A Folio of Cutwork

The April meeting of the Lytham St Annes was a little unusual as it was an opportunity to view by slide and 'in person' part of the Embroiderers Guild Collection.
Folios are made up of various samples of embroidery based on one technique that have been preserved by mounting and placing in strong plastic folders to protect them. This enables the work to be loaned out for a limited time period to Embroiderers Guild Branches around the country.
Our branch borrowed the Cutwork Folio and our member speaker spent a great deal of time carefully photographing each piece and presenting them to us via a slide show that accompanied a talk that she had written also.

When this idea was first stared, folio collections were called Model Boxes with the samples and a description of the stitch, technique, influence and/or name of the embroiderer accompanying each sample.

Here is a Baby's Bonnet from Flanders made around 1550 to 1600.

Cutwork is a form of embroidery where threads or part of the fabric is removed before being surrounded by stitches or connection bars of thread. It is a forerunner of Needle Made Lace and is an umbrella term for a number of different techniques that include Broidery Anglaise, Renaissance Embroidery, Richelieu, Venetian Embroidery, Reticella and Hardanger.

This is a long gown for a baby, perhaps a Christening Robe and it dates from 1850 - 1870.

Originally, Cutwork was used in the sacramental robes and grave cloths of Saints and appeared around the 13th Century.
Between the 13th and 16th Century it was principally Nuns that used this technique to make robes for Priests but during the 15th early'lace' masking flourished in convents, Court and homes of the nobility.
The Court of Elizabeth I favoured it for collars and ruffs on their gowns and robes.
In the 19th Century with the advent of the sewing machine this type of stitching could be made faster and by the 20th Century machine embroidery became established.

Here are lovely examples of Cutwork Mats, the one above left came from Norway and was donated by a Lady Blake. Above right the mat with a Cut work Cross design came from Sicily.
Below, the Circular mat from the 1920s and donated by a 
Miss Brekke; is an example of  Buttonhole and Padded Satin Stitches.

Various names have been used to describe Cutwork through the ages. In France it was known as Point Coupe, Punto Tagliato in Italy and Opus Seis Sum in Germany. There is also Danish Hedebo, Mexican Open Work, Czech Cut Work, Russian Touchon Lace of the Ukraine and Drawn and Cut work from Spain and Sicily.

This was one of my favourite parts of the Folio, above, worked by a Mrs Isabel del Strather ( or Strother?) is shows a well thought out design for a Hardanger piece based on the underside of an African Violet leaf. The technique is called Knoster Blocks and worked in perle thread.

More Hardanger above and below, sorry I did write some dates but do not appear to have them for these.

Above, these are Napkin rings using a variety of cutwork techniques and include needlework and cross stitch. 

Below, is the South Lakeland Sampler made by 62 stitchers over a period of 5 years at the Ruskin Lace School during classes spanning 1972 to 1977 taught by Elizabeth Prickett who also designed the piece. It is made on linen with cutwork and needle lace and is in storage at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Here is a link to the V+A page regarding this piece.

Many thanks to our member SD for her hard work putting the talk and slide show together for us. Just writing this post has taken so much time so I do appreciate all her work, especially sending me these photographs to use in the Blog. Thank you!
In the next post will be examples of more contemporary and colourful Cutwork pieces. Be sure to have a look.