New Embroidery Course: The start of the planning stage

Planning a new embroidery course is always quite exciting. For starters, rummaging through beautiful materials to find the perfect combinations to create the project is a real treat. But it is also quite nerve-racking. After all, creating a new medieval goldwork project, writing instructions, and taping videos takes a lot of time. And it is hard to tell whether people will want to pay you to work the project once your “baby” is available. Since I can’t really predict the outcome, I learned to work from a different premise: will I, the creator and teacher, learn something new? This way, the many hours spent will make me a better stitcher and more knowledgeable researcher. And when the completed embroidery course sells well – that’s a bonus! So, let me show you what I have planned for the autumn.

Ever since I laid eyes on them, the vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece kept at the Imperial Treasury in Vienna have captivated me. The or nué (shaded gold) is of such a high skill level. But the pieces are probably also some of the most frustrating embroideries out there. Not of their own fault, though. These major works of art have never been published extensively to a modern standard. This means we know very little about exactly how they were made. To me, this makes them an ideal candidate for a partial reconstruction. And thus perfect as the base for a new embroidery course.

Besides the stunning use of or nué and Burden Stitch, I especially want to explore the embroidery of the faces. We know from similar pieces that there are basically three ways of doing it: 1) voiding, 2) stitching over the horizontal gold threads that form the or nué, and 3) unwrapping the foil from the gold thread and only using the silk core as padding for the subsequent silk embroidery. By studying the many pictures I took of the pieces in Vienna, I have a feeling that all three methods were used. After all, it is highly unlikely that all pieces are the work of a single embroiderer. A perfect question to address in my new embroidery course!

Although I am in the very early stages of developing this embroidery course, I intend to offer live teaching over Zoom. These sessions will be recorded. The piece will be about 15 x 10 cms and will be based on the angel busts on the dalmatic and tunicella (see picture above). Due to Brexit and the US Tariffs, I will not make kits. Instead, I will let you know well in advance where to get the materials needed. To give you an idea, you will need a 40 ct or higher linen, 10 grams of passing thread #4, a fine Twist, an assortment of coloured filament silks, and freshwater pearls.

Watch this space for more information!