Crochet Cotton for Needlework

Using Crochet Cotton thread for needlework is something that different types of Italian needlework call for. Crochet Cotton is a twisted mercerized cotton thread. It is not shiny the same as Pearl Cotton but does have a sheen to it. It gives a different effect to the embroidery. There are various weights and I've done some experimenting with it for tassels, using DMC Baroque and Natura but until recently, I've never tried it for embroidery.

DMC Babylo #10 ecru thread on 38 ct Sotema 20L linen.

Here is a sample of Sardinian Knot Stitch done on 18ct fabric with Anchor Crochet Cotton and DMC Pearl Cottons (click on the photo for a closer look):

When telling you about Giuseppa Federici's new book here, I mentioned that it called for Crochet Cotton and that in Italy (and other parts of the world) both DMC and Anchor offer a decent colour range in their crochet cottons. Alas they do not offer the same threads in North America and so I set about hunting down some Crochet Cotton in lots of colours.

A kind friend from Italy sent me some Anchor Freccia #12 which is similar in weight the #10 Crochet Cotton we can find in North America. Then I found some DMC Babylo #10 on a UK website that I have ordered from often for other things. They appear almost identical in thickness. Pretty close to Pearl Cotton #5 but a bit thinner. Please note that I could not try all of DMC's products like Cebelia and Traditions or Coats Aunt Lydia's because I could not find them locally in colours that I wanted and there were only so many funds I wanted to spend on online ordering for an experiment. The point of my experiment was really to find a #10 Crochet Cotton in the widest range of colours possible. There are other products available in North America that you can try.

An internet search led me to a website called Handy Hands which sells a line of various weights and colours of 100% Egyptian cotton cordonnet thread called Lizbeth. It comes in 102 solid colours, 87 variegated colours and 10 colours which are a mix of three different colours twisted together. Handy Hands is based out of Paxton, Illinois, though they do not have a bricks and mortar storefront.

Now, Anchor or DMC #10 Crochet Cotton which is what I was looking to match, is made of 3 threads twisted together. Lizbeth thread is made of 6 threads twisted together so obviously the look of the Lizbeth thread is a bit different but I decided to see if it would be a suitable substitution.

I wrote and asked them if they could help me match some samples of Anchor and DMC colours that I had gotten from Italy. They answered right away and gave me some matches but it's difficult to match from photos so in the end, I mailed them my thread samples because there just isn't anything better than having something in your hand when you're trying to match colours!

I have to say, Handy Hands' customer service is excellent. They must have looked up the colours as soon as my samples arrived because, allowing for cross-border mailing, it was no time at all before I received colour-matches for all the colours I asked about. These colours are for a project which I will tell you about in a different post.

The Lizbeth #10 thread is the same thickness as my Anchor and DMC threads but because it is made up of three sets of 2 threads twisted together, it's a little like stitching with a cord instead of a thread.
I did three lines of stitches: stem stitch, chain stitch and Palestrina Knot stitch. The top or first line of each set is the Anchor Freccia and the other is the Lizbeth.

Anchor Freccia #12 and Lizbeth #10 on Zweigart 36 ct Edinburgh linen.

There is a bit of difference in sheen and of course the twist, but overall, I'd say it's an excellent substitute! I love the way the thread sits up on the fabric for a very textural embroidery. I'm thinking Palestrina Embroidery, Parma Embroidery, Umbrian Embroidery, even traditional embroidery when you want to create a more rustic, raised effect.

Lizbeth thread is distributed worldwide, they have a list of distributors online for a store near you or you can order directly from their website. Signing up for their newsletter before December 31, 2015 gets you free shipping in the US.

Much thanks to Barbara at Handy Hands for her infinite patience, valuable insight and quick, efficient service!

Reproduction research - Tassel

For a few years I have been looking on and off for some idea of what kind of knots make up the tassels on my vintage Punto Umbro cushion that I talked about here.

The tassel is made up of a needle lace covered head with 20 little knots covering the top part and five legs which each have 18 of the same little knots on them.

I've been to thread stores in Italy and asked lots of people. Everyone who had an idea, I tried out with no real success. Always close but not exact.

Recently while looking up something else (as usually happens with research) I stumbled across a photo of something pretty close to my tassel in Rosalba Pepi & Maria Rita Faleri's lovely book on Tassels. Who knows why I didn't notice it before.

Anyway, I started looking seriously through knot books and online.

I made a few different types of knots in paracord first...

Then a few in cotone povero cotton yarn...

I like the Turk's Head knot but it was a bit too round and I also liked the Monkey Fist Knot but it didn't have enough facets.

