THE DICTIONARY OF NEEDLEWORK Encyclopedia of Artistic Plain and Fancy Needlework

By S.F.A. Caulfield, Blanche Saward, Caulfield Sophia F.A. & Blanche C. Saward

Book Overview

Simply inexhaustible gigantic alphabetical coverage of every traditional needlecraft-stitches, materials, methods, tools, types of work; definitions, many projects to be made. Total in set: 1200... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486228010
• ISBN13: 9780486228013
• Release Date: June 1972
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 679 Pages
• Weight: 1.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.1" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Victorian Needlework

Embroidery is never just embroidery nor is lacemaking simply lacemaking. There is embroidery on the stamp, low or plain, white, in the satin stitch, darned, drawn, and damascene: and there is guipure d'art lace, reticella, honiton, hollie point, barcelona, bedfordshire, brillante, belgian, etc. Nor is knitting, knotting, netting, crocheting, braiding, crewel, needlepoint, applique, cord work, crepe work, frame work, canvas work, patchwork or any other of more than a dozen needlecrafts of one type only. To each and every needlecraft belongs a multitude of stitches, which when combined form uniquely different patterns and when worked upon various materials produce entirely different effects. So many possibilities are there in fact that a veritable encyclopedia, devoted exclusively to the needlecraft arts, would be needed to record, define, describe and illustrate all the stitches, materials, patterns, methods and operations of each needlecraft. Back in the 1880's just such a comprehensive collection was achieved in the work of Caulifeild and Saward, and not in the near century since its publication has another fuller, more accurate work supplanted it. Including every needlecraft from ordinary sewing to the most intricate pillow lace or church embroidery and from a wide range of cultures - contemporary Victorian British, ancient Egyptian, traditional continental, Oriental, Greek, Venetian, Spanish, Moorish etc. - this book is equally valuable to the practitioner and the collector. In addition to full and precise descriptions of stitches, explanations of techniques, definitions of terms, identifications of materials, specific projects with detailed stitching information, step-by-step instructions for patterns, more than 800 figures illustrating the text, and a supplementary section of 159 plates depicting nearly 550 objects to be made, there is much material of specific interest to the antiquarian, pertaining to the history and ethnography of individual needlework techniques and designs.