18th Century Inspired Embroidery and Beading

Conceiving and setting up to work on project of extended duration can bring as much pleasure as seeing the completed work. The renewed emphasis in fashion and interior design on materials crafted and embellished by hand inspired me to delve into this art.

I have fond memories of embroidering my bell-bottomed blue jeans with beads and birds cut out from printed fabric. Then, there was the muslin tunic blouse with lines of poetry cross-stitched around the hem; the black corduroy shoulder bag with a circlet of flowers embroidered on the flap. It is possible my idea of creating a sampler made of pieces embroidered and beaded in a style referencing needle art of the 18^th century is a return to a passion of my own past. Before beginning a project, it is often helpful to gather information on the subject. How wonderful to find Gail Marsh’s study, 18^th Century Embroidery Techniques!

The book begins with a discussion of the tools used in the 18^th century. Most fascinating were these thread holders made of ivory.

This is one of a dozen or so thread holders made for me with quarter inch birds eye maple. The thread holders keep the thread untangled and make it much easier to unwind the next length.

In the 18^th century sewing needles were precious commodities and needle artists and seamstresses kept them in specially made cases. My old bottle green velvet jewelry case with a mother-of-pearl button was purchased years ago from a vintage shop and makes a fine case for embroidery needles.

Gail Marsh provides readers with full and close-up photos of garments of this period as well as sketches with a breakdown of the type of stitches used.

The meandering stitch on this stomacher has a contemporary feel to it. Marsh writes it was first seen on a waistcoat made for a Lord Stormont and thus, the stitch known as vermicular is sometimes called a stormont stitch. (Marsh, G., 18^th Century Embroidery Techniques)

Information about specific embroidery stitches and how to achieve them will come from two other resources, Embroidery: A Step-by-Step Guide to More Than 200 Stitches by Lucinda Ganderton, and a reprint of a book, Embroidery Stitches, written by Mary Elizabeth McNamara Wilkinson in 1912.

Inspiration gathered also includes Hilary Davidson’s book, Jane Austen’s Wardrobe. Pictured above is a photo from the book of a linen handkerchief embroidered in satin stitch. The handkerchief belonged to Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra.

A search for images of 18^th century embroidery led to the above images.

Embroidery can be combined with ribbon as seen in this photograph.

These beaded leaves were found on John Derian’s website. John Derian is an artist/designer with a storefront in Manhattan, New York.

A basket of remnants of antique and vintage fabrics, muslins, and linens collected over several years will provide the fabric for the sampler. All the fabric is in shades of white, pale gray, ecru, and ivory. Thirty-six pieces of fabric will be cut on a 10” x 10” template and hemmed so as not to fray while being worked. When all are completed, the pieces will be sewn together to form a 60” by 60” square. Above are photos of the fabric hemmed and placed on the floor in order to plan for a variation in texture and color in the background of the sampler.

The fabric is then stacked in order, left to right and top to bottom so it can be worked and then stitched together according to the planned design.

Creating the 36 individual sampler pieces will be something done over time rather than all at once. As such, it seemed to me it would be helpful to organize all the necessary materials in a portable “kit”. The lidded basket is one of my many baskets. Dropping everything into the basket created quite a mess. These velvet jewelry cases were an online purchase. I’ve glued a piece of grosgrain ribbon to each velvet tray so it is easy to lift from the basket. The trays are stacked inside the basket.

Each tray has a purpose. For example, in the photos above you can see a tray for the embroidery thread and another for beads collected from broken vintage necklaces. The third tray pictured contains vintage beaded ornaments, trim, and sequins collected over the years.

At the bottom of the basket are extra thread skeins, a scrap from a broken beaded evening bag of mine, and some hand dyed ribbon from a shop in Comfort, Texas.

The top tray contains the first square of fabric ready to work!

These photos of a Dior gown worn by Jenny Ortega at the 2023 Emmy Awards inspired the design of my first sampler square.

Though I had read of 18^th century embroiderers creating a muslin bag filled with colored powder to “pounce” the design onto their fabric it seemed simpler for me to draw directly onto the fabric with a sketch pencil and then embroider over the lines. The above photos shows the sketch lines and some of the completed embroidery and beading. The seed pearls are from a multi-strand necklace my husband gave me many years ago. I wore it daily until the strands came apart and now, have found new ways to cherish them.

Finding ways to repurpose materials you already have on hand as you learn or build your knowledge on a topic is simply invigorating.