Fabrics - Embroidery
Embroidery originally referred to the stitched decoration on medieval church vestments. Embroidered pictures, or "needle painting" became increasingly popular from about 300 AD, reaching its height in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy. As well as needle painting, coloured decorative embroidery and white-on-white embroidered linen were produced. In Spain, under Moorish rule, a variety of styles were developed, the most important be embroidery in black wool on white linen - a style which became fashionable in Elizabethan England. In central and eastern Europe, embroidery was a popular folk art for decorating household items, such as pillows and towels, with bright geometrical and floral patterns.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, embroideries were often used to decorate items such as mirror frames and wall panels. In Jacobean woolwork, large fabrics were embroidered in varied stitches and colour for large household items like curtains, bedspreads and wall hangings. Embroidery was used to decorate both men’s and women’s clothing. Late in the 18th century, white embroidery from Saxony become famous as a decoration for cuffs and scarves.
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