This is a close up of the head of my tassel with all it's little knots:

Then I thought: am I making this too complicated? This tassel was made near the beginning of the 20th century - what was available to embroiderers then? There is one knot explained in the DMC Encyclopedia (scroll down to the bottom) and one in the Italian Book of Women's Work which I showed you here. I tried them both. They were the closest yet to mine.

Still, they took me some time to work and the thought of taking an hour to make each knot when I had 92 to make motivated me to investigate YouTube, now that I had the name "Chinese Knot" at least to reference. Well, I lost a few days watching YouTube videos but I finally settled on Suzen Millodot's Double Chinese Button Knot tied on a single cord because it's pretty close and because it's relatively easy. I won't know for sure until I get better at making the knot.

I added the French knots as picots in the four corners of the bottom like the ones on my tassel and I'd say that with some practise, I could be happy with these.

Here's a bottom view for comparison:

Double Chinese Button Knot

Now, I really liked the Monkey Fist knot with picots too but that will be for a tassel not related to this one. I show you a photo of a single and then a group of four knotted together just in case you might like to make some for yourself!

Monkey Fist Knot with French Knot picots

Four Monkey Fist Knots with Picots tied together.

If you know what knot it really is on my tassel, will you leave a comment below and let me know?

EGA National Seminar - Italian purchases

Saturday I'm going to Italy... well, not really, but it's as close as I can get right now - I'm going to the EGA National Seminar in Phoenix, Arizona and Vima deMarchi Micheli is bringing over some Italian embroiderers, similar to the EGA National Seminar in San Francisco in 2010.

I can't wait to see the ladies again and I've been saving my pennies as they always bring stitching supplies, books and patterns, kits and stitched pieces from the Italian province of Umbria.

I've been told that there will be stitched pieces for sale in the following embroidery styles: Assisi, Catherine de'Medici, Antique Umbrian, Perugino, Antique Deruta and embroidery on Tulle as well as the Orvieto and Irish Crochet Laces.

There will also be ceramic beads, buttons and fuserole from Anna Lisa Piccioni of Deruta as well as threads and fabrics for executing the above-mentioned techniques. 

Italian linens!!! I believe that there will also be handwoven works from the Giuditta Brozzetti Workshop.

I am drooling at the thought of Merchandise Night on Tuesday, October the 21st!

There are going to be Italian teachers demonstrating Assisi, Catherine de'Medici, Perugino and Antique Umbrian Embroidery as well as embroidery on Tulle. I hope they will be doing tassels too but I don't have confirmation on that one.

The ladies won't be taking credit cards so come prepared, I can't wait!!!!

Thank you Vima for the use of your photo!

Delicious Umbrian Embroidery

The very best gifts are those that are unexpected. Last week a courier arrived with a package from Italy and I had no idea what it could be. The little girl in me took over as soon as I'd signed for it and I sat down right there on the stairs and ripped open the envelope. Inside was truly a wonder to behold and I sat there for the better part of an hour (probably with my mouth open the whole time).

As regular readers will know, I absolutely LOVE the textured Italian embroideries and this is a stunning example. An Umbrian Embroidery pillow cover in amazing condition!

This very fortunate find was discovered by Bianca Rosa Bellomo of the Associazione I Merletti di Antonilla Cantelli in Bologna. She told me that she found it at a stall in the market at an excellent price. The lady running the stall told her that it came from an rich estate in the hills which was vacated. It has certainly been well looked after!

In the book Ricami della Bell'Epoca I found two photos of a table cover with the same design (repeated seven times!). The caption says that that piece dates to the 1930s. I wonder how old the one I have is?

This book says that pieces of this kind of embroidery can be found in the collections of the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, the Museo Storico Didattico della Tappezzeria di Bologna and the Fondazione Ranieri in Perugia.

Detail of my pillow cover.

Four delightful knotted tassels, one at each corner of the pillow cover. Inside the head of each one appears to be a wooden bead.

Check out these exquisite buttons which run along the top edge to enclose a pillow! They are slipped through buttonhole loops to close.

Insertion stitching used on three sides to join the front and back together. See how the edging matches? The back has three sets of blanket stitches repeating all the way around and the front is bordered by chain stitching. The stitching matches along the edge of the insertion stitches.

Detail of my pillow cover.

Detail of my pillow cover.

Detail of my pillow cover.

Detail of my pillow cover.

I can study the back side of the embroidery too!

I just happen to have the perfect size pillow to put in it and now it sits on my bed so I can see it every time I walk into my room!

A tremendous and heartfelt thank you to Bianca Rosa for this most precious of gifts!

