireach
> MKA Dawn M. Hagen
>
Good Gentle,
You might wish to try Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book. It gives good
illustrations and period reference in an easy to understand format so that you
can experience the different aspects of Medieval Embroidery. You might also
wish to try the Victoria & Albert's Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750.
It gives excellent pictures of extant pieces found within the museum's
collection as well as a good description of the stitches used in the piece.
If you find yourself in need of more assistance, feel free to e-mail me at the
above address.
Happy stitching!!
Mistress Erina Shanahan
mka T. Stapleton
From: Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri <robinson at avana.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,
Subject: Beadwork on Middle Eastern Garb
Date: Wed, 08 May 96 17:34:57 PDT
Organization: Avana Communications Corp.
I have just made a major documentation run on the local university (looking
for embroidery, primarily but also beads and beadwork). A few tidbits:
--Oldest extant embroidery (satin and stem stitch) is on a funerary shirt for
King Tutankhamen, dated roughly 1400 BC
--Maghrebi style of embroidery first used 600-700 AD in Arabia and North
Africa (Morocco)--largely geometric patterns, highly elaborate,designs similar
to S. Italian and Balkan motifs, Indistinguishable from Aegean (Naxos),
Palestinian designs; used stem stitch, thick cross stitch, satin stitch, split
satin, chain
--Predominant color red, predominant ground color indigo, black, dark green,
ground cloth linen or cotton, embroidery material silk and metal, rarely
cotton
--What was embroidered: anything that stood still and that people might
see--pants, coats, shirts, hankies, turban covers, shoes, scabbards, quivers,
saddles, animal hangings, tents, bags, etc.
--Where was it embroidered: anywhere people might see it--you don't embroider
what will be covered by something else (except for thawbs)
--Designs: If it is on an oriental carpet, it is fair game for embroidery--the
motifs and patterns were used for both and were often village or tribal
property
and now....
BEADS!! SEED BEADS ARE PERIOD!! Very small beads were first produced in
Pharaonic Egypt, but glass beads of 1-3 mm size were being produced in Arabia
from 700 to 1400 AD, when the Mongols invaded, and glass beadmaking moved to
Venice, which became famous for seed beads about 100 years later.
Now I have to document putting the damn things on clothes--altho I found
PRIMARY DOCUMENTATION of a complete set of Turkish woman's clothes which was
elaborately beaded--1545, Topkapi Saray museum.
Sources: Harris, Textiles, 5000 years
Taylor, Ottoman Embroidery
Dubin, The History of Beads
Trilling, Aegean Crossroads
In service to the Furtherment of Things Middle Eastern,
Sayyida Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri
From: MMS6824 at tntech.EDU (Mary M Spila)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Magazine Antiques
Date: 27 May 1996 11:37:22 -0400
This month's issue of "The Magazine Antiques" (June 1996), has a wonderful
article on English needlework. The article is called "The Needle's Excellency:
English Needlework of the Tudor and Stuart Periods in the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston", pages 850-861.
THe article has wonderful photographs of items including an embroidered bodice,
gloves and a small purse/bag.
If there is anyone here from the boston area, I would love a picture of the
front of the bodice shown. I would love to try to reproduce the pattern, and
possibly the embroidery.
thanks - M
============================================================================
Mary Spila Lady Marian O'Liam, Clann Kyle
TTU P.O. Box 5224 Seneschale, Shire of Ezaret
Cookeville, TN 38505 Kingdom of Meridies
mms6824 at tntech.edu
From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Initials
Date: 3 Jun 1996 16:22:15 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Larkin O'Kane (larkin at webstar.net) wrote:
: A lady in our shire has proposed a question to me and I pass it on to those
: assembled on the bridge. How would (if at all) a lady in Ireland around
: 1400 embroider here initials on a purse. If the ladies first initial were
: "C" and here last name was "O'Kane" would she embroider "C K", "C O'K", "CoK",
: or what?
Based on the examples I've seen of medieval items decorated with personal
initials, the general choice seems to be using only the initial of the
given name. Often decorative initials would commemorate a marriage, in
which case a design incorporating the initial of both given names would
be used. (I will add a caveat that the majority of examples of
decorative initials I've seen have belonged to high nobility and royalty
-- who may or may not represent more usual practice, but they're the ones
whose artifacts have survived!)
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 15:48:45 -0400
From: karen at georesearch.com (Karen Green)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Applique for Circles
Lady Carllein wrote:
> A lot of period applique had cord appliqued around the edges. Not only
> would it be authentic, but it would help hide the edges of your circles if
> you could not get them to come out perfect.
I've seen an example of this in Staniland's book on medieval
embroiderers; the gold cord (which could be simulated by a Kreinik thick
gold braid -- I'm not sure exactly which one, though) seems to have been
couched over the place where the base fabric and the appliqui meet.
Very spiffy-looking :)
Karen Larsdatter
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
bringing some DMC gold metallic to work on embroidery at Pennsic :)
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 11:59:43 -0400
From: karen at georesearch.com (Karen Green)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: backstitch/cross stitch
Lady Mairi Broder wrote:
> M'lady,
> Backstitch WAS used in Azzizi work to outline the figures. I don't have
> my docs. handy, but could look them up for you in a day or two.
> Azzizi work [if you haven't seen it] is done by outlineing the figures
> with backstitch and then filling in the background with [usually] a long
> arm cross stitch. We did an Estrella War Point where that was one of
> the A/S categories andour then Minister of A/S Her Ladyship Fiona Gwylt
> Winn did a wonderful job of putting together some doc. for those
> of us who needed it. I still have mine.....somewhere....
