Jacobean Embroidery: Its Forms and Fillings Including Late Tudor
Fitzwilliam, Ada Wentworth & A. F. Morris Hands
B.T. Batsford, London, 1928, 1990
ISBN# 0 7134 6376 7
Drawings show typical Jacobean designs, including how the stitches are used. Most of the designs are identified as to source. SB
Intermediate
Posts categoriezed as Surface Embroidery
Flowers in English Embroidery
Flowers in English Embroidery
Victoria and Albert Museum
HMSO, London, 1963 & 1983
Wonderful small booklet of embroidered flowers. Contains about half a dozen slips, that while not in color show great detail and contain decent descriptions. Useful for the serious researcher. SB
Intermediate
Festive Elizabethan Creations
Festive Elizabethan Creations
Holdaway, Shirley
Georgeson Publishing Ltd., New Zealand, 1998
ISBN# 0 473 05277 6
3rd in the Elizabethan Needlework Series. Further excellent designs and stitch descriptions. This book includes the use of threads and some techniques which are only Elizabethan in style. SB
Advanced
Exploring Elizabethn Embroidery
Exploring Elizabethn Embroidery
Clarke, Dorothy
Georgeson Publishing Limited, New Zealand, 1987
ISBN# 0 473 03634 7
Excellent interpretation of Elizabethan embroidery and designs. Clear instructions and diagrams. Note that this interpretation has a distinctly Australian embroidery bent. SB
Intermediate
Elizabethan Needlework
Elizabethan Needlework
Marshall, Sheila
Georgeson Publishing Ltd., New Zealand, 1998
ISBN# 0 473 04977-5
2nd in the Elizabethan Needlework Series. Excellent interpretation of Elizabethan Needlework. Contains additional stitches, designs, and diagrams. SB
Intermediate
Crewel Embroidery in England
Crewel Embroidery in England
Edwards, Joan
William Morrow & Company, Inc., New York, 1975
ISBN# 0-688-02919-1
A quick overview of embroidery in England and the keys people who affected changes through history. Good pictures and clear line drawings. Unfortunately, all the information in this book is from terciary sources, so while interesting, better information is available with a little effort. SB
Intermediate
Crewel Embroidery
Crewel Embroidery
Wilson, Erica
Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1962
Easily available in second hand shops, this book provides clear easy stitch diagrams and clear easy steps for taking pattern to material. SB
Beginner
A Picture Book of Flowers in English Embroidery
A Picture Book of Flowers in English Embroidery
Victoria and Albert Museum
HMSO, London, 1932
Wonderful small booklet of embroidered flowers. Contains about half a dozen slips, that while not in color show great detail and contain decent descriptions. Useful for the serious researcher. SB
Intermediate
Tent, Tenters & Tenterhooks
Tent, tenters & tenterhooks: some historical canvas work
by Christian de Holacombe
I had one of those “revelation moments” a while back — where you suddenly put two pieces of information, both of which you already knew, together for the first time, and it dawns on you, “Oh, so THAT’s why…”
This particular one was about tent stitch, that simple little diagonal stitch that looks like half of a cross stitch and is so often used for the modern embroidery on canvas that we (inaccurately) call “needlepoint” or “tapestry work.”Continue reading Tent, Tenters & Tenterhooks
Stalking the Wild Assisi
Stalking the Wild Assisi
By Baroness Kathryn Goodwyn, O.L.
I fell in love with Assisi work many years ago but researching and collecting patterns of it has proved an elusive task. At times I have felt like a detective, and so I decided to share some of my frustrations and experiences with you. My interest in the subject started when I was researching SCA period needlework, just over 20 years ago. I would occasionally see some fascinating designs pushed to the back or side of a page or an article. The technique was the opposite of regular counted cross-stitch, as the design was outlined, then the background filled in densely with cross stitch. The actual pattern was made by the unworked ground fabric. This “negative” effect gave the Assisi work a woodcut quality that I found very rich and unique.Continue reading Stalking the Wild Assisi