28 
House & Garden 
THE INTRICATE ART OF NEEDLEWORK 
Which, Is Enjoying a Renewed, Appreciation by Its 
Growing Use in Decoration 
T HE art of the needle 
can never be said to 
have disappeared entire¬ 
ly. It has its waves of 
fashion and favor, but 
even at its lowest point 
of popular interest there 
are always some few wo¬ 
men to whom it is a 
means of beautiful crea¬ 
tion. Modern decora¬ 
tion, with its easy way of 
choosing the best from 
the past, has turned to 
17 th Century English 
needlework, and under 
its patronage this intri¬ 
cate art is enjoying a 
revival. 
It will be remembered 
that tapestrv-making in 
England flourished un¬ 
der James I and Charles 
I, the latter aided by the 
cooperation of Rubens 
and Van Dyck. After 
the reign of Charles II, 
tapestries died out of 
favor. Coinciding with 
this period was an effort 
made by needlewomen in 
English households to 
simulate on a smaller 
scale the products of the 
loom. At that time the walls would be 
hung with tapestries and the cushions, and 
chair seats and backs embroidered in the 
tapestry manner. 
Examples of this tapestry needlework 
are found in the chairs and screens illus¬ 
trated here. The chairs are walnut, of 
17th Century workmanship and the cov¬ 
ering, which is blue, is of fine needlework 
characteristic of the period. The screen 
represents even more ambitious work. 
Needlework Characteristics 
The 17 th Century also saw the begin¬ 
ning of a more open embroidery than that 
which was employed in the tapestry work. 
These pieces, used for hangings, curtains 
and valances, are generally of linen 
T he s e 17 th 
Century chairs 
are covered 
with fine 
needlework 
A remarkable example of a silk needlework 
threefold screen of the 17th Century has jardi¬ 
niere colors on a black ground. Each fold 
1' by 24 yj". Courtesy of Stair & Andrews 
Yellow silk quilted on soft white 
linen and embroidery in rose, 
green and yellow, are the colors 
of this William & Mary coverlet 
Another William & Mary cover¬ 
let has an unusual design worked 
in blue and yellow wool. It 
measures 8' 7" by 9'. 
and worked in bright 
colored worsteds. The 
patterns are large. Iso¬ 
lated sprays of flowers 
began to compose the 
general design. Toward 
the end of the 17th Cen¬ 
tury the Chinese influ¬ 
ence was evident in these 
embroideries. There was 
an effort to simulate the 
bright colors in Nature. 
This work began to ap¬ 
pear on coverlets and it 
is found extending into 
the early 18th Century. 
Silk eventually replaced 
worsteds, especially in 
the larger pieces. Linen 
is generally the ground 
fabric, although silk was 
known to have been used. 
The linen was often 
quilted with white thread. 
William and Mary 
Coverlets 
Two examples of Wil¬ 
liam and Mary coverlets 
are found on this page. 
In one the linen is very 
soft and white. It is 
finely quilted in yellow 
silk. An intricate design 
of leaves and flowers in tones of rose, 
green and yellow is embroidered on this. 
The border is formed of delicate leaves in 
blue. It measures 5' 9" by 4' 8"—an 
ambitious piece of needlework. 
The other William and Mary coverlet 
has an unusual design, worked in wool, 
of rows of yellow flowers with blue leaves 
on a white ground. A delicate tracery of 
flowers forms the border, with a garniture 
at each corner. It measures 8' 1" by 9\ 
While the earlier examples of needle¬ 
work—the screen and the chairs—would 
require a formal environment, the William 
and Mary coverlets can be happily used in 
Colonial rooms or in bedrooms where Eng¬ 
lish oak of Tudor design fonns the furni¬ 
ture. They are gay and light in spirit and 
give relief to the formality of the wood. 
The needlework 
measures 48" 
by 22 ", and is 
true to the pe¬ 
riod 
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