More from Kroos... now in COLOR!

On November 1st I posted a black and white picture from the Kroos book.  Thanks to Chris Laning of the Paternoster blog, I now have the same image in glorious color.  Enjoy!

German counted satin stitch box! Color photo!

So much for posting more Wienhausen images next.  I was going through my files and found something I had forgotten:

Here is another photo find.  It is a reliquary from the end of the 13th Century (Maasland?), 3.5cm high, 6cm diameter.  The image is from a book called Ferne Welten - Freie Stadt: Dortmund im Mittelalter (Distant Worlds - Free City:  Dortmund in the Middle Ages), ISBN-10:  3-89534-617-9, ISBN-13: 978-3-89534-617-0, published 2006.  I found this book in the library; it is catalog of many varied items and only a few textiles, one of which is this charming box.  It is counted satin stitch, in color, and has a turk's head tassel!  It must be fine stitching for such a small box!

The box top looks like part of a tapestry or something that was cut down to make the box lid, perhaps something that was partly damaged?  It is sad to think about how many wonderful examples of textile artistry are gone forever, yet how many more still exist but are not known to many?  I love finding and posting pics like this because I feel that the more people see them, the better.  

Another German Tapestry... the Thomas Teppich from 1370

From Kloster Weinhausen comes the Thomas Teppich, embroidered wool, circa 1370.  This image of the full tapestry is from the book Meisterwerke der Niedersächsischen Kunst des Mittelalters.  I have some other scans of tapestries I think are more interesting, but this one is color and the the other ones I liked are black & white.

The detail picture is from the same tapestry but published in a different book, Kloster Weinhausen by Horst Appuhn (ISBN 3-9801316-0-2).  I actually own this one so can scan from it at will, instead of traipsing over to the library.  This book has 72 photographs (many in color) in addition to the German text.  The photographs are of textiles, the exterior and interior of the kloster including many wonderful wall paintings, furniture (chests), stained glass, sculpture, illuminations, etc.  I'm sure I'd learn a lot if I read German, but I get what I can from the pictures.  I'll have to start learning German in my spare time... heh, heh, heh...

One of the things I love about the Weinhausen book is the variety of things included in the photo section.  It is easy to see the continuation of the design aesthetic in everything that was made there, from the wall paintings, painted furniture and sculpture, stained glass, illumination, metalwork, and needlework.  If I were going to design an embroidery somewhat based on embroideries of the time I would also use these other objects as design inspiration. The wall paintings are especially inspiring to me.

I have scanned several examples from Weinhausen and will post those next.

German tapestry from 1200... another image from my library scans

I recently received some nice feedback from people who liked my posting of historical needlework photos that I scanned at the university library.  Work has been keeping me busy lately so I haven't been back in some time, but looking at these scans again does make me want more.

This is from a book called Meisterwerke der Niedersächsischen Kunst des Mittelalters by Horst Appuhn (1963).  The caption on the tapestry dates it to Halberstadt circa 1200.  The larger picture is The Tree of Jesse from Hildesheim, also circa 1200.  Sorry about the larger than usual file sizes but when I made them really small they were very pixelated.

More from Kroos

It has been almost a month since I posted and the reasons are many. Much of my time and energy went into making my Halloween costume and decorating my house (I was queen of the spider-infested graveyard). Also I have three projects going at once. Right now I am working on finishing the dress I am going to wear next weekend. Meanwhile, here is another photo from the Renate Kroos book.

The book lists it as dating to 1400 and held in Hannover, Kestner-Museum Inv. Nr. WM XXII, 10. It is 90 by 245 cm (35.4 by 96.4 in). I like it because it has so many patterns.

Not strictly medieval

OK, not really medieval at all. But it is what I have been doing lately. It's been weeks since I posted and weeks since I worked much on anything related to medieval arts and crafts.

Now it is Halloween prep season and I am making a new display this year as well as sewing a costume for the first time. I may post a picture of the outdoor display if it turns out well. It is mixed theme of scary graveyard and spiders. My costume is just to fit in as a denizen of a spider-infested graveyard. I also wanted something that could be vaguely steampunk or easily modified. So here is the first and hopefully the most difficult piece. It is a cropped jacket in black cotton velvet with a short puff sleeve. Instead of building the sleeve into the bodice I made the pieces finished and separate then cartridge pleated the sleeves to the bodice. Since cartridge pleating is Renaissance period it provides a tenuous link to period clothing. Also later if I decide to wear it as a vest the sleeves will be easy to remove. It is lined, and interlined with black canvas so it is stiff and supporting since it fits snugly. It will be worn over a black corset I have yet to make and a black skirt which has trapezoidal panels in front and knife pleating in back. The skirt is asymmetrical, shorter in front and long in back.

