Italian Needlework Books easily available outside Italy

One of the most frequent requests I get is: "where can I buy these books in English?" Now, I've come to understand that this does not necessarily mean that readers are asking that the texts be in English, though most of the time that is what they are asking, but they also want to buy them from websites in English because they are not comfortable with the uncertainty of online translators.

I do not get any compensation for mentioning books here, even the ones I translated (just to get that out of the way). I try to tell you about the things that I know are available and how I know how to get them. In the past I haven't recommended resellers as a rule because these books are already marked up as the resellers have had to cover their own costs in receiving the books from Italy. When possible, I have mentioned direct sources so you get the lowest cost which might mean a bit more work to make the purchase.

Please know that when I write a book review, I always say what languages the text is in. If I write "text in Italian" that means that an English language version does. not. exist. I'm sorry that I cannot translate the books for you. I would love it if all of them were in English text too!

In the past few years the Lace and Embroidery line of books from Nuova S1 in Bologna has been able to secure distribution in a few places outside Italy: Amazon's various websites and affiliates, Barbara Fay in Germany, Book Depository in the U.K., Lacis in the US. and Ryunan Bros in Japan. (Please note that Nuova S1 publishes other types of books so not everything that shows up in a search of their name will be a book about embroidery.)

Books for you in Canada sells a selection of Italian needlework books, though I did not see any Nuova S1 books, there were others which I've reviewed here.

I found searching Book Depository's website that there were a number of titles available and at reduced cost, plus they ship free worldwide. I did various searches including by publisher, by author's name, by technique. Use my Italian Needlework Library page as a reference for many titles and authors but remember that I don't have everything and some stuff will be out of print.

There are some clues to find the information you want. At Book Depository I couldn't get any of Nuova S1's books to come up under a general search of the publisher's name but searching an author's name gave me results:

Now, here the languages are listed as "multiple languages" but in the title it says: "inglese" which means "English".

Amazon brings up all of Nuova S1's books by doing a search of their name which is handy, it gives you everything together without having to search individual author's names but it also brings up non-needlework books too. A search with the word "ricamo" (Italian for embroidery) brought up all kinds Italian books, not only the Nuova S1 ones, so be imaginative in your search terminology.

One final word about resellers: while Amazon and Book Depository are well known and honourable, it is helpful to ask if the book is actually in stock before approving payment when dealing with other, smaller online resellers. Many wait for an order to come in before searching out the book themselves and your wait time can be frustrating. Remember that when not buying direct from the source, you are essentially hiring someone to find the book for you.

I hope this helps you with your holiday shopping!

Punto Antico 20th Anniversary and a new book

The Associazione Il Punto Antico is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and commemorate it with a new book (in English and Italian!) of projects on this lovely needlework technique.

From the introduction:

Twenty years of passion: 1995-2015. In this book you will find the latest work and designs, some simple, others more complex, with in-depth explanations for their realization and all the designs charted. The embroidery is coloured and the worked articles are cheerful, adapted for young houses, a little informal... You will also find some photos from our early exhibitions, a testimony of the route which we took.
Twenty years of research, of study, of elaboration and the teaching of Italian Openwork are an important goal, at which I never thought to arrive. It is thanks to my students, to their affection, and to their friendship that these years have flown by and I would like, on this occasion, to embrace everyone.
---Bruna Gubbini

The book proposes 11 projects: a lampshade, table sets, curtains, runners, a cushion, towels; there are 16 different embroidery stitches described; lots of large colour photos to show off this latest batch of tasteful, very modern designs.

It has been interesting to see the evolution of Signora Gubbini's interpretations of this technique over the years and I must confess that I have all of her books. I find her immensely good at colour combinations and designs which are tasteful and refined while at the same time modern and cheerful. And while I personally love traditional designs and works, I can seriously consider Signora Gubbini's latest designs for gifts for the younger people in my life. That way I can have the best of both worlds: the joy of stitching the project and then that of delighting a friend or family member with a tasteful gift.

