Embroidery on Tulle - books, books!

Well, an interesting few months have kept me from posting and the stack on my floor of books and other ideas for blog posts has grown into a mountain! While I have not had a moment to post, I have not in the least forgotten you!

I have posted about Ars Panicalensis before and I want to tell you about the latest developments of Paola Matteucci and her fabulous applications of this beautiful Italian needlework.

Traditional Ars Panicalensis is a whitework technique embroidering on tulle.

Paola produced a detailed manual in 2013, the cover of which is shown above. It is an extensive step-by-step tome of some 130 pages. While the text is in Italian, the photos are very clear:

I have had the good fortune to see Paola's work up close and it is truly breathtaking. I will never forget the bridal veil... I have a kit of hers for a cushion cover waiting for me to find the time and I managed to purchase a scissor case and fob, just to have a piece of this exquisite technique to appreciate at home.

While Paola excels at the traditional, she also has an eye to innovation. She has developed works of art embroidering on coloured tulle with silks and wool threads!

Her second book is 40 pages of combinations of Ars Panicalensis, Bandera Embroidery and Crewel work... on black tulle. The effect is so pleasing to the eye! This book concerns itself with the use of wool, specifically the fine wool of the French company La Route de la Laine, I think we know it as Fine d'Aubusson here in North America.

This time, the text of the book is in Italian and English! The English having been translated by British ex-pat Patricia Girolami who lives in Italy and runs her own embroidery school. She has translated many Punto Antico books for the Edizioni Punto Antico.

The title of this latest book is "Coloured Wool 1" so I hope this means that there will be a series to come and perhaps even one about her adventures with silk threads on tulle. Paola's talents are inspiring and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Both Embroidery on Tulle books are available directly from the author Paola Matteucci's website and she excepts PayPal.

Ars Panicalensis - Purses

What do you think of when you think of Embroidery on Tulle? Do you think of Church vestments? Bridal veils? Christening gowns? How about purses?

Paola Matteucci, the extraordinarily talented needleworker from Panicale in the province of Perugia, Italy, has created an incredibily beautiful batch of purses with her Ars Panicalensis Embroidery on Tulle technique. She hand-dyes the cotton fabrics and tulle with natural dyes.

Purses at the Ars Panicalensis booth at Italia Invita 2011. Photo copyright Ricamo Ars Panicalensis.

I saw some of these lovely creations at the 2011 Italia Invita Forum in Parma last May, there was always a crowd around the Ars Panicalensis booth and during one of the workshops the TV station was there with their video cameras so I hope Paola received some good exposure for her Art.

Later this year at the Valtopina XIII Embroidery and Fabric Show there were more exquisite purses to see, done in Ars Panicalensis.

Ars Panicalensis purses at the Valtopina 2011 show. Photo copyright Maria Bissacco.

The intricate embroidery of Ars Panicalensis and the designs that come from Paola Matteucci are breathtaking and, if possible, they get more so with every new creation!

Detail of a piece of Ars Panicalensis at the EGA National Seminar in 2010.

The town of Panicale has its own Tulle Museum where from October 27, 2011 to January 8, 2012 there is an exhibit on Pinocchio and the most important imitations featuring antique and modern marionettes and toys and fairytales embroidered on Tulle.

Fresco of Italian Women at Work - 1940

It's funny how one thing leads to another. Many times when I start out researching one thing, I end up discovering several other things of interest.

I have been trying to find a copy of the 1939 publication: Il lavoro di ricamo alla VII Triennale di Milano, Milano. Catalogo della mostra. [The work of embroidery at the 7th Triennial of Milan. Exhibition Catalogue] because I'm sure it will have lots of photos of Piero Fornasetti's designs that were executed in Piave Embroidery on Tulle.

