wcob_newsletter_16_nov_03.pdf

orshipful Company of

Broiderers of Lochac

Guild Newsletter, Issue 16 – November Crown 2003

From The Guildmaster

G Greetings to the Company,

From Keridwen the Mouse, Guildmaster.

what the company can do next.

Thankyou to the roving masters who have been

about grading work for the members. Thank

you to Catalina and Muirghein who judged the

November Crown competition. The winner

was Jane of Stockton by a very fine margin

from Sabine d'Ricoldi da Forli. Both pieces

looked fabulous.

It was so good to see many of you at the

Combined Guild Day. Thank you to

everyone who taught, shared ideas or just

listened. I'm sure we all left inspired to try

something new. (Of course, actually starting

the next project is another thing.)

This puts Jane firmly in the lead for this year's

championship. There is one more competition

to go, so nothing is certain until the last

competition runs.

At the Guild Event, Mistress Rowan presented

the plans for the next Company project - the

Company Banner. Many people have already

expressed interest in participating and have

received their kits from Rowan. I'd like to

thank Mistress Rowan for her hard work and

amazing organisational skills to get this

started.

Good luck with all your stitch efforts over the

holiday season, until we meet again at 12th

Night. All your individual efforts combine to

make this Company great.

mouse..

Many people have asked when the finishing

date for the banner is. At the moment, not all

the materials have been sourced, and not all the

techniques have been tested, so we can't

answer that question yet. If in doubt and

you need a deadline, give yourself until

Festival or Midwinter.

Approaching Competitions

Twelfth Night 04 (Krae Glas) - Scandinavian

Work

Rowany Festival - no comp, but Guild

meeting, classes, show and tell

The nature of the banner is that it will

continually change with the Company's

members so in a sense it will never be

finished. This project may take more than one

year. It is more complex than previous

projects.

May Crown ( Politarchoplis) - Something

New

Midwinter - Clothing - embroidery on outer

garment (& LOG pouches)

Thank you to Jane of Stockton, Mistress

Rowan, Aeron Lasair and Alarice Beatrix von

Thal for helping to finish and attach the last

few slips to the Royal cloaks. The cloak are

not yet close for being finished, with I lot

more embellishment still left to do from the

original design. I'll keep in touch with the

Regalia council and keep you informed of

Nov Crown (Ildhafn) - Specific pattern -

interpret in any style

12th Night 05 - Blackwork (all styles, or select

one type?)(& LOG pouches)

Book Review: "Art of

Embroidery" by Lanto Synge

Review by Jane (of) Stockton

( jane_of_stockton@webcon.net.au )

For those like myself with an interest in pre-

17th century embroidery, a bit more detail. The

chapters covering early, medieval, post-

medieval and heraldic embroidery take up

approximately 78 pages. Images of interest

include: full page image of Coptic roundal

(silk on linen), full page image of 13th Century

German chasuble (good illustration of typical

Germanic motifs used for many centuries),

12th Century English mitres (images in black

and white), variety of 14th and 15th Century

copes - Pienza, Bologna, Syon and Steeple

Ashton Copes, mourning cape with heraldic

design, 16th Century tent stitch French bed

valances and great examples of various uses of

heraldic display in embroidery.

My first comment is this, this is the

most expensive book I have ever bought, but

worth every cent (I paid $A120 for it). This is

the type of book that acts as a corner stone to a

good specialised collection.

This is a new work, a descendent of his earlier

work Antique Needlework published almost 20

years ago. Lanto Synge has had a long

association with the Royal School of

Needlework in London, so has had access to an

extensive collection of needlework, both old

and new. This access shows in the depth of

styles and techniques covered in this book.

This is an historical survey of embroidery

through history and not a how-to book.

Why I Bought the book

My training and passion is history. I love it and

that is reflected in my embroidery. My focus

(as stated in my blog title) is historical styles

and techniques. Because of where I live, I don't

have access to any historical works in person,

so I rely on books. So when a book like this

one comes out, it goes to the top of my lust list.

This book has lots of info and pics about a

period that doesn't get covered much except in

highly specialised books or journals or out of

print works that I can't access.

The book is arranged chronologically,

beginning with a general introduction, then

moving onto early needlework, Medieval,

post-Medieval periods and then by century to

the present day. There are side chapters on

specific aspects of needlework, of particular

interest to me is the chapter on Heraldic

embroidery. There are also sections on

costume, furniture, Chinese and Indian work.

As far as an "Aaahh" moment, it was seeing a

whole chapter dedicated to heraldic

embroidery. I am involved in the SCA and one

of the main applications for embroidery in that

context is in heraldic display in various forms.

So any book that shows use of embroidery for

heraldic display is going to get my attention!

Each chapter looks at the major stylistic

movements of the time and puts embroidery

within this as well as wider political, social,

economic and religious contexts. For example

the impact of the Reformation on embroidery

was huge, due to the fact that the Church had

always been a major customer for and receiver

of commissioned embroidery works. There

were also major stylistic changes in the designs

and techniques used.

So it was a combination of the above that

finally pushed this one over the line. Don't get

me wrong. I had to visit the book several times

at the book shop before I bought it, but it is a

solid bit of historical writing and that is

something I am always interested in. On the

whole my taste tends to run to about books, not

how-to books. I tend to design my own stuff,

and I like to be historically accurate as

possible, so this sort of book is important in

giving me data on which to base my own

work.

The vast majority of the illustrations are

colour, with only a few black and white. There

are images on almost every one of the 352

pages, with most having more than one image,

in addition there are several full page images

which give greater detail of selected pieces

(there are even images in the bibliography and

index!). In addition to the text and images,

there are informative end notes (useful for

further research), a 4 page glossary,

bibliography, acknowledges for images and

finally an index.

