46 inch long strip of machine embroidered blackwork. The embroidery is 2.13 inches tall. It is embroidered on 100% bleached linen. If you would like the embroidery in sections rather than a long strip, just let me know. The strip will have at least 5/8 seam allowance on one side and the width of the embroidery plus seam allowance on the other side. There is also stablizer on the back side of the embroidery. The design is from a period embroidery pattern book published in Germany in 1527. These are made to order, please allow 1-7 days before I ship. Also if you need it in segments, rather than a long strip, let me know. Please note, the fabric is linen, but the thread is polyester, use a press cloth when ironing.

This is the first of a ‘Gallery’ of images I’m going to put up on my blog, to show some of the embroidery and beadwork I’ve finished over the years. This petal bag is a love…

Jane Bostocke's 1598 Sampler can be seen at the V&A Museum here . Jane Bostocke's Sampler at the V&A Museum. Embroidered linen wi...

More progress to show. I'm getting very excited about wearing it soon! I picked out some buttons in my stash to hand cover with my silk. I scavanged enough embroidery designs off my mock-up and left overs from the cuffs to cover the buttons. Planning the button distribution: Making the loops for…

Viking Cloak with Embroidery “Olegg the Mercenary” Wool broadcloth Early Middle Ages cloak Olegg is a smart man who knows how to survive in even the most dire conditions. From the sparse wasteland of the frozen tundra to the gambling table of a dank tavern, Olegg can always find a way to scrape by or talk himself out of any situation. He’s a man rich with more than just experience, who knows how to flip any skill for coin – may that be as a hired hand in an army or a card trick in a market square. Resourceful and sly, Olegg always finds a way to spin any situation in his favor, always ready to drop everything and run in a heartbeat. If you’re ever lucky enough to catch him around the campfire, ask him about the time he wrestled a bear. Who knows which story you’ll actually get, but we promise it will be amusing… Historically inspired by simple rectangular Viking cloaks, our Olegg cloak can be used as a wrap, a cape, covering your whole torso or thrown over your shoulder for ease of movement. It can be incorporated into your costume in a variety of different ways, so you can change it up if you feel like you’ve been wearing it a certain way too much. It comes without a cloak clasp or fibula, so it is up to you to decide if you want something simple or would rather go for something fancy to accessorise it. Alternatively, you could wear it without a clasp, draped over your shoulders like a blanket. The possibilities are endless! This is the perfect cloak for anyone looking for a practical, multi-purpose item that will travel well and come in useful in any situation. There are so many different things that this cloak could be: a blanket, a pillow, a picnic rug… the limit is only your creativity. More than just a cloak, this versatile piece will come in handy time and time again as a wardrobe staple. Made from a rectangular piece of strong wool broadcloth, it is relatively water resistant and 100% natural material, so you can rest easy knowing you’re safe from flames around the campfire. The embroidery on this piece is stunning. Created by our designers after careful research into viking knot work and embroidery, and it is an original design – though heavily influenced by history. It depicts a knot work style wolf in the corner from beige linen thread, with a white eye and a burgundy tongue which extends into more knotwork. A traditional herringbone style stitch edges of the rest of the cloak in burgundy and beige. On the flip side of the cloak you can still see the wolf embroidery, though it is the backside of it and doesn’t have the same impact. Instead of the herringbone stitch, this side has a simple running stitch in alternating burgundy and beige, providing some slightly more simple embroidery. Regardless of which side you wear it on, all of the stitching still looks neat and presentable. Alternatively, we can also do the embroidery in purely the natural colored thread. The fabric itself is very coarse and incredibly warm, though still comfortable and breathable. We wouldn’t recommend standing under any waterfalls, but in the light drizzle on a damp day you’re sure to find yourself very dry and warm under this cloak. We look forward to hearing the adventures you experience in this cloak – who knows, maybe one day you’ll have your own story about how you wrestled a bear. Now you can order the cloak with dragon embroidery as well. The fibula is not included in the purchase of this item, but can be found here. Please contact us if you have any additional questions.