I've seen Assisi work too (called "voiding" in period, I suspect; the
relatively recent and OOP renaissance in this style of stitching was
based in Assisi, Italy) ... generally the background is done in a
monotone, and the backstitch outlining the voided image is in a slightly
darker color. However, it's not always cross stitch and backstitch; it
can also be Italian cross (a reversable cousin of cross stitch) with
double running stitch on the outlines (also reversable).
What I was talking about on the "Elegant Tapestry" is the fact that the
backstitches are used to outline and define curved figures on the
surface of the embroidery (the backstitch in Assisi generally defines
the border between the stitched space and the white space, or outlines
in either of the above) and is in multiple colors to suit the different
objects being outlined, which AFAIK isn't period ... I suspect the fact
that backstitch on Assisi/voiding work is period isn't enough to justify
the backstitch on the "Elegant Tapestry."
Karen Larsdatter
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 97 14:22:24 EST
From: Terry_A._Harper at hud.gov
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: backstitch/cross stitch
I just received a book from Amazon.com that's called
"Medieval Textiles from Egypt, 300 A.D. to 1300 A.D." this
was published by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
There is an example of backstitch embroidery from the
Byzantine period (I think I'm recalling this correctly, the
book is at home and I'm at work). This embroidery seems to
be a trim looking remarkably like blackwork, although it's
done in backstitch only. Black wool on linen ground.
HL Rhiain ferch Muirgheal
From: mmy at fp.co.nz (Maggie.Mulvaney)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?
Tarrach Alfson wrote;
>Greetings, I am looking for references or information dealing with
>embroidery practices in northern europe prior to 1066. Specifically, I
>am interested in learning what sort of thread diameters and stitch sizes
>they were using as well as info on what types of stitches were commonly
>employed. Any help in this quest will be greatly appreciated.
There is quite a lot of information. I haven't got any of my
references near me right now, but look for references to Oseberg,
Birka, St. Dunstan, Maaseik... Slightly later there is of course the
Bayeux tapestry and Mammen (which was heavily embroidered).
In summary (of what I've seen on the topic, which is certainly not
complete and please everyone do fill in/correct me), stem stitch was
the major stitch, and much of the embroidery of the time would
actually be rows and rows of stemstitch, filling in an area defined by
an outline, sometimes in a different colour or shade, but still done
in stemstitch. Split stitch was also used, as was underside couching
with gold thread. Various intriguing variants were also used, for
example in the Oseberg find there's 'olympic rings' over a seam. I've
got a picture of that one at the bottom of the article on Oseberg on
my fledgling webpage,=20
http://www.fp.co.nz/users/m/maggiem/costume/oseberg.htm
On the net, you can also check out Ravensgard's homepages, and see
what the Anglo-Saxon groups have got, there's Angelcynn for example.
As for the thread, embroidery I've seen is either wool, gold, or silk.
The wool embroidery and tablet weaving threads tend to be two-ply,
quite thin. I've used the stranded tapestry (not the DMC type, that
tends to be woolen and too weak) wool as an off-the-shelf replacement,
but now I'm starting to be able to spin fine enough thread and am
experimenting with different natural dyes. Hopefully a small-scale
merchant opportunity for Canterbury Faire. :)
Silk is usually very fine, single stranded. Gold thread was foil
wrapped around a silk core in the north-west of europe, and drawn
solid gold in scandinavia (as a rule, not hard and fast). 'Jap' gold
thread is still done as foil on silk, and comes in different
diameters, but it's quite expensive. Underside couching is quite
difficult (I feel), so I'd suggest to practice on something cheaper
until you are confident about it.
It's a start... I'm sure the more knowledgeable here will fill in more
information.
/mmy
************************************************************
* MMY * Maggie.Mulvaney at fp.co.nz *
* Maggie Mulvaney * http://www.fpnet.co.nz/users/m/maggiem *
************************************************************
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 22:23:55 GMT
From: mmy at fp.co.nz (Maggie.Mulvaney)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?
>Can you pleasepleaseplease explain to me what underside couching
>is? I've heard of this before, but none of the multiple books I
>have show or explain it. Sounds like fun............<g>
ah. hmm.
OK, start by thinking about couching. You lay one thread on top of the
fabric, and stitch it down. The thread you used for couching comes up
on one side of the embroidery thread and goes down on the other. The
actual gold thread lies flat on top of the fabric.
Underside couching is when you have the couching thread coming up and
going down in the same stitch hole, forming a loop around the gold
thread and *pulling it through* the fabric. You end up with the gold
thread disappearing through the fabric at regular intervals, and the
couching thread lying flat on the underside of the fabric.
The stitch is the same as your sewing machine uses, with an over- and
underthread. If you set the tension on the overthread too loose, the
underthread will pull the overthread through the material and form a
little loop underneath, yeah? That's underside couching.
The reasoning behind it is that a normal couched embroidery of metal
thread will be very stiff. With underside couching you get a 'hinge'
in the metal thread, and so the fabric will move easier.=20
does that help at all?
/mmy
************************************************************
* MMY * Maggie.Mulvaney at fp.co.nz *=20
* Maggie Mulvaney * http://www.fpnet.co.nz/users/m/maggiem *
************************************************************
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 17:39:23 -0400
From: karen at georesearch.com (Karen Green)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: References (was Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?)
Alban wrote:
> If anyone comes up with such a set of references, could you copy me?
> My Laurel's an embroiderer, and she might be interested in such things.
> Heck, quite a few embroideres would be interested. . . .
Here's a few of my personal faves ...
- Kay Staniland, "Embroiderers (Medieval Craftsmen)"
- Donald King and Santina Levey, "The Victoria & Albert Museum's Textile
Collection : Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750"
- Pamela Warner, "Embroidery: A History" (it's out of print though)
- Thomasina Beck, "The Embroiderer's Story: Needlework from the
Renaissance to the Present Day" (not really about early embroiderers --
it starts out in the Elizabethan era -- but it's pretty neat, it goes
into who was embroidering and why)
- Liz Arthur, "Embroidery 1600-1700: At the Burrell Collection" (again,
not early period stuff, but it sure is purdy) ... it says it's out of
print but I know I've seen it at Border's Books, and recently too
Then there's always Schuette ... sigh ... sure wish I could find a copy
in the library ... or have a copy willed to me by a long lost auntie ...
