Posted by dravon in LiveJournal | Comments Off on Book Review: Cut-Work Embroidery and How to Do It by Oenone Cave
Book Review: Cut-Work Embroidery and How to Do It by Oenone Cave
Cut-Work Embroidery and How to Do It
by Oenone Cave
Originally published in 1962 in England, this book has the most exquisite pictures of 16th century cut-work that I have been able to locate — some of it unfinished so you can see the foundation! The first part of this book, which I’m primarily covering here, is aimed at getting a good grasp of the history of the art.
I found the author’s exposition to be clear, concise, and very readable. It was also a very quick read – just a couple of days to get through the history part of the book. As mentioned, the pictures are WONDERFUL and quite plentiful, though I wish some of them were in color. Even so, that’s a minor and pretty silly wish when compared to the wealth of visual and textual information being conveyed. If you read through the quotes from the book that I’ve typed out below you should get a good overview of the rich history of this style of embroidery, how it was lost, and in the mid to late 19th century resurrected from the dead to be called Ruskin Embroidery or Ruskin Lace. Many of the images in the second half of the book that the author includes are Ruskin embroidery, which was re-created by examining the genuine pieces in the re-founder’s private collections as well referencing the cited 1528 and 1530 manuscripts (see quote on pg 16).
One thing I noticed is that Ruskin doesn’t quite look like the original, which isn’t shocking because it was created by looking at examples, reading text instructions, and then making assumptions, interpretations, and guesses. I think the primary reason Ruskin doesn’t quite look like the original has more to do with the fabric and threads used. The early stuff was worked on linen with incredibly fine threads, while Ruskin is worked on a much coarser type of linen — making Ruskin work look fat and clonky in comparison. But if that’s all you have available, then … well. You go with it. At least that’s my assessment after comparing the awesome in-progess-but-unfinished 16th century piece from the Palermo museum found on page 17 with the Ruskin style (ie a Victorian interpretation) of stuff pictured later in the book. Another difference noticed is that the actual pieces feature a whole lot of funky little nobules, but Ruskin lace doesn’t have as much if any of these. Something which could added, I’m sure.
I’m definitely keeping this book in my library and would recommend it for anyone interested in stepping up their 16th century repetoire of needlework. Even if that’s not the goal, the images are staggering in their complex beauty. The full size cut-work tablecloths on pages 18 and 19 alone are worth the price of this book. Speaking of price, in my infinite wisdom (snort) I have 2 copies of this book. hsifeng, interested?
Quotes:
Pg 11: … the evenness of the warp and weft plays an essential part in the success of the finished work. This is especially true in Linen cut-work.
Pg 12: It is customary to use a rather coarser thread when working the open hem than the thread chosen for the lace like fillings. Colour, by tradition, is not introduced in either the thread or the material, although a background of coloured silk is sometimes attached behind the open-work.
Pg 13: The word lace is a derivative of the Latin lacinia, meaning ‘fringe’. … Between the 13th and 16th centuries the earliest forms of lace-making, better described as cut-work, were known in France as point coupe’, in Italy as punto tagliato and in Germany as opus seissum. … the craft was confined principally to the nunneries … The stamped open-worked decoration used inside coffins, known as pinking, owes its origin to the trimmings of open-work on grave clothes.
Pg 14: After the 15th century the charm of cut-work and early lace-making flourished in convents, at Court and in the homes of the nobility. … The Ionian Isles, in particular Corfu and Zante, were celebrated for a cut-work known as Greek Lace, otherwise referred to as Roman Lace or Gothic Point, which took precendence among laces between 1480 and 1620. … During the 16th century the original character of the thick stitching of cutwork changed; the geometrical outlines were augmented by fillings made with the same style of patterns, but which included more ambitious forms, such as half-circles, triangles, and wheels. Gradually, Greek Lace was merged into the better known Italian reticella, which is recognised as the first needle-point lace, forerunner of the veritable laces. … The 17th century was the heyday of lace production.
Pg 15: … found special favour in the court of Elizabeth I of England, where the ruffs were often made up of scallops of cut-work. … Cyprus lace, an early form of cut-work almost identical with Greek lace … the beautiful samples of the 13th and 14th centuries often carried out in silver and gold threads, must not be confused with the peasant embroidery of a later day, which was worked mainly for commercial gain. … After the sumptuary laws enforced the abandoning of colour and rich elaboration in embroidery, the embroideresses in convent and castle alike turned their attention to whitework, drawn-work and cut-work, perfecting the craft in every detail. Venetian workers … soon wanted to go beyond the limits of the Greek lace designs which were governed by the threads of the material. The cut-out areas were enlarged more and more, until an edging called punto-in-aria gave the lace-maker complete freedom of design; a padded roll remained the only connection between the edging and the fabric. Paintings and manuscripts portray cut-work earlier than any existing specimens of the work. One of the earliest portraits, which can be seen in the Accamedia in Venice, was painted by Carpaccio in 1520; in this painting the cuff of the lady’s dress includes a cut-work design found in Vecellio’s Corona della nobili e virtuouse donne, a pattern book published 80 years later in 1600.
Pg 16: Pattern books by Antonio Taghiante (1528) and Nicolo d’Aristotile (1530) described in detail the methods and stitches of cut-work and needle-made lace, which are identical with those used in the execution of Greek lace.
Pg 27: During the 19th century another variation of cut-work appeared, which was known by the traditional name of Greek Lace. John Ruskin, born in 1819, … believed that young and old should ‘be busily occupied in one of the natural pursuits of life, either in the field or in the home’.
Pg 30: Pulled Fabric embroidery (sometimes called Drawn Fabric) … the pulled stitches give the material a lacy appearance ((note: no threads in the foundation fabric are cut, rather the embroidery threads are pulled tight enough to create gaps in the foundation material)). Open-work may be defined as drawn-thread work (punto tirato), in which the threads are drawn out one way only, either the warp or the weft; and cut-work (punto tagliato) in which the threads are drawn both ways, the warp and the weft, then cut to leave an empty space.
Pg 32: In the earliest samples of cut-work the raw edges were neatened by an overcast stitch whipped over additional loose threads laid along the raw edge to form a strong cording so essential as an anchorage for the cut-out fillings.
Pg 47: When planning a pattern, whatever the shape, the calculations to be considered are: the dimensions of the cut-out area, and the type of open-hem to be worked. … It is advisable to plan the pattern on graph paper before drawing ((removing)) the threads of the material.
From here on, the book goes in detailed instructions along with graphs. Guess what I work on now? hehe.
