Historic Embroidery

needlecase

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:52:26 GMT

Somewhere online ...

I've seen pictures of an embroidered tubular needlecase -- I want to say it's Italian. Is it ringing any bells with anybody?

Thanks!

New Appliquee Project! Prize for 2nd Annual Heraldic Competition

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:24:10 GMT

For those of you who are interested in my new embroidery project: this is going to be an appliqued kingdom tabard that is a prize for a heraldic competition.

http://francesca-tessa.livejournal.com/25973.html

I did the prize last year as well, and if you dig back in my blog you can find the entries on that as well.
I'm doing it with material on hand so the fabric is (ugh) synthetic bridal satin and charmeuse, but it is all completely being hand sewn and hand embroidered with silk thread for what it's worth.

The bling will come from all the soutache cord I use to couch it down, and if time permits I might add some detail with couched metal thread. I'm autocratting the event, and making some other stuff as well, so my time is limited between now and August. Feel free to keep an eye on my journal between now and then to measure my progress.

Sweet Bag Done!

Tue, 06 May 2008 02:20:53 GMT

At least, done enough to hang in the Shoreline Stitcher's Showcase (an ANG chapter LA-area needlework show). Haven't put in the drawstrings, nor covered the mouth of the bag with Plaited Braid, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve, until I get it back and can finish it.

The Blue Butterfly Sweet Bag

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:47:57 GMT

I just posted information about a needlework symposium we're holding in the LA area, and I realized that while I have been posting progress pictures of my sweetbag to my eowynsartifacts journal, I haven't shared it more widely.

So I thought I would share a picture of the sweet bag I've been working on for far too long, now. This is the second side, using Plaited Braid (gold), Plaited Gobelin (silver), and Tent stitches (silk). There is some of the new Gilt Sylke thread (The Embroiderer's Story blog tells the tale of its invention / re-creation) used for the chain stitch on the top leaf and the lines on the pansy. I have been working on it for about two years (not steadily, thankfully) -- it is almost done.

IKINS - Inter Kingdom Intensive Needlework Symposium

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:35:24 GMT

(edited to correct the location to go for IKINS info)

Greetings Fellow Needleworkers,

Registration for The Inter Kingdom Intensive Needlework Symposium (IKINS) opens tomorrow, May 1st! This is an SCA event, but you do not need to be a member to attend.

Information and the registration forms can be accessed at the yahoogroup e-mail list for IKINS (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IKINS/). The Files section has the registration form following website: Registration will close when we have 50 signups.

This is our first joint needlework symposium, and it's is being co-sponsored by the Caidan School of Needlework and the West Kingdom Needleworkers Guild. Featured classes include Opus Anglicanum, Elizabethan Sweetbags in Depth, Elizabethan Raised Work, Or Nué and Gold Bullion Book Cover.

Optional excursions include field trips to Hedgehog Handworks and the Getty Museum on that Friday (Sept. 19th). The symposium will be held Saturday, Sept. 21st and Sunday, Sept. 22nd, in conjunction with Caid's fall collegium.

You may also contact one of the following IKINS coordinators, if you have any questions or need additional info:

Richenda Coffin - richenda@roadrunner.com
Eowyn Amberdrake - Melinda.Sherbring@verizon.net
Isela di Bari - dcobb@mail.meyernet.com

Looking forward to seeing you there to support these great classes and the great teachers we have lined up!

Yours in service,

Eowyn Amberdrake, Isela di Bari, and Richenda Coffin

Punto Real and Slate Frames OH My...

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:48:41 GMT

Two of my biggest hunts and one has come through, the other is still in limbo. Both relate to embroidery....

1. Still searching for the current term or a good description of punto real. The description in Ruth Matilda Anderson's "Hispanic Costume" sucks...Well, it only leads me to believe that it is a looped stitch, but it is not chain stitch...Waaaah... I will make that camisa by 12th Night, I will... I was at the EGA (Embroiderers Guild of America) Satellite meeting and one of the gals there offered to check some of her sources. She just called and said it was a no go on her end, but she gave me a lead...Woohoo! So, I have sent an inquiry to the National Textile Museum.

