![]() ![]() Patterns usually repeated in a very regular fashion, ranging is size from very large to very small. There are very limited shading techniques to be found on some extant pieces, only using running stitch, stab stitches, or buttonhole stitch. Large design elements were often filled, but never shaded, with counted patterns. Freehand Blackwork EmbroideryĪ very large amount of blackwork embroidery, especially from England, was worked freehand. There are a great many existing resources for period counted patterns and guides detailing how to create counted blackwork, so instead for this paper I will focus on the freehand blackwork so popular in Elizabethan England. Then come back and work another line of running stitch to fill in the gaps. To create double running stitch, first work your pattern (or part of your pattern) with running stitch. Contrary to modern perception, blackwork embroidery in the period was almost never the same on the back as the front. If your piece will not be seen from both sides when finished, don’t worry about it too much. This will not be possible with all filling stitches, but should be possible with most band patterns from the period. Before you start stitching, examine the pattern for a path that will allow you to continuously stitch twice over all parts of the pattern without having to travel to a new part of the pattern. ![]() Most filling stitches from the period are impossible to work such that both sides of the embroidery look the same.Ĭounted blackwork in period is worked almost exclusively in double running stitch, although back stitch may be used if the finished embroidery will only be seen from one side. This is because it was used to adorn bands of material on clothing, like collars and cuffs, where both sides of the embroidery might be seen. When shading does occur on embroidered figures and vines, it is created with running stitch, buttonhole stitches, and irregular stab stitches, not counted patterns.Ĭounted blackwork embroidery bands are the only SCA period embroidery I am aware of where the front and back of the work often look the same. When a different darkness is desired for a different filling section, a different fill pattern is used. There are no shading or graduating techniques used to vary the apparent darkness of the field without changing patterns, or to create variations in shading within a section of embroidery. It was used almost exclusively as filling stitches, or in bands. Tudor and Elizabethan English counted blackwork was a very different beast from a majority of modern blackwork. You will also need an embroidery needle, thimble, embroidery snips, and a hoop or frame to stretch your work. Try to avoid particularly lightweight fabrics when creating freehand embroidery, or your traveling stitches on the back of the work might be visible from the front. If you do choose to embroider on a coarse fabric, double the spacing on your pattern so the embroidery floss can float over more of the weave and avoid disappearing into the ground fabric. Be wary of course fabrics, as your floss can become lost in the weave of the fabric. This will be close to what was available in period, and will provide a fine ground for your embroidery. Instead, purchase white linen with a high thread count, at least 30 threads per inch, and try to find a fabric that has a similar count on both warp and weft. In fact, nothing like it was available in Renaissance England, and the very distinctive appearances of most evenweave fabrics can be distracting and detrimental to creating a period appearance in your finished embroidery. You do not need to buy specialty evenweave fabric to create beautiful blackwork embroidery. It is also more durable and tolerant of modern washing machines. In SCA period, blackwork embroidery was created in silk floss, most likely flat silk, but modern stranded cotton floss is easier to learn with and produces a very nice result. Metal threads were also sometimes used alongside the colored floss, as were spangles. Other colors of thread besides black were used during the 16 th and 17 th centuries in England, especially red, but black is the most common. Blackwork embroidery is monochromatic embroidery in both counted and freehand forms, but this article specifically focuses on the styles and basic techniques of freehand blackwork embroidery in the Elizabethan and Tudor eras in England.
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