Early Medieval Embroidery

[sbuchler]

So much for sticking with the 15th century this year: I’m back to playing with the bliaut thing (mainly because I’ve slowly been putting my project binder together for my unfinished/unstarted projects and the bliaut page with the associated fabric has really been inspiring me! :-) ) . So, I thought I’d do the easy stuff first: the embroidery.

Yes, I

Comments

[ursule]

A little bit of googling has some possible leads

[jdulac]

here ya go: http://medieval.webcon.net.au/period_12th_c.html

You'll want to check out Roger of Sicily's coronation garments.

[msmcknittington]

Check out Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd for information on transfer of embroidery patterns. I'm pretty sure that's where attack_laurel is getting her info. There's information in that book about a partially embroidered linen sleeve that has the design drawn on with ink and (I think) speculation about how they might have done it.

Also, check out the page on images of embroiders on Karen Larsdatter's site. It looks like the earliest images are from the 14th century, but it's a mite closer than the 16th.

For the sewn-to-frame method, I think there's a way to sew it so you can tighten up the thread as it loosens. You just loop it around the frame and then tie it off with a slipknot, so you can easily undo and redo the knot after you tighten it.

Part 1

[sstormwatch]

Do you have the book Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers, by Kay Staniland? While not the specific question details you want, it does provide some good info of the medieval period. Not a how-to, definitely the history. Not as detailed info as the Museum of London books, sadly

Part 2

[sstormwatch]

As to silk threads, I am using Soie de Paris, which is a filament silk, not spun. It is shiny and has a nice twist. From what I understand looking at 16th c. embroidery, their silks were flat filament silks, with occasionally a light twist. They do have them available from Japanese or Chinese suppliers, but are harder to work with. Bjarne Drews recommends starting with the regular twisted silk to get used to working with silk, before moving to the flat silks which will snag a lot. This is what I am doing. I love the shine of the filament silks, even if it is twisted.

Like I mentioned above, I do have a friend who is focused on 12th century stuff and does embroidery. I'm not sure how much info she has on embroidery of the period, but she is very knowledgeable about the clothing of the period. She's on Facebook, but not on LJ (yet, I'm trying to get her to blog). She's also on the 12th century mail list if you are on that.

Re: Part 1

[sstormwatch]

"I don't travel any of the thread on the backside, ..."

I mean I don't travel the thread beyond the current motif I am working on. I do travel it around the flower or leaf as needed. If I have to move on, I cut and restart. I had done so once, and I realized that it bothered me as the thread underneath would sometimes catch my fingers or other threads as I worked near the area.

[virginiadear]

Concerning availability, when later on you'll need a bunch of something and not just a single skein, ask your merchant if his/her source can be commissioned to do X skeins of a single color in a single batch for you, so you'll have the thread coming from the same dye lot, as it were. While you're at it, ask if your order is large enough to get you a bulk discount.