2. I have finally found Slate Frames to carry in my store. They just came in today!!! They are sooo cool. Yipee!!! It has taken me a year to find someone who makes these in the US and is willing to sell them wholesale. You can find them in Europe, but with the Dollar and shipping issues, it just wasn't that great an investment to try and have them imported. So, I am just so jazzed...

Still working on St. Cecilia, she has a face now. But after finishing the Norsky Runes on the commission piece, I have had to focus on shop models. Almost have the flamingo and the cat done...

I have to say thanks to attack_laurel for sharing her frog. That weekend I taught a class on late period stitchery and I was able to show it as a really cool example of what you can do with detached buttonhole. The students were suitably impressed and enjoyed learning the stitches.

Time to quit goofing off and get back to the mailers.

needle lace frog

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:17:55 GMT

Oh, h eck, I posted about this in my journal, but I'm going to post it here, too.

I made a frog based on the http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=96600;type=101 LACMA frog needlecase. I started with a mockup as close to actual size as I could without stripping down the original (they frown on that):

Then I made up the final piece in silk needlelace (detached buttonhole stitch that goes from side to side, rather than always in one direction) (like the original):

The ties are braided silk, and the bag is dupioni silk.

I have a couple more pictures in my journal, and I'll be uploading a page detailing the construction to my website soon.

I like the frog in the Museum of London (he's more puffy - like a toad!), but the little detached buttonhole stitch paws on this one are to die for.

Common themes/motifs

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:23:40 GMT

Been pouring over the books and the internet today looking at embroidery (and listening to the wind) and I thought that I might solicit some opinions ...

What do you see as Common Themes and/or Common Motifs that show up in embroidery? Certainly, you see stitched scenes from Tristan and Isolde on bags, etc -- but what others do you think of as being recurring "elements" in Medieval/Renaissance embroidery?

Or Nue grounds

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:36:31 GMT

hola,

I am new to this live journal thing, but I saw this community and thought "Woohoo, more embroiderers!

I am setting up a piece of Or Nue and am having problems with figuring out how I want to apply the pattern to my linen. Two things are needed ink for the initial pattern and paint for the colorations. I know that I will probably use egg tempera for the colorations, but the ink is giving me problems. Should I use Carbon Ink or Iron gall ink? Both are period appropriate for the piece I am doing.

So, any ideals?

Agnes berengarii de girona
Kingdom of An Tir

Embroidery Frame Recommendations?

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:58:00 GMT

While this isn't strictly about embroidery itself, I was looking for some recommendations from fellow historic embroiders about frames to hold pieces while they're in use. Up until now, I've been using hoops of various sizes, but the coifs and cuffs I work on really need to be in a square/rectangular frame so I don't have to keep taking them in and out to work on different areas and can keep the fabric tension even. Most of what I've seen others using are either huge frames for sleeves that aren't really portable (which is important with these sorts of projects for me) or are made of big plastic tubing (which really makes me cringe a bit at events).

So, what do you use when working on coifs/cuffs/bags/random small projects? Have any of you found a reasonably small adjustable frame you'd recommend or made some other magical discovery?

Announcing IKINS

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:43:32 GMT

Inter Kingdom Intensive Needlework Symposium (IKINS)

September 20-21, 2008

The West Kingdom Needleworkers Guild and the Caidan School of Needlework invite one and all to come & enjoy classes designed for the Embroiderer seeking more in-depth instruction and historical information.

Some of the featured classes include Opus Anglicanum (Dame Richenda Elizabeth Coffin), Elizabethan Sweetbags in Depth (Baroness Eowyn Amberdrake), and Voided Work Pattern Design (Baroness Sabrina de la Bere).

The classes will be held in conjunction with Caid’s Fall 2008 Collegium Caidis at the Calle Mayor Middle Shool in Torrance, California. Pre-registration for the symposium will open April 1st.

In addition to the classes, needleworkers are invited to participate in an inter-kindgom display of their handwork.

We will also be offering an optional excursion on Friday (Sept. 19th) to Hedgehog Handworks for historical needlework supplies and to the Getty Museum (http://www.getty.edu.).