Other books on the Karen Wish List (many of which I'm considering
ordering from Hard-To-Find Needlework Books
[http://www.needleworkbooks.com/]): Remington's "English Domestic
Needlework," Epstein's "German Renaissance Patterns for Embroidery,"
Clabburn's "Samplers," Visser's "Merklappen uit de lage landen,"
Epstein's "New Modelbook for Spanish Stitch," and Montclare's "Patterns
from Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Spanish Samplers" ... but then and
again I'm into later-period stuff mostly. (Atlantians, look at yer
ACORN covers this month) ;)
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Karen Larsdatter
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 15:21:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: lifitz at wco.com (Conny Fitzsimmons)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: References (was Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?)
Greetings Karen
I purchased my copy of the Schutte & Christensen book from Bette Feinstein
Hard to Find Needlework Books two years ago this past July. It was really
expensive. I got a discount on my copy because a couple of the black and
white plates had been misprinted, but all 29 of the color pictures were in
perfect condition. Anyway a couple of years the book in perfect condition
was $475. Lord knows what it costs now, it is worth every penny.
An other really good book that you can get on an inter library loan is
Enbglish Medieval Embroidery by A. G. I. Christie. The book was printed in
1938. This book resides at the University of Iowa in Ames Iowa. Their copy
of the book is an original that has been rebound. I live in California and
requested the book from my local library and was able to keep it about two
weeks.
In service to the Dream,
Lady Catherine Lorraine of Stonegate Manor
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 16:38:49 -0700
From: "gcarnegi" <gcarnegi at quiknet.com>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?
Hi Alban;
Do you have a University library near you? If so there are several
articles from archaeolgical journals on the Maaseik embroideries that are
well worth the reading.
Bundy, M.; Tweddle, D.; "The Maaseik embroideries", Anglo Saxon England, #
13, pages 65 to 95
Bundy, M.; Tweddle, D.; " The early medieval textiles at Maaseik,
Belgium", Antiqities Journal, # 65, pages 353 to 389
I can't find the photocopy but one of these has some great color pictures
at the end of the article too. The date for the pieces is around 897? or
close to it. Last I checked Bundy & Tweedle were working on a book but I
haven't seen it released yet but it should be soon.
Someone earlier mentioned the Maamen embroideries too. The only work I
have on those is found in Ancient Danish Textiles from Bog and Burials by
Hald. There are some photos in black and white on pages 107-110 and some
text on pages 102 to 105. Chapter 6 is needles and sewing which includes
embroidery.
The Maamen period is from around late 9th to the end of the 10th century-
off the top of my head.
Gwyndolynn Anne the Obscure, OL
West Kingdom
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 01:00:01 GMT
From: mmy at fp.co.nz (Maggie.Mulvaney)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?
Ms Gwendolyn the Obscure wrote about some sources for early
embroideries.
>Someone earlier mentioned the Maamen embroideries too. The only work I
>have on those is found in Ancient Danish Textiles from Bog and Burials by
>Hald. There are some photos in black and white on pages 107-110 and some
>text on pages 102 to 105. Chapter 6 is needles and sewing which includes
>embroidery.
>The Maamen period is from around late 9th to the end of the 10th century-
>off the top of my head.
That would be me. I've got a great source for Mammen;
Mammen
Grav, kunst og samfund i vikingetid
Ed. Mette Iversen, published by Jysk Arkaeologisk selskab in
conjunction wiht Aarhus Universitetsforlag (A great publishing house!)
The title means 'grave, art and society in the viking age'
Despite the title it's not all in Danish; the book is the result of a
symposium held in Mammen in 1987, and each of the people there had to
write at least one article for the book. Articles are written in
Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German and English, all with summaries
(mostly in English). All captions are in original language and
English. All aspects of the grave and the runestones are discussed,
there's a very detailed article on the wax candle, for example.
The article on the textiles goes into a fair amount of detail on the
embroieries, and also has colour pictures. There are analyses of the
textiles (weave, thread, wooltype) and a separate on on the dyes.
Can you tell I like this book? :)
I do have the advantage of reading Scandinavian languages, so I get
full use of it, but I've lent it to a number of people who have still
gotten a lot of information out of it.
/mmy
************************************************************
* MMY * Maggie.Mulvaney at fp.co.nz *
* Maggie Mulvaney * http://www.fpnet.co.nz/users/m/maggiem *
************************************************************
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:02:37 -0400
From: karen at georesearch.com (Karen Green)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: References (was Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?)
Concerning a few of the books that I've got at home (and a few of the
ones on my wish list), I wrote:
> >- Book on the history English embroidery that I recently bought but
> >can't remember the name of it (it's out of print anyway) but will get
> >the title out tomorrow (pretty much the same thing as King & Levey but
> >with more pictures and in black and white and with a better opening
> >section IMHO)
Carol at Small Churl Books replied:
> This second book sounds like "Guide to English Embroideries" by Wardle. It
> is out of print but is still being sold by remainder wholesalers. It is an
> interesting book (and cheap), also based on the incredible embroidery
> collection at the V&A.
As a matter of fact, that's precisely it ... and I had bought my copy
from Carol at Pennsic. :)
Karen Larsdatter
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 15:17:02 -0500
From: Becky Needham <betony at infinet.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Embroidery Judging
> question how much we really know about the artisans employed in producing
> embroidery. Was embroidery exclusively done by women in period?
