Opus Anglicanum

This tutorial outlines the stylistic details that make opus anglicanum embroidery unique, and provides instructio ns in the basics of how to emulate the style in your own embroidery .

On the developmen t of the aumoniere, and photos of the creation of a purse in a similar style.

A practical text-book of design and workmanshi p by Mrs. Archibald H. Christie, with drawings by the author and other illustrati ons. Includes instructio ns for doing many different kinds of stitches, recommenda tions for tools, and diagrams from historical patterns.

Informatio n on medieval English embroidery styles and techniques , with examples from the V&A exhibit.

Bibliographic entries compiled to serve my research purposes on the subject of costume rhetoric in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Sections include: sumptuary laws; history of costume; accessories/accoutrements; miscellaneous (fur, embroidery, buttonholes, narrow wares, etc.); fabric, clothmaking, and prices; costumes depicted in two- and three-dimensional visual arts; costumes depicted on funeral brasses; costumes depicted in literature; and dictionaries for costume terms.

A booklet on opus anglicanum embroidery with examples from an exhibition at the Cloisters.

One of the foremost scholars in the field and a lady whose work has provided the foundation for this database was Grace Christie whose monograph A Brief Survey of English Embroidery Dating from the Beginning of the Tenth Century Until the End of the Fourteenth : Together with a Descriptiv e Catalogue of the Surviving Examples : Illustrate d with One Hundred and Sixty Plates and Numerous Drawings in the Text was first published in 1938. Her work is not only a catalogue raisonne of all known pieces of Opus Anglicanum but also an iconograph ic and stylistic analysis of the pieces. Her work excludes the later periods and focuses mainly on the techniques of working which was her particular strength and interest. The aim of our database is to provide an electronic and updated version of Grace Christie's work and to document as many of the later pieces as we could find. As such, the numbers she applied to the works is maintained here and extended for new pieces which she was unaware of. Whereas

It is a simple stitch, yet has enriched the noblest of medieval embroideri es. It is an easy stitch to learn, yet difficult to master. It is one stitch of many used by modern embroidere rs, yet enjoys a long history spanning centuries, countries, and cultures. The versatile split stitch is an excellent choice for outlining, completely filling, shading, or delineatin g detail within a period design.