Voided Work.pdf

WCoB Competition Documentation – Voided Work

Category: Voided Work

Figure 1 – Late 15th - Early 16th century Voided Work Band, Iberian Peninsula 1

Background

There are several types of voided work (where the background is stitched and the pattern left

empty or void) from the SCA period. Examples include:

Assisi Work – perhaps the most famous form of voided work due to a resurgence in

popularity in the style in the 19 th Century. Surviving examples from the 16 th Century of

Assisi style voided work show it was done on linen, using a variety of filling stitches,

including (but not limited to) long-armed cross stitch, cross stitch and double running

stitch. Some patterns had the designed outlined in the same colour as the field, in later

times, the outlining was done in black. Silk was the thread of choice and popular

colours for the work were red and blue, with examples in green.

Reversa Work – a lesser known variety of voided work produced on the Iberian

Peninsula. It has many similarities with Assisi work, including stitches and colour

choice. Other characteristics include in later periods to the use of yellow as a filling

colour and the outlining of patterns in either black or another colour, darker than the

filling 2 .

Other pieces of voided work include examples from Iceland 3 .

Pattern

The 16 th Century sees the rise of the

printed pattern book in Europe.

These books were produced and

popular in England, Germany and

Italy. There are several surviving

examples of these pattern books. The

same patterns were often used in

multiple books, in a time free from

I have used a pattern from a reprint

1 Textile Fragment (embroidered band), late 15th - early 16th century, M.88.127.1 – Los Angeles County Museum

of Art.

2 Maestra Clare de Estepa - http://www.planetc.com/users/derwyddon/embroider.html

3 14 th Century Icelandic wall hanging done in refilsaumur or laid and couched work. This piece is a black wool

ground, with the design carried out in white wool thread. National Museum, Copenhagen

Jane Stockton – Barony of Mordenvale, Kingdom of Lochac – jane_stockton@webcon.net.au

Figure 2 - Pattern Used – Plate 44 from Bassees’ “New

Modelbuch” of 1568

of Nicolas Bassee’s New Modelbuch of 1568, creating an original piece, rather than re-creating

an extant work. I have chosen to make what we would call today a small table runner, in the

16 th Century, a small piece like this may have been used on a small altar or table.

Materials and Techniques

I have tried where possible to use as original materials, in this case using 28ct 4 white linen for

the ground fabric and two stands of Eterna stranded silk for the pattern stitching. I chose a

bright, Turkey red, a popular colour in period for voided work and still popular today for

modern Assisi embroidery.

I have stitched in long-armed cross stitch, a stitch I have never worked in before. I chose not to

outline the design, as I believe the strong coverage given by the long-armed cross stitch

negates the need. This is also a period choice, in that not all historical pieces were outlined.

The work is finished with a plain hem. I had great difficulty in finding in any of the sources

used any mention of how these pieces were finished. Many surviving examples are in less than

perfect condition, often bands of embroidery which appear to have been cut from larger pieces.

The only example I could find with an edge finishing treatment was a pair of Italian cushions

held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 5 . These cushions are finished with what appears

to be some sort of buttonhole edging in red silk. When modern sources do mention edging

treatment, it is usually in terms that it is not done like modern Assisi work.

Notes

This piece was the first time

I’d used stranded silk thread.

This type of thread is

supposed to be the closest

available to that used in the

SCA period. As a non-cross

stitcher, it had some

difficulties making sure that

the thread was sitting

correctly after stitching.

Figure 3 – Completed Band

4 This type of voided work was usually done on very fine fabric, however, due to my eyesight, I try not to work on

anything finer than 28ct fabrics where possible.

5 Italian, 1550-1600, white linen tabby embroidered with crimson and green silk yarn entirely in double running

stitches , #94a L 51.4 cm x W. 36.1 cm and #94b L 50.5 cm x W. 36.8cm. The pieces join by means of toggle-like

buttons and corresponding loops.

Jane Stockton – Barony of Mordenvale, Kingdom of Lochac – jane_stockton@webcon.net.au

Bibliography

Bridgeman, Harriet; and Drury, Elizabeth. (eds). – “Needlework, an Illustrated History” ,

(London: Paddington Press, 1978)

Cavallo, Adolph S. “Needlework” (Washington: The Smithsonian Institute, 1979)

Epstein, Kathleen. “German Renaissance Patterns for Embroidery: A Facsimile Copy of

Nicolas Bassee’s New Modelbuch of 1568” , (Austin: Curious Works Press, 1994)

Maestra Clare de Estepa - http://www.planetc.com/users/derwyddon/embroider.html

Gostelow, Mary. - “A World of Embroidery” , (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975)

Schuette, Marie and Müller-Christensen, Sigrid. “The Art of Embroidery” (London: Thames

and Hudson, 1964)

Stanisland, Kay. – “Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers”. (London: British Museum Press,

1991).

Figure 4 - Completed Cloth

Jane Stockton – Barony of Mordenvale, Kingdom of Lochac – jane_stockton@webcon.net.au

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