Not by any long stretch of the imagination, milord. St. Dunstan in the
10th century is an excellent example of a man who could both design and
execute embroidery. Many monks of the period were experts with the
needle as were the nuns. In fact, there were times in earlier centuries
when the high clergy had to chastise both monks and nuns for paying more
attention to their needlework than their devotions.
> My greatest interest in this question concerns the period of my
> persona--the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Perhaps the most ridiculous
> answer to my question is in the movie "Becket," which includes a scene
> where Eleanor of Aquitaine and her ladies in waiting are embroidering the
> Bayeux Tapestry.
Some have supposed that it was Queen Mathilda and her ladies, but it
isn't likely highborn ladies would have the time to devote to such a
huge masterwork.
Was embroidery a primary pursuit of such noble women, or
> did nobles employ specialized artisans to do their embroidery?
According to my sources: Staniland's "Embroiderers," A.F. Kendrick's
"English Embroidery," Pamela Warner's "Embroidery a History," Schuette
and Muller-Christensen's "A Pictorial History of Embroidery," and
Jourdain's "The History of English Secular Embroidery," (plus Christie's
and King's works that I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet) detail
this question for you. Nobles used anyone with talent - man or woman.
Some were exclusive to the Household of the King or the Pope. It was a
bonus for the King or other noble if anyone in their family had the
talent - you just needed to pay for the materials. ;->> As far as the
Bayeux Tapestry goes, the back of it is very messy and I have the photos
to prove it. Anyone can see the same in Bernstein's "Mystery of the
Bayeux Tapestry." I am of the opinion that these people who worked on
it were highly skilled and justly proud of those skills - and they had
no time to be fussy about how the back looked, considering the scope of
the task they were set to accomplish, mostly likely by Odo, William's
brother or half-brother. I seriously doubt there were huge strings and
huge snarls merely because materials cost quite a bit, but snarls,
knots, and strings were there. To be fair, laid and couched isn't
reversible blackwork, but honestly...is any King, Pope, or other notable
going to rip up a cope or a cloak or a dalmatic to see the embroidery's
back? No. That's not sensible unless they had the wealth of Croesus
and even then their contemporaries would likely consider them a bit mad.
> The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were the era of opus
> anglicum, the magnificent gold embroideries preserved in garments such as
> ecclesiastical copes. I maintain that these garments were not the work of
> individual artists but were rather probably produced at embroidery shops.
> Does anyone know anything about such shops? Were they located at
> nunneries or monasteries, or did they have secular sponsors? Were such
> shops staffed by women or men? Perhaps some shops had men and others had
> women embroiderers.
See the above sources, especially Staniland. In brief, the shops were
clustered in and around London, but weren't chartered as Guilds till
1560. Nunneries and monasteries had their own spaces much like the
illuminators, I should think - how else could they see as candles
weren't sufficient? There were eccles. and secular sponsors, sometimes
contracting gifts one for the other. Shops were staffed by both and
some shops were familial in nature, and some were same sex only
perhaps. The "Guild" policed itself for all it's rules long before they
were chartered, too - that is why I specifically mentioned the candles -
members (don't know about the clergy) were not allowed to stitch by
candle light or they would be fined.
> If anyone can refer me to a book which answers my quesitons, I
> would be happy to read it. While in more recent times embroidery has
> become something done "traditionally" by women, I find it hard to believe
> that men were not at least sometimes involved in producing the great
> works of embroidery from the period 1050-1300.
Lord Henry, men were producing great and beautiful works well before
that time period. I hope the books I have mentioned will give you a
good start and many hours of pleasure. If you would like to, and have
the time, I would love to chat over all these things. My last piece was
based on the evolution of opus anglicanum - thousands and thousands of
split stitches - oh my! ;->>
Lady Betony ferch Myrddin ap Emrys, OW (Bet for short)
Apprentice to Maistreas Ciara ni Mhaille
Tirnewydd Pursuivant
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 23:50:31 +0000
From: Karen at agent.infodata.com (Harris, Karen)
To: SCA-ARTS at UKANS.EDU
Subject: Noblewomen Embroideresses
Unto the Artisans of the Known World -- greetings and salutations!
Lord Henry Percivale Kempe pondered the existence of noblewomen
embroideresses within the time frame of the SCA's period, to which I
shall supply the list with a few quotes from some of the sources in
my own little library. (Anyone wanting to peruse it may come and
visit at the next Ponte Alto-Stierbach Needlework Night on
the Feast Day of St. Catherine, A.S. XXXII, being Tuesday, November
25. E-mail me for details!)
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Karen Larsdatter
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
-----
>From MEDIEVAL CRAFTSMEN: EMBROIDERERS, by Kay Staniland:
From earliest times, embroidery seems to have enjoyed the
rare distinction of being a craft regarded as an acceptable
occupation for noble women, and many are the queens accredited with
great skills by chroniclers. King Canute (1016-35), for example, is
said to have presented altar-cloths worked by his first wife, Aelgifu
of Northampton, to the abbeys of Croyland and Romsey; William of
Malmesbury recorded that Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor
(1042-66), embroidered with her own hands the robes worn by the King
at festivals ...
In the eleventh century, the lady Aethelswitha,
daughter of King Canute's second wife Aelgiva (Emma), "rejected
marriage and was assigned to Coveney, a place near the monastery [of
Ely] where," so Thomas of Ely recorded, "in retirement she devoted
herself, with her maids, to gold embroidery. At her own cost and
with her own hands, being extremely skilled in the craft, she made a
white chasuble." Church vestments seem to have been the main product
of this little workshop, some of which was presented to Ely
Cathedral. A beautifully embroidered white headband is later
mentioned in an inventory of Ely's possessions as having been made by
Aethelswitha, and is listed among a number of other headbands where
the giver, rather than the maker, is specified. The fact that the
chronicler bothers to comment on something made "with her own hands"
implies that most of the work was done by, or was expected to be done
by, the maids or young girls in Aetheswitha's charge.