Laid work is a great way of quickly creating a solid fill for a large area of your embroidery. Read on for tips and inspiration.

All of our machine embroidery  designs will come in any or all of the following hoop sizes: (You will receive links to download the size(s) you purchased and all formats available)Small for 4 x 4 inch hoop, Medium  for 5 x 7 inch hoop, Large for 6 x 10 inch hoop, and Jumbo 8 x 12 inch hoop.Each design description above will state the sizes the set comes in: S, M, L, J standing for Small, Medium, Large and Jumbo. These will be written SML, meaning Small, Medium and Large, or perhaps MLJ, meaning Medium Large and Jumbo, or even SMLJ meaning the set comes in all four hoop sizesFormats Available: ART3, ART4, DST, EXP, HUS, JEF, PES, VIP, XXXIf your format is not listed email us.

Chris of Ella’s Craft Creations explains how to create embroidered dragonflies with gorgeous iridescent wings. See her tute. The Dragonfly represents change, metamorphosis, adap…

Assisi Embroidery is a variation of cross stitch embroidery. It is a very charming italian embroidery and simple to do, with this kind of embroidery you can create decorative works. Assisi stitching was named after St. Clare of Assisi, sister of St. Francis, patron saint of needleworkers.

Right, Let’s get this party started. To start off you need to tension your ground fabris on whatever frame you’re using. Laid and couched work is not something you work in hand. Stitcha…

Here is one of my Elizabethan coif patterns. It is a larger one, designed to be worn over unpadded hair, not behind padded rolls. I have a large head, so I would describe this pattern as large to extra large. The long ruler is about 60 cm long, and the smaller about 30 cm. The motifs are all taken from extant examples in Patterns of Fashion and also period pattern books like A Scholehouse for the Needle. This is not a very shaped coif, that is, the flaps over the ear areas are not very pronounced. This is a purely personal thing, as very shaped coifs don't really suit my round face. The top edge of the coif is sewn together about two thirds of the way along and the last third is gathered up into a little knotted bunch. This makes a 'pouf' to allow for your bun or hair taping. The bottom edge is sewn into a channel for a cord which is used to slightly gather the bottom edge and tie up and over the hair to secure the coif. If you are planning on making this type of coif, I would suggest tapering the sides in so that the gathering channel is a bit less wide. Just how far you go will depend on where your bun or hair tapes sit. I misjudged on this pattern and the ties are too far forward which means that the coif doesn't sit properly over my hair. I would recommend making a test pattern up in waste fabric to test out different variations that will suit your face. It really can make the difference between a flattering and unflattering coif, especially if you are planning to wear it alone rather than under a flat cap or hat. The pattern cut out and ready to be spangled The coif made up The embroidered coif that I am currently working on is smaller because I plan to wear it behind padded hair rolls and also because I have been gradually modifying my coif pattern to make it sit better and flatter my face more. I draw my patterns out on tracing paper or lunch paper which I then tape to a window. Then I tape the linen or base fabric over the pattern and use the window as a big light box to transfer the patterns.

So after I finished my RSN Crewel piece, I wanted to practice crewel some more. I also thought that if I put a new piece on my frame it would mean that I would not be able to redo anymore of my RSN piece (I'm only halfway serious!). Basically, I wanted to do a new piece that I could have a bit of fun experimenting with while practicing. I designed a Lily of the Valley layout and picked my colors. I wanted to stick to greens and whites. I thought that since most Jacobean crewel flowers are done in more fanciful colors it could be interesting to do this piece in more realistic colors but maintaining the fanciful patterns and flourish-style of Jacobean crewel. Here's where I'm at after a few days of stitching:

This type of pattern darning will give you an equally good reverse side, if not the same. It is used on fabrics that are used on both sides, like towels and napkins. Here we have to be careful about how to choose the pattern and go about...

