Revisiting Pocketbooks

Do you remember last summer that I shared with you some photos of textiles at Old Sturbridge Village?  It was in this post.

Well, while looking for something completely different (isn't it funny how that works), I discovered that those canvas pocketbooks in flame stitch (or Bargello, or Irish stitch) were clearly "a thing."  The Philadelphia Museum of Art has quite a number of them.  So many, in fact, that I made a Pinterest board just of these pocketbooks.  It can be found here.

Bargello was one of the first embroidery forms I remember learning.  I had a teacher in high school who did some beautiful pieces and she taught me.  I painstakingly did a wool belt which, despite the fact that it came out quite nicely, I never had made up.  Sadly, I have since lost track of it.  It was quite wide, at least 3 or 4 inches, and was designed to be fastened by cords attached to the two ends and tied (it was the 70s after all...)

Bargello, or flame stitch (the designation "Irish Stitch" being used by the Philadelphia Museum of Art is new to me for this work) seems to have its origins in the 17th or 18 century.  There are stories placing it much earlier, but the existing pieces typically begin in the mid to late 1600s.

Most acurately, the term "flame stitch" applies to certain patterns only, while "Bargello" has become the more general use name.  The pieces have a strong similarity to brick stitch -- both are done on canvas and (most of the time), the stitches "step" from their neighbors.  Some Bargello patterns even step by each stitch while others have a group of stitches (2, 3 or even more) together before stepping.

Historic pieces of Bargello work are done in silks and wools, and usually have strong color palates.

Two of the pieces at Philadelphia really struck me.

First, 1933-47.4, which has a flame style pattern, with some lovely extra touches.  The addition of cross stitches and the use of color gradations makes the motifs really pop.

(c) Philadelphia Museum of Art

Then, there is 1930-30-21.  Dated to 1762, it looks like it could be quite at home 200 years later in the 1960s. 

(c) Philadelphia Museum of Art

I'm particularly entranced by the bright clear colors and wide variety of colors on these pocketbooks. The January/February 2006 issue of Piecework Magazine had an article about these pocketbooks, and a project to sew one of your own.  Those instructions can be found here.  The basic structure is very similar to some modern day wallets -- and how delightful it would be to pull such a piece of art out when paying for groceries.  

I'll probably keep updating that Pinterest board, so feel free to take a look and follow it.  Maybe one will inspire you to some lovely canvas work. 

More randomness

During a recent romp through the on-line collection at The Philadelphia Museum of Art I came across this interesting little piece -- accession number 1894-30-94.

(c) Philadelphia Museum of Art

Listed as a "lace edging" it is colorful embroidery on net, with the not-very-precise dating of 1200-1400.  The description lists it as silk net with silk embroidery which has been stiffened with wax.  It is a long piece at 58 inches, and quite narrow at 2 inches high.

Closer of one section

Looking carefully at the photograph on the website, I do not believe it is Lacis (as currently identified).  The stitches do not look woven, but more like other embroidery stitches such as stem or split, simply done on a net-like fabric rather than a more closely woven one.  To really be sure will call for a visit to the museum to try to see the piece.

This item strikes me very much as one for secular use.  The stiffening with wax leads me more toward it being for household use rather than clothing.  Could it have been trim on a wall hanging, or the edge of a box style cushion?  I also think it quite possible that this is a piece that did not come from a larger workshop.  Though beautiful, it does not have quite that "something" that a professionally done piece might have.

The colors shine though, and it certainly sings to me on this early spring day that feels more like winter.

I know I have seen other pieces of colorful embroidery on net -- I'll have to find the time to do some research on them.  Meanwhile, I will enjoy these flowers and pea pods, knowing that the real ones cannot be far behind.

Marguerites for Marguerite

Saturday, September 5 was the elevation of my friend and apprentice-sister Marguerite. It was Marguerite we helped recently with her garb for the occasion (on which occasion I did eyelets).

For her cloak (in this case a period appropriate coat), our Laurel put out a call for embroidered daisy motifs.  (Marguerite = Daisy).

These daisies were based on an image in the Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne:

Just a little different than the daisies that might be in your garden, with that blush rising from the yellow center and deep burgundy tip.

I received fabric (a lovely very dark blue silk taffeta) and a list of colors of Splendor to use,  The fabric had one daisy already drawn and two more diamonds in which to place the remaining ones.





