Antique Deruta Embroidery Book

I have written previously about Antique Deruta Embroidery which is a pulled thread technique (not to be confused with Deruta Drawn Thread Work or Coloured Deruta Embroidery). Modern Buratto fabric and linen thread are used and this embroidery it is especially effective when done on curtains as the patterns show up nicely when light is behind them.

I was delighted to find that the Accademia Punto Deruta had finally published a book on this technique after more than 15 years of researching ancient pieces. There is a bit of the history of the different Deruta embroidery techniques on the first page and then 12 patterns for Antique Deruta Embroidery which have photos of the patterns stitched up beside each one so you can see the end result, these are followed by instructions on how to execute the two main stitches and photos of different typical hem treatments, then instructions on how to make a tassel with a fuseruola or ceramic bead. After that there is a page on the history of the fuseruola and a series of photos.

In 2007 at the Italia Invita Forum, I tried to do some of this embroidery. Here is a little square that I finished (the rest is still waiting for me to pick it up again!)...

...you can see the hole that is formed by the path of the pulled threads in the middle. The secret to Antique Deruta Embroidery is the path of your stitches.

Here is a tassel made with the linen thread used in the embroidery and attached to the hem of a piece of Antique Deruta Embroidery, notice the fuseruola:

And here you can see the beautiful effect of Antique Deruta Embroidery on table linen:

You can read the history of Antique Deruta Embroidery at the Tuttoricamo website, click on the British Flag for the English pages, then 'Techniques', then 'Deruta Embroidery', don't miss the history page under the 'Links' heading on this page.

If you would like to get this book, contact Anna Lisa Piccioni, President of the Accademia Punto Deruta: annalisapiccioni@gmail.com

Italian needlework at EGA

Slowly, slowly I'm getting organized. I've been home from San Francisco for 4 days and while there are still piles of things to sort, the piles are getting smaller!

Here are a few pics from the Embroiderers' Guild of America National Seminar at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco:

This is the display table we set up on Saturday, September 4th (no sympathy for jet lag, we got right to work!) with lots of help from Giovanna of Tuttoricamo...


Beautiful Italian needlework from Assisi, Panicale, Deruta, Perugia, Lake Trasimeno and other towns in the delicious region of Umbria, Italy.


Clara Baldelli Bombelli of the Giuditta Brozzetti workshop with some of her daughter's handwoven pieces.


Signora Derna stitching some Assisi work (she's been doing it since she was 5 years old!), she was a joy to watch. It was her first ever journey outside of her hometown of Assisi, Italy and she had an excellent time in San Francisco.


Anna Maria Porzi braves an extreme close-up to display some beautiful crocheted earrings from the Lake Trasimeno area of Umbria.


On Market Day the two ladies from Assisi dressed in Medieval garb to sell their wares, this is Tiziana Borsellini, President of the Accademia Punto Assisi.

It was a fantastic week of Italian needlework emersion. I helped the Italian ladies with their display tables and their booths on Market Day, I took Vima deMarchi Micheli's four day Notebook of Italian Embroidery course, attended her lecture on September 5th and helped with her Exhibition on September 8th.


On the 12th of September we rented a car and drove up to Vima's home for one last taste of La Dolce Vita before returning to our respective homes. I miss them all already!

Thanks to my daughter for taking the group shot!

Antique Deruta Embroidery

There are a few types of embroidery that take the Italian town of Deruta for their names but today we're going to look at my favourite one called Antique Deruta Embroidery. This Counted/Pulled Thread technique is enjoying a bit of a revival lately as the Accademia Punto Deruta has been studying old pieces in order to recuperate designs, teaching courses and exhibiting pieces in national and international shows.

The two basic stitches are Darning Stitch and Double Running Stitch. The work is done on openweave fabric called Buratto using 30/2 or 30/3 Linen Thread of the same colour as the fabric. Typical motifs are stylized animals, flowers and vines and geometric patterns.

Here is a border from the Italia Invita Forum 2005 book:


This cushion is from the Italia Invita Forum 2007 book:


This technique makes particularly great embroidery for curtains as you can really see the designs best when light is behind them or a darker fabric.

This banner if from the Italia Invita Forum 2009 book:


There is a piece here to look at, and another one here.

I took a small atelier 2-hour course at the Italia Invita Forum in 2007. The teachers were fantastic and helped me a lot. It wasn't their fault that I was on information overload by the time I attended the class! There is a certain logic to the path you must follow when doing the stitches in order to end up in the right position and with the right sequence in order to obtain the right effect. The Accademia Punto Deruta offers tours of their collection but you must make an appointment in advance.

You can learn more about this technique at Tuttoricamo, click on: "Techniques" and read the article called: Deruta Embroidery within this article is another link to some history - click on: History of Deruta Embroidery under the "Links" heading toward the end of the article. (Note the article called Deruta Drawn Thread Work is something different)

There is a little information on this technique with photos in the Anchor Manual of Needlework, Interweave Press, 1990. Some technical info can also be found in a couple of the Carmela Testa books from the early 20th century - you can find them at Iva Rose.

You can get the Italia Invita books and Buratto fabric at Italian Needlecrafts.