Saturday evening will feature a joint dinner at a local restaurant with needleworkers from both kingdoms.

If you are interested in more information about this exciting opportunity, join the Yahoogroup IKINS, or contact:
Isela di Bari, dcobb@mail.meyernet.com (West)
Eowyn Amberdrake, Melinda.Sherbring@verizon.net (Caid)
Richenda Elizabeth Coffin, richenda@roadrunner.com (Caid)

Intro and Finished Object Happy Dance

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:55:34 GMT

Hi, my name is Liadain, and I am a blackworkaholic....

I finished a blackwork project today that I've been working on for months, an icon scarf. The pictures can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liadains_fancies

Thanks for letting me dance here!

Elizabethan Sweetbags

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:32:32 GMT

Does anyone know of any examples of sweetbags that aren't canvas work? Specifically, I'd like to know if there are any with satin stitch slips on a velvet or satin ground. All the ones I've found are tent stitch and golbein stitch on canvas or heavy paper.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Anglo-Saxon sleeves

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:57:11 GMT

Some time ago, I made a post about some Anglo-Saxon embroidery I was planning, with the sleeves to be decorated with Bayeux not-a-Tapestry animals. I finished the sleeve decoration over the weekend:

It will be quite some time before I get the dress they are for finished. We are heading into the Lochac summer, and making a winter dress I won't be able to wear for a few months seems rather stupid, especially when I have summer stuff to make.

Question for the goldworkers out there

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:12:06 GMT

I'm about to embark on my first goldwork project - a livery badge - and I've accumulated most of the supplies I need (which is good, since I've blown away my project budget already), but lack a mellor. All the books and online sources I've read have mentioned that it's a good idea to have one of these tools to manipulate the metal threads, to save them from premature tarnishing (for what it's worth, I am - will be - using 'ecclesiastical-grade' gold and silver passing threads, among other things).

Do any of you have suggestions for a good mellor substitute for the time being, or should I just not worry about the tarnishing issue all that much? I do keep my hands very clean when I work, I think I'm more concerned with not damaging the threads as they're moved around (for example, with tweezers or such).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and I'll be sure to post images when I'm done... whenever that may be!

Embroidered purse

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 20:03:31 GMT

Brick stitch, based on late 14th/early 15th century German purses, with heraldic motif adapted from my SCA device. DMC cotton floss on 28ct cotton evenweave (because I'm too poor to work with large amounts of silk and linen). It's about 5 inches wide, and 6ish inches tall, not including the tassels. Total work time was 63 hrs and 40 min!

Click for larger image

ISO: Images from the Oxburgh Hangings .....

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:15:27 GMT

cross-posted to my own journal ...

I've already got the book "The Needlework of Mary, Queen of Scots" ...

I'm looking for larger, hopefully color pictures of two of the emblems ...

The snails (Marian Hanging) and the Oak Tree (Cavendish Hanging)

Thanks!

Anglo-Saxon embroidery

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:42:03 GMT

I'm about to embark on an embroidered trim to decorate the sleeves of an Anglo-Saxon tunic, using wool thread on a wool ground. I've worked out colours that would be close to period colours. The design is 3 animal motifs, taken from the Bayeux not-really-a-Tapestry, enclosed in roundels. The outlines will be done in stem stitch, the filling in split stitch.

I've studied pictures of the most relevant surviving embroideries of the period (the Bayeux, the Maaseik vestments, the Oseberg animals, the Llan-gors shirt) to inspire the design and choose the stitches. But there's one thing I haven't worked out - should I use single thread, or double thread? It's the one thing I can't find in any of the articles I've read and the pictures aren't really clear.

Or am I just being anally retentive, and it doesn't really matter which I use?

Beginning Blackwork

Sun, 06 May 2007 14:32:02 GMT

As I haven't done any counted stitch embroidery in quite some time, I'm teaching myself blackwork. So far, I've learned that messing with my thread tension can make stitching the second pass harder, and that I should angle the needle to keep from missing threads.