Umbrian Embroidery Revisited - Part One

Way back in this post, I promised to let you know how my experiments with Umbrian Embroidery went. Recently I finally had some time to dedicate to some more experiments. As usual with my experiments, I learned more about what I shouldn't do than what I should, but I show them to you in the spirit of learning.

Instead of using an evenweave fabric, I wanted a more rustic look and chose some lightweight undyed hemp fabric. I made sure to finish the edges on the serger before washing it, and after ironing the whole yard, I discovered that it had not been cut very evenly so I spent quite a bit of time withdrawing threads on the two sides that did not have a selvedge and then serging those two sides again for a more true idea of how much fabric I had (which was a yard in the end). I really like the look and feel of the hemp fabric.

Ok, so now having squared-off my fabric I had some scraps to experiment on. I already knew that I wanted to use the varigated Anchor pearl cotton, 1355 which is a green/blue/yellow combination. But which weight? No. 5 or No. 8?

While I really like the raised texture of the no. 5, it is clearly too heavy to use on this fabric, so no. 8 it is. This little motif uses the Satin stitch, Stem stitch and the Ricciolino stitch which characterizes Umbrian Embroidery.

Off we go! I chose a motif from Giuseppa Federici's lovely book: Punto Umbro o Punto Sorbello which I got last year at the Italia Invita Forum in Parma. I have been dying to try some of the beautiful things in this book.

Giusy has written several books on different Italian needlework techniques and she really knows how to lay out a technical manual. The photos are clear and close-up and there are lots and lots of interesting and attractive patterns to try, all with photos of the items stitched up so you know what the end result will be.

I chose one of the simpler Umbrian Embroidery motifs, transfered the pattern onto the hemp fabric and went to work. It stitches up quickly and while I love tone-on-tone, this thread produces an interesting effect too.

This is one corner of the design which repeats in all four corners of a square:

Now, here's where I took a wrong turn... I am much more comfortable with counted thread embroidery and have a very hard time ignoring the weave of the fabric when doing free-style embroidery. Of course non-evenweave fabrics do not behave like evenweave fabrics and I should have calculated better before beginning my edging.

I really like the edging I experimented with before in this post. I thought I had it all figured out with regard to joining the insertion stitches when connecting two pieces of fabric, and so, when I stitched along my first side of the square of fabric, I assumed that if my stitches were done the same on all four sides, the results would be the same. I tried to execute the edging stitches every three ground fabric threads, thinking (erroneously) that everything would work out.

But warp and weft of this fabric are not the same. Can you see my difficulties? This piece will never match up with another one evenly and I even have five motifs on one side instead of four like the rest! All four sides are different.

Giusy says in her book that you need to set the pattern for the edging with your first piece so that you can easily join the others together. This makes sense, of course but how to go about it? Even if I fold my square over so that the two sides with four motifs are aligned, the motifs are not positioned correctly to be matched up.

This obviously cannot be done by counting ground threads (which I should have known) but rather with a ruler. If you have other ideas, please post them below! Now I will unpick the three edges which I don't like and attempt to make the new ones match the one edge that I do like which, ironically is the first edge I stitched. I should have paid more attention!!

I'll let you know how it goes, hopefully it won't take me so long to get back to you this time!

For those who will want to know:

• the Anchor thread came from http://sewandso.co.uk/
• the hemp fabric came from http://hempbasics.com/
• you can purchase Giusy's book directly from her (click on the link to send her an email) 

Punto Avorio - Umbrian Embroidery Edging

We have talked about the different ways to use Punto Avorio which appears in several Italian needlework techniques like Puncetto needle lace.

It seems to be executed in many different ways in Umbrian Embroidery. We saw it used as a filling – packed tightly together (inside the circle motif) and used for a design line – widely spaced (for the curlycue motif) and now as an edging which can then be used to join pieces of fabric together.

Here we use Punto Avorio to secure the hem and to begin one of the motifs of Umbrian Embroidery called "Pignattina".

For those of you who are curious: the fabric I'm using is Ivory-coloured Sotema 20L 38ct linen, a tapestry no. 26 needle and Ecrù-coloured (926) Anchor Coton a Broder no. 25 thread.

While I was shooting the following photos this morning, the weather changed about 4 times, from dark, heavy clouds to pouring rain to sunshine to light clouds so I'm sorry if the lighting is so varied!

Here in photos 1 and 2, I did some Punto Avorio stitches along the hem going from left to right and then to do the Pignattina motif, I worked back toward the right slipping under only the threads in the spaces of the previous stitches. Click on the photos for a closer look.

