Stumpwork Embroidery E-Book

Helen Richman

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Stumpwork is a highly decorative and imaginative embroidery technique, which typically uses raised and padded stitches that are rich in texture. This practical book explains how to create your own piece of stumpwork embroidery. Beginning with an introduction to the appropriate materials, equipment and tools, it instructs on a wide range of stitches and techniques, and illustrates them with ten delightful projects. It then explains how to design your own piece of stumpwork before advising on finishing, presenting and caring for you work. Written by a leading embroiderer, this beautiful book will inspire and encourage you to try this exciting technique and create your own exquisite designs. Contents include: Practical advice on working with threads, as well as how to stretch and prepare fabrics; Over 900 photographs to guide the reader through a wide range of decorative and raised stitches; Detailed instructions on combining stumpwork with a range of other techniques to create unique designs; Ten projects show how to use the stitches in designs, including stumpwork human figures. This practical guide will be of great interest to embroiderers, designers, theatre designers, interior designers and historians, and is beautifully illustrated with 983 colour photographs.

Leseprobe

STUMPWORKEMBROIDERY

Techniques and projects

Helen Richman

First published in 2017 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2017

© Helen Richman 2017

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of thistext may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 295 3

Photography: Helen Richman

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 Materials, Equipment and Tools

CHAPTER 2 Getting Started

CHAPTER 3 Stitches

CHAPTER 4 Techniques

CHAPTER 5 Basic Projects

CHAPTER 6 Progression Projects

CHAPTER 7 Advanced Projects

CHAPTER 8 Stumpwork Human Figures

CHAPTER 9 Creating and Stitching Your Own Design

CHAPTER 10 Finishing A Project

Appendices

Suppliers

Index

A stumpwork Calla Lily brooch created using long and short stitch in stranded cotton, three-dimensional wired edges, metallic thread-wrapped wires and beads.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To start, I would especially like to thank my husband Andrew for his enduring support, enthusiasm and encouragement, not only during the process of writing this book but throughout my career and with all of my artistic endeavours. I have been amazed and touched by his eagerness to turn a hand at whatever he can do to help, whether it be acting as the occasional photographer, proofreader, design consultant or tea maker, and I am sure that he now knows a lot more about embroidery than perhaps he will admit to!

A special thank you also goes to my dear friend Lizzy Pye. We have spent many years stitching together since we started our embroidery journey as apprentices at the Royal School of Needlework in 2006. Her motivation, kindness and inspiration along the way has been invaluable.

I am also incredibly grateful to all of my family and friends for their continual support and understanding which has led to my success at turning a passion and hobby into a career.

I would like to give thanks to Becky Quine, Rachel Doyle, Sophie Long, Auburn Lucas, Kate Barlow, Amy Burt, Angela Bishop and Sharon Shaw who generously agreed to have their stumpwork embroidery pieces featured in this book.

Thanks must also be given to the Pennybatch Gallery for their continued advice and skill in framing my work, to Natalie Quine and Liz Hughes for their wonderful proofreading talents and to The Royal School of Needlework, especially Bryna Black and Amberley McSloy for their assistance.

Lastly, I would like to thank Carol and Peter Lansberry for the loan of a precious historical example of stumpwork embroidery.

Without all of you, this book would never have happened.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Richman is a hand embroiderer and textile artist based in Somerset. Founder of The Bluebird Embroidery Company, which showcases her embroidered artwork and own range of embroidery kits, she also regularly completes high profile commissions for organizations such as the Royal Mail and Ely Cathedral. Helen is a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen.

Helen’s embroidery journey began when she joined The Royal School of Needlework and completed the three-year apprenticeship, gaining expert knowledge in many fields of hand embroidery. She now regularly teaches at the school and has taught classes across the UK as well as in the United States and Canada. www.bluebirdembroidery.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS STUMPWORK AND WHY IS IT SO POPULAR?

Stumpwork is a highly decorative and imaginative embroidery technique which typically uses raised and padded stitches which are rich in texture. These are combined with a whole array of surface stitches, embellishments and endless types of thread and fabric to create designs which can be bold, intricate and colourful. There are almost no rules with stumpwork; indeed, many embroidery techniques such as beadwork, ribbon work, metal thread work, silk shading, needlelace, appliqué and canvas work can be utilized and incorporated together into a design. The freedom of choice with this technique allows the embroiderer to make the most of the wide variety of beautiful materials which are available to purchase from craft shops and haberdasheries today. This freedom and the scope of designs available lends to the popularity of this technique as it allows for creativity and experimentation, resulting in embroidery work which can be extremely personal.

A close view of the Peacock Mirror project.

Detail of the A Flourish of Frost project.

