Punto Perugino - Perugian Embroidery

Recently the School-Workshop Punti d'Arte in Città della Pieve, near Perugia, Italy has done some extensive research into this technique. In talking with a Sister of the local Convent of the Poor Clares, some of the history of Perugian Embroidery was discovered and a few ancient examples preserved by the sisters, were viewed.

At least as old as the end of the 18th century, motifs such as stylized animals and fantasy creatures, flowers and volutes, figures and geometrical patterns are worked in Satin Stitches on robust evenweave fabric in single colours such as rust, light brown, red, blue or the particularly characteristic saffron yellow, obtained from crocus flowers grown in the area, fibres are dyed using ancient local recipes.

Perugian Embroidery is a Counted Thread technique and one must decide first how many Satin Stitches to execute for each square of a design, ie. the graphed patterns resemble those prepared in Cross Stitch or Filet Lace and then each square is represented by a group of 4, 5 or 6 Satin Stitches. The Satin Stitches can go over 3, 4 or 5 ground threads. There are also accompanying openwork areas such as Cutwork and Eyelets as well as Bullion Knots and Curl Stitches.


Image from Manuale del Cucito e del Ricamo, Cucirini, Cantoni, Coats, II Edition undated.

I bought a couple of designs from the Punti d'Arte stand at the Italia Invita 2007 Forum. The girls at the stand were very helpful and told me to use Perle cotton no. 8 for the Satin Stitches and no. 12 for any Cutwork. I did one of the more simple designs on a table runner:



There are some free pattern downloads from the Italian needlework magazine Ricamo Italiano here and here.

La Sirena - The Siren

Besides monsters, I love finding Mermaids and/or Sirens in embroidery and lace. I can't tell you why and you could even say that the Siren is a type of sea monster.

From Giovanni Ostaus' La Vera Perfezione del Disegno per Punti e Ricami (1561):


They are always wicked in the old tales and it was probably not until Hans Christian Andersen that there was a sympathetic tale of these creatures - don't quote me, I'm not up on my Mermaid/Siren history. The Greeks didn't even associate them with the sea but the Romans did and since we're talking about Italy, let's go with the Romans! You do need to know however that Sirens get some bird-like history from the Greeks so sometimes they are depicted with wings. Enough background – on to the Sirens in needlework!

From Cesare Vecellio's Corona delle nobili e virtuose donne (1592):


Years ago when searching for Italian patterns, I came across the Coraggio Sampler by The Scarlet Letter. This sampler has all kinds of things I like including monsters and a Mermaid. I actually came across a sampler in an Italian museum with the Mermaid from this sampler on it but I didn't note it down and now I'd love to know where I saw it!! Anyone know? Please leave me a comment below!

I like the documentation that goes with the Coraggio Sampler, it has references to 16th century antique pattern books. I ordered it with all the silk threads and then decided to modify it with other antique Italian motifs I liked so it sits on the floor stand in my living room and once in awhile I sit and put in a few stitches on it. I'm afraid it has been sitting there for years.

There are several needle lace Sirens in Merletti e Ricami della Aemilia Ars (1929) including several on a round table centre on the cover which was a piece commissioned "from America", I tried to scan it but unfortunately I can't get a good scan, you'll have to take my word for it...

... there is also this Heraldic design by Arcangelo Passerotti from his Libro di Lavorieri (1591):


In the same book there is this one done in Filet lace for a tablecloth, the design is from Giovanandrea Vavassore's Esemplario di Lavori (c. 1530):


I have always liked the Siren in Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace (1913):


I took a crack a charting the design, what do you think? She's pretty scary!


You can download some of Elisa Ricci's books and some antique pattern books from the Online Digital Archive of Documents, or you can purchase a collection of 5 antique pattern books together in one volume from Italian Needlecrafts.

Embroidery on Tulle in Verona

Whenever I think of Embroidery on Tulle, I always think of light, gauzy flowers on a veil or hemline like the one pictured here.

While in Verona last year however, I discovered the art that is embroidering pictures on Tulle in Italy, using different densities of thread to provide shading effects.

In the Don Mazza Museum in Verona, there are several amazing examples of this delicate art.

The design was basted behind the Tulle and then embroidered over top, following the shading by executing denser or sparser rows of Darning Stitch:


I'm sorry that most of my photos are blurry but you get the overall effect.