>From THE CROSS STITCH BOOK, by Mary Gostelow:
The best known of all applique hangings must surely be the "Oxburgh
hangings," called after the National Trust house in Cambridgeshire
where complete panels can be seen: other applique motifs from the
set are displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Mary Queen of
Scots (1542-87) is thought to have worked some of the square,
octagonal, and cruciform canvas appliques during the 18 years of her
imprisonment, from 1569, at the hands of her cousin Elizabeth, whose
crown she claimed. (See Margaret Swain's THE NEEDLEWORK OF MARY
QUEEN OF SCOTS, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1973, for a detailed
description of the panels known to have been worked by the Scottish
queen.) Some of the other pieces were probably worked on by the wife
of her "guardian," the Earl of Shrewsbury. Better known as "Bess of
Hardwick," Bess had several embroiderers working for her, usually men
who were part of her household. Her embroiderers drew designs for
Bess' clothes and stitched them, and when not so employed they might
have worked on cushion covers and larger pieces. We know, too, that
an upholsterer called Florens Broshere often stitched backgrounds of
the designs, thus leaving he more exciting main motifs to the needles
of the ladies of the household."
>From THE EMBROIDERER'S STORY: NEEDLEWORK FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE
PRESENT DAY, by Thomasina Beck:
In the New Year of 1600, Arabella Stuart, grand-daughter of Bess of
Hardwick, sent Queen Elizabeth a present of her own making ...
Arabella's gift was a "scarf or head veil of lawn cutwork flourished
with silver and silk of sundry colours," which would have taken many
hours and great skill to embroider ... Arabella must have been
relieved to hear that her [gift to the Queen] had been noticed and
that the Queen had "taken an especial liking" to it, and even more
gratified to receive a message that Her Majesty "would be glad to
know how she did it." Queen Elizabeth speaks here not as a
sovereign, but as one embroiderer to another, expressing admiration
for Arabella's originality and faultless technique, and a possible
interest in trying out something similar herself ...
In great houses, in the manor houses of the gentry and homes of
prosperous city merchants and farmers, girls were taught to stitch
from earliest childhood. "This worke," wrote William Barley in 1695
in his BOOKE OF CURIOUS AND STRAGNE INVENTIONS,
Beseemeth Queens of great renown
And noble ladies of a high degree,
Yet not exempt for Maids of Any Towne
For all may learn that thereto willing be.
His book, intended for "the Profit and Delight of the Gentlewomen of
England," contained a variety of cutwork patterns, as needlework was
"not only requisite, but also in great request among the Gentry." He
pokes fun at "maidens but of base degree" who saw it as a way of
moving up the social ladder and becoming "esteemed among the noblest
sort."
[Karen here ... my fingers are getting tired and I have some
silverwork yet to do on High Table napkins for Twelfth Night. So
before I close, I'll mention that Thomasina Beck goes into a long
tirade about renaissance-era embroiderers; noblewomen embroiderers
she mentions include Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Queen
Elizabeth, Grace Sherrington, Lady Margaret Hoby. Just buy this
book, boys & girls, it's worth the $27 I shelled out for it.
Thomasina Beck does lectures at the V&A on various topics, often
relating to renaissance embroidery, so she gotta know something ...]
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 15:23:29 -0500 (EST)
From: <Varju at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Embroidery Judging
<< Was embroidery exclusively done by women in period? >>
I can only speak for my own region, but late in period embroidery on fabric
was done exclusively by women and embroidery on leather was done exclusively
by men. Women of all classes did embroidery as a method of decoration for
their family's clothing and young women traditionally embroidered all of the
pieces of linen included in their dowers with the help of their female
relatives. The embroidery on leather that men did was done done as part of
the leather worker's guild and was the most commonly found on saddles and
sometimes footwear. ( All of this information is from _Hungarain Domestic
Embroidery_ by Maria Varju-Ember, and _The Influence of Ottoman Textiles
Textiles and Costume in Eastern Europe_ by Veronila Gervers)
On the topic of noble embroideresses it was extrememly common in Hungary and
Transylvania as well, Varju-Ember and Gervers both mention letters between
noblewomen discussing embroidery patterns and sharing samplers.
Noemi
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 12:49:50 -0800 (PST)
From: lifitz at wco.com (Conny Fitzsimmons)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Laid and Couched Book
A good book for techniques on a lot of different stitches is: Marion
Nichols Encyclopedia of Embroidery Stitches, Including Crewel. It is a
dover publication and costs around $9.00 the chapters are family of
stitches including Couched or Laid Stitches; The book is 217 pages great
illistrations on how to execute the stitches and hundreds of different
stitches. Of course they are not all period stitches, but stem, chain,
and laid and couched work which you are interested in are.
Mistress Catherine Lorraine, OL
From: seton1355 at aol.com (Seton1355)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: embroidery site
Date: 19 Sep 1998 18:16:24 GMT
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Wymarc/master1.htm
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 21:09:47 -0400
From: Karen at stierbach.atlantia.sca.org (Larsdatter, Karen )
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Assisi Embroidery
Lady Clare asked:
> I have several documentation sources referring to Assisi
> embroidery. While one or two are pretty decent, most of
> my information is somewhat encyclopedic or tertiary.
> I am looking for some better sources but keep
> drawing a blank. Can anyone help me with this?
Sure! There was an article in a recent issue of the Westrealm
needleworkers' guild on this topic. I can get you the name of the
newsletter editor if you'd be interested in seeing the article ...
There's also an article in the March/April issue of "Piecework" on a
17th century band of this style of embroidery (the term "Assisi
work" really wasn't used until this century, when the style of
embroidery became popular in, of all places, Assisi). ;) It also
went into a history of earlier pieces, but had a very good and
detailed picture (as well as charts) from this one band.