Using this book

This book will guide the reader through the process of creating their own piece of stumpwork embroidery. It begins with an introduction to the appropriate materials, equipment and tools needed for this style of embroidery before preparing for stitching. A wide range of stitches and techniques have been illustrated to aid with the completion of several projects. The reader will then learn how to design their own piece of stumpwork embroidery, the steps necessary to do so and the considerations which must be made. The process is then rounded off with finishing, presenting and caring for the work.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STUMPWORK EMBROIDERY TECHNIQUE

Stumpwork is an embroidery technique which became incredibly popular during the seventeenth century. It was used to decorate all sorts of items from mirror frames, book covers and boxes, to gloves, purses and pin cushions.

The term ‘stumpwork’ has only been used since the nineteenth century, presumably for the small carved pieces of boxwood which were covered in silk or hidden under stitching. These pieces of wood gave shape to the hands and faces of the little figures that featured in the designs. Before this time, stumpwork was simply known as raised work or embossed work. It is thought that the technique was first influenced by a style of European ecclesiastic embroidery which can be dated back to the fifteenth century. This work used highly padded, intricate and naturalistic designs, created using padding made out of fabric, hemp or leather which was then covered in silk, satin and metal threads. The background fabric was often painted and embroidered. This style of work slowly started to make an appearance on domestic and decorative items which probably fuelled the fashion for decorating household objects with stumpwork later on.

A beautiful example of a stumpwork casket from the collection of Peter and Carol Lansberry. This design features birds, human figures, stags, leopards, flowers, fruit trees and insects.

Detail of one of the side panels of a stumpwork casket from the collection of Peter and Carol Lansberry. The design, originally stitched in rich tones of blue, yellow and green silk and metal threads, was created using a wide range of stumpwork embroidery stitches and techniques.

From the sixteenth century onwards, the expanding middle class had the leisure time and money to turn the growing talent of embroidery into a creative effort. No longer was embroidery only connected with religious settings, royal palaces and homes of the wealthy, it was also considered a suitable pastime for ladies. It was during this time that we started to see a shift from only skilled craftsmen creating rich embroideries in workshops to embroidery becoming more of a hobby for the ladies of the house.

In affluent households, embroidery became an essential part of a girl’s education. They would begin with samplers in cross stitch while learning the alphabet before progressing on to samplers of whitework, canvas work, beadwork and silk thread work. The finale of a young lady’s embroidery education was to create a piece of stumpwork using all of the techniques learnt previously. They were able to choose any combination of technique, stitch, thread, fabric and design and often spent years on a single project.

Many historical examples of stumpwork have almost identical motifs and designs; this suggests that pattern and emblem books were being used to aid the design of embroidery. The invention of printing led to a wealth of design resources becoming readily available for embroiderers. These books often included sheets of tracing paper between the pages to be used to transfer designs onto fabric. The pattern books contained popular scenes and designs of the day, including figures wearing the latest fashions which must have made them very appealing to the young ladies who were using them.

With more people than ever wanting to have a go at stumpwork embroidery, kits were being made which included most of the necessary materials required to complete a project. They contained a heavy satin background fabric, already printed or painted with a chosen design which had been selected from a pattern book. Silk threads, metal threads, beads and other embroidery treasures would have been imported and sold in these kits. The vast amount of beautifully carved pieces of wood used for hands, faces and pieces of fruit such as pears and apples in these designs suggests that they were premade and bought from the craftsmen who sold the kits.

Once a stumpwork embroidery project had been completed, it was then made into a decorative household object. Many pieces were returned to the craftsman or given to a carpenter or cabinet maker who would mount embroidered panels into the sides and top of a wooden casket or mirror frame.

HISTORICAL STUMPWORK DESIGNS

Stumpwork is famous for its quirky jumble of motifs, all crammed into every spare inch of fabric. The range of designs used for stumpwork motifs was vast; human figures, animals and birds both native and exotic, mythological creatures, insects, fruit, trees and flowers can all be found. Landscapes, stylized rural settings, gardens, topiary, castles, fountains, stars, the sun and moon and clouds all made appearances too. Because many of these designs and motifs were copied straight out of pattern books, hardly any consideration was given to scale or perspective. This led to stumpwork having a rather playful, innocent and imperfect but quaint feel to it. You will find flowers the same size as people and birds the same size as houses, all floating on a background of satin fabric.

Illustration drawn from a stumpwork panel dating back to the mid seventeenth century. Exotic and flamboyant birds such as this peacock were very popular motifs.

Illustration drawn from a stumpwork mirror frame dating back to the late seventeenth century. Birds were often used within stumpwork designs to convey messages and stories.

Illustration drawn from a stumpwork panel dating back to the early to mid seventeenth century. Mythical and symbolic creatures were often incorporated into designs and there are many examples which include motifs of unicorns.