A headdress of wire for a spiderweb would be cool. I've never done any hats so that might be beyond me this year.

As promised, better pictures of the basketweave pattern pouch

These pictures were made using a scanner and include some of the details of the purse. When I see something I would like to recreate I am always interested in the details of the finishing techniques. As I gain experience this is less important but has been vital for my first projects (this is only my second pouch).

To make the lining, I whipstitched a piece of bronze linen to the back of the embroidery. I then folded the whole piece together, right side out, and tablet wove the sides together. I started the weaving at the bottom corner of one side of the purse (at the fold). I passed the weft thread through the warp a couple times, then started passing the weft through the warp from left to right, stitching the warp through the edges of the side of the purse. The weft thread emerged from the purse edge on the left and I then passed the weft through the warp from left to right. The cards were turned after every time I passed the weft through the warp.

Once I wove up to the top of the purse I kept weaving in a normal manner, passing the weft through the warp from left to right, rotating the cards, passing the weft from right to left and rotating the cards again. This wove the strap of the purse.

When the strap was long enough I once again started weaving the purse edge, this time starting at the top edge of the purse side and working my way down. Before I started I made sure the strap was straight. I wouldn't want to have finished weaving the second side of the purse only to discover the strap was all twisted. I think I would have lost my mind if had done that.

At the end of the purse I stitched into the warp a couple times and tied off the weft. The leftover warp thread on both bottom ends of the purse formed part of the tassels.

So, how did I maintain tension as I was rotating the purse and weaving the second side? Is there a good way to do this? I don't know. I used my hand to hold the purse and strap and maintain tension manually while I used the other hand to pass the weft and rotate the cards. It was very awkward. I had planned to take pictures of the process but it didn't work out. Maybe next time if I ever try this again.

The top edge of the purse, where the linen lining was attached to the embroidery, didn't look finished to me so I did a stem stitch along the edge to cover the seam.

The drawstring resembles fingerloop cord but is actually kumihimo (I used 8 bobbins). Fingerloop would have been more authentic but I am really bad at it.

The holes for the drawstring cord to pass through were made with an awl and not finished in any way. According to descriptions of extant pouches this is how many of them were made. I will just have to see how this holds up to use. My last pouch I did buttonhole stitching on the eyelets so this is a new technique for me. It makes me feel nervous to do this to my embroidery that I put so much work into.

Materials: 2-ply silk thread from aurorasilk.com dyed using fustic for the yellows, indigo for the blue and fustic/indigo for the green; 24-count linen congress cloth from Needle in a Haystack (www.needlestack.com); bronze linen from my stash. I put samples of all the threads in a sunny window for several weeks. The fustic did not fade at all, nor did the green. The indigo faded slightly but still looks pretty. As I plan to store this pouch out of the light I think it will be fine.

Basketweave embroidered pouch - done!

It was two months and one day ago that I first posted about making this pouch. That is not actually a long time but it felt like forever to me. I was so excited to have it finished that I took this bad picture to post. Later I'll photograph it in natural light and get better pictures of the details.

The finished bag is 5.5 inches wide and 5.25 inches tall. The sides are finished with card weaving. I used 8 cards: 4 S-threaded, 4 Z-threaded, all the cards turned forward continuously. I elected not to use fancy patterns or multiple colors for the weaving because I wanted the simplicity of the weaving to set off the complicated embroidery pattern instead of being a distraction.

The tassels on the bottom are very simple and I did not put tassels on the drawstrings. I was not sure how complicated I wanted to get with that so I chose to leave it more plain. Later I can change it if I decide I would like that better. Now I just need to enjoy looking at it for a while.

Overall I am very pleased with the result. I plan to wear it with a simple gown so attention is drawn to the pouch.

Maru dai completed, now I have three!

It feels like such a long time since I last posted when it has really only been a couple of weeks. I took a week long hiatus from doing any craft type activities for a couple of reasons. First, my wrist was hurting and I thought a rest would be good for it. Second, I just started a new job and wanted to focus my energy on work.