The English translation is done by Patricia Girolami, a British embroiderer who now lives in Italy for some years who is well acquainted with this needlework.

These designs are not traditional Punto Antico patterns in the historical sense and they use many stitches from other embroidery techniques not necessarily associated traditionally with Punto Antico so if you are looking to approach this technique from a strictly traditional point of view, I suggest you start with their first book.

You can purchase this or any of the many other books that the Associazione Il Punto Antico has produced through their website: http://www.edizionipuntoantico.com/

Estense Embroidery - new book!

At long last there is a second book on Estense Embroidery from Elisabetta Holzer of the cultural association RicamArte of Ferrara. This book is worth the wait since her first book in 2007.

The manual is over 200 pages and weighs in at 1.8 lbs! Elisabetta is not kidding around about it being a "manual". There are 36 embroidery stitches, 8 drawn thread corner treatments, 10 trimmings, 4 frames, 15 filling stitches, 3 borders, 2 decorations, cording and 7 delicious projects – plus photos of other ideas and suggestions for further combining all the stuff that has been diagrammed.

And there are a lot of diagrams.
I know.
I did them.
Did I mention there are a lot of them?

The explanations include drawn diagrams which feature the paths of the working thread showing through so you can tell what's happening on the back of the work, along with a colour photo of the front and back of the stitching.

Sample stitch instruction page

Great pains have been taken to make this manual comprehensible. It is jam-packed with colour photos of examples of ways to execute and combine the stitches, techniques and colours that make up Estense Embroidery.

Il manuale completo del Ricamo Estense [The Complete Manual of Estense Embroidery] is the fruit of several years of labour. Everything has been stitched and tried out and then improved and re-stitched. When I was doing the diagrams I had three fabric doodle cloths going. If I didn't understand something Elisabetta listened and in some cases reworked her instructions, diagrams and/or photo sequences because she reasoned that if I were confused, other stitchers might be too. More often though, I didn't have any trouble working the stitches because Elisabetta's precise step-by-step photos and diagrams are very, very clear.

Hours and hours have gone into the study of the colours used in Estense Embroidery. Taking her inspiration from the ancient Ferrarese graffito ceramics of the 14th to 16th centuries, Elisabetta has found that for the most part Anchor thread colours work the best but she has studied which DMC colours might be substituted and provided a list so that you can start embroidering that much sooner, not having to figure out the conversions for yourself.

There are many things that I love about this manual but one of the top things has to be the explanations for how to turn the corners for all 8 of the drawn thread corner treatments.

Sample corner treatment instructions

Among the 7 exquisite projects (I want to make all of them!) is the exceptionally lovely bomboniera from the 2009 Italia Invita exhibit.

All projects have instructions for the embroidery, the construction and the finishing. Text is in Italian.

For those of you not familiar with Estense Embroidery, I wrote a bit about it here.

You can see a preview of some of the pages on the publisher's website. To order, send them an email and tell them you want to pay with PayPal. Otherwise you can get if from Tombolo Disegni, send them an email to order.

Venetian Needle Lace - new book

Of all the needle laces, those from Venice and Burano are certainly the most complex, but they are also the most versatile because the limitations imposed by the design are removed.

This publication contains a how-to section of the stitches to start you off accompanied by instructions, photographs and very clear diagrams.

You can take a look at a few pages here.

Exciting news for those who wish to delve into the world of Venetian Needle Lace! Ombretta Panese and Marialuisa Severi have been hard at work creating this book. 

I have translated what Ombretta has written on her blog:

We have tried to give clear and simple instructions on some stitches, which are supported by photographs and designs, so as to introduce the manufacture of needle lace to those who have the intention to learn.

At the end we have included designs of varying degrees of difficulty so you can experiment with what you have learned.

About the authors:
Marialuisa Severi is the President of the cultural Associazione "Il Merletto Veneziano" which was formed in 2005 with the aim to keep alive, enhance and promote the ancient art of Burano needle lace and Pellestrina bobbin lace. Both techniques are traditionally rooted in the island territory of Venice. You can see some pictures of their work here.

