embroidery-msg - 1/26/08 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. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ 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 v