This article is an annotated bibliography for embroidery, needlework and lacework done
before the 17th century
and is intended for an historical recreation audience, such as the SCA.
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 Auntie Elspeth reviews
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| Updated: May 4, 2003 |
Home > Elspeth's Alcove > here
In the SCA* my wife Elizabeth is known as Elspeth nic Cormac. She has done embroidery since before she went to elementary school.
* The SCA is an international organization that recreates and studies culture from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with a focus on Europe.
Elspeth has amassed a number of diverse books on embroidery, needlework, and lacework with a focus on what was done before the 17th century.
Elspeth says: "I have referred to many of these books in my research repeatedly."
As for me (the husband), I don't do embroidery or much of any sewing. I organized
her original list o' book reviews into categories and did some light proofreading
both with her approval. "Period" when used
below means that it was a part of Western European culture before the 17th century.
CONTENTS
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> By culture: Elizabethan and 16th century English |
By method: counted thread
"Baroque Charted Designs for Needlework engraved" by Johan
Sibmacher
Dover Publications, 1975
ISBN 0-486-23186-0
This is a republication of an 1880 edition of "Newes Modelbuch ....Inn Druck verfertigt" originally published in Nuremburg in 1604. Contains counted thread patterns. A primary resource.
"The New Carolingian Modelbook" by Kim Brody Salazar
(writing as Ianthe d'Averoigne)
Outlaw Press, 1995
ISBN 0-9642082-2-9
Many, many counted thread patterns. The period patterns have the source and date of the pattern. Patterns that she has created are clearly listed as being originals developed by her. An *excellent* secondary resource.
Appendix A talks about the period pattern books she worked from and ideas
for things to embroider.
Appendix B talks about using the graphs, ground fabrics, thread and color.
Appendix C talks about various embroidery stitches.
Appendix D is a listing of period pattern books.
Appendix E is her annotated bibliography
(a very good resource for more embroidery books,
by the way).
Appendix F is a glossary of terms that she uses that might be unfamiliar
to some.
She also indexes the patterns by name, date, and origin.
"The Proper Stitch" by Darlene O'Steen
Symbol of Excellence Publishers, 1994
Has some photographs of period counted thread samplers but they are not attributed or dated (grrr). However, this is the *best* technical guide I've ever seen on how to do many, many counted thread techniques that were done in period (yes, counted thread — not just blackwork anymore!). No bibliography. I advise using this as a technical instruction manual only.
By method: lacework
"Pattern Book of Renaissance Lace"
Dover Publications, 1988
ISBN 0-486-25828-9
A facsimile copy of Cesare Vecellio's "Corona delle Nobili et Virtuose Donne" of 1617. Contains patterns for needle and bobbin lace. A primary resource.
"Threads of Lace" by Pat Earnshaw
Gorse Publications, 1989
ISBN 0-9513891-1-4
A scholarly book concerned with the fibers, techniques, and history of lace. Has extreme close-up photographs of various laces including several period laces. Interesting bibliography. A must-have for lace makers.
Other methods
"Blackwork Embroidery (My Methods and Techniques)" by
Jack Robinson
Threadbare Embroidery Requisites, 1993
An excellent technical reference on how to do blackwork embroidery. The only quibble I have with him is that he does symmetrical designs that stay neatly within the borders of whatever item he is embroidering, but in period the designs simply ran off the item as though the borders didn't exist. He has a valuable section on how to do research and an excellent bibliography.
"Cutwork Embroidery and How to Do It" by Oenone Cave
Dover Publications, 1982
ISBN 0-486-24267-6
Covers the history of cutwork and construction techniques. Has several photographs of period cutwork. Stitching diagrams are clear and concise. Good reference to teach yourself period cutwork. No bibliography.
"Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book"
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973
ISBN 0-684-16318-7
Divided up into sections covering crewelwork, needlepoint, silk and gold threads, blackwork, whitework, stumpwork, and other stuff I'm not interested in. Photographs of period pieces interspersed throughout the book with some basic history about the style. Excellent technical advice on setting up your embroidery and clear, concise stitching diagrams. Contains the only clear diagram for Elizabethan trellis stitch in my *entire* library. Small bibliography. I use this one a lot.
"Raised Embroidery: A Practical Guide to Decorative Stumpwork"
by Barbara and Roy Hirst
Merehurst Ltd, 1993
ISBN 1-85391-203-4
Primarily a technical guide on how to do stumpwork. Tries to cover some
of the history of stumpwork but is too wishy-washy and vague for my taste.
Has a few photographs of period pieces but consists mostly of modern stumpwork
pieces. I'd use it for the construction information.
By culture: Elizabethan and 16th century English
"Blackwork" by Mary Gostelow
Dover Publications, 1998
ISBN 0-486-40178-2
This book has many great photographs of period blackwork pieces and portraits of Elizabethans wearing blackworked items. The information on the technical aspects of embroidering blackwork are adequate, but not spectacular. I found it very interesting to read. Small bibliography. A standard reference for those interested in blackwork.
