Overview:
This comprehensive guide to embroidery, originally published in 1880, offers detailed instructions and practical advice for those interested in the art of needlework. The text provides a comprehensive overview of essential stitches, including their proper execution, intended uses, and historical significance. The guide also includes a thorough discussion of materials, from different types of linens and silks to gold threads and their preservation.
The handbook goes beyond simple techniques, covering frame construction, stretching methods, and even cleaning and restoring older embroidery pieces. While the guide primarily focuses on traditional styles, it also acknowledges the emergence of new materials and contemporary designs. The inclusion of designs by renowned artists like William Morris and Walter Crane hints at the Victorian era’s renewed interest in decorative arts.
Key Findings:
- The Royal School of Art-Needlework emphasizes the importance of practical lessons over self-teaching in achieving successful embroidery.
- A focus on using the correct tools and techniques to avoid pulling or puckering the material is paramount.
- The guide highlights the importance of proper framing for certain embroidery techniques, particularly those involving silks and velvets.
- The text acknowledges the historical significance of different embroidery styles and the revival of traditional techniques in the 19th century.
Learning:
- Stitches: Readers will learn about a wide array of stitches, including stem stitch, satin stitch, blanket stitch, knotted stitch, chain stitch, and feather stitch. Each stitch is explained in detail with illustrations and historical context, outlining its intended use and variations.
- Materials: The text offers a comprehensive guide to materials used in embroidery, including different types of linens, silks, and gold threads, as well as their specific properties and applications.
- Framing and Backing: The handbook provides detailed instructions on proper framing techniques, including stretching methods and backing materials for different fabrics.
- Appliqué: Readers will learn the distinction between inlaid and onlaid appliqué and detailed instructions for cutting, layering, and finishing appliqué techniques.
- Historical Context: The text provides insights into the evolution of embroidery styles, including the revival of traditional techniques like Opus Anglicum and Cushion stitch.
Historical Context:
This handbook was published in 1880, a period marked by a renewed interest in decorative arts and crafts in England. The Victorian era saw a resurgence in embroidery as a significant form of artistic expression and a means of promoting domestic skills. This revival was influenced by a growing appreciation for traditional craftsmanship and the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement, which emphasized quality, functionality, and artistic integrity. The establishment of the Royal School of Art-Needlework in 1872 itself reflects this shift in cultural priorities.
Facts:
- Stem Stitch: This stitch is the most useful for hand embroidery and is often used for outlining flowers and leaves.
- Satin Stitch: This stitch is often used in white embroidery to create a smooth, satin-like surface, especially for small flowers and raised designs.
- Blanket Stitch: This stitch is primarily used for edging blankets, table covers, and other materials, creating a secure and decorative finish.
- Knotted Stitch: This stitch is used to create raised knots, often for the centers of flowers like daisies and wild roses.
- Chain Stitch: This stitch creates a chain-like effect and was popular for ground patterns in 17th and 18th-century embroidery.
- Couching: This technique involves laying threads on the surface of the fabric and securing them with stitches from the back, creating a variety of patterns and textures.
- Cushion Stitch: This stitch, also known as Opus Pulvinarium, is worked on canvas and was popular for covering furniture in the Middle Ages.
- Opus Anglicum: This English embroidery style, popular in the 13th century, featured a unique method of working flesh in figures by pressing the material with heated metal balls.
- Appliqué: This technique involves cutting out shapes from different fabrics and attaching them to a background, resulting in a layered and textured effect.
- Gold Embroidery: This technique involves using gold thread, either worked through the fabric or laid on and stitched down. It was often used for ecclesiastical and heraldic designs.
Statistics:
- Japanese gold thread: This thread is made of gilt paper twisted around cotton thread, making it non-tarnishing.
- Chinese gold thread: Similar to Japanese gold thread, but with a redder color.
- Gold and silver passing: This fine thread can be worked through the material or laid on for raised embroidery.
- Bullion or Purl: This gold or silver wire is made in continuous rings and is often used for ecclesiastical, military, and heraldic embroidery.
- Spangles: Were once commonly used in embroidery and were sometimes made of pure gold, but are rarely used today.
- Plate: Narrow plates of gold or silver stitched onto embroidery, creating a raised and textured effect.
- French and English gold thread: Made of thin metal plates wound around cotton strands.
- Tussore Silk: A wild silk from India that takes delicate dyes and offers a less glossy appearance than cultivated silks.
- Kirriemuir Twill: A fine twilled linen, good for tennis aprons, dresses, curtains, and other items.
- Bolton Sheeting: A coarse twilled cotton fabric, excellent for embroidery on curtains, counterpanes, and dresses.
Terms:
- Crewel: A type of worsted yarn used for embroidery, often untwisted for a softer effect.
- Filoselle: Pure silk of an inferior quality, often used in strands for embroidery.
- Tussore: Wild silk from India, known for its natural color and less glossy appearance.
- Opus Anglicanum: A unique style of English embroidery, especially noted for its techniques of working flesh in figures.
- Opus Pulvinarium: Also known as Cushion Stitch, a technique of working on canvas, often used for creating textured backgrounds.
- Appliqué: A technique involving cutting out shapes and attaching them to a background, resulting in layered and textured designs.
- Couching: A method of laying threads on the surface of the fabric and securing them with stitches from the back.
- Diaper: A pattern created through the use of different stitch arrangements, often used as a ground for embroidery.
- Backing: A layer of fabric, often linen or cotton, used to strengthen and support delicate fabrics for embroidery.
- Pounce: A mixture of finely powdered charcoal and pipe-clay used for transferring designs to fabric.
Examples:
- The Syon cope: A 13th-century cope in the Kensington Museum that showcases the Opus Anglicum technique.
- The old Venetian curtains: These curtains, copied for Louisa, Lady Ashburton, featured fine and beautiful couching effects, showcasing the possibilities of color in this style.
- The Countess Brownlow’s altar-hanging: An example of basket stitch in gold on white satin, showcasing the richness and intricate detail of this technique.
- The Hon. Mrs. Percy Wyndham’s bed-hanging: A modern example of cushion stitch, worked from a design by William Morris, demonstrating the versatility of this ancient technique.
- The South Kensington Museum’s collection: A vast resource for studying historical embroidery techniques and styles.
Conclusion:
This 1880 handbook offers a valuable guide to the techniques, materials, and historical context of embroidery. The text emphasizes the importance of learning from skilled teachers and mastering essential stitches. It also provides a thorough overview of materials and their applications, as well as detailed instructions for framing and backing techniques. Through examples of both traditional and contemporary designs, the handbook showcases the enduring beauty and versatility of embroidery as an art form. This guide provides both a practical framework for understanding the craft and an engaging exploration of its rich history.