Editing Crewel embroidery (section)

=== England ===
Wool from Worstead in Norfolk was manufactured for weaving purposes, but also started to be used for embroidering small designs using a limited number of stitches, such as stem and seeding. These were initially often executed in a single color. However, the color and design range expanded, and embroidery using this crewel wool began to be used in larger projects and designs, such as bed hangings.<ref name="Royal School of Needlework 2018" />{{Rp|32}}

Rich embroidery had been used extensively in ecclesiastical vestments and altar drapings, but after the Protestant Reformation, the emphasis moved to embroidery, including crewel work, for use in homes and other secular settings.<ref name="Royal School of Needlework 2018" />{{Rp|32}}

==== Elizabethan Period ====
[[File:Stool_MET_DP159798.jpg|thumb|Embroidered cushion cover, 1601, British (Metropolitan Museum of Art)]]
Embroidery for household furnishings during the Elizabethan era was often worked using silk and wool on canvas or linen canvas. Garment embroidery more often used silk or silk and silver threads. Many different stitches were used for the embroidery, including "back, basket, braid, pleated braid, brick, buttonhole, chain, coral, cross, long-armed cross, French knot, herringbone, link, long and short, running, double running, satin, seed, split, stem, tent as well as laid work and couching."<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|title=The art of crewel embroidery|last=Davis|first=Mildred J.|date=1962|publisher=[publisher not identified]|oclc=5805445}}</ref>{{Rp|16}}

Motifs frequently used in crewel embroidery of the period included coiling stems, branches, and detached flower designs.<ref name=":22" />{{Rp|16}} Some embroideries from the Elizabethan period used garden motifs for their design, as gardens themselves were enjoying a heyday. These embroideries were worked in silk or wool (crewel), and were used in the home to brighten the surroundings. Embroidered wall hangings, table carpets, and various forms of bed-hangings might all sport embroidered images. The length of valences made them ideal for embroidery that told a story of a number of episodes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/embroideredgarde00beck|title=Embroidered gardens|author=Beck, Thomasina|date=1979|pages=6–7|publisher=Viking Press|isbn=0-670-29260-5|location=New York|oclc=4947170|url-access=registration}}</ref>

==== Stuart Period ====
[[Mary II of England|Queen Mary II]] (co-reigned 1689–1694 with her husband [[William III of England|William II]]) and the women of her court were known for the very fine needlework they produced. Using satin stitch with worsted wool, they created hangings and other objects showing images of fruits, birds, and beasts.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Jourdain|first=M.|date=1909|title=Crewel-Work Hangings and Bed Furniture|journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs|volume=15|issue=78|pages=366–368}}</ref>{{Rp|367}} Their example spurred interest in crewel embroidery. Bed hangings and other furnishings were created, often using bluish greens supplemented by brighter greens and browns. Occasionally, "a dull pinkish red" would be the main color.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|367}}

[[File:Bed curtain panel, British, early 18th c.jpg|thumb|Crewel embroidery on bed curtain panel, British, early 18th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art)]]

Designs in the latter part of the 1600s fell primarily into three categories. One was individual sprays of flowers scattered over the fabric; the second, to be found on narrow panels, involved flowering stems running the length of the panel with a floral motif between them; and the third was a branching tree with stylized leaves, the [[Tree of life|Tree of Life]]. The tree sits on a mound, and there might be other small motifs of individuals or flora and fauna near the mound. [[Jacobean embroidery]] from the first quarter of the 17th century is known for this third category. Some experts believe that these patterns were derived from cotton [[palampore]] from [[Machilipatnam|Masulipatam]].<ref name=":12" /> However, other experts stress the importance of multiple influences from different parts of the world brought back by English travelers, and evolving designs from earlier forms of embroidery.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Jacobean embroidery : its forms and fillings including late Tudor|last=Fitzwilliam, Ada Wentworth.|date=1990|publisher=B.T. Batsford|others=Hands, A. F. Morris.|isbn=0-7134-6376-7|edition=1st pbk.|location=London|oclc=27188169}}</ref>

Flora and fauna found in the tree of life designs include the [[rose]], noted for national and religious reasons, and two emblems of the Stuarts: the [[Dianthus caryophyllus|carnation]] and the [[caterpillar]]. Influence of exploration and trade are seen in plants in Jacobean that have recently become known to the English: the potato flower and the strawberry.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|xvi}}

During the time of [[William III of England|William]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary]], Chinese motifs began to appear in crewel embroideries, such as pagodas, long-tailed birds, and Chinese people. Just as Indian cottons may have influenced designs with trees and exaggerated leaves, these Chinese elements may have been inspired by Persian silks and [[calico]] fabric.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|368}}
[[File:Georgian embroidered panel detail.jpg|thumb|Hanoverian period (c. 1740) crewelwork detail highlighting carnation]]
Jacobean embroidery designs enjoyed a resurgence in interest during the reign of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] (reigned 1702–1707). Patterns from the mid-1600s were copied, either exactly or with some alterations. While the tree motif is common to all, there is evidence of gradual change in the designs that link them together.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|xii–xiii}}