Italian embroidery

In 2011 I wrote a thesis for the EGA's Legacy Scholarship Program on Sardinian needlework with emphasis on two techniques specific to the area in and around Teulada. The edited thesis and projects became a two-part article series for EGA's Needlearts Magazine this year with the first part including a Punt'a Brodu project in the June 2013 issue and the second part including a project in Punt'e nù in the September 2013 issue. Due to some unfortunate electronic difficulties the Punt'e nù…

I'm still in the mood for colourful embroideries today. I want to show you some Ricamo Estense or Estense Embroidery from Ferrara, Italy. Just to give you a bit of historical background, Ferrara was ruled by the Este family for a number of years with particular prosperity and patronage of the arts during the Renaissance. Graffito (also known as Sgraffito) ceramics from this period and area were amazingly detailed and breathtakingly beautiful. In 2007 I translated an Italian needlework book…

Embroidery on silk faille coat, possibly Italian, ca. 1770-80, KSUM 1995.17.183.

Most days, 50% or more of my readers come from Italy. I find this odd as I started this blog with the idea of exposing "English-speaking" em...

In 1878 Romeyne Robert was born in New Jersey to American parents who traveled quite a bit and during a visit to Rome met her future husband the marquis Ruggero Ranieri di Sorbello. Soon after their marriage in 1902, the couple settled in to live at the 17th century Palazzo Sorbello in Perugia. This breathtaking palazzo is worth a visit as it houses important collections of paintings, prints, pottery, embroideries and one of Italy's most important libraries of rare texts. Marquess Romeyne…

Date: 16th century Culture: Italian Medium: linen, silk and metal thread Metropolitan Museum of Art

My study of Italian embroidery, lead me to so many beautiful embroidery styles, my favourite being reticello embroidery, which combines drawn thread and needlelace.

#lace

In the Victoria & Albert Museum in London there is a 16th century Italian Blackwork sampler. This sampler fascinated American needlework teacher Dakota Rogers so much that she reproduced patterns from it to make an exquisite sampler of her own called Tiramisu. This is my own stitched Tiramisu, I took the class from Dakota Rogers through the Embroiderers Guild of America in 2008: La Muta by Raphael depicts some Italian Blackwork, check out the cuffs. Here we see a late 16th century Italian…