Now it is almost time for school to start again. For me that means back to the woodshop and starting a new project. In order to be ready for new things it is time to finish off the old things. This week I finally finished these maru dai (stands to use for making kumihimo cord). I have been using them in their unfinished state and they worked fine, but it is good to have them done.

I chose three different heights as an experiment to see how it would feel to work with different sizes. The shortest one has 12 inch posts. It is convenient to use when sitting although I do have to tie up the cord coming out the bottom more frequently. The middle one has 17 inch posts. It was the first stand I made so the one I have used the most. It is not convenient to use with the tables I have at home but it is a good height when I set it on a low stool or when I am standing. The third stand is 24 inches high and is my favorite. It sits on the floor when I am sitting to weave or on a coffee table if I want to stand. Because it is tall I don't have to worry as much about tying up the cord. The drawbacks are that it takes up more space to store and was expensive to make, especially because I used walnut.

The tall and short stands are walnut and the middle height stand is red oak. The walnut is so beautiful but so much more expensive than other woods. I probably spent over $30 just for the wood in the tall stand and $18 for the short one. The oak was about half as expensive. I used a gel stain on all the wood, rubbed in by hand. This went on much better and more controlled than the liquid stain although it was harder to find a store that carried it. The walnut is stained with a dark walnut stain, the oak with a color called "Provincial" (a light-medium golden brown). All the stands are finished with multiple coats of Mylands wax, a blend of beeswax, carnuaba wax and other stuff not mentioned on the label. The wax gives a nice low sheen and doesn't make to wood too slick and cause the threads to slide around too much when in use.

Each time I make something new in wood I learn a new lesson. This time the lesson was: don't skimp on sanding with the low grit sandpaper to get the big scratches and flaws out. The finer grade sandpaper won't do it the flaws really show up when the piece is finished.

I'm trying to tablet weave

I am learning to do cardweaving so I can finish my basketweave pouch. Here are the practice samples I made so far,all using cheap crochet cotton. I only had one pattern, for the blue and white sample from the class I went to. It is a really nice pattern but will be wider than what I am looking for. What I really need is patterns for some narrow trim and I am not happy with my efforts to just figure something out. The book I have has all these fancy patterns and brocade. That's like college level equivalent. I am looking for kindergarten. This is a work in progress.

I made a little progress with my scissors case. I really like it so far. Another work in progress...

On looking for newer photos of old embroideries

It is wonderful to have some books about embroidery that were amazing resources when they were published, especially since nothing as good or complete has been published since. I am thinking specifically of A Pictorial History of Embroidery by Marie Schuette in 1964 and Niedersächsische Bildstickereien des Mittelalters 1150-1450 by Renate Kroos in 1970. At the time they were published fewer color photographs were used in books than now. When trying to recreate these embroideries or use these references as sources for documentation one thing is missing: color. Granted, many of the colors look very different now than they did when new due to fading but seeing them in color really does give a different impression.

I would love to have my two favorite references redone with updated photos. If I were more of a scholar and felt myself up to the challenge and had the time and money to do the traveling that would be required, I'd do it myself. Since that is not possible I will just keep looking for new resources.

Here is something I found yesterday. The b/w photo is from the Kroos book. The color photo is of the same piece but a different section. It is reproduced smaller as the actual book size is smaller but it was very wonderful to see the color. The book is Kostbarkeiten aus dem Domschatz Halberstadt and is a museum publication available on the Domschatz Halberstadt website http://www.dom-und-domschatz.de/publikationen.htm. It is a thin book containing information and photos for various items in the museum, including a few textiles.

Take a look at an interesting new(er) blog

Chris Laning of Paternosters (http://paternosters.blogspot.com/) sent me the link to this blog (Taschen at http://medievalpurses.blogspot.com/) and I really liked it. He is just getting started but his work is really nice and judging by the lack of comments not many have seen it yet. Hooray! Another brick stitch purse maker!

Starting something new - a scissors case

Right now I am intermittently working on my tablet weaving skills so I can finish the basketweave embroidery pouch, but meanwhile I have to have another embroidery project going. This new project is going to be a scissors case. I wanted to use a pattern from my recent library research and I kept coming back to the design I scanned in the picture above. In order to incorporate such a detailed design into the small size of the case I decided to use 40 count linen. The design looks really good and not too large and crude with this finer linen (I normally use 24 or 28 count), however it is difficult to see. I am using a magnifier to see the stitching when I work. I don't think this is good for me over a long time so I only embroider for short periods of time then give my eyes a rest. Therefore I think this will take a while unless I am diligent and work on it every day. Who knows if that will happen?