Am not entirely sure I have the logistics of patterning down. Is it better to work the major design elements first, then stitch the "side trips," or should "side trips" in the design be stitched to integrate them as much as possible with the major elements?

Any other advice for an intermediate embroiderer but beginning blackworker?

More Mammen motifs

Tue, 01 May 2007 20:04:19 GMT

I've finished another piece embroidered with the acanthus vine motif from the Mammen textiles. Details in my own journal. Cheers!

One 16th C Needlebook Cover Finished

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 01:29:51 GMT

I think I got a little wrapped up in the stitching, as I now realize it's one a.m. Still, I had to upload the photos and show off my finished embroidery. Compared to the last picture one might see that I did go back to fill in green in the background. The back now looks horrible with threads criss-crossing all over it, but it won't show anywhere once I stick it onto some board (cardboard, or other haven't decided yet).

Anyway, on the left-hand side in the image we have knotwork in gold, and two seeblatter in gold. This will be the back of my needlebook. On the right side, the front after it's made up, we have four stylized Elizabethan flowers and in the centre my initials (LT) as I sign it on all my scrolls (hidden somewhere usually).

I'm not entirely happy with how I stitched the flowers. and none of them are stitched the same way! I'm quite happy with the shapes of the rose and the heart's ease (I think that's what it was anyway - the left-most pair of flowers) but less happy with the two flowers on the right, in terms of shapes and colours. I mean just look at the red petals on the lower right one; looks like one got torn off and is flopping over the orange bit. And the top one should by rights have two shades I think. Also the shade of green in the leaves of the Tudor rose and heart's ease was a bit light, but it was the one strand of green embroidery floss that was already separated out and ready to use in my bag of threads. I didn't want to pull out and create more loose threads of another colour.

All in all, I've learned loads doing this, and the next one will be even prettier. For example, I started by doing the brick stitch background in green and only after that was finished started on the motifs. That was rather the wrong way around, and necessitated me going over the background again as mentioned above. I will also re-think the stitches for the flowers, probably use tapestry stitch rather than the mish-mash I used here.

Now, I'm looking forward to making this up into a useable item and expect I'll make a mess of that too before I'm finished :)

(x-posted to my own journal)

Hello

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:22:18 GMT

I wanted to just make a short post saying hello. I'm new to the SCA and period embroidary. I'm currently working on a project for Queen's Prize in the Kingdom of Calontir with wool thread on linen. I'll be putting it on a 9th century hood. I hope to learn a lot from all of you!

Mammen motif embroidery

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:25:32 GMT

I'm partway through a project using one of the motifs from the late-tenth-century Mammen grave from Denmark. Photo and writeup in my journal.

Daydreaming, opinions please

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:40:27 GMT

Hi all!

I do make medieval embroideries but I'm not so much an embroiderer as I am a dyer, I love dying.
For the last 2 years I've been toying with the idea of dying silk embroidery thread with natural dyes after old recipes and hopefully sell them in order to sponsor more dying. This dream seems to be coming more and more true since I'll be able to set up a small outdoor dyeing studio once spring comes.

But before I go ahead with this and invest lots of money in white silk embroidery thread I would like to check how interested people would be in my possible product? I'd appreciate it so much if those reading this could take the time and answer a few questions I have.

Would you buy natural dyed embroidery silk?
Would you prefer if that silk was of the loosely spun variety or tightly spun? (IE suitable for split stitch or black work.)
How large skeins would you like?
Would you prefer the skeins to be sold in sets of graduated colours or singly as you'd buy a skein of DMC cotton?
Would you prefer as many colours as possible even if it means the embroidery can't be laundered or be in the sun for more then short periods, or colours that will be able to be tossed into the laundry machine and come out fine?

All questions, opinions or thoughts are welcome.

Best regards,
Malin

Trapunto Help

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 05:37:47 GMT

Hi everyone!

I have just been introduced to trapunto and I already have projects planned. I have been looking for good examples of period designs using trapunto and haven't found much. I suppose I'm just looking in the wrong places. Any help you can offer would be appreciated (work you've done, books or websites).

X posted to authentic_sca