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Glossary of Needlework TermsMany definitions adapted from Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches
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Darned work - A style that uses stitches to evenly cover fabric. It is so called because it originated as a method of disguising small mended tears or holes in a piece of fabric. Darning stitch - Sometimes called running or sewing stitch. Diamond eye stitch - A larger drawn thread stitch that is sometimes used in Holbein work since it can be made reversible. (smallest size 4 stitch units) Also used in needlepoints of various types. Double-running stitch - A counted thread stitch used particularly in Holbein work, but also wherever a tidy line is desired. It is so called because it is a line of running stitch worked twice. On the journey out it is a single line of running stitch. On the journey home you double back on this line, through the same line of holes, coming up where you went down before and down where you came up. (smallest size is 1 stitch unit. Doubled-running work - Also called Holbein work or (improperly) Blackwork. It is worked in Double-running stitch. Drawn fabric - A counted thread embroidery in which the threads of the ground fabric are "scrunched" together during the stitching, to create non-frayable holes, as no threads are pulled or cut. This is sometimes confused with Drawn Thread work. Drawn Thread work - Another name for .A counted thread embroidery in which the threads of the ground fabric are pulled out and the edges worked with embroidery to create non-frayable holes with no threads being cut. This is sometimes confused with Pulled Thread work. The holes created are often filled in with needle lace techniques.
Embroidery silk - (see Flat Silk) Essamplaire - The Italian word for sampler. Even-weave - Any fabric that has the same number of threads-per-inch on the long-ways and the cross-ways of the fabric and has threads that are reasonably consistent in size for their whole length. Linen was the most common even-weave until the growth of the cotton industry in the American South. It has mostly been replaced by cotton and cotton/polyester even-weaves, which are often called linen. Modern garment "linens" can be distinguished from even-weave linen suitable for counted thread works by the slubbiness of the threads. Exemplars - The older English work for sampler. Eye stitch - This is Diamond Eye stitch surrounded with either double-running stitch or backstitch. (smallest size is 6 stitching units) Eyelet stitch - A drawn fabric stitch that is worked with small backstitches or sometimes buttonhole stitch to create tiny holes for a lacy effect.
Feather stitch - (aka Plumage stitch) This is an older name for Long and Short stitch, particularly as used in the Jacobean embroideries. Felt - A non-woven fabric, originally made from wool or other animal hairs. Most often used today in Appliqué and crafts or in constructing historical reproduction clothing. Fern stitch - A version of back-stitch that looks like the leaves of a fern. Used mostly in simple free-hand embroideries. On canvas or in counted thread work, this is worked like fishbone stitch. Fishbone stitch - A variation of Braid stitch most often found in Jacobean or Crewel embroideries that is usually used for leaves, as it produces a veining pattern. It can be used as a stem or border as well. It is sometimes (because of the name similarity) confused with Herringbone stitch. Flat silk - This is what is usually meant by "embroidery silks". It is simple long filaments of silk fiber, not twisted into thread. Florentine stitch - This counted thread stitch is sometimes called cushion stitch, because of its use in Bargello works for sitting on! It is a series of Straight stitches, over 4 that progress up and down the canvas in units of 2. Florentine work - Another, older name for Bargello, but consisting of Florentine stitch done on even-weave or linen fabrics, rather than needlepoint canvas. Fly stitch - A variation of Chain stitch used mostly in free-hand embroideries. Free-hand embroideries - As distinguished from Counted Thread work, any embroidery in which the pattern is not counted and/or worked from a chart. Crewel work is a good example. French knot stitch (aka French dot) - This stitch makes a small knot on the top of the fabric, by winding the thread around the needle and then pushing through the needle through the fabric. This is one of the hardest of the basic stitches to learn to get even and regular. The tightly packed together filling versions of this stitch may be the legendary "Forbidden Stitch" that ruined the eyes of so many young Chinese embroiderers.
Glue - Yes, everyone knows what glue is, so why is it in a glossary?!?!?! There are many types of glues used in embroidery and new embroiderers are often intimidated by the number of different glues on the market. Go to the Glue Page! Gobelin stitch - A 6/2 variant of Florentine stitch that covers the fabric more quickly, but is less sturdy, therefore used for texture or pieces that won’t see as much wear. Gobelin work - Another name for needlepoint particularly when done in Gobelin stitch. Gold work - Usually appliquéd gold wire in some form. Opus Anglicanum is perhaps the most famous of this type of embroidery. (see also Metal Thread Embroidery) Gros point - Gros meaning "large", this is the opposite of Petit Point. It usually refers to needlepoint done in bulky yarns, rather than fine, but sometimes means certain stitches worked over 2 or more threads of a canvas. Ground fabric - The fabric that embroideries are worked on. Ground line - In Counted Thread work, particularly reversible types such as Holbein work, this is the name for the line that all the stitching is worked from. It can be traced all through the work, although it often resembles a snake with a broken back more than a straight line.
Hardanger Embroidery - A style of embroidery that originated in Scandinavia, perhaps in the town of Hardanger. It is a counted thread, cut work whose distinguishing characteristic is the Kloster Block, a regularly recurring set of 4 or more stitches all the same length and 1 thread apart. These are often arranged in squares that have a tiny hole cut in the center, thus making this a cut work. Hem stitch - A Pulled thread stitch that groups and stabilizes threads of the ground fabric. This is the stitch used on the fine handkerchiefs that have a row of tiny boxes about 1/2 in from the edge. MANY variations! Hemstitching - Another name for Pulled Thread work. Herringbone stitch - Also called Invisible Hem stitch. This is another stitch with many variations to try. Holbein-work - Reversible blackwork or Double-Running work bears the name of the English painter, Hans Holbein the Younger, because of his meticulous renderings of the embroideries of this style that he painted on the portraits of the nobility of England of the Tudor and Elizabethan eras (16th century). It is a completely reversible work, often used in more recent centuries on household linens, such as napkins and placemats, as it wears well and you don’t have to be quite as concerned that the maid plops the mats on the table right side up! Hollie stitch (Holypoint) - A Needle lace stitch that resembles Couched Buttonhole work when it is worked on fabric instead of in the air.
Italian two-sided cross stitch - (see Two-sided Italian Cross stitch)
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M © 1995 by Mary Anne Bartlett | ||||
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