There's a small (very tertiary) mention of the existence of medieval
work in this style in "Assisi Embroideries," published in 1954 by
the DMC Library.
There's a picture of what may very well be this style of embroidery
(the photo is unfortunately not detailed enough to see what the fill
stitch is in Mary Eirwen Jones' "A History of Western Embroidery" -
- the caption says "ITALY Tree of Life, 12th century. Prototype
design, probably Sicilian."
Karen Larsdatter
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 22:50:23 -0500
From: "Helen Schultz (KHvS)" <meistern at netusa1.net>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: Assisi Embroidery
In the book "Assisi Embroidery, Old Italian Cross-Stitch Designs" by Eva Maria
Leszner (ISBN: 0-7134-5595-0), published in Britain in 1988 by B.T. Batsford
Ltd, Ms Leszner points out that the Assisi style of cross-stitch (which is
usually, but not always the long-arm cross-stitch) "...was done in bright,
cheerful colours..." she goes on to say that in the 13th and 14th centuries a
different style of cross-stitch was developed that became even more popular in
the 16th century... this being Assisi style of work, where the background if
filled in and the body of the design (which was usually animals or grotesques)
was left voided of stitches. I believe the outline stitch someone else
mentioned is not the stem stitch, but rather what is now called the Holbein
stitch. In the 16th century, the backgrounds were mostly reds, greens, or
yellows.
This book has some wonderful patterns of traditional designs in it. I first
purchased a copy of it in German (as the patterns were very easy to follow) and
then later purchased the English version. The author seems to have taken much
care to present her topic quite well.
Hope this helps a few people out there wondering about Assisi cross-stitch.
Another interesting Italian embroidery technique is Bargello, which I think
stems from the 13th or 14th centuries as well. Bargello is an up-and-down style
of needlepoint. (Well, actually I think it started in Bohemia and was brought
to Italy when a Bohemian Princess married an Italian Count -- or something like
that.)
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 22:31:53 EDT
From: <Seton1355 at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu, H-Needlework at Ansteorra.ORG,
sca-bead at makelist.com, sca-garb at coollist.comscribescastle.org
Subject: Check out Embroidery Picture Gallery
I just found this site for embroidery. It has beautiful pictures. It's a bit
late for our purposes, but the embroidery is stillbeautiful to look at.
Enjoy! Phillipa
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/1663/embpics.html">Click here:
Embroidery Picture Gallery</A>
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 18:44:34 -0500
From: "K. E. Reinhart" <keran at hancock.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Russian embroidery
Someone was looking for Russian embroidery
I just found:
Gostelow, Mary. Embroidery of All Russia. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, c1977
ISBN 0-684-15184-7
there are pictures of
"St. Sergius' shroud' a funerary pall worked in 1450"
Detail of 'The Story of Veronica's Veil' 14th cent.
Early 16th cent cloth
Detail of the 1561 shroud
"The Ascension" a detail from an icon veil, 1525
"The Sleeping Virgin" cloth, Moscow School. Early 16th cent.
"plashchanitsa (sepulchre veil) circa 1600
Keran Roslin
AEthelmearc
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 22:52:58 EST
From: <EalasaidS at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Thank you
Had time to go exploring in my bookcase. Here are some good books to look
out for regarding embroidery:
Embroidery: A History
Pamela Warner
B.T. Batsford, Ltd. London
The Victoria & Albert Museum’s Textile Collection:
Embroidery in Britain From 1200 to 1750
Donald King & Santina Levey
Canopy Books, a division of Abbeville Press, Inc., New York
Guide to English Embroidery
Patricia Wardle
Victoria & Albert Museum
Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers
Kay Staniland
University of Toronto Press
Assissi Embroidery: Old Italian Cross-Stitch Designs
Eva Maria Leszner
B.T. Batsford Ltd., London
The first one, "Embroidery: A History", has an example of period cross-
stitch. It is worked in silk threads on linen fabric. The design is a
grouping of fruit (pears and apples if I remember correctly) and some
foliage.
The background is completely covered with stitches, and the work consists of
only cross-stitches. It is dated at around 1580 and is a cushion or seat
cover (I can't find the book at the moment...). I recently did some research
for a lady who does beautiful cross stitch, but doesn't want to try any other
embroidery techniques. She asked me if I had any sources for period cross
stitch. I was skeptical, but said I would look. I was surprised at what I
found!
The Jane Bostitch sample, dated 1598, has a lot of blackwork (in all colors,
by the way) and cross stitch (tiny little cross stitches!) The Oxburgh
Hangings have small panels working in cross stitch, silk threads worked on
linen. They have been appliqued to velvet. They are dated to 1570. The four
samples in the "V&A Museum's Textile Collection" are: marigolds beneath a
sun (with a face); a cherry tree; a camel; a chicken.
It sounds like you are just starting in cross stitch. One word of advice if
you wish to enter your work in an SCA Arts and Sciences competition. Wean
yourself away from Aida and other even weave fabrics just as fast as you
can.
Graduate to working on linen (or linen-cotten blends) as soon as you can.
Although cross stitch is period, Aida cloth is most definitely not, and most
judges cringe when they see it. As was mentioned in an earlier post, you can
find some wonderful linen napkins, table cloths (and even curtains) at thrift
stores. I've paid $1.00 for two yards of linen at the thrift store. There is
also a product available to facilitate cross stitch on non-even weave fabrics.
I believe it is call "tear away canvas". You can find it in any craft or
fabric store that has a good cross stitch section. It looks a little like
needlework canvas (very open weave). It is held together by starch. You
baste it onto your fabric and embroider away. Once you are done, you emerse
the work in water and the starch is washed away. You can then grab each
thread and pull it out of your stitches. I leaves no evidence behind that you
used it. You just have to be careful not to pierce any of the threads with
your needle (or it won't pull out).