I'm also interested in seeing the other Italian needlework that was exhibited at the show. While digging around through old copies of Emporium magazine, I came across an article by Roberto Papini (Vol. XCI, n. 545) called Le arti a Milano nell'anno XVIII [The Arts in Milan in the year 1800]. There were three pictures of embroideries from the 7th Triennial Exhibition (which happened in 1940), one of them I will show you here as it is so interesting:


This is an embroidery from the Modern Lace and Embroidery Section by I. Rignaschi from a design by A. Cattadori. Click on the photo for a closer look, it's really a lovely piece. As I'm no expert, I am guessing that this is not done on Tulle but could possibly have been executed on Batiste or some other very fine fabric.

This one is definitely on Tulle:


Again, from the Modern Lace and Embroidery Section, it is a detail from a curtain from a design by F. Clerici.

However, it was the pictures of the room where the modern embroideries and laces were exhibited which caught my attention.


Click on the photos or a closer look, you can see the fresco has several scenes. The caption says that the mural was done by G.G. dal Forno and then in brackets it says (Clerici). "F. Clerici" is the Italian 20th century artist Fabrizio Clerici (1913-1993) who received a prize for his work at the 7th Triennial in the setting up of the Lace and Embroidery section and for his Trompe l'oeil work in this section. (There is another photo in the article of the Trompe l'oeil but it is small and difficult to appreciate so I am not showing it here). I am sad to say that it seems that the painted works were destroyed by the World War II bombings in 1943.

One scene of many from the mural called "Italian women at work" painted by G.G. dal Forno. Women gathered around tables embroidering together:


"G.G. dal Forno" was Gian Giacomo dal Forno (1909-1989) another artist who's work on this fresco earned him a gold medal at the Triennial.

The author of the Emporium article tells that the Embroidery and Lace section of the Triennial was by far the best exhibit of the show. He tells of the exquisite works of Pia di Valmarana, Jesurum, Emilia Bellini, Racconigi, Alina di Ricaldone and the laces of Aquila and Pescocostanzo.

Many more names and things to investigate for me to add to my never-ending list of things related to Italian needlework!

If anyone can tell me about any of the artwork, people or companies mentioned here, would you please post below?

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.

Piave Embroidery

In the years before the Second World War three sisters named Nella, Mimi and Marta Sammartini devised an embroidery technique which they named after the area where they lived. The Piave Valley Region lies a bit north of Venice, Italy.

Piave Embroidery is executed on Tulle with diagonal Darning Stitches, Padded Satin Stitches, Rush Stitch and other embroidery and filling stitches and then applied, using Overcast Stitch and Stem Stitch to the backside of Organdy fabric, the very finest transparent cotton. Excess Tulle is cut away around the embroidery and often areas inside the embroidery too. Sometimes secondary layers of Organdy are applied as well to create varying levels of transparency. It is done most often in white on white with 1 to 3 threads of embroidery floss: the incredible transparency of this embroidery makes it perfect for delicate pieces like soft, gauzy curtains, overdresses, veils, and tablecloths.

In 1940 Italian decorator Piero Fornasetti lent his designs to works of Piave Embroidery which were exhibited at the International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Milan. It is not clear if this is one of them, though the information on this photo says that it was exhibited in the same exposition in Milan in 1940. This photo is from the Manuale del Cucito e del Ricamo, 2nd edition. The dress on the figure is in embroidered Tulle, the solid areas are made with multiple layers of Organdy:


In the late 20th century this lost technique was reborn and brought to life by Silvana De Marchi working with Luisa Cigagna, Doretta Davanzo Poli, Tudy Sammartini, and other descendants of the Sammartini sisters. Antique pieces of Piave Embroidery were recovered from the homes of descendants and used to inspire new designs. Tudy Sammartini remembers her aunts recounting that Marta would design the patterns and Mimi and Nella would embroider them.

Ricamo Italiano, an Italian embroidery magazine, ran a story on the rediscovery of the technique along with modern interpretations which used old designs with coloured embroidery floss in their June 2006 edition.

RAKAM, another Italian embroidery magazine, ran a series of photos of several pieces from the 1930s in their March 2008 issue.

