Design for pattern darning
Christian de Holacombe
Filum Aureum, Fall 2006
Since pattern darning isn’t as well known as some other techniques, there aren’t a lot of published patterns for it.
Fortunately, a lot of historical crossstitch and other “squared” patterns can be used for pattern darning. Some types work much better than others, and sometimes it requires a bit of thought to see how to adapt a pattern for better results.Continue reading Design for pattern darning
Demi-Sun Appliqué
Christian de Holacombe
Filum Aureum, Fall 2003
This project makes a drawstring pouch big enough to conceal a wallet and other modern accessories. It features a green demi-sun on a gold background, the heraldic badge that all people of the Kingdom of the West have a right to bear.Continue reading Demi-Sun Appliqué
Decorating with Bezants
Christian de Holacombe
The Project Page
Filum Aureum, Summer 2005
Once you have your bezants, what can you use them for?
Studying period examples suggests using bezants to decorate garments, purses, cloth-covered boxes, wall hangings and book covers, and as mounts on belts. Borders with bezants can be applied to tunic necklines and cuffs, the front openings of coats and cloaks, and perhaps hemlines as well. (In period, most of the elaborate bottom borders seem to belong to “saints, angels, queens, allegorical characters and other people who don’t have to worry about getting their hemlines dirty,” comments Robin Netherton.)Continue reading Decorating with Bezants
This article is a companion piece to Cross: Cultural and first appeared
in the Guild newsletter, the Filum Aureum, Spring 2002.All graphics are clickable and linked to larger pictures.
These patterns are taken from the inner pillowcases, made of linen, that were found inside more elaborately worked outer covers on cushions from the 13th and 14th century royal tombs at the monastery of Las Huelgas, near Burgos in Spain. The originals are worked in red or black silk in a combination of long armed cross stitch (the straight lines) and simple cross stitch (points and isolated stitches).Continue reading Cross Stitch on Linen — Patterns from Spain and France
One of the most frequently asked questions in the Guild is, “What stitches are period?” This article, the first in this series, will concentrate on the basic stitch of the misunderstood stitch family of Cross Stitch.
This article first appeared in the Guild newsletter, The Filum Aureum, Spring 2002.
Cross: Cultural
by Christian de Holacombe
Cross stitch is many people’s firstintroduction to modern embroidery, and a pleasant one it is. The stitch itself is quite simple – just rows of X’s – although of course there are refinements you can learn later. But once you master the mental ‘twist’ that lets you translate dark and light squares on a chart into X’s across thread intersections on cloth, you can follow any chart and cover just about anything with your embroidery.Continue reading Cross: Cultural
— by Eowyn Amberdrake, Caid Company of Broderers
“Celtic knotwork” is often treated as if it were a single word: if it’s knot- work, it must be Celtic, right? Well, no — there are many different styles of knotwork designs from many different cultures.Continue reading Celtic or Knot?
by Isela de Bari
Canvaswork is the term referring to 16th century needlework done on canvas Today, we refer to canvaswork as “needlepoint”, but this is an American description. If you used the term needlepoint during the Middle Ages, you would be referring to lacemaking with a needle. Like the word embroidery, canvaswork is often confused with the word tapestry, which refers to a woven design. Perhaps that confusion stems from the fact that Elizabethan needleworkers were copying European pictorial tapestry designs onto canvas. Flemish woven tapestries, especially those depicting human figures and those skillfully woven with silk and metal threads, were expensive, admired, and coveted.Continue reading Canvaswork Techniques
Period Stitches (#2 in a series)
One of the most frequently asked questions in the Guild is, “What stitches are period?” This article, the second in a series of six, will look at the second category of the Apprenticeship Program, Canvaswork.This article first appeared in the Guild newsletter, the Filum Aureum, Spring 2000
Canvaswork refers to needlework that covers the whole surface of canvas with stitching. Today, we refer to canvaswork as “needlepoint”, but this is an American term. If you used the term needlepoint in the Middle Ages, you’d be referring to a type of needle-made lace.Continue reading Canvaswork
The birds and beasts of the Bayeux borders (how alliterative!) are often amusing, and make a good small exercise in laidwork. The motifs on this page are a bit smaller than actual size. Isela recommends Appleton wool or DMC’s Medici wool as good threads for this kind of work.Continue reading Border birds & beasts
— by Christian de Holacombe
If there is anyone out there still harboring doubts as to whether embroidered bead-work was done in Europe before 1600, perhaps the cover of this issue will be an effective counter-argument! This huge, spectacular and very accomplished piece from the 14th century is embroidered almost entirely in beads.Continue reading Beadwork