Daisy one:  Stem stitch stems, satin stitch for the bud (both the green and the pinks), long and short stitch filling the petals starting with white and moving out to the darker pink.  Once the petals were done I was not happy with the amount of definition, so I used the lighter pink and went over the dividing lines between petals.  For the center first I did one round of chain stitch, then satin stitch for the center, then the inner round of chain stitch over the edges of the satin stitch to make a cleaner edge.

I was pleased with the sharpness of the satin stitch there on that bud

Daisy two: Satin stitch stems, split stitch bud, split stitch petals with split stitch outlining (lighter pink). The tips of the petals are highlighted with the darker pink with just a few over stitches at each tip.  Center is chain stitch, satin stitch and laid threads couched at the intersections with tiny Xs.

Yup, that' my signature there, it's outside the diamond so won't be showing once it's mounted to the coat.

For the darker pink tip on the bud, I changed needles on a couple rounds of the split stitch.

Daisy three: Split stitch stems and bud.  A mix of long and short and split stitches for the petals, again going back over the tips with the darker pink.  After setting the circle with chain stitch, the middle was done with repeating rays from the center for a different look to the satin stitch.  This was executed by starting at the center and placing four stitches, quartering the circle.  Next each quarter was split, then I continued working around, dividing each space in half again until it was full.  The intention was to look a bit like the eyelets I did for her gown, without having an open hole in the center. 

I'm very happ with this center, though I feel these petals came out less differentiated.

Again the color was changed at the tip by changing the needle for those few stitches. I think I like this technique to blend colors and will investigate it further. 

Void work with an extra

One of the pieces I saw during my visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art was this one, Accession Number 1894-30-116.  This piece includes some lovely drawn thread open work.

The current text for this piece (revised during my visit based on our discussions) place the piece as late 16th Century Italian. The ground is linen plain weave.  As seen in the photos below, it is a relatively rough fabric.  The red void work embroidery appears to be four sided stitch which has not been drawn up tightly.  The outline of the design is in back or straight stitches.  The open work is drawn thread work with the stitching done with either silk or linen thread.  The museum's listing sets it as silk, but I lean towards linen because of the difference in the appearance from the red silk, which appears to be made of numerous plies of very fine flat or filament silk, creating a thread slightly thicker than the ground fabric threads. Stitches are worked roughly "over 4."

The filling stitches in the open work bear a strong resemblance to the birds eye filling used in modern Hardanger, although the bars look wrapped rather than woven.  For comparison, see this two page guide on the Nordic Needle website.

During my visit the curator and I had a lively discussion regarding this piece as well as the others.  I was pleased that some of my input was used to revise and expand the description they originally had.  These pieces are now being labeled as having "void-work embroidery."

As I sit to examine my notes and photos, I am developing a list of questions on each piece.  A return visit may need to be made for a more complete study of these pieces to be offered.




A picture of a large portion of the piece





Some repair has been done

Through the magnifier. Some of the cutwork wrapping has fallen or broken away

Void Work at Philadelphia

Early in January I had the opportunity to visit the textile study room at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I enjoyed a session of six beautiful pieces of void work embroidery. Over several posts I will talk about some of those pieces.  I have only begun to study my photos, and some thoughts may change as I study in more depth, and more importantly, as I try to work pieces in the same manner. 

One of the pieces, accession number 1894-30-111 is one of three that can be seen on the museum's website. The on-line notation, found at this link lists the piece as "14th or 15th Century," however, the Textile Department's internal cataloging information has updated that to 16th Century.

As with the other pieces of this type, the linen ground is embroidered with red silk threads. This piece features  more open ground stitching, a tightly pulled Two Sided Italian Cross stitch. Access to the back of the piece showed that the outline of the design -- also red, not a contrasting color -- has the reversibility commonly found with double running stitch. Stitches used within the void work, providing detail, appear to be straight stitches or back stitches. The linen is moderately roughly woven, and the thread is quite thick and covers the ground well.  The stitches are tightly pulled to create the open background. At 16 3/4 x 4 1/8 inches, enough of the piece exists to see one full repeat.

Here are a couple of my close photos of the piece:

Taken at a slight angle, this photo shows the thickness of the red silk threads

Where stitches add detail to the void design, they are not pulled.

Through a linen tester held above the piece.