Ombretta Panese is a lacemaker from Mestre who has been awarded the title: Expert Needle Lace Maker achieved after two courses of 300 hours each, at the Scuola Professionale della Provincia di Venezia. Together with some of her classmates from these courses, she was involved in the creation of the Associazione "Il Merletto Veneziano". She does some beautiful work, check out her blog.

My copy is in the mail somewhere between here and Italy but I couldn't wait for it to get here before telling you about this book which you can get directly from the publisher: NuovaS1 (send them an email and tell them you'd like to use PayPal for those outside of Europe). Lacis distributes some NuovaS1 books in the US, if you want to see this one brought in, you may have to write to them and request it.

Let me know what you think in the comments below if you do get this book which I understand may be the first in a series.

Needle lace lady - Punto Maglie New Book

Two of the most characteristic motifs in Punto Maglie needle lace are the delightful human figures. The male figure is called the Pupo and the female, Pupa.

For their first book, the Associazione Punto Maglie has chosen to introduce us to the Pupa – a lovely little needle lace lady in a dress with a decorated hemline and three little buttons made of bullion knots down the bodice.

This slim, hardcover volume has 30 or so pages which are packed with step-by-step photos - each area of the design is broken down and gone over. Who would have thought that you'd build your Pupa upside-down?

Instructions include the materials needed, where to place your support stitches which help you to execute the needle lace, the various needle lace stitches used, the order of the work and pages and pages of photos.

Text is in Italian but if you have a little experience with needle lace you should do fine. The finished project is a 1.75 inch by 1.75 inch insert.

I look forward to those long summer days filled with sunshine to try my hand at this lovely little lady!

The book can be purchased directly from the Associazione Punto Maglie.

Puncetto News and a new book!

Second Volume,  2009

There is some good news for those of you who have been waiting for the reprinting of the second volume on Puncetto needle lace – copies are now available!

This is really the book you need if you want to get started with Puncetto needle lace. It has a how-to section which gradually instructs you on more and more complicated patterns as well as many patterns for complete pieces. The second printing has been held up for quite a long time and I'm glad to see that everything got worked out and that it is once again available.

The first volume is more advanced and provides patterns and instructions for using multiple colours in designs which are used in the local traditional costumes of this region found in the north of Italy near the Liechtenstein border.

First Volume,  2006

And now there is a third volume by the ladies of the Scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano which is very advanced featuring many different designs (I counted 70!). You can see some of the pages here. There are even some instructions on how to make the buttons found on traditional costume blouse cuffs!

Third Volume,  2013

I'm thrilled to see the inclusion of the pattern for the blue gentian flower that was part of the display at the 2011 Italia Invita Forum. There are other flowers and plants as well and rounded edges and motifs like this one from the back cover of the book:

I have been privileged to attend a few workshops with these talented ladies and I dream one day to take a "Puncetto Vacation" which the school offers for a week in August.

Tombolo Disegni tells me that they now have all of these volumes in stock.

Hemstitching - New Book!

Anna Castagnetti of Ricami a Fili Tesi has been busy! Her latest book is on Hemstitching and is a gold mine of different stitches and edge treatments.

Over 60 pages of closeup step-by-step photos and diagrams make this volume easy to follow even if you don't read Italian.

Edge treatments include:

• mitred corners (two ways to do it)
• folded hem (including corner treatment)
• rolled hem (including corner treatment)
• buttonholed hem (including corner treatment)
• buttonholed hem with picots made of bullion knots
• long and short blanket stitch hem (including corner treatment and a couple of ways to dress up this type of hem)
• cat's tooth hem (it's like nun's stitch - including corner treatment)
• looped fringes like those used in Assisi Embroidery
• folded fringe hem with one variation and including a tasseled corner
• looped and knotted hemstitch (including corner treatment)
• flystitch hemstitch
• round hem with needle lace triangles
• triple buttonhole arcs with picots
• embellished fringed hem (including corner treatment)
• overlapping buttonhole arcs (including corner treatment)
• bull's head stitch
• fringe with embellished four-sided stitch
• joining two pieces of hemmed fabric together with simple hemstitch (including corner treatment)
• two methods for appliqué borders (including corner treatment and embellishment stitching)
• method for making your own bias tape and applying it to a hem (including corner treatment)

Anna's good taste and expertise shine though in this volume which, as you can see from the content list above, is very thorough.

