I have agreed to take a Certificate Course Workshop for the Guild next April, based on the presentation I did for the tour group recently, on Early Medieval Embroidery in Britain. While the presentation itself can be relatively easily adapted, the workshop requires a project for the students to do. This, I knew, would be a challenge. It weighed on my mind. To add stress, I agreed to help my brother write a book - deadline April next year!
I was asked not to use wool as the basis of the project as an organiser has a severe allergy. Wool, of course, was the most widespread fabric in England in the period.That left hemp, linen and silk. I decided to work with the linen and hemp, the two produced in England in the period.
Hemp cloth, after wool, the staple for everyday wear in the Early Medieval period, is now, unsurprisingly, hard to come by. I found some available by the metre at Spotlight, bought 2 metres and tried two things - embroidery and joining stitches. My efforts at embroidery convinced me no one would’ve done it. Even using a frame (which the Early Medieval Embroiderers would not have had) the result did not justify the thread and effort either then or now.
Joining, however, was another matter. Sails, clothing, and utilitarian items were all likely made from hemp, or, in some cases, a mix of hemp and linen. With limited loom width, joining was essential. Here hemp cloth worked well.
The thread, of course, needed to be linen. I couldn’t use wool, and it would be hundreds of years before cotton reached Britain. Linen thread is hard to find in Australia. I had a supply I had bought years ago from England. The Guild trading table had a small supply in green and pink. I commandeered it all.
I sketched up two designs, one an approximation of motifs on one of the embroideries recovered from the period, the other my idea of a modern version, As with several of the recovered embroideries, the design is a roundel bordered by leaves. In the Early Medieval examples the leaves are Acanthus - quite hard to depict using linen thread. For my contemporary design I used flannel flower leaves (and flowers). It also requires couched gold thread.
I used Solvi to transfer the design for my first attempt, since the hemp did not take any of the usual markers.
Once I began working on linen I used an archival marker, which gave me a good line - but, of course, required covering completely.
I was much happier with that result.
I mounted it on another piece of linen with the motion it could be a cuff.
Foolishly, when tracing the designs on to linen, I had kept the same distance betwen them as in my sketch, giving me no working edge..
I managed to oversew the edge by hand, going right to the top of the design. It gave me just enough. I was certainly close.
I used a range of greens to get the leaves, leaf tips and flower centres within the flannel flower range. Experimenting.
The border I devised is herringbone with a single chain, trying to echo the elongated shape of the flannel flower leaves.
My idea is that students may wish to create their own contemporary design, not copy mine. They have 6 options to choose from, so I hope each student can find a happy one.
I'm now fairly relaxed about the workshop and can set it aside and turn to other things I need to finish before the big writing task!
