Fine Italian Whitework III

I recently purchased an external hard drive for my Macintosh computer and have spent the last few days copying all my backup CDs onto it so that I can now have easier access to all my photos and files.

I like to look over the photos especially when I'm feeling dull due to the weather (constant rain these days). I wanted to share with you a beautiful Whitework handkerchief that I saw at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum last year in Milan.

I've made the photos black and white in order to show you more detail at a higher resolution, click on the photos for a closer look.

This fine handkerchief (possibly lawn?) was so thin and fragile but the work on it was jaw-dropping. A ship in one corner surrounded by ribbons, foliage and flowers. Open areas are filled in with needle lace stitches:


Here is the best detail shot that I have, the rest are quite blurry. Catch the detail on the ship:

Sorry I was too awestruck to get any historical data on this handkerchief – just means I'll have to go back for another look!

Thank you to Stefania for the photos!

Punto Perugino - New Book

I love when things are waiting in the mail for me when I get home!


I told you about Punto Perugino or Perugian Embroidery in a previous post. This new book has a variety of patterns for tablerunners, table centres, placemats, curtains, cushions as well as some ideas for smaller items like bookmarks and scissor fobs.

As well as covering the Satin Stitch designs, there are a few other Counted Thread work borders and patterns all with step-by-step photos and graphed patterns. How to treat a mitred corner is also covered. A wonderful Drawn Thread work pattern is explained and there are several ideas of how it may be applied to different projects. The text is in Italian.

There are photos of some of the author's other embroidery works including an exquisite Macramé fringe and delicious Aemilia Ars needle lace though these projects are not explained in the text.

All diagrams and patterns are very clear and easy to understand without a need for knowledge of the Italian language. Everything is in full colour.

Elena at Italian Needlecrafts has this book available for purchase and you can see some of the inside pages that she has scanned to show you.

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

Rome Expo of the Feminine Arts 1899-1900

I'm sorry, I've been very busy and unable to post for days. It may be a couple more days before I can get caught up so in the meantime, I want to share some photos with you which were sent to me by the fabulous Claudio at the Ning group MI1906 of postcards that he has in his collection.

Claudio tells me that there must have been at least 40 postcards in the series, so far he has collected about half that amount.

The postcards all read: Ricordo dell'Esposizione d'Arte e di Lavori Femminili nel Teatro Drammatico Nazionale [Souvenir of the Exposition of Art and Feminine Works in National Dramatic Theatre]. Rome 1899-1900.

Click on the photos for a closer look:


The only thing I can find on the exposition is in the biography of an Italian writer named Amelia Pincherle Rosselli (1870-1954). She was a member of the committee for the exposition. The Fondazione Rosselli has a listing of her personal papers online to peruse and it is here that I find the exposition "inaugurated on April 3, 1902" at the Hotel Suisse in Rome. Since these dates don't correspond with the postcards, I wonder if there was another expo? Unfortunately only some of the documents are online. I will post more at a later date after I have researched some more into this.

Deepest gratitude goes to Claudio once again for the photos!

Italian Openwork Embroidery - New website

Anna Castagnetti of Ricami a Fili Tesi in Verona has opened up her own website!

Click on the British Flag for the English version and have a look around.

On the "Courses" page, be sure to click on the title of each technique that Anna teaches (so many!) to see photos of her beautiful needlework.

Here is an example of her Hedebo stitching:


For intensive courses over a weekend you can invite her to teach at your place - I would love to bring her to Canada to teach! I've just got to work out that airfare...

Contact her (anna.castagnetti@ricamiafilitesi.com) if you want to bring a small group to Verona for classes.

This is my favourite option: Art-embroidery courses. Besides teaching your selected technique, Anna will take you around Verona to see important artistic sites (yes, she speaks English!). This I can tell you is fantastic. Anna and another lady from Mantua took me to the Don Mazza Museum in Verona and I have to say, if you love needlework and are in Verona, you shouldn't miss this little place. I have posted many times about the needlework in this museum and I still haven't showed you half of what is there. See Italian Stumpwork, Embroidery on Tulle in Verona, Fine Italian Whitework and Samplers.

Also to check out on Anna's website is a free Stumpwork project to download (instructions in English!) on the "Projects" page.


Included in this project are the instructions for those lovely tassel-buttons used on many different types of Italian needlework. The pdf file is loaded with excellent close-up photos.

You can read more about Anna and her needlework here and here.

Italian Needlework at the Textile Museum of Canada

Some days ago I read of the Textile Museum of Canada's online collection at the Needleprint Blog. I went right away and put "Italy" into the search engine and was delighted to get four pages of results with a total of 46 pieces to look at.

If you're going to look at these or other images on the website, I noticed some things (indicated in red boxes).

Sometimes there was some info on the piece:


And often there were alternate details views and "zoomify views":



Of the "Zoomify" views, I found the second one was always closer (click on the image or use the magnifying glass tool):



There are many different types of pieces to look at from needle lace and bobbin lace, whitework, threadpainting, goldwork, hand-weaving from Perugia, brocades and velvets, Assisi work and some particularly intriguing pieces - I'll give you the catalogue numbers in case my links get broken:

An Altar Cloth with a needle lace edging - Aemilia Ars work? Catalogue no. T96.0239

A Fragment - make sure to zoom in - the description says: Linen toile but I can see knots at the framework intersections and it's basted to gros grain like you would do for Filet work - I've never seen netting this big before or this kind of work done on it. Catalogue no. T95.0203

A Lace Edging - of all of them, I think this one is my favourite, a great piece of Venetian Gros Point. Catalogue no. T03.8.2

A "Shawl" (to me it's a table runner) with typical Antique Deruta work patterns but it's not pulled like the work I've seen, but rather filled in with what looks like Linen Stitch - don't miss the fuserole beads on the corner tassels! Catalogue no. T04.13.3

A Waistcoat - you must zoom in! Catalogue no. T93.0104

I'm off to see what putting "lace" in the search engine will get me...