Instructions can also be found in old issues of the Italian needlework magazine Fili: specifically no. 28 from 1936 and no. 37 from 1937.

Tuttoricamo has a brief article under "Techniques" on their website with a link to a free downloadable pattern from the Italian embroidery magazine Ricamo Italiano.

There are a few pages in the Anchor Manual of Needlework (Interweave Press) on Piave Embroidery.

Sardinian Traditional Costumes

Sardinia has a long and interesting history. It is a place that fascinated me as a child. The rocky terrain and the incredible colour of the sea surrounding it enchanted my imagination and whenever my friends and I played "Prince Valiant", I was always a princess from the Kingdom of Sardinia dressed in native traditional costume. Don't ask me where I got these ideas or why they sparked my interest, all I know is, it has always been a place I have wanted to visit. So far I have never been able to organize a trip, but I am determined to get there eventually.

On Sardinia there are many religious festivals which involve traditional costumes. Needlework plays a big part in these costumes: silk embroidery on shawls...


...white embroidery on the netting of veils...


...gold embroidery on bodices, skirt flounces, sleeves, whitework on shirts and blouses - its everywhere!


You can see some traditional costumes here during a parade in Sant'Antioco, Sardinia in 2007. A feast is held 15 days after Easter and people arrive from all over the island. It is a great chance to see many traditional costumes which vary from place to place.

You can download a book on Sardinia's traditional costumes at the Sardinian Digital Library website. While the text is in Italian, it is loaded with photos and art depicting the costumes of the island.

For more information and lots of pictures, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the "Techniques" heading and the "Travels" heading.

Thanks to Renata for the pictures!

Ars Panicalensis - Embroidery on Tulle

Panicale is a small town in Umbria, Italy. It is where an Italian lady by the name of Anita Belleschi Grifoni founded a school of embroidery and named it Ars Panicalensis [Art of Panicale] in the early 1930s.

Born in Panicale in 1889, Anita lost her mother at a young age and was then taken in by the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish were she received her education and was taught embroidery. When she was in her forties, Anita was asked to restore a veil owned by the Countess Barabino di LeMura. Whether the veil was Venetian or French is unclear, in any event Anita was then inspired to start a revival of the technique of Embroidery on Tulle. She studied many antique pieces at the Collegiate Church of St. Michael Archangel and in other local churches and the embroidery school was born.

Anita's designs were of typical 19th century taste: mostly floral motifs enriched by volutes and festoons, or birds of paradise on flowering branches, love knots, ribbons, landscapes, swallows and rural elements.

The school provided a means for local women to earn some financial and moral independence by making and selling their work. Anita was so convinced of the potential of Ars Panicalensis that she sent some samples to the House of Savoy. As a result, Anita and her daughter embroidered the christening robe for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy. The embroideries became well-known and sought after by the upper class and noble families and the school was commissioned to do bridal veils, tablecloths and other items destined not only for individual use but also for Embassies and many pieces went out to foreign markets.

Today you can see many of these works in the Panicale Tulle Museum in the Church of S. Agostino in Piazza Regina Margherita, Panicale. A few photos are here. Paola Matteucci, a master of the technique of Ars Panicalensis consults and assists in the management and promotion of the museum. She also teaches courses on the technique and in 2004, wrote for and co-edited the book, Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni'.

I was lucky enough to see her display in Rimini at the Italia Invita Forum. The work was breathtakingly beautiful and the display was the talk of the show. Be sure to watch the slideshow of the display at the Italia Invita Forum in Rimini in 2007.

Read about Ars Panicalensis at Tuttoricamo under the 'Techniques' heading, the article is entitled: Embroidery on Tulle. While you're there, check out the book reviews for a review of the book Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni' and the CD offered by Paola Matteucci in the 'Books' section under the heading: Other Italian Techniques.

The book (with text in Italian and English) and the CD (Italian but has some English text - step by step photos are very easy to follow) are available directly from Paola Matteucci's website. She also sells kits!