Here is the linen thread and the super-fine and long needle that was used to make the following pieces:


Some flowers and leaves:


Check out the details on the fingers:


This piece was framed and rightly so!


The mane was amazing:


Madonna and child:


In the book that I picked up about the vestments made by the embroiderers at the Don Mazza School there is a picture of a gown of Don Mazza's which has the Virtues depicted along the cuffs and around the hem (front and back!) in this type of needlework.

This is a fragment of the same style of design which was on the gown, though the subject matter is different.

New Aemilia Ars website

The women of the Cultural Association "I merletti di Antonilla Cantelli" have launched their website!

This group of women studied under the Aemilia Ars needle lace master Antonilla Cantelli and formed their association in 2004 in honour of their master and to promote the continuation of this exquisite form of needle lace by teaching the methods and criteria which they, themselves were taught.

The logo of the Cultural Association "I merletti di Antonilla Cantelli":


The website is in it's infancy so bookmark it and check back often or sign up for their newsletter even if you don't speak Italian, notices will prompt you to check out the website. For now the site is in Italian only.

Plans are to post the history of the society which started it all, biographies of the protagonists connected over the span of more than 100 years, stories, documents and photos; then also the work of the Cultural Association and it's shows, exhibitions, classes and more!

A piece of exquisite Aemilia Ars needle lace worked by Antonilla Cantelli that I saw in 2009 in Bologna. Notice her initial stitched right into the lace - this is a trademark of her work:


Please remember that building a website takes time, as does collecting and organizing material and that the women will be dedicating their spare time to updates. Right now they are tweaking and trouble-shooting the site and appreciate any feedback you may have. Go ahead and email them in your native tongue, they will find a way or the people to translate.

To see more laces and designs by Antonilla Cantelli, check out the book by her grand-daughter, Barbara Cantelli: L'Aemilia Ars di Antonilla Cantelli.

Many thanks to Elisabetta for the use of her beautiful photos!

Gadgets

I want to share three of my favourite needlework gadgets with you. They may not necessarily be Italian, but I got them all and learned of them all in Italy so this is how they tie in with my blog.

The first is a small awl:


This awl is about 3 5/8" long, the handle is plastic and the metal shaft is a bit rough, that is, it's not perfectly smooth, its got a few burrs - so I wouldn't go near any silk with it. I was advised to use it to count ground threads on high count fabric (38ct shown above) when doing hems or other drawn thread areas. Count over 10 (or however many you like) ground threads and push the awl into the fabric between the ground threads. You are left with a little hole which stays visible for quite awhile. This is extremely handy when calculating or counting out Four-Sided Stitch-based hems or any other counting really. I think the roughness of the shaft of the awl helps in keeping the hole visible by roughing up the threads just a bit so that they don't fall back immediately into place. Once you do your stitching, washing and ironing, there is no trace of the holes.

The second gadget is also related to drawn thread work, it is a long shafted, ball point needle:


My ball-point needle is about 1 7/8" long and is used for withdrawing threads. (Click on the photo for a close up look) They come in varying lengths and also with wooden handles. It is the best thing ever! I used to use a regular #24 tapestry needle for withdrawing threads but sometimes I'd have to slide the needle under the thread 5 or 6 times before pulling up at the right moment to pull it out as the thread would slide off the end of my needle. Now with the ball-point needle, the thread doesn't slide off the end and I'm able to go much faster when withdrawing my threads. The length of this ball-point needle makes it very easy to hang onto. It has revolutionized the way I prepare my drawn thread work channels!

The last item is again related to drawn thread work and hemming. It is a plastic adjustable finger shield called a Salvadito in Italian:


It wraps around your finger so it will fit any size. Placing the shielded finger under your work means that you can stitch "scoop-method" without stabbing yourself when using a sharp-tipped needle. It took a bit of getting used to but now I don't hemstitch without it, whether I'm using a tapestry or sharp needle. The Salvadito makes the going so much faster as the needle just glances off the plastic below - no stabbing, no catching.

Where to get these gadgets?

Well, I bought the Salvadito at the Italia Invita Forum in 2007 but I see they are at Lacis in California, under Thimbles.

The long-shafted, ball-point needle – which I understand are hand-made, I ordered from Tombolo Disegni. Click on "Negozio/Shop", then "Aghi", scroll down to the third row, they are the "ago/aghi con la punta a pallina". Send an email request to order.