Going back, I did 7 Punto Avorio stitches, then forward again 7, back 7 and so on until I had five rows of 7 Punto Avorio stitches sticking out over the hemline. They form a little rectangle. You can get a better idea of the height of my rectangle from photo 4.


At the end of my fifth row, I am on the left-hand side of my Pignattina motif. At this point I go down to my hemline and do another Punto Avorio stitch into the next open space to the left so that I get a little leg beside my motif (photo 3).

In photo 4 I go back up and do another Punto Avorio stitch in between the first two stitches of my row so that now I have two legs.

Back down beside what I did in photo 3, I make another Punto Avorio stitch to the left. Now I have three legs (photo 5).

I cover the three legs together with 8 Punto Avorio stitches, working my way back up to the top left-hand side of my rectangle (photo 6).


In photo 7 I start back across the top of my rectangle with another row of 7 Punto Avorio stitches.

When I reach the right-hand side, I go down to my hemline and do another Punto Avorio to match the others along the hem. I now have a leg to the right of my Pignattina motif (photo 8).

Back up to the top and another Punto Avorio stitch, like we did on the left-hand side, to make a second leg (photo 9). I will not, however make a third leg as I need to keep moving along my hemline to the right. Now I will cover my two legs with 8 Punto Avorio stitches (photo 10).


When I reach the hem again, I continue on with my Punto Avorio stitches along the hemline until I want to make another motif.

Note: I used a pin to tack the fabric down to my chair so I could take photos - it is not required for the stitching.


In between Pignattina motifs, you can do a number of other things like these needlewoven picots called Pifferini.


My tension needs work but it gets easier as you go on down the hemline. I basted my hem down and then after I was finished all the Punto Avorio stitches, I cut away my basting.

You can leave these like this, or use them to attach your piece of embroidery to another piece. The Pignattine fill the channel between the two attached pieces. If I understand correctly, you attach the two pieces together while executing the Pignattina motifs of the second piece.

I'm going to stitch up a second hemline and give this a try. I'll let you know how it goes.

Correction - Punto Ricciolino (Umbrian Embroidery)

So many people wrote privately to tell me that I had misunderstood Punto Ricciolino used in Umbrian Embroidery that I thought I would do a post dedicated to correcting my errors.

Thank you so much everyone for clearing up my confusion! When you try to figure out things alone at home, it's so nice to know when you've done something correctly or incorrectly! I do apologize to anyone who followed my previous photo sequence though I kind of like that stitch too. I wonder what it's called?

I have done another photo sequence and although the stitch here looks very similar to what I posted before, the overall result is subtly different.

Some of you asked what fabric and thread I was using, so it's Sotema 20L 38ct Ivory Linen with DMC Pearl Cotton no. 8 (colour 842) and a no. 8 embroidery needle (sharp tip).

To start:


Go back under the diagonal stitch you have created, not taking any of the ground fabric. You can't see it here but the thread tail is held to the left with the needle passing over it:


Like this (don't laugh at my diagram!):


Back again under the diagonal stitch to the right of the stitch you just did:


I love the textural effect!


I don't think I will cut out the curls I did on my little sampler as it will be too time consuming but I will definitely be doing more of Punto Ricciolino in the future!

I will try to get back to working the edging to show you another way to use Punto Avorio in the near future, so watch for future posts.

Apparently it is necessary for me to again point out to readers that I am not a needlework teacher nor an expert. These posts here on my blog are my own personal investigations. If you choose to follow my diagrams, photo sequences and/or anything else I do, you do so at the risk of misunderstanding along with me!

An Italian woman from Perugia named Geneviève Porpora wrote to me with all kinds of links for finding out more information on Umbrian Embroidery. She wrote a book called Il Punto Umbro after having learned from the last surviving pupil (Margherita Biancalana) of the Marquess Romeyne Robert's "Scuola Ricami Ranieri di Sorbello" [Ranieri di Sorbello Embroidery School]. Unfortunately most of the links that she gave me are in Italian and seem to be often broken or leading to pages which no longer exist. If you would like more information, please contact her directly through her email address.

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part One

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Two

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Three

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Four

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Four

Continuing our look at Umbrian Embroidery (Part One, Part Two and Part Three) today we'll have a look at Punto Avorio [Ivory Stitch] which we have talked about before when referring to Puncetto needle lace.

You will begin to note some similarities in the influences on needlework in Italy. Punto Avorio is used in Umbrian Embroidery which was created from studying ancient Arab embroideries and Puncetto needlelace is thought to have come to Italy through Arab influence.