You also can see more of Anna's beautiful hemstitching in Mani di Fata's latest hemstitching issue: Punti a Giorno 7.

In Europe Anna's latest book is available directly from the publisher NuovaS1 via money transfer. Overseas, contact Anna (she speaks English) and she'll let you know how to get it.

Ars Aesis and Buratto Sfilato - New Book!

Giuseppa Federici's latest book is out and this time she's got a variety of things to show us! She has created some beautiful embroidery designs using a variety of stitches, some specifically from other Italian needlework techniques and others form traditional embroidery including some fascinating research which has lead her to the embroideries of Portugal.

Ars Aesis embroidery takes the Latin name for Jesi which is the town where Giuseppa Federici calls home in the Marche region of Italy. She wanted to dedicate an embroidery style to her local area and Ars Aesis features motifs of local flowers, crops and trees. Inspiration also comes from the beautiful frescos and interior decorations of the local early 19th century Villa Salvati.

Ideal fabric is listed as homespun, but if you don't have any of that handy, compact linens will work just fine. Threads used for Ars Aesis are crochet threads like DMC Babylo or Anchor Freccia. Using these threads results in lovely textured work.

Step-by-step colour photo sequences show the execution of both the embroidery stitches used and the insertion stitches used to join pieces of fabric together. There are also needle lace stitches for open areas and withdrawn thread stitches for borders, hems and framing. The how-to section is quite extensive and is an impressive 23 pages long including a section on tassels. There are over 30 motif designs.

There is a short section of the book dedicated to Buratto Sfilato (Drawn Thread Work done on contemporary Buratto fabric). A lovely Caterina de' Medici border motif is stitched around an area that is withdrawn with a pattern of a rose executed in linen stitch. While neither the Catherine de'Medici embroidery nor the linen stitch is explained, this is still a very important section. The entire withdrawn area is explained in step-by-step detailed photos showing closeups of both the back and the front of the work. There is also an edge treatment explained and if you want to learn more about Catherine de'Medici embroidery, Giuseppa Federici has written three books on it.

This book ends with a photo gallery of embroideries and a valuable bibliography to help you in further study. It is 80 pages long and the text is in Italian.

In Europe you can purchase by bank transfer directly from the author herself. Right now I'm sure she is madly getting ready for the Italia Invita Forum in Parma, so give her a few days to answer you. If you're overseas, Tombolo Disegni will be carrying it. She too is getting ready to go to the show in Parma so you may not get a reply to your email right away.

Pizzo Margarete - Margaretenspitze

For those of you who were intrigued by the Pizzo Margarete or Margaretenspitze knotted lace that I told you about in this post here, Lotte Heinemann has reprinted her book and has some essential parts translated into English (the book text is in German) which are available in an insert along with some graph paper for you to chart your own creations.

As this technique is originally a German one, I thought that maybe those of you who may want to delve further into it would like to know of this book's reprinting. The book is 147 pages and coil bound which is nice for referencing while you are working. The English insert is 7 pages long and highlights the essential information you will need for working the lace.

There are clear, close-up photographs and hand-drawn illustrations:

If you have some experience with Macramé, this will be a valuable volume to add to your collection. For those of you who speak German, I would say this is the bible on this technique.

You can order it from this website, clicking on some of the links produces the option for English text, the book is pictured on the link Literatur und Links. You must request the English insert as it is not automatically included.

Lotte Heinemann tells me she and a friend are working on a beginner's book for this technique to be published in English and German. She will keep me posted and I will pass on any information that I receive.