For the little awl, I don't know what to tell you. It was a gift to me from a lady in Ferrara who bought it at her local Merceria which is like a haberdashery or notions store. There is no manufacturer's name on the one I have. I have tried using regular awls but they are too smoothly finished and do not leave the holes for long in the fabric like this one does. If you know where to get them online, will you leave a comment below?

Venetian Needle Lace Baby Bonnet

Venetian needle lace is, without a doubt, absolutely gorgeous. On my honeymoon many, many years ago we visited a small lace company in Venice. I was fascinated watching an elderly woman making Venetian needle lace on a pillow in her lap while the owner of the shop explained how the lace was made. She told us how different women specialized in different stitches so that the work was passed around and each woman filled in a different area in her perfected stitch. She told us of the hard life of the lacemakers of the past who worked by sunlight or candlelight and who went blind.

I stayed behind while the others moved on with the owner so that I could watch the lacemaker continue to work her piece. She smiled at me and motioned me to come closer. Silently she showed me the stitch she was doing - she worked so fast! I had only very basic Italian in those days but with sign language we did quite well, she slowed down to go step-by-step to show me how she skipped a stitch here and there to form "holes" in the lace which formed a pattern. I was fascinated watching her work for some time. Only when my husband appeared in the doorway looking for me did I realize that I should be going. The lacemaker put her hand over mine and squeezed it. Then she gave me a kleenex tissue. Of course tears were running down my face and I hadn't noticed.

I'll always think about that lady. I've been back to Venice many times but I could never figure out where we had been.

I have a few friends who are either expecting a baby or have just had one. I always love the lavish baby things that Italians make and so I got lost among my books and magazines daydreaming of what I could make for a baby. In Punto di Venezia by Adele della Porta, 1919 - I found this baby bonnet pattern. There are no written instructions at all!

Side pattern:

Middle piece pattern:


Notice the little picots on all the edges!

Wouldn't it be just beautiful all stitched up? Maybe if I start now my friends' grandchildren might be able to wear it!

Frieda Lipperheide and Italian Needlework

When I first started collecting printed matter on Italian needlework, of course I looked for material in my own mother tongue. One of the more interesting things I found was Old Italian Patterns for Linen Embroidery by Frieda Lipperheide, (Muster altitalienischer Leinenstickerei in German) translated into English and edited in 1996 by Kathleen Epstein, Curious Works Press.

This is an attractive publication. I can't really call it a book because it is more a collection of folios inserted into a cardboard casing tied together with a ribbon. Very much like the 1897 edition of another publication on German needlework by Frieda Lipperheide that I have. Here we are, 14 years after Ms. Epstein's publication and this volume is difficult but not impossible to find. The Scarlet Letter seems to have it in stock.

Ms. Epstein's text is translated from an 1892 edition. I find it interesting because it has all kinds of patterns for counted thread embroidery with references to pieces which were either in Ms. Lipperheide's (extensive!) collection of from the collections of museums in Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden and Vienna. Also cited are paintings by Da Vinci, Ghirlandaio, Allori, Raphael, Titian and Bronzino.

Ms. Lipperheide believed that Italian embroidery types and patterns descended from Arab influence and many Moroccan stitches and patterns are covered. Her stitch diagrams are good and she often shows the backside. She mentions pattern books by known authors from the 16th century like Mat(t)eo Pagano, Federico Vinciolo and Cesare Vecellio but also one I don't know: Vittorio Serena. There is a good list here of antique pattern books but I don't see him.

I have a copy of an 1881 edition of the text...


... which, since I don't speak any German is interesting for the abundance of pictures and diagrams it has... there seem to be many more than there were in Ms. Epstein's later 1892 edition.

I took a look on the World Catalogue website to see just how many editions of this particular title there were (three - 1881, 1883 and 1892) and was amazed at just how much Ms. Lipperheide had produced. Who was this woman? Someone like me – researching the needlework of Italy from afar? I cannot find anything written about her in English though there seems to have been a book written about her in German in 1999 by Adelheid Rasche called: Frieda Lipperheide 1840-1896: ein Leben für Tetilkunst und Mode [a life of textiles and fashion? I'm guessing here with the help of Google translator.] I'm sorry it hasn't been translated into English or Italian.

Can anyone tell me anything about her?

P.S. Many antique pattern books can be downloaded from the On-line Digital Archive of Documents.