Illustration drawn from a stumpwork panel dating back to the seventeenth century. Oversized, brightly coloured flowers were common motifs on many pieces.

Illustration drawn from the front of a stumpwork casket dating back to the eighteenth century. Variations of this leopard motif can be found on many examples of stumpwork embroidery.

Detail of the front panel of a stumpwork casket from the collection of Peter and Carol Lansberry. The stag and surrounding details have been created using French knot embroidered slips, long and short stitch and needlelace.

Quite often a design had a scene in the centre which was the main focus of the piece with numerous motifs scattered haphazardly around. Popular choices of the central design included biblical and religious scenes, fables, mythological scenes or members of the Royal family; Stuart kings and queens were often featured.

Using designs in this way allowed the embroiderer to experiment with fabrics and stitches, combining flat delicate stitches with bold padded textural stitches. This more flamboyant feel allowed for more exciting materials; the fashion at the time was rather opulent and this was reflected in the use of gems, pearls, gold thread, lace brocade, feathers, shells and jewels. The colours and materials used in stumpwork in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were very bright and fine so it is a shame that this has been lost over time due to the fabrics and materials ageing; many examples of stumpwork now look rather dull and worn.

COMMONLY USED TECHNIQUES AND STITCHES IN HISTORICAL EXAMPLES OF STUMPWORK

As previously mentioned, the range of materials, stitches and techniques incorporated in stumpwork embroidery was large. An array of padding techniques including card, fabric, leather and felt were used to give the raised embroidery stitches more drama and clarity. Silk wrapped wires, gold threads, metallic discs, wool threads, cotton threads, ribbons, embellishments and more were all used. Many of the raised and three-dimensional areas of embroidery were worked on a small piece of linen or canvas in a separate ring frame before being transferred and appliquéd to the main design where they could be padded. Scenes would often have painted or embroidered backgrounds and sometimes the faces of figures were also painted. A technique called needlelace was widely used to great effect in creating clothing for figures, leaves, animals, birds and flowers. It is worked in a separate frame before being applied to the design and is made using interlinking loops of stitching created with needle and thread. These pieces of needlelace could be manipulated into any shape desired.

CONTEMPORARY STUMPWORK EMBROIDERY DESIGNS

Stumpwork which is created today is extremely varied. It is rarely used any more to record important historical events, scenes from the Bible or to show loyalty to the crown. Instead, embroiderers are now using it to create designs which reflect their personal interests. Many designs have kept the playfulness of the historical pieces with the lack of scale, the jumble of motifs and the bright colours. Animals, birds, insects, figures and scenes all remain popular. Some stumpwork pieces today focus more on experimenting with three-dimensional designs using intricate stitches and a range of textures to create work which is extremely realistic. There are many people who use stumpwork to create perfect designs of life sized butterflies, plants and foliage. However it is used, stumpwork today has kept its fun and experimental character, and the technology and resources which are now available has greatly helped. Although the reasons for creating stumpwork pieces have evolved, it should be noted that many of the fundamental techniques and stitches used today remain almost unchanged.

Detail of the Peacock Mirror project. Brightly coloured birds are still very popular sources of design inspiration in stumpwork embroidery, though the threads used to create them and the styles of the designs have greatly changed.

Detail of the Fox project. Embroidered slips and textural background stitches are still used very successfully in the creation of contemporary stumpwork pieces.

Detail of the Goldfish project. Combining a wide range of brightly coloured fabrics and threads is a very typical style of both historical and contemporary pieces of stumpwork.

CHAPTER 1

MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS

The beautiful thing about stumpwork is its diversity; there are an infinite number of materials that can be combined and used in this fun and quirky embroidery style. Therefore, it is incredibly easy to use up materials that you might already have at home such as scraps and off-cuts of fabric, found objects, old threads and beads to create an effective design. This also means that most of the materials required are fairly easy to source from craft shops and websites. Stumpwork uses a combination of flat decorative stitches, raised stitches and padded areas of embroidery, hence the list of suitable materials and equipment can get quite long.

A small selection of the endless threads, fabrics and other materials used in the creation of stumpwork embroidery.

EMBROIDERY THREADS

Stumpwork today uses a wide selection of threads such as silks, stranded cottons, crewel wools, tapestry wools, perlé cottons, synthetic threads and metallic threads, all in different colours and textures to create a whole array of effects and finishes. Traditionally though, most stumpwork pieces were created using silks and metal threads in gold and silver.

COTTON THREADS

Stranded cotton

DMC or Anchor stranded cottons are really handy and can be used for most of the stitches described in this book. You can divide the thread into six individual strands and use one at a time for very fine work or two or three for larger, chunkier work.