18th century crewel work

From VintageTextile.com

18th century crewel work

Originally uploaded by feather.

“Our superb example of 18th-century needle art was hand embroidered by nuns in a French convent. The point de chainette pattern is rendered in colorful wool yarns on a natural beige linen ground. The chain stitch was done with a needle, not with a tambour hook, as evidenced by the separate stitches on the back side. The stitches are tiny and uniform. The seams and hem are hand stitched.

Chain stitch, one of the oldest of embroidery stitches, originated in Persia and India. Linen garments decorated with fine chain stitch can be found in European costume as early as the Middle Ages. “