Nordic Needle and Punto Antico

I used to write the newsletter for my local embroidery group and so I subscribed to many needlework newsletters and messageboards as sources for the latest news and products to report to the membership. Years have past and I no longer write the newsletter but I'm still subscribed to the various needlework newsletters.

Imagine my surprise to open the April 8th Nordic Needle Newsletter and see that the feature article was on Punto Antico and cited my blog and article for Piecework!

It is rather startling to open an email and view your own photo staring back at you.

I'm very glad to see that people are interested in Punto Antico here on this side of the Atlantic, Nordic Needle is a needlework store in the state of North Dakota in the US. In the newsletter they provide links to a designer called Gingerbread Girl who has designed some contemporary patterns for using Punto Antico stitches (follow the links in the newsletter to see them). I couldn't find out anything about Gingerbread Girl so unfortunately I can't tell you about her or her kits.

There is only one thing I wanted to add to what Debi says in the newsletter. While it is true that Punto Antico has become most commonly practised as a counted thread technique, it is also still done as a freestyle technique in Italy.

There is a delightful book called Punto Antico disegnato by Giuseppa Federici which describes how this technique is executed as a freestyle embroidery. The text is only in Italian but the step-by-step colour photos are easy to follow and there are over 50 patterns, motifs and designs - some of which use Cutwork and Reticello designs to compliment the Punto Antico stitches.

You can order this book from Tombolo Disegni, send an email request to order.

If anyone knows anything about Gingerbread Girl designs, will you leave a comment below?

The literary works of Rosita Levi Pisetzky

If I had some extra money to spend, I would hunt down a series of encyclopedias on the History of Costumes in Italy [Storia del costume in Italia] published between 1964 and 1969 by Treccani, written by Rosita Levi Pisetzky. There are, I believe, five volumes which are broken down as follows:

Volume I: The history of costume after the fall of the Western Empire
Volume II: The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
Volume III: The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Volume IV: The eighteenth century
Volume V: The nineteenth century

Every once in awhile a complete collection comes up for sale on ebay like this leather-bound edition:

In the Burlington Magazine Vol. 112, No. 807, June 1970 there is an enthusiastic and extensive review (in English) of the encyclopedia set by E. H. Ramsden.

While I can't get my hands on this body of work, I did find another book by Rosita Levi Pisetzky called Il Costume e La Moda nella Società Italiana [Costume and Fashion in Italian Society], 1978 Giulio Einaudi Editore.

It totals 383 pages and includes a detailed index. The book is divided into two sections, Le forme della moda [The Shapes of Fashion] and Il costume nella storia [Costume in History]. Each section is then further divided into subsections covering periods from Roman times up to 1900.

I like that it is specifically about Italy and Italian fashion and clothing and it makes me want the series of encyclopedias I mentioned above all the more.

In the single volume that I have is a middle section of mostly black and white photos of statues and painted works of mostly Italian examples of clothing and accessories throughout the period covered by the text.

It is full of interesting topics like the symbolism of colour, the origins and names of fabrics and particular attention is paid to accessories. Very useful for those who are recreating period costumes.

I have been completely unsuccessful at finding out anything about the author herself. On the back cover flap of the book that I have it says: She devoted constant attention and passion to the problems of the history of fashion and costume in her Milan and Italy. Among her numerous works are: La Storia del Costume in Italia, Il Gusto Barocco nell'Abbigliamento, Storia del Fazzoletto, Come vestivano i Milanesi. [...] She died in 1985.

I also accessed an online edition of a magazine called "Quaderni grigionitaliani", Volume 16, 1946-47, which has a five poems by Rosita Levi Pisetzky. The footnote after her name says she was an italian refugee and passed many years in Roverado di Mesolcina (Switzerland?) and that she had already contributed poems and tales to the magazine. A quick search of the database however produced no results for her name at all, not even the one in Volume 16.

I'm thinking that her name suggests she may have been Jewish and if she was from Milan, she will have had to flee during WWII but I will have to do more research as this is only a theory. I would love to know the story of her life and what led her to produce this amazing body of work on Italian fashion and costume. If you know anything further I'd love to hear from you!