Both Punto Avorio and Punto Ricciolino (which we looked at yesterday) are mentioned in a pamphlet from Marquess Romeyne Robert's Arti Decorative Italiane shop.

"The specialty of the School [Ranieri di Sorbello Embroidery School] is a knotted raised stitch of which there are many variations... to augment the effect of its embroidery, the School often uses inserts of Ivory Stitch which is one of the oldest needle lace stitches also brought to Italy by the Arabs. It is called Ivory Stitch because the lace motifs were copied from the ivory grates used in front of the windows of the harems. Although the stitches are Arab, the designs are Italian from the Renaissance period and the whole character of the work is Italian [referring to Umbrian Embroidery]."

In my little sampler, I have used Punto Avorio in two different ways so far. Once as a filling stitch for the little circle in the bottom right corner of the photo:


... and once spaced farther apart for these curlycues:


It is a nice stitch for the curlycues as it creates a raised line and also as a filling stitch as it is very compact. When I get to finishing the edging of the sampler, I'll show you some more characteristic ways that Umbrian Embroidery uses Punto Avorio.

The difference in execution of Punto Avorio is also interesting. In Umbrian Embroidery, it is done with the needle going towards the embroiderer (as in the photo above) but in Puncetto needle lace it is done with the needle going away from the embroiderer.

Check out some of the antique Umbrian Embroidery collection at the Palazzo Sorbello or a modern interpretation here and here.

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part One

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Two

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Three

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Three

If you are just joining us now, we started looking at Umbrian Embroidery here and continued here.

As previously stated the Marquess Romeyne Robert and Carolina Amari based the technique of Umbrian Embroidery on some antique Arab embroideries in the personal collection of the Countess Edith Bronson Rucellai of Florence.

I have been exploring my little book from the Associazione Culturale Femminile P.ES.CO. mentioned previously.

Correction: I did not interpret this stitch correctly! Please click here for the correct way to execute this lovely stitch!

One stitch I particularly like is the Punto Ricciolino [a literal translation would be: Little Curl Stitch]. I hope I am interpreting it correctly here:


This is a particularly attractive stitch for curved lines, giving a raised effect that I really like!


I'm doing a little sampler and will go over the other stitches in a future post.

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part One

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Two

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Four

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Two

Let's continue on with our investigation of Umbrian Embroidery. If you're just joining us, please start with Part One.

The embroidery school/workshop founded and run by Romeyne Robert, Marquess Ranieri di Sorbello with the able management and outstanding input of Carolina Amari enjoyed ever-increasing success from 1904 until about 1933 or 1934 when both the school/workshop and the Arti Decorative Italiane shop in Perugia closed. It seems a number of factors were involved in the closures, most likely being the economic difficulties of the times and the advancing age of the two ladies.

After the closures, the Marquess Romeyne exhibited a collection of the very best pieces from the school/workshop in the Palazzo Sorbello and went on to collect antique pieces of embroidery and textiles.

Some students continued to make Umbrian Embroidery and later to teach it to others. In the late 1990s a renewed interest in this needlework brought about a revival which still continues today. There are now a few embroidery schools in Italy who teach Umbrian Embroidery.

While at the Italia Invita Forum of Lace and Embroidery in Parma in 2009, I picked up a little book from the Associazione Culturale Femminile P.ES.CO. [Women's Cultural Association P.ES.CO]:


A small format book of about 50 pages, it has technical instructions of most of the stitches which define the technique of Umbrian Embroidery including how to do some of the tassels. The text is in Italian but there are lots of clear diagrams. I've had a bit of success trying it out, though, like any other embroidery technique, you must practice in order to perfect stitch tension. Some of my attempts are quite sad so I would really like to take a course in this needlework - I am especially attracted to it's tone-on-tone texture.

At the EGA Seminar in San Francisco, the Italian ladies brought some pieces of Umbrian Embroidery from the P.ES.CO. Association with them. The pieces were spectacular!



The P.ES.CO. Association's goal is the "defense, conservation and dissemination of the artistic, artisan and cultural traditions of the area". They also promote the local art of Crochet Lace which we will talk about in another post. This is a group of astonishingly talented women. They keep a permanent exhibit at the Palazzo del Rondò in Tuoro sul Trasimeno in the province of Perugia if you happen to be passing by.

The book is available directly from their website if you are in Europe, otherwise to pay with PayPal, check out Tombolo Disegni (click on Libri/Books, then Libri/Ricamo, then Ricamo Italiani - send an email request to order).

Next time we'll have a look at some characteristic stitches of Umbrian Embroidery.

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part One

Romeyne Robert and Umbrian Embroidery - Part Three