A DIVE INTO 16TH CENTURY CROSS STITCH The works of Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth Shrewsbury

 

definitions are all from the Royal School of Needlework Stitch bank

•       CROSS STITH “the English method, where a single cross stitch is completed, one diagonal stitch over another, before moving on to complete the second stitch, and so on. The second method is the Danish method, where one diagonal stitch of the required number of cross stitches is made before returning in the opposite direction to complete the second set of diagonal stitches over the first diagonal row of stitches.”

•       If tent stitch is described as ‘trammed’, this means it has a long thread laid along the top of the canvas and the tent stitches cover this thread to provide slightly padded coverage.  Tramming would normally be used with half cross tent stitch (which has the smallest amount of thread on the reverse).

•       TENT STITCH: “Continental tent stitch is worked in horizontal or vertical rows and makes a diagonal stitch on the back, longer than that on the front” or “Half cross tent stitch is worked in rows and makes a vertical stitch on the back.”

•        BASKETWEAVE TENT STITCH: “diagonal stitch, usually worked across a single intersection of canvas from bottom left to top right.”

•       Tent stitch found in late 4^th/early 5^th tunics in Egypt

•       “Examination of the contemporaneous Hardwick Hall embroideries has found that both basketweave and (trammed) half cross tent stitches were used.” 

EXAMPLES OF PATTERNS

Designbwas transferred to pouncing paper. Prick holes were created with a sharp item (example needle) and when the powder was patted onto the paper, it was transferred onto the fabric

Pattern can then be trace via the marks left onto the fabric

modern alternatives are sun/window or lightboard

for embroidery completion, the "counted" part means that the stitches are all the same size, on fabric that the passing space in the threads can be see vs "counting stitches like modern embroidery

                 

Indiidual would pick a design concept which was then passed onto professional artist or patternmaker

Stitches completed by others (household embroiderers, ladies of the house/court, etc)

A Tapissiers in the French court was in charge of caring for the soft furnishings in the court


Common colors include;
Dark/pale blue

Greens

Cream

Pale yellow

Pink 

Crimson

Black

Brown

The Tapestry's

Marian Hanging 

Shrewsbury Hanging

Oxburgh Valance

Over 100 panels between them all

Whole Tapestry size 227mm-2940mm

individual pieces are approx 11.81"-87"

octagonal and cruciform shaped pieces

A Catte

Good view of canvas ground fabric

visible leans of stitches (tent stitch? cross stitch? trammed?)

equally sized stitches (counted work)

Good example of lettering (thin, equally spaced cross stitches)

Rough Stitching on cross shape including gold threads from boarder

another view of canvas material 

pieces were attached to hanging cloth in 17th cen it is unknown what the original purpose was 

First Attempt

Used black and white photo from book printed in 1973

not the highest quality photograph

attempted to manually size picture

warped picture

ended up free handing most of palm leaves due to poor quality

tranced/free handed palm tree onto cotton canvas

coronet was freehand based off owners

escarbuncle/laurel pattern found on pintrest

   

Second attempt

Photograph taken from V&A museum website

color and and better quality

adjusted to 5" in word document

enlarged by 125% on photocopier

allowed more detail to be seen, more accurate recreation 

Third Attempt

Was created using a projector

extant piece is too damaged to pattern off of, drawn pattern from book was used 

much easier to get exact size for projector onto poster board

however need space to use projector and level

Sources