NEEDLEWORDS was begun in 1983 by me
(Meg) and Ginnie Thompson (Mom). It no longer exists but the
articles are too good to pass into obscurity. Mother is
rewriting her history series for us with the images she uses
in her lectures. We'll do history for the next few issues,
then we'll go back to NEEDLEWORDS
articles.
A SHORT HISTORY OF A SMALL STITCH
Chapter Two
Now a long time-skip to events and
people who directly affected today's embroidery.
Berlin
Work: Printed embroidery patterns were introduced as early
as 1525. These were drawn designs, but outlines only and not
on a grid. Then, in 1804 a print seller in Berlin whose name
was Phillipson, introduced blocked and colored pattems on a
square grid where each square represented a stitch. The
techniques for producing colored and gridded designs had
previously been used by weavers of textiles but never before
adapted to embroidery. The embroidery patterns were now made
from copperplate prints and then hand painted. The technique
consisted of four steps. 1). A master copy of a design was
made on paper. 2). A copperplate was engraved with faint
symbols in each square indicating the color. 3). The design
was printed. 4). Colorists painted each square with the
indicated color using a tiny square-tipped brush.
Although Phillipson continued to produce
ORIGINAL designs, a Frau Witich , a Berliner, sensed the
commercial possibilities and encouraged her husband, a
painter, engraver, and etcher to produce landscapes,
historical subjects and even portraits that were often
copies of masterpieces. 1830-1840
was the heyday of printed colored charts for cross stitch
and canvas work. In 1840, 14,000 designs (4000 titles) had
been published . In one firm alone, 1200 girls were hired to
hand color the patterns. Designs included bouquets that were
outsized and florid, pets like lap dogs, cats, parrots
(these were often meant to be sculpted in turkey stitch),
landscapes (including "improved" masterpieces), portraits of
the royal family, especially the Prince of Wales. Two
favorite subjects were The Last Supper and Mary, Queen of
Scots, weeping over the dying Douglas. Some of the objects
that were stitched included hair tidies, fans, muffs, watch
pockets, smoking caps, purses, fichus, key baskets,
newspaper whatnots, and mantel decorations.
Adding
to the popularity of Berlin work were the newly available
supplies. Penelope canvas was invented. Merino wool was soft
but dyed in the new aniline dyes in brilliant colors such as
magenta, mauve, tangerine, fuchsia, turquoise. Yarns could
be dyed in exact degrees of 5 shades in each of 50 color
ranges. A thousand shades of wool were available. Mercerized
thread,(cotton thread with alkali gloss) was invented. With
all these new produds for needlework, diligence replaced
skill, amateur embroidery became a domestic art form and
needlework became a widespread hobby. Public criticism, even
from the pulpit, proclaimed that the home was being
disfigured with mawkish sentimentality that degraded public
taste and debased the mind! William Morris headed a movement
that believed the needleworker should also be the designer,
that needlework should be used by the worker in her home,
the creator and worker being the same person. His philosophy
stated, "Have nothing in your home that is not useful or
beautiful."
Berlin
Work: Printed embroidery patterns were introduced as early
as 1525. These were drawn designs, but outlines only and not
on a grid. Then, in 1804 a print seller in Berlin whose name
was Phillipson, introduced blocked and colored pattems on a
square grid where each square represented a stitch. The
techniques for producing colored and gridded designs had
previously been used by weavers of textiles but never before
adapted to embroidery. The embroidery patterns were now made
from copperplate prints and then hand painted. The technique
consisted of four steps. 1). A master copy of a design was
made on paper. 2). A copperplate was engraved with faint
symbols in each square indicating the color. 3). The design
was printed. 4). Colorists painted each square with the
indicated color using a tiny square-tipped brush.
Adding
to the popularity of Berlin work were the newly available
supplies. Penelope canvas was invented. Merino wool was soft
but dyed in the new aniline dyes in brilliant colors such as
magenta, mauve, tangerine, fuchsia, turquoise. Yarns could
be dyed in exact degrees of 5 shades in each of 50 color
ranges. A thousand shades of wool were available. Mercerized
thread,(cotton thread with alkali gloss) was invented. With
all these new produds for needlework, diligence replaced
skill, amateur embroidery became a domestic art form and
needlework became a widespread hobby. Public criticism, even
from the pulpit, proclaimed that the home was being
disfigured with mawkish sentimentality that degraded public
taste and debased the mind! William Morris headed a movement
that believed the needleworker should also be the designer,
that needlework should be used by the worker in her home,
the creator and worker being the same person. His philosophy
stated, "Have nothing in your home that is not useful or
beautiful."