"Elizabethan Embroidery" by the Victoria and Albert
Museum
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1948
A lovely little pamphlet of, you guessed it, Elizabethan embroidery. Consists of black and white photographs of various Elizabethan pieces of embroidery. Excellent resource.
"Elizabethan Treasures: The Harwick Hall Textiles"
by Santina M Levey
The National Trust, 1998
ISBN 0-8109-6356-1
Covers the building of Hardwick Hall by Bess of Hardwick and the textile collection maintained there. Large number of color photographs of textiles and embroideries. Lengthy bibliography written in teeny-tiny print (includes period inventories!).
"English Crewel Designs: 16th to 18th Centuries" by
Frances M Bradbury
Stemmer House Publishers, 1982
Don't use this for designs! I beg of you! I only liked one page out of this whole fiasco. The rest of the pages looked like they were drawn by an Elizabethan tripping out on acid. If you run across this booklet, I'd write down the books in her bibliography and go look at those instead.
"Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd" by Janet Arnold
W.S. Maney and Son LTD, 1988
ISBN 0-901286-20-6
There are some close-up photographs of Elizabethan embroidery in here that I have not seen anywhere else, including one of the butt-ugliest coifs I have ever seen on page 205. I guard my copy of this book with my life.
"The Needlework of Mary Queen of Scots" by Margaret Swain
Van Nostrand Reinhold Co, 1973
ISBN 0-442-29962-1
Covers the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the embroidery done by her and her jailer Bess of Hardwick. A number of photographs of extant pieces and notations on what books they got the design patterns from. Proof-positive that Mary was a mediocre embroiderer. Contains an interesting list of books for further reading.
"Three Hundred Years of English Embroidery: 1600-1900"
by Pauline Johnstone
Wakefield Press, 1986
ISBN 0-949268-81-X
Contains photographs of counted threadwork, whitework, cutwork, blackwork, lace, lacis, and polychrome embroidery (including another of the ugliest coifs I've ever seen — I guess bad taste is timeless). A few of the photographs are even in color. Chapters one through three are the ones of most interest to the SCA reader. Very small bibliography. I use this one a lot, too.
By culture: English overview
"English Embroidery" by Barbara Snook
Bell and Hyman, 1985
ISBN 0-7135-2565-7
Discusses several embroideries and embroiderers at length. Unfortunately, the illustrations are all redrawings, but they are relatively decent. At the end there's an interesting section on embroidered book bindings. Good bibliography.
"Guide to English Embroidery" by Patricia Wardle
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1970
ISBN 0-11-290030-5
Gives a history of English embroidery from the time of the Anglo-Saxons through the 20th century. Contains black and white photographs and descriptions of the items covering the same time frame. Pretty neat stuff. No bibliography.
By culture: German
"Beadwork" by Pamela Clabburn
Shire Publications LTD, 1980
ISBN 0-85263-529-X
Tiny little booklet covering mostly Victorian era beadwork but has a very valuable photograph of beaded pictorial panels from a German stole dating back to the 12th century. Worth it for this photograph alone.
"German Renaissance Patterns for Embroidery"
Curious Works Press, 1994
ISBN 0-9633331-4-3
A facsimile copy of Nicolas Bassee's "New Modelbuch" of 1568. Contains patterns both for counted and freehand work. A primary resource.
"Niedersachsische Bildstickereien des Mittelalters" by
Renate Kroos
Deutcher Verlag Fur Kunstwissenschaft, 1970
Written in German (obviously). Contains a HUGE number of photographs with lots of close-ups so you can see details relatively easily. A lot of the pieces shown are in brick stitch. Also has a number of pieces of whitework. Has a bizarre altar frontal(?) that is done in outline only with stem stitch and herringbone stitch. It's butt-ugly and absolutely fascinating. I didn't remember to make a copy of the bibliography when I had the original (mea culpa! mea culpa!). As it was, I had to swear on a stack of bibles to the copy shop employees that I would guard my photocopies with my life and only use them for research purposes. A really good source of primary documentation for German embroidery.
By culture: Russian
"Embroidery of All Russia" by Mary Gostelow
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977
ISBN 0-684-15184-7
There are a few photographs of period pieces, more poorly-done redrawings of period pieces and still more period pieces are discussed that we don't get to see anything at all on, which is annoying. Try getting the books she lists in her bibliography instead.
"Russian Embroidery and Lace" by L. Yefimova and R.
Belogorskaya
Thames and Hudson, 1982
ISBN 0-500-01358-6
In English (in case you were worried). Covers Russian embroidery from the 12th century to the 20th century and lace from the 17th century to the 20th century. There are photographs of several embroideries from our time period and *all* of them are in color! There are only a few examples of lace within our period, but what photographs they do have are also in color (and they are exquisite). No bibliography.
Other cultures
"Art of the Embroiderer" by Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983
ISBN 0-87587-110-0
A translation of "L'Art du Brodeur" by Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin with a facsimile copy reproduction of the French original of 1770. OK, this one is out of period. But it's cool to read a manual about 18th century embroidery tools, materials and methods by someone actually used them and worked in the guild tradition of the time. Some of the techniques described in here can be used successfully in earlier period works.
