Blackwork

A simple square of linen from sometime in the Mamluk period that's carefully worked to be completely reversible . This would be a nice sized project to practice reversible blackwork.

Blackwork embroidery is monochroma tic embroidery in both counted and freehand forms, but this article specifical ly focuses on the styles and basic techniques of freehand blackwork embroidery in the Elizabetha n and Tudor eras in England.

There are many types of embroidery used in the historical period covered by the SCA. Counted thread embroidery is one of the easier forms of embroidery found in our period.

Even though blackwork is a simple stitch to learn, some of the patterns and designs always seem to make it look hard and involved. What I am going to do here is to make it simple, easy and fun. I will be showing you three very basic stitches; back stitch, Holbein (double running) and cross stitch.

These patterns are inspired by historical needlework of sixteenth and seventeenth century England, but they are all original designs. Lots of designs, great bibliography, fantastic step by step instruction with pictures.

Blackwork embroidery was used in many forms on a variety of different garments. This gallery is intended to assist costumers in looking at ways of incorporat ing blackwork embroidery into Renaissanc e-era costume. Links to portraits and to examples in museums.

Hundreds of authentic blackwork patterns from 16th and 17th century sources. Includes German and Italian, as well as English patterns.

A PDF version of a guidebook to English needlework of the 16th and 17th centuries at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

From the Elizabethan Costuming page - a bibliography with some online sources listed as well.

Embroidere d jackets (and portraits of women wearing embroidere d jackets) from late 16th and early 17th century England.

Over 220 individual all-over or filling patterns for double running stitch embroidery . Some are very large repeats and would be better suited for free-use, others are smaller in scale and would work well as fillings in traditiona l outline/in -filled blackwork.

Sixteen fill-in patterns from blackwork embroideries of the 16th century.

This page contains freehand blackwork embroidery patterns that I have transcribe d from extant pieces, or created in the style of extant pieces and portraits.

A basic introducti on to blackwork embroidery , including instructio ns for double running stitch.

A re-created pattern for this piece seen in a portrait.

This article focusses on a particular stitch technique from medieval Egypt. The material bears noticable resemblences (and is probably an ancestor of) certain types of blackwork found later in Europe. The material here all dates to the 13-14th centuries (it may also be described as from the Mamluk period) and is worked in colored silk thread on a natural linen ground.

Documentat ion and notes on the history of blackwork from a project to produce a handkerchi ef in a 16th century English style.