Aemilia Ars Needle Lace - New Book!

Nothing lifts the spirits bogged down by winter doldrums like a new needlework book! Pictured above is the third and latest publication in the Quaderni di Aemilia Ars series. This time the ladies of the Associazione Culturale "I Merletti di Antonilla Cantelli" tackle fruit!

Classic Fruits is the title and in addition to pomegranates and grapes there are acorns, sheafs of grain and all the appropriate foliage to help you create nine exquisite projects of various sizes and difficulty.

There are detailed instructions with the support stitches visible and though the text is only in Italian, if you've been experimenting already, you should be able to follow along. If this is your first foray into Aemilia Ars Needle Lace, there are diagrams and close-up fotos to help you figure things out if you don't speak Italian.

Sample page. Copyright Nuova S1.

This soft-cover book is a healthy 80 pages made up mostly of close-up photos, something I really like! I really want to be able to count the stitches in an example when I'm doubting whether I've done something correctly. I never have any idea of how many stitches should be filling an area and I'm always afraid to make my own guess, so this really helps me become a little more comfortable when learning something new.

I have translated a few paragraphs from the introduction:

The acorn, pomegranate, grapes and sheafs of grain are recurring motifs in our lace. Not all are fruits in the true meaning of the word, but we believe in the understanding of the reader for this and other inaccuracies.

[...]

We have indicated these fruits as classics for their presence in many contexts (traditions, history, legends, sacred texts, designs, heraldry) and their various symbolic meanings more often changing over time and from place to place, they themselves have changed. 

[...]

Among the many possible executions of each motif, in the technique Aemilia Ars, we have made a particular choice, dictated primarily by simplicity. The pictures indicate the orientation of the piece during execution.

[...]

The drawings were done in pencil. We are not interfering with the result: we wanted to maintain that undeniable charm that the lines have – a bit faded and certainly always irregular. Everything is now in the hands of those who will make and give their own interpretation.

If you've already seen the two previous books in this series: Fiori [Flowers] and Bordi [Borders], then you know that this will be a rare and valuable addition to your library. If you're in Europe, you can order directly from the publisher, Nuova S1 and pay by bank transfer. If you are overseas, you can pay with PayPal from Tombolo Disegni (send an email request to order).

Look for the May/June 2013 issue of Piecework for another great project in Aemilia Ars Needle Lace!

Broderie Suisse - Chicken Scratch Italian Style

In the last couple of years, what we know as Chicken Scratch Embroidery has become very popular among Italian stitchers. In Italy (and France) this technique is known as Broderie Suisse. Swiss Embroidery. It is also known by several other names in English, as is the fabric that it is stitched on: Gingham, Vichy, Checkerboard, ecc.

Origins are unclear and I can't tell you why the French and Italians call it Swiss Embroidery however, they have adopted it and the applications are very attractive and imaginative.

The Italian firm of Fratelli Graziano has many styles of Gingham fabrics (under the name Riviera) suitable for the technique of Broderie Suisse, a larger selection exists in Italy than what we can get in North America. One noticeable difference is their Gingham fabric is made of linen, not cotton. You can however, still find cotton or cotton blend Gingham in Italian fabric stores.

Anna Castagnetti of Ricami a Fili Tesi has her finger on the pulse of embroidery as usual and has just released a book on Broderie Suisse.

A sample page from Broderie Suisse by Anna Castagnetti.

This volume of just over 60 pages (text in Italian) is packed with large, close-up, coloured photographs featuring numerous step-by-step series of many of the basic stitches and some innovative combinations, finishing instructions for 9 projects - each with several different combinations of patterns to choose from. Projects include bags of various sizes and uses, cushions, towel borders and Christmas tree ornaments. Colour choices are vibrant and eye-catching - there is no end to Anna's imagination!

Anna is not constrained by geometry and she applies Broderie Suisse stitches as filling stitches for curved shapes as well as traditionally squared patterns and even produces some three-dimensional ideas!

