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Cutwork EmbroideryCutwork embroidery is a beautiful form of needlework where portions of the background fabric are cut away and discarded, with the edges worked over in buttonhole stitches. There are many kinds of cutwork. The simplest form of cutwork is that which contains small open areas, such as eyelets, with no connecting bars. Teresa de Dillmont calls Broderie Anglaise openwork or "cutwork". Renaissance embroidery is cutwork that needs stabilizing bars worked within the cut-away designs. The edges are connected by buttonhole bars, worked over a single thread and is the same width throughout, except possibly on the edges. Satin stitch fillings were used in the design, then the openwork was done, cutting away unnecessary background fabric to give a much lighter appearance. Richelieu embroidery is similar only the connecting bars are ornamented with picots and occasionally we find the addition of worked rings. Venetian embroidery is thickly padded buttonhole stitching. The high relief of the outlines is what makes this stand out. Plenty of surface embroidery is included in Venetian designs and open areas with lots of lace stitches! Reticella, or Italian cutwork, is the ultimate and most elaborate of all cutwork. It is just one step away from needlemade lace.
Cutwork was originally done on linen, not too fine a fabric, and the nuns were known to remove threads from the linen to make the work "lighter". The beginning of drawn work. From the Ionian Isles and Corfu comes another type of openwork in which buttonholed bars were connected to the edges across a linen surface. This linen insert was afterward removed and was later known in Venice as Reticella. Cut work was so called because the background was later removed. This caused the astonishing discovery of the century that the background linen was not needed at all--the stitches could be built up by themselves. PUNTO IN ARIA, literally "a stitch in the air" was born. Cutwork reached its zenith in the Renaissance. Whitework was originally in the domain of nuns, but peasants were needed to help in the making of the church vestments and linens, and were bound to bring home the secrets and use them for their own personal house linens. I certainly would have. Cardinal Richelieu, the principal minister to Louis XIII, wanted France to become totally independent. He imposed a duty on all im ports and made certain that many Italian lace-makers were made comfortable in France. They taught lace making, and France became a leader in the field. Now that so many machines can make lace so very fast, it is difficult for most people to realize that this work can even be done by hand. I found a very interesting definition in the Dictionary of Needlework, by Sophia Frances Anne Caulfeild and Blanche C. Saward. According to this source cut work was a term first used by English writers when referring to the earliest known laces known as Point Coupé, Opus Seissum, and Punto Tagliato. The method for making this cut work begins with fastening a certain number of threads in a frame, crossed and interlaced, tack them to a piece of lawn, and finally do the buttonhole stitch around the edges. The lawn is cut away leaving the buttonholed lace, which may or may not have picots. Hmm.
If you are interested in cutwork by machine, I can recommend a book called Traditional Cutwork Made Easy, by Darlene Geisendorff. For the gorgeous handwork, I recommend any kit designed by Paula Heckmann. Her work is stunning. She has devoted her life to this pretty much, and her work has been featured in many magazines. Visit her website, Keepsake Cutwork!
Resources: Cutwork, Heirloom Sewing IV by Margaret Pierce The Embroiderers' Story by Thomasina Beck Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book , an awesome resource for the details of history which is included with all the instructions for sewing lots of different embroidery stitches. Weldon's Encyclopedia of Needlework You may have to hunt for a copy of this book as it's been out of print for a while. Traditional Cutwork Made Easy by Darlene Geisendorff. Cut-Work Embroidery and How to Do It. by Oenone Cave. Websites of interest: Home and Garden TV has many, many articles on embroidery. A class available at Mrs. McLeans site. http://www.p4a.com/itemsummary/142139.htm http://www.sews.com/lace/teatowels/teatowels.html http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/topics/embr.htm Lots of embroidery links are here! What fun I had here! |
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