"Renaissance Patterns for Lace, Embroidery and Needlepoint"
Dover Publications, 1971
A facsimile copy of Federico Vinciolo's "Singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts" of 1587. Contains patterns for needle and bobbin laces and also patterns for lacis. Another primary resource.
"Turkish Embroidery" by Gulseren Ramazanoglu
Ramazanoglu Publications, 1987
ISBN 0-442-26799-1
In English! Contains only two photographs of period Turkish embroidery and no bibliography, but is a good technical manual on the stitches used in Turkish embroidery. The photographs of worked stitches are sometimes a little hard to see, but I have seen no other books documenting these unique stitches. Look for a catalog of the Topkapi embroidery collection for more photographs of period pieces, but use this when you want to know how to do the stitching.
About embroiderers
"Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers" by Kay Staniland
University of Toronto Press, 1991
ISBN 0-8020-6915-0
A very good book that covers the embroiderers, the guild system, the artists who designed the embroidery patterns, production issues, techniques, and patrons. I found a reference here about couching gilt leather in imitation of more costly gold thread embroideries that I have not seen anywhere else. Has many nice photographs, many of them in color. Small bibliography. A must-have for SCA embroiderers.
"The Embroiderer's Story" by Thomasina Beck
David and Charles, 1995
ISBN 0-7153-0238-8
The book is on embroiderers throughout history. Chapters one and two cover the Elizabethans and Stuarts and are both pretty interesting. Has some nice photographs and some not-so-nice redrawings of stuff that can be found elsewhere as good photographs. Decent bibliography. Not real high on my priority list of books to have, but it's entertaining.
General overviews
"Antique Needlework" by Lanto Synge
Blandford Press, 1982
ISBN 0-7137-2128-6
Gives an overview of embroidery from ancient to modern times with notes on costume, heraldry, furniture and collecting. Good photographs, although a little too small for my preference in some cases. The writing is generally pretty accurate and discusses some of the items in depth. Contains a decent bibliography.
"Embroidery Masterworks" by Virginia Churchill Bath
Henry Regnery Company, 1972
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-183818 (sorry — no ISBN
that I can find)
Close-up, detailed photographs of many different embroideries ranging from
prehistoric Peru to 19th century Turkey. Also has line drawings of the designs
that you can copy and try out for yourself. Contains a section discussing
materials and techniques; and a stitch directory. Has
a really good bibliography.
"Heraldry for Embroiderers" by Vicky Lugg and John Willcocks
Batsford LTD, 1990
ISBN 07134-6367-8
Gives a pretty good overview of heraldry and discusses design issues in creating a new piece of embroidery. Like all other Batsford books I've run across, the emphasis is on "modern" (read: icky) design style. There are photographs of two or three period heraldic pieces in the book, but most of it is modern stuff. Good for the heraldry information and design process, but not useful for documentation.
"Needlework" by Adolph S Cavallo
Smithsonian Institution, 1979
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78-62725 (sorry — no ISBN)
Gives a rough overview of historical needlework throughout the world. Contains
some interesting photographs sprinkled scattershot though the book in no
chronological order. Adequate but uninspiring bibliography for the SCA reader.
Of some use, but generally not much. I bought it anyway because it was on
sale.
"Needlework" edited by Betty Ring
Main Street Press, 1984
ISBN 0-915590-56-5
A collection of articles originally appearing in the magazine "Antiques". Of interest to the SCA reader are the articles: "An Embroidery Pattern Book", "The Stitches of Stumpwork" and "Flowers of English Needlework". Has some nice black and white photographs. No bibliography.
"Patterns of Fashion" by Janet Arnold
Drama Books, 1985
ISBN 0-333-38284-6
Surprise! In addition to being excellent documentation for costuming, there are also some nice close-up photographs of embroidery sprinkled about. Take a look sometime.
"A Pictorial History of Embroidery" by Marie Schuette
and Sigrid Müller-Christensen
Frederick A. Preager Inc, 1964
The bible for historical embroidery. Many, many photographs of period pieces with a blurb written about each of them in the catalogue in the back of the book. The blurb discusses background fabric, colors used, materials used, and stitches used as well as some history about the piece. Considered a standard in embroidery references. Very hard to find, but worth it when you do.
"The Embroiderer's Flowers" by Thomasina Beck
David and Charles, 1992
ISBN 0-7153-9901-2
The book is on floral embroidery through history. Has examples of Elizabethan floral embroidery, period herbals and period pattern books strewn throughout the book. Not real organized from our standpoint, but you can find some decent stuff to inspire you. Small bibliography.
Reciprocal links to related sites
If you have a link to this page on your Web site, please let me (the site owner) know.
Clare's Medieval and Renaissance Pages
This is huge! Features - voided embroideries (Assisi work), canvaswork, blackwork, her long list of book recommendations (wow), and an article on documenting entries, "where did I see that picture before?".
Kiara's Historical Embroidery Page
Good close-up photographs, focus on "Assisiwork".
About the image above
A white cross patonce on a red background is a significant part of Elspeth's heraldic arms in the SCA.
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