You can purchase this book on Broderie Suisse from Tombolo Disegni (look under Libri/Libri di Ricamo/Ricami Particolari-ricamo svizzero), send an email to order.

Openwork Embroidery - New Book!

Surprises in the mail are always welcomed and this time I want to tell you about Anna Castagnetti's latest book on her Ricami a Fili Tesi or Openwork Embroidery.

Progetti Moderni per Ricami a Fili Tesi [Modern Projects for Openwork Embroidery] is packed with fun, colourful projects for you to try your hand at this intriguing style of needlework. I especially like the cover photo which shows a table runner with a fun flowered vine broken up by some lovely hemstitching.

Anna likes to combine traditional techniques like Hedebo, Reticello, Drawn-Thread work and traditional embroidery and simplifying the more complex procedures, she always comes up with attractive designs. In this volume she has added other textile techniques to her projects like quilting!

While this time the text is only in Italian, the photos are clear and concise and you should have little trouble following them:

There are many little motifs to try and this is nice, in case you just want a little taste of something different to add to something you already have on the go.

There are 13 exquisite little flowers, 3 Christmas panels, the table runner from the front cover and 2 purses to keep you going. Stitch diagrams and patterns for assembly of the projects are all included.

This book is a lovely follow-up to her first volume. You can purchase it from Tombolo Disegni, send them an email to order.

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) 

New page added about buying supplies

As a permanent page like the one about my personal library, I have made a page about online needlework suppliers and ordering from Italy. I seem to be getting a lot of requests for shopping so I hope this new page will help you out!

Lidia Morelli

I received a lovely little book called Mani Álacri as a gift and I was curious about it's author Lidia Morelli. I did a little a research, and as it usually does, one thing leads to another and another and pretty soon what I thought would be a nice subject for a quick post turns into something you could write a good long article on.

First things first, the book. Mani Álacri is small little hardcover book with a cloth cover like they used to do, the dedication page is dated December 1933. Mani Álacri translates literally to "lively hands", the subtitle Libro di Lavori Femminili is the "book of feminine works". There were several different cover designs for this volume, here are a couple of other ones:

In the introduction, the author states that before writing this manual, she took a close look at the others which had come before and found that while there were lots of magazines and pattern books, there wasn't much in the way of a real and proper manual which offered technical instructions. She does quite well in just under 500 pages to provide just that. She also stresses that it is very important to teach children these techniques and that the young mind is more capable than people give it credit for. There are mostly black and white photos but there are the occasional colour plates as was normal for books of the period.

In her illustrations I like that she shows how to hold the needle:

There are photos in this volume of Italian embroideries as well as traditional embroideries which are well-known to other countries but especially for the Italian works, the photos are of pieces I haven't seen in other books.

As always I am fascinated by the women behind these things.

Lidia Morelli was born in Turin on the 10th of June, 1871 to Efisio Morelli and Vittoria Ceresole Morelli and died February 7, 1946. As far as I can tell she had two brothers, Ennio and Dario and three sisters, Ifigenia, Alda and Dora. Her brother Ennio became quite a well-known artist. She graduated at 18 as a teacher and pursued Linguistics and Literature going on to become a writer and a journalist. In 1895 she won a teaching competition. Her earlier books were written under the pen name of Donna Clara. I don't have a complete list of all her writing, but here are some of the items that we found:

Dalla Cucina al Salotto. New Edition, 1925.

• Dalla Cucina al Salotto. Enciclopedia della vita domestica. Turin, 1905.
• Far molto con poco. L'arte di creare buoni piatti con residui di cucina. 1909.
• La cuoca medichessa. Un regime in cucina per ogni malattia. With Dott. Nazione. Turin, 1913.
• Nel paese della trina. Milan, 1914.
• Lavori nuovi. 1914?
• Gioielli antichi. Milan, 1914.
• Vincoli d’arte. Milan, 1915.
• Lavori per i nostri soldati. Turin, 1918.
• Cocci. Milan, 1920.
• Storie d’inverno e di estate. Rome, 1922.
• Come devo comportarmi? Libro per tutti. With Anna Vertua Gentile, Milan, 1929.
• Massaia 900 : la cucina moderna interpretata da il capo cuoco del re. Turin, 193?