Of all the types of Italian needlework, Assisi Embroidery is probably the most recognized by non-Italians. That is, most embroiderers are at least conscious of it, if they haven't done a bit of it themselves. It is a very attractive counted thread technique that dates back to at least the 13th century, if not before. There are a number of books on the market, some with traditional designs, some with more modern ones. I have quite a few. In my listing of the books that I have, I didn't list all the strictly pattern books, nor all the electronically scanned out-of-print and out-of copyright ones. I honestly have to stop myself from automatically buying a book on Assisi embroidery every time I come across one that I don't already have! Almost 10 years ago I bought a yard of 28 ct 'Assisi' Graziano Linen from the US. By the time I factored in the exchange rate between the Canadian and American dollars (the Canadian dollar was not doing as good then as it is now) and the shipping, my yard cost me nearly $200 Canadian dollars. I'm happy to say that it is now easier and much less costly to have this lovely linen. And lovely it truly is! The threads are nice and plump and the fabric is weighty so that it makes great tablecloths, placemats, napkins, centres, doilies, you name it! Traditional Assisi Embroidery is stitched on off-white coloured Assisi linen in either blue or rust coloured embroidery floss. The cross stitch can be regular x's or long-armed cross and the 'x' part should be made over three fabric ground threads. I've made a couple f scans of a piece that was a gift to me, made in Assisi. Outlines of the design are done first in a darker floss, black or dark brown with the Double Running Stitch. The fretwork is also executed in Double Running Stitch. I love the combination of the voided work and the fretwork along the borders but most of all I love the hems! Four-Sided Stitch (done on this piece in off-white no. 8 pearl cotton) runs along the hemline (withdraw one or two ground threads for a more open effect) and the edge is finished with a rolled hem. I'm sad to say that I have never quite been able to achieve a rolled hem this small (or this neat!). The trick, I was told, is to wet your fingers with saliva and roll the fabric as you stitch. Here is the back of the same corner, notice how far into the rolled hem the hemstitches go in order to keep the roll in place... almost far enough to be seen from the front. Of course I also love the tassels! Traditionally in groups of three, these tassels are made of no. 8 pearl cotton thread. The Anchor Manual of Needlework, which has quite an extensive section on Italian Needlework, has instructions on how to make these great little tassels. You can read more on Assisi Embroidery at the Italian needlework website TuttoRicamo, click on the British Flag for the English pages and look under 'Techniques'. While you're there, you can download an old book on Assisi Embroidery from the early 20th century in .pdf format. Click on the first link under the 'Books' heading in the Assisi article, this will take you to another page. Under the first heading of 'Adele della Porta' you'll see the link. There are some great fantastical beasts in that book. Here you can find 28ct Assisi linen made by another great Italian linen manufacturer, Sotema as well as many great Assisi pattern books by Mani di Fata Tomorrow I'll tell you about some of the books I have on Assisi Embroidery that aren't strictly patterns only... Assisi Embroidery Part Two

Happy Saturday! This morning, a free pattern to add to the collection of hand embroidery patterns here on Needle 'n Thread! This one is a highly formal, stylized thistle. I love thistles in hand embroidery - there are so many ways they can be embroidered! I've seen puffy, hairy thistles, worke

Published in January 2013 issue of Dragon’s Tale The story of the embroidered coif that Viscountess Filippa Birgersdotter can be seen wearing to the left starts quite a long time ago. At Aros…

I recently bought the book ‘Goldwork: techniques, projects and pure inspiration’ by Hazel Everett, as I kept seeing glowing reviews about it everywhere. I don’t usually do ‘…

Medeltida broderier - Jag tycker det är jätteroligt att brodera, så jag har en massa planer på olika saker som ska få b...

Embroidery has been around forever — the earliest surviving pieces of this craft are Scythian, dated to between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE. Virtually every culture has some form of it in their textile art history.