The scan is from the Renate Kroos book and the embroidery is from Halberstadt circa 1270/80. I am using two strands Soie d' Alger silk floss.

Basketweave pouch embroidery complete!

Last night I finished the embroidery for my new pouch. I couldn't decide on a color for the spaces between the gold embroidery so I used two different color schemes in such a way that the purse will look one way from one side, and different on the other side. I was worried that the blue would be too strong but it looks really good. When I finished with the blue embroidery my fingertips were a little darkened; I think some of the indigo rubbed off as I stitched. I have had samples of all the colors I used taped in a sunny window for a couple weeks now and so far no fading. Next thing is to put the pouch together but that will have to wait a bit until I practice cardweaving some more since I want to weave the sides together, so it will likely be weeks before I have a finished pouch to present. Meanwhile I need to get a new project that will fit in my purse and be good to work on under adverse conditions such as on the bus and at night.

Progress on basketweave embroidery

I like to post at least once a week and to have something to show, but the project I am working on is not to be finished in a week. Here is the updated picture. I am happy because today I finished the basketweave outline for the entire piece. It was my goal to have that done before going to learn cardweaving tonight and I achieved my goal.

Brickstitch roof?

I was flipping through the pages of the magazine at the art library yesterday and came across this advertisement for a fascimile of the Prayer Book of Charles the Bold. The book is featured at an exhibition at Historisches Museum Bern about Charles the Bold (1433-1477). Look at the roof in the background - doesn't it look like a brick stitch pattern? I wish I knew where that building was, it looks really cool.

More research at Stanford Library

Here are the first of some of the wonderful things I scanned at the Stanford Art and Architecture library today. I chose the picture of this aquamanile because of the depiction of the late 14th century clothing, which I want to make ( I love tippets!). In another photo of the back of this piece it is possible to view her hairstyle which appears to be a fishtail braid.

This aquamanile depicts Phyllis and Aristotle and was made in the South Lowlands in the late 14th century.

I would really love to learn metalworking, especially blacksmithing and casting, also enamelwork.

A&S 50 Challenge: new skill - Inkleweaving

Here is my first attempt at inkleweaving. I attended a class at an A&S and put that information together with the book Inkleweaving by Helene Brass to come up with the inkle loom and my first weaving. As you can see it is not very good. The loom I made in woodshop in maple with birch dowels. It is not finished yet but I didn't want to wait until it was finished to try it. I hope it doesn't take me too long to get good with this technique because I would like to make something in fiber more period than the crochet cotton I chose for learning because it is cheap.

Happiness is mine!

Look at this picture!  Isn't it wonderful!?

I have worked at Stanford University Hospital for over five years and never visited the campus library.  Today I went and I now have a big smile that won't leave my face because there were so many wonderful books.  I am not allowed to check any out, just to put them on hold and make as many scans as I like.  I wandered the stacks in a state of bliss.  With the research I can do here I will be able to make as many embroidery patterns as I like.  I am so happy it doesn't even matter that I wore very inappropriate shoes for walking around on campus and my feet bled or that it was 100 degrees and my refrigerator broke.

Most of the books with good pictures are older and the pictures are mostly b/w but I did find a few color photos.  Here is the best color photo that I found today.  The book is in German which I do not understand except with the help of Google translator.  It has a few pictures of embroideries but only this one color photo of the counted satin stitch/brick stitch which is my focus.

    Appuhn, Horst.  Kloster Isenhagen Kunst und Kultur im Mittelalter.  Lüneburg, Museumsverein für das Fürstentum Lüneburg, 1966

Note that in the picture there is the outline of a donkey(?) that is not filled in with embroidery. I like the unfinished bits because they give clues to how things were made.  Also my first impression with my modern point of view is that the angels are holding forks with fish speared on them for roasting over a fire and that it looks like baby Jesus is being served up on a table with the cow salivating over him.  However I am certain that is not the correct interpretation.

Making progress...

Here is an updated photo of the basket weave embroidery pouch I am making. I was undecided about the color for the spaces in between the weave and I still have a few trial color places to rip out. The silk feels SO soft and has a beautiful luster.