Good stitching!
Ealasaid nic Shuibhne, OL
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1999 17:03:13 -0700
From: Chris Laning <claning at igc.apc.org>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Cross stitch and other stitches....
>I am pretty much brand new to the SCA and I have recently started
>learning cross stitch. By doing research I do know that cross stitch as
>it is known now is not what was used in the middle ages. I found
>references to long armed cross stitch. I'm not sure how to do this or
>how it was used. I'm also interested in trying blackwork but I need a
>little help. Any advice would be deeply appreciated.
I highly recommend Kathleen Epstein's _An Anonymous Woman: Her Work
Wrought in the 17th Century._ (Curious Works Press, 1992, ISBN
0-9633331-1-9, available from <http://www.greenduck.com/index.shtml> and
other booksellers).
Yes, this is slightly post-1600, but she has very clear diagrams of how to
work long-armed cross stitch, blackwork stitches, and double-sided cross
stitch, together with a number of VERY nice patterns in a style very
similar to the patterns being worked before 1600 (as you can see from other
sources).
Unfortunately the question is usually phrased as "is cross-stitch period?"
and both the Yes and the No adherents get quite hot under the collar.
Actually, from what I have found in my research (and my estimable Laurel's
advice), neither Yes or No is really a complete answer.
Yes, those little X-shaped stitches were used. However by and large they
don't seem to have been used in quite the way we in the 20th century would
expect. One common use of cross-stitch, for instance, was solid wool or
silk embroidery on canvas -- like what we call "tapestry" or
"needlepoint," only with cross stitches instead of tent stitches. If I'm
remembering correctly, there's a very nice example on the Web at
<http://web0.tiac.net/users/drbeer/joyce/emb/westbox/westbox.htm>. (If
that's not right, try the Medieval Embroidery home page at
<http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jscole/medembro.html>.
Cross-stitch (and blackwork) were also worked in fine silk thread and used
for decorating church and table linens. The Blackwork Embroidery Archive
page mentioned (<http://www.pacificnet.net/~pmarmor/bw_cost.html>) has
extremely clear directions for working double running stitch (a basic
stitch of blackwork), but as far as I know, the actual patterns she gives
are ones she designed, and are sometimes a little different in style from
those common before 1600. Besides Kathleen Epstein's works, Countess Ianthe
d'Averoigne has written _The New Carolingian Modelbook_ (Outlaw Press,
1995, ISBN 0-9642082-2-9) which contains many *very* well documented
Renaissance cross-stitch and blackwork patterns. (In fact, it's a good
lesson on the meaning of the words "well documented"!)
Regards,
(lady) Christian de Holacombe
Windy Meads, Cynagua, SCA
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 11:31:31 EST
From: <SNSpies at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Needlework Kits
I would like to draw your attention to a small British company that makes
drop-dead gorgeous historical needlework kits. Do have a look at their
site.
http://www.millennia.demon.co.uk Millennia Designs Homepage
I just looked at the site myself and was very impressed.
Ingvild (Nancy)
From: mariannep <mperdomo at my-deja.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: A more period embroidery kit?
Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 10:22:16 GMT
jillandbruce at my-deja.com wrote:
> What I'm working on is a less modern-looking embroidery kit. So far
> I've got a nice wooden box, and I've got my floss wound on some small
> wooden spools. I've got a small pair of medieval-ish scissors, and some
> wooden needle cases. So...I'm at least happy that I'm not toting
> everything around in a plastic floss organizer, but I don't know if any
> of this is actually period or not.
>
> My question to those of you who embroider is...what did a medieval or
> Renaissance embroidery kit consist of????? Am I on the right track?
I don't know much about period emvroidery kits but my guess is that
you're almost there. What I would use instead of the plastic carrier is
simply a basket of adequate size. I don't think covered (picnic-style)
baskets are period (at least I haven't seen one in period pictures) so I
would cover the whole thing with a piece of cloth when not in use.
If you have so many types of thread that you actually need to "organize"
them somehow, I think I would go for either several shallow woden boxes
(like the ones used for cigars - pity they're usually stamped with
un-period stuff but maybe that can be covered) or one wooden box in
which things can be stocked vertically.
One day (soonish) I hope I'll have a kit like yours - it must look great
when you're using it!!
Marianne | Leonor
From: <hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: A more period embroidery kit?
Date: 9 Jun 2000 19:03:54 GMT
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
jillandbruce at my-deja.com wrote:
: My question to those of you who embroider is...what did a medieval or
: Renaissance embroidery kit consist of????? Am I on the right track?
I don't know of any surviving artifacts along this line (which isn't to
say that there are none -- it's not one of the fields I've researched
specifically), but there are a good number of representations in period
art of women doing handwork. One particularly concentrated collection of
illustrations of this type is in an article by Robert L. Wyss entitled
"Die Handarbeiten der Maria: eine ikonographische Studie unter
beru"cksichtigung der textilen Techniken", i.e., "The Handwork of Mary: an
iconographic study inconsideration of textile techniques" (in "Artes
Minores: Dank an Werner Abegg", Verlag Stampfli & Cie A.G., Bern, 1973).
The work-containers I can identify in the plates there are as follows:
Figure 8 (German 1460): working on embroidery stretched on a large frame,
held on her lap -- a small oval box (about the size of a hand) sits on top
of the work, but the detail is not good enough to identify contents.
Figure 11 (German 1503): One woman works with a box-loom in her lap, with
the materials visible in the box itself (only spools of thread are
identifiable. One woman is working on some unidentifiable item in her lap
and holds a quill of thread; at her feet is a smallish oval basket/box
containing a couple of balls of thread/yarn.