Details:

When starting to learn this stitch, it might be

easier to use what is called a “stab stitch”

method. This means making a stitch (as in the

first part of the above instructions), but while

the needle is “underneath” the fabric, pull the

thread all the way through. Then, bring the

needle up through the working thread. You are

basically doing the same as above, but doing it

in two motions rather than one.

"Art of Embroidery: History of Style and

Technique" by Lanto Synge

•

Hardcover: 352 pages ; Dimensions (in

inches): 1.29 x 11.26 x 9.04

Publisher: Antique Collectors Club;

(July 2001)

ISBN: 185149359X

Periods and Cultures

This stitch was used widely by the following

cultures (but not limited to), in the following

circumstances:

Beginner’s corner

Following is the first of a series of articles

provided by Jane of Stockton – aimed at the

beginner and introducing a range of different

stitching techniques

Anglo Saxon - Vestments, secular

garments

Norman - Vestments, Ceremonial

garments, Bayeaux Tapestry

Opus Anglicanum - Vestments, seal

bags, wall hangings

Tudor and Elizabethan – Secular

embroidering gains popularity,

(decline of use in religious settings due

to Reformation and rise of

Protestantism in England), wall

hangings, secular garments, bed

hangings, cushions, book bindings,

book bags.

Five Period Embroidery Stitches –

Part I – Split Stitch

Background

Split stitch is one of the oldest, most widely

used (both geographically and timeframe) and

easiest embroidery stitches used in the period

covered by the SCA.

Because split stitch follows a curve well, it is a

good basic outlining stitch and can also be

used as a filling stitch. The densely packed

stitching can give an almost painting like

effect.

Materials

Split stitch can be done with just about an

embroidery thread. It works particularly well

with wool thread, but equally well with cotton

and silk. When starting off, wool is a great way

to begin. I would recommend something like

Anchor or DMC Tapestry wool. It can be

worked on a ground (your base fabric) of linen,

cotton or wool. In period, wool on wool was

fairly common, as was silk thread on a linen

ground.

This stitch produced what were acknowledged

throughout Europe as the most magnificent

embroideries of their times, the mainly clerical

garments done in the “Opus Anglicanum”

style.

Figure 1

S plit stitch

Technique

To do this stitch, bring the needle through at A

and, following the line to be covered, take a

small back stitch so that the needle comes up

through the working thread, as shown in the

diagram.

A quick word about colours. While loving the

intertwined vines of nature, colour selection of

threads was not necessarily naturalistic. As

such, the stems of vines could be any colour,

not just green. When choosing colours, keep in

mind that dyes were made using natural

products that were available and so colours

tend to be muted to modern eyes. Having said

that, brighter reds were available as were vivid

blues.

Design Sources

One of the problems associated with research

into textiles, is that very few textiles survive

today. Those that do tend to be ones that

belonged to churches or royal or noble

families, who had the means to protect what

were in many cases family or national

treasures. As such, we must turn to more

permanent survivals, such as stonework,

illuminated manuscripts, metal work etc.

Patterns to Practice With

Below are two patterns based on period

sources that I have put together for those who

might like to try a simple design. When

stitching, try outlining the pattern in a darker

colour, and then filling with a lighter colour.

Either of the patterns below would make a

lovely decoration for around a neckline, cuffs

or possibly along the front edge of a cloak.

Anglo-Saxon – Spiral vine based on an

altar carving from the Church of St.

Mary and St. Hardulph.

Norman – 12 th Century

Scandinavian Embroidery

By Marienna Jensdatter (Maggie Forest)

The topic of Òmedieval Scandinavian embroideryÓ is obviously a rather wide one Î as youÓd expect.

ÐScandinaviaÑ, geographically speaking, consists of the Scandinavian peninsula, i.e. Sweden and

Norway these days and in period the southern parts were Danish. But in the SCA and in wider society,

ÐScandinaviaÑ means something rather larger, perhaps really a cultural sphere (its inhabitants

generally know this culture as ÒNordicÓ), consisting of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland,

Greenland, the F½rÍs, and sometimes Finland, plus of course tributary areas in period such as the

Baltic areas, parts of Scotland, Ireland, and NormandyÈ

When researching these areas, consider how closely the cultural ties were at the time youÓre looking at

Î Iceland and the F½rÍs have always been very closely tied to Norway, but Ireland and Scotland have

seemed to manage to absorb invaders fairly quickly. Finland has always been special Î while the west

coast became very firmly Swedish in that countryÓs great expansion north during the 13 th Century,

ethnically and culturally the main part of it has always been very different from its western

neighbours, and the Baltic countries have always been closer to Finland than Sweden, despite Swedish

efforts to convince them otherwise.

Embroidery is an ancient art, and this is borne out in archaeology from very early on. The Nordic

countries are very rich in finds from an early age, largely thanks to the Danes favouring burials in oak

coffins, and also their later hobby of drowning people in bogs. But soil conditions have also helped Î

clay rich soils are common, and given added weight are quite good at locking out oxygen, that great

feeder of textile-eating bacteria. Hgom, Oseberg and Mammen are examples of burial mounds that

have preserved textiles, embroidery included, thanks to the architectÓs ambitious sizing of the mound

and the condition of the soil underneath.

An article of this format can only ever be an introduction to such a large topic. Therefore I have made

no attempt at building an exhaustive overview, nor indeed to show examples from every time and

place. Consider this instead an introduction Î an appetizer if you like.

Below youÓll find a selection of documentable stitches and styles sorted by time period. At the end of

the article, I have included a bibliography, so that you can both study these examples further, and look

for other ones.

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