Greetings everyone. This week's links list is dedicated to embroidery in many forms, including the Bayeaux tapestry. Alas, that great shockwave Bayeaux site is now gone from the net, but there are other sites dedicated to it, so please do not despair! In addition there are other embroidery sites, and if the particular ethnic embroidery you want to see is not listed below, it is sure to be listed at one of the sites.

As always feel free to pass this along wherever it will find an interested and ready audience, and feel free to use these links to update your own links pages, should you wish to do so.

Cheers

Aoife

* Medieval/Renaissance Embroidery Page
http://www.advancenet.net/~jscole/medembro.html
A nice, long-time website with information and links regarding various types of medieval embroidery.

* A Stitch out of time, Medieval embroidery for the modern era
http://home.flash.net/~wymarc/
A site of links, gif's and patterns. A must-see for those who are serious about counted thread work.

* Clare's Medieval Embroidery Webpage
http://www.planetc.com/users/derwyddon/embroider.html
Mainly Assisi/Voided work. Includes class handouts, gif's, primary source pointers, etc...(Site Excerpt) The term Assisi work is somewhat misleading because voided embroideries are characteristic of other nations besides Italy. The term "Assisi work" began to be used during the Revivalist Movement of the 19th century. It would be more accurate to refer to the style as Voided Work.

* The Bayeaux Tapestry Finale
http://www.madeira.co.uk/bayeux.html
This is a good site to get the essence of this massive embroidery. The site scans left and right on the final section of the tapestry, and you can pause it at will to examine details. (Site Excerpt) To embroiderers, the Bayeaux Tapestry is so familiar that we tend to believe there is little we don't know about it: King Edward the Confessor's so-called promise: Earl Harold's forced oath to William: William's revenge in 1066. Wool embroidered on linen. The scale of the thing. Astonishing, we say. Yet I have been surprised by the number of embroiderers who were not aware that the 230 ft. long wall-hanging suffered so much ill-treatment since its advent that the final episode(s) was completely torn off and has never been found.

* Bayeaux Tapestry Information page
http://www.battle1066.com/bayeux2.shtml
(Site Excerpt) Before we begin it should be understood that it is not a Tapestry in the full sense of the word. It is an embroidery. It was constructed from eight separate pieces of linen which were joined to make up its length. It is approximately 70 metres long and half a metre wide. It is evident that at one stage it was even longer, probably by as much as seven or eight metres are missing. This is a tragedy as it may have answered many of the questions that give cause for debate today. More will be said about this later.

* The Invasion of England (Illustrated with the Bayeaux Tapestry)
http://www.ibiscom.com/bayeux.htm

* Medieval Embroidery, some charted examples, by Joyce Miller
http://www.drbeer.com/joyce/emb/embroid.htm
See examples: Almoner's pouch, Altar hanging (Icelandic), Embroidered cushion and embroidered box.(Site Excerpt ) The embroideries charted here reflect my interest in counted thread embroidery of the medieval period, as opposed to free embroidery or blackwork. I especially lean towards early stuff, particularly the bold colors and geometric patterns of German and Scandinavian embroidery. With the advent of the Web, I can now make these charts available to all, rather than have them mouldering in folders in my attic.

* Lothene Experimental Archaeology Embroidery Page (a re-enactment village)
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/crafts2.html
Especially valuable for the close-up photography of stitching examples. (Site Excerpt) Thread had to be spun and dyed by hand, so it was relatively expensive. The embroidery stitch shown opposite, called "laid and couched" is designed to keep almost all the thread on the front surface of the design, so as to reduce wastage.

* Regia Anglorum Anglo-Saxon Embroidery Techniques
http://www.regia.org/embroid.htm
Includes photos of works executed in t he appropriate period styles. (Site Excerpt) Your first problem will probably be finding a suitable design especially for Saxon costume. There are a wealth of ideas on stone carving, jewellery and other metal work for the Celts and Vikings, but stone carvings, manuscript borders and illustration seem to be the main source for the Saxon designs.

* Developing Your Own Pattern Book by Maistreas S�an n�Sheaghdha, OL
http://members.aol.com/tbyrnes883/armonye/patterns.html
(Site Excerpt) In the twentieth century, most craft stores can accommodate the modern embroider easily. Though pattern books were published in the Middle Ages, it is unlikely that you will find them sitting on the craft shelves. Therefore, we must seek out, define, and develop our own pattern books.As you begin your search, you will soon discover that your resources have simplified the period by breaking them into three categories: Early, Middle, and Late. Some resources may vary as much as 50 years so there are no hard and fast rules concerning the break point.

* Atlantia MOAS archive of Embroidery links
http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/topics/embr.htm
Note that though this is a gold mine of information, many of the links are now obsolete.

* Metal Thread and Purl Embroidery
http://www.kipar.org/costumes_embroidery_metal.html
A comprehensive technique site with photos of the work and diagrams.

* Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html
(Site Excerpt) Embroidery as we in the SCA understand it wasn't really adopted by the Vikings until the first half of the ninth century. At that point the pervasive influence of the foreign cultures with which the Vikings intermingled so freely began to assert itself in both technological and art-historical ways. In textile and clothing ornamentation, the Vikings began half-heartedly to imitate their neighbors at that time. Two distinctive embroidery styles emerged, a style influenced by the lands to the west (represented mostly by finds at Bjerringhj and Jorv�) and a style influenced by the lands to the east (represented by finds at Birka and Valsg�de).

* Ladies Solar ( a list of links to Medieval and Renaissance embroidery)
http://www.applink.net/wolfpack/solar.html

* Kiara's Historical Embroidery Page
http://www.angelfire.com/zine/kiarapanther/embroidery/emb.html
(Site Excerpt) I not only love embroidery, I love to research. My main focus at the moment is 16th and 17th century embroidery forms, because there are so many surviving examples. I am also very interested in Medieval embroidery.

* Embroidery, An ongoing site with articles and links on embroidery as it applies to the Middle Ages and the SCA.
http://www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/Embroid.htm

* A Dictionary of Embroidery and Sewing Stitches
http://www.anu.edu.au/ITA/CSA/textiles/sharonb/stitches/stitchfsite.html
(Site Excerpt) To assist those who are new to the craft of embroidery I have categorized each stitch as to its degree of difficulty. A single pair of scissors indicates that the stitch is easy to work and you should not hesitate to try it. If you see two scissors, the stitch requires more skill. Three scissors indicate that the stitch needs skill and practice

* Elizabethan Embroidery Resources
http://costume.dm.net/black-bib.html
(Site Excerpt) The resources below are divided into three sections: General Embroidery Resources, which contains books about all aspects of historical/Elizabethan embroidery, Blackwork Embroidery Resources, books specifically about the blackwork embroidery technique so popular during the 16th century, and Online Resources, a listing of websites about 16th century embroidery.

* 14th and 15th century German Counted Thread Embroidery
http://www.advancenet.net/~jscole/wymarc.html
Many gif's of counted thread patterns based on historical evidence.

* Elizabethan Blackwork Embroidery Archives
http://www.blackworkarchives.com/

* Skinner Sisters (authentic patterns from historical examples)
http://www.skinnersisters.com/
(Site excerpt) We are happy to furnish free charts and other benefits to guilds upon receipt of a request from a program chair or newsletter editor.

* SCA Arts Embroidery webpage (links)
http://www.stopcrime.net/scaarts/embroidery.html