Figure 15 (French 1407): working on a horizontal tape-loom, there is a
medium-sized wooden chest (about the same in length as the woman's
forearm, but don't trust perspective measurements in this stuff!) with the
lid open sitting behind her, but it is impossible to make out the contents
specifically.
Figure 16 (British 1445): working on a horizontal tape-loom, there is a
small box shaped much like a cigar-box with the lid open at her feet, but
the contents are not visible.
Figure 17 (Italian 1410): working on a horizontal tape-loom, there is a
medium-small wooden box with open lid sitting at her feet (intermediate in
size between figures 15 & 16) with indeterminate contents. The picture
also includes a skein-winder whose base is a box, also with indeterminate
contents.
Figure 18 (French 1450): same work and paraphernalia as in figure 17, but
the box appears slightly smaller (like a tall cigar-box) and appears to
have some threads hanging out of it.
Figure 19 (British 1420): same work and paraphernalia as in fig. 17, but
the work-box is a chest of sittable size and clearly contains a few balls
of thread/yarn.
Figure 21 (French 1410): working on a horizontal tape-loom, medium-sized
low box with open lid but contents not visible.
Figure 22 (French? 1420): horizontal tape-loom, no separate work-box, but
another figure is winding a ball off a box-footed skein-winder, in the box
of which are several balls of thread/yarn.
Figure 25 (French 1507): horizontal card-loom, next to the worker is a
medium-sized basket (with small handles on the rim) in which balls of
thread/yarn are visible.
Figure 37 (French/German 1420): worker is doing something with a small
amount of yarn, at her feet is a long, low wooden box (about as long as
her forearm) with the lid open to show balls and hanks of thread/yarn, on
the table beside her is a small-medium oval box with lid (looks like it
might be bent-wood) with unidentifiable contents.
Figure 38 (German 1409): a spinner and a woman winding thread off a
vertical skein-winder set into a box which contains several balls and
quils of thread/yarn.
Figure 39 (German 1400): a spinner with a medium-sized basket of balls of
yarn at her feet.
Figure 42 (German late 14th c.); a knitter working from balls of yarn kept
in a medium-sized circular basket with a single carrying-handle (the sort
you can carry over your arm).
Figure 43 (German 1480): working in some fashion on the hem of a shirt,
there is a small-medium oval box (bent-wood?) at her feet with a couple of
balls of thread/yarn in it.
Figure 46 (Belgian 1461): a spinner, with a medium-sized round basket
(with two small carrying handles on the rim) containing quills of
yarn/thread.
No doubt there's lots more of this stuff out there -- this article was
focussing on examples involving the Virgin.
Tangwystyl
*********************************************************
Heather Rose Jones hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu
**********************************************************
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 17:20:01 -0400
From: Carol Thomas <scbooks at neca.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Back in print
I just heard that the Needlework of Mary, Queen of Scots has been reprinted!
There have been quite a number of excellent books reprinted lately. There
must be enough of us for the publishers to notice.
Carllein
Small Churl Books catalog: http://www.neca.com/~scbooks/
Subject: ANST - Re: ösenstich
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 08:06:07 -600
From: gunnora at realtime.net
To: ansteorra at ansteorra.org (ansteorra)
Isabeau <STDRLC13 at shsu.edu> asked:
>Can anyone get in touch with me and diagram or show me how to
>do "osenstich"? I want to do some embroidery in a Viking style
>and Gunnora's web page mentioned this as being very
>scandanavian. I just can't seem to find clear and precise
>instructions on how to do the stitch.
Isabeau, the technique that Geijir calls "ösenstich" is almost a wire
jewellry technique. To start with, you'll want to take a look at:
Geijir, Agnes, "The Textile Finds from Birka," in N.B. Harte and K.G. Ponting,
eds. Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe. London: Heinemann. 1983. pp.
80-99.
I personally haven't tried this technique, though I feel pretty sure that I
can make things that look like the items Geijir shows in the article above.
I'll tell you who I would contact to see if there are more resources on this
technique -- try asking Mistress _óra Sharptooth (Thora Sharptooth), a very
informative Laurel from the East. Her email address is
<capriest at cs.vassar.edu>
Thora's web article on Viking embroidery (
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html)
says:
"...ösenstich is not primarily a needle technique, even though it makes use
of the same topology as some common embroidery stitches. It is much simpler
to work with the wire by itself instead of going to the trouble of threading
it through a needle first (Jensen, passim). Briefly described, ösenstich
requires using a wire approximating a 26-gauge beading wire to work rows of
closely-spaced mesh stitch into strips of tubing, flattened metallic trimming, or three-dimensional shapes such as teardrops. The finished wire constructions were sometimes sewn to garments as ornaments. The most common of the ösenstich variants was worked somewhat like a Vandyke stitch; see below for a redrawing or the diagrams in Geijer (p. 110) for more information..."
The Geijir publication that's being referred to here is:
Geijer, Agnes. 1938. Die Textilfunde aus den Gräbern. Birka: Undersuchungen
und Studien III. Uppsala: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets
Akadamien.
Don't worry about not being able to read the text -- it has good pictures.
Alas, I don't have copies of this one. If you need text segments, you can
usually get a workable translation using an on-line translator, such as Intertran (http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTran?).
The Jensen reference Thora mentions is:
Jensen, Jørn V. 1990. Vikingesmykker: Elegante Smykker i Kobber- og Solvtråd
med Vikingeteknik og enkelt Væktøj. Haarlev, Denmark: Privately published.
Thora says:
"Parts of the English section of this work were brought to my attention by
Barbara Bishop (Lady [now Countess] Brigit of Mercia). It is impossible to
reconstruct the original pamphlet from the pieces I have seen, but it is possible to learn the ösenstich technique from it. I believe it is marketed at the museum at Lejre, Denmark."
This should get you started.
::GUNNORA::
<the end>