Category: 15th century


  • The Life of Mary: It’s all in the details

    This blog post is taking way longer to write than I intended. Sorry, I fell down a rabbit hole. And then another one :). I will find myself in both holes in the state library in Munich on Friday. What happened? As always, I think I have seen the same embroidery before, but when I…

  • The Life of Mary in medieval Goldwork Embroidery

    Last week, Sabine Ullrich, curator of the Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg, invited me to view a chasuble cross in storage. To my delight, Sabine came up with a few additional pieces for me to study. While there are currently no medieval embroideries on display in the museum, textile enthusiasts should visit as there are beautiful late-medieval and 16th-century tapestries on permanent display.…

  • Goldwork Embroidery Tutorial: a fancy border with triangles

    This week, I have a goldwork embroidery tutorial for you inspired by a late 15th-century embroidered chasuble kept in the Domschatz of Fritzlar. It has these lovely textured bands or borders between the individual orphreys. The border is made by couching gold threads and coloured silks over string padding. It seems to be a very…