La Casa che vorrei avere. 1931.

• La casa che vorrei avere: come ideare, disporre, arredare, abbellire, rimodernare la mia casa. Milan, 1931.
• Come sistemare e governare la mia casa. Hoepli, Milan, 1932. ** With illustrations by Ennio Morelli. (Ennio was Lidia's brother.)
• Mani Álacri. Libro di lavori femminili. Turin, 1933.
• Le vie del buon gusto. Milan, 1935.
• Massaie di domani: conversazioni di economia domestica : per le scuole secondarie di avviamento professionale a tipo industriale femminile. Turin, 1935.
• Nuovo ricettario domestico: enciclopedia moderna per la casa. Milan, 1935.

L'Arte più difficile. 1936.

• L’arte più difficile; saper vivere con il prossimo. Milan, 1936.
• Le massaie contro le sanzioni. Turin, 1936.
• Le massaie e l'autarchia. Turin, 1937.
• Nuovi orrizonti per la vostra mensa. Preface only, 1937.
• Il lavoro della giovinetta italiana: nelle scuole secondarie di avviamento professionale a tipo industriale femminile. With Irene Faccio, Turin, 1938.
• Per voi massaie d'Italia. Turin, 1938.
• Per lui che viene. With Nello Palmieri & Maria Meschini Tursini, Rome, 1940.
• La vita sobria. Rome, 1941.
• Pentola magica P.A. brevettata. Turin, 1941.
• Casa nostra: trattato di economia domestica. With Erminia Macerati, Milan, 1942.
• Cirio per la casa 1942. Milan, 1942.
• Puericultura. Aggiunta al Volume: Per voi, massaie d'Italia. Turin, 1942.
• Vita di casa: economia domestica. Cappelli, Bologna, 1942. 
• Casa e bambini: Conversazioni di economia domestica per le alunne della terza classe della scuola media. With Giovanni Battista Allaria, Turin, 1943. **With artwork by Enrico Montalto di Fragnito (Enrico was Lidia's nephew by her sister Dora).

They are books about cooking, cooking with leftovers, cooking for illness; needlework, housekeeping, house management, childcare, etiquette, lace, jewelry, art; stories, occupations for soldiers.

Lidia Morelli wrote articles for the Italian newspaper La Stampa. Her books were updated and reprinted many times over her long and active publishing career. She wrote for the architectural magazine La Casa Bella (which became Casabella) on Parma Embroidery and Petit Point among other topics.

La Casa Bella no. 42, June 1931.

Together with Elisa Ricci, Lidia Morelli wrote the section on Embroidery for the Italian Enciclopedia Treccani.

No evidence yet of a husband or children but the dedication page in my copy of Mani Álacri is a sad note to a dear "Cecilia" who seems to have died as a child. It seems to indicate that Cecilia was a niece who enjoyed needlework.

On the Italian Giornalism and History website there is a small paragraph about her:

"A little closed, a little reserved, a highly educated and sincerely modest woman, the soul of an artist and essentially feminine, a ready intellect to critique and tempered by an infinite goodness" (F. Sacchetti Parvis, 1929). Ms. Morelli made the first steps in the field of publishing for women in 1905 with the volume Dalla cucina al salotto [From the kitchen to the livingroom]. In the thirties she was at the centre of an unquestionable success that even included the radio (G. Isola, Abbassa la tua radio, per favor [Please turn down your radio]. Florence, 1990, pg. 112).

It looks like Lidia Morelli did more than one radio show or segment. I looked up the above-quoted text on GoogleBooks but I can only see a snippet which mentions Radio Torino, a radio station in Turin, and Radiocorriere, a weekly program publication for the RAI broadcasting company.

There is so much more research to do and I'll update when we find out more.

A tremendous thankyou to Bianca Rosa who did lots of research for me during the snowstorms in Bologna this past winter!!!