Embroidered Jorvik Hood

Apologies for once again being rubbish with blog updates!! I have been so busy with sewing in the last couple of weeks I've had no time for blogging!

I've been working really hard on piecing together all the bits for a Viking outfit. I'm going to an event at the start of May and fancied wearing something different, so Viking it is!!

I spent a while researching suitable head wear for the outfit, and decided on a Jorvik hood. As I love all types of historical embroidery, of course my hood had to be covered in some pretty embroidery.

In total there is 24 inches of embroidery around the front of the hood, which is made from linen. I have used the 'acanthus vine' pattern for the embroidery. This pattern was originally found on clothing in burial mound at Bjerringhøj, in Mammen parish, Middelsom, in northern Denmark and is dated to the 10th Century. The find was one of the largest collections found of Viking embroidery. For more information on the pattern and other extant examples of Viking embroidery check out this site -

I drew the pattern onto the linen, and started the embroidery by stitching the whole outline. I tried to stick as closely as possible to the colours in the original find. The pattern is worked totally in silk embroidery thread. The outline has been worked in stem stitch and has been filled in with a variation of long and short stitch, and stem stitch. Once the white outline was finished the pattern seemed to fill in really quickly.

The hood has also been lined with linen, and the two pieces of linen were hand stitched together.

And here's a shot of the hood on. (Apologies for aspects of the photo not being historically accurate.) Very much looking forward to wearing it at an event now :)

Vicki x

Baa, Baa French Knot Sheep

I have hated french knots since the first time I ever tried to stitch them, and have always really struggled to stitch them properly. Usually I substitute them for either beads or some sort of backstitch. I thought it was about time to finally get to grips with the pesky things, and cross off another thing from my 50 Projects list!

I found the pattern for this in a recent issue of Crossstitcher magazine and thought it was very cute, and a perfect small project to test out my french knots. It is stitched on linen and as well as french knots uses satin stitch, back stitch and cross stitch. As well as being my first time at using the knots, this project was also the first time I had used cross stitch on linen. Can't say I found using the linen easy for cross stitch though, will stick to aida in the future I think!! I freehand drew the pattern onto the fabric and got stitching!

So after avoiding starting the french knots and stitching everything else on the hoop that I could!! I watched loads of different youtube tutorials, read loads of tutorials, yet still the french knots evaded me. In the end I just ended up getting quite frustrated with them and tried wrapping the thread around the needle in a variety of different ways to see which one worked best for me. After eventually finding my "french knot groove" they got easier and easier to stitch and started to appear really quickly. They are stitched in 2 strands of cream thread and 1 strand of brown thread to make it a bit more multicoloured. I love how the sheep turned out so fluffy with all the french knots.

I think there are over 200 french knots in this project!! So I don't think I will be worried about doing them in the future :D

Vicki

Blackwork Commission

Apologies for being dreadful at updating my blog recently, have been uber busy with stitching! So, back in May I received a blackwork commission for the fabulous couple who run 4 & 20 Blackbirds, who are a group that demonstrate authentic historical cookery, and I have to say there food is absolutely delicious!! Here's a link to their facebook which I recommend that you check out - https://www.facebook.com/pages/4and20-Blackbirds-bringing-historical-cookery-to-life/181236131901644 . I was commissioned to make two sets of blackwork collars and cuffs for them to wear with their posh Tudor outfits. We spent a while deciding on patterns and in the end we settled on this one from the Blackwork Archives - http://blackworkarchives.com/art/lace2.gif. I modified the pattern slightly, left out the crosses and the extra bit on the top of the pattern, as I thought this would make them a bit to wide for their purpose. A work in progress shot -

The thread of this linen was incredibly fine, which made counting it rather difficult and time consuming. In order to get a straight and uniform look with my blackwork, I always count the thread of the linen as I find this gives me the most precise results. It is embroidered with silk thread from the Silk Mill - http://www.thesilkmill.com/default.asp The finished cuffs -

There is over 60 inches of blackwork in total, which worked out as to nearly 120 hours worth of stitching - I think. Sort of lost count after I reached the 100 hours mark!!! The completed set was handed over at the end of October, and I am now very much looking forward to seeing the blackwork in use on their costume :D :D And here is the finished set -

Vicki.