A Garden in Gutter Lane
Registration for this class is now closed. Thank you for your interest.
If you would like to be on the notification list for future classes please email me at gutterlaneembroidery@gmail.com
For this project we are travelling back in time to 16th century London when Elizabeth I was on the throne and a skilled embroiderer was in great demand. The wealthy nobility was decked in luxury fabrics embellished with silk and gold embroidery. The prosperous merchant class was expanding rapidly and was eager to let the world know of their good fortune. At this time, extravagant embroidery was an unmistakable confirmation of your wealth and good taste. By the end of the Tudor era, the fashion for embroidery had been embraced enthusiastically by anyone who could afford it... and many who couldn’t.
We are on Gutter Lane, just to the north east of St Paul’s Cathedral, in the working heart of the city. The garden is on the premises of the Embroiderers’ Hall and it’s where we’ll find many of the flowers we will be stitching. Flowers were a popular means of conveying concepts of love, joy, compassion, dedication, envy, wisdom: almost any emotion could be expressed with the correct choice of bloom. Some were used more often than others and one flower could be assigned many different sentiments depending on the situation and setting.
An Elizabethan garden almost always had a feature, a maze, an obelisk, a fountain, a pond. Our garden garland will include many common Elizabethan flowers: eglantine, pansy, cherry, pomegranate, borage and more. And the feature in our garden will be a needle, because the needle makes this garden come alive!
The Boleyn Bloom
The instructions for this project are available for purchase
on the Project Instructions page
This beautiful blue blossom was inspired by a fragment of embroidery traditionally believed to have graced the bed Anne Boleyn was born in. It is a two day project suitable for intermediate embroiderers. Gold and green metallic leather, plate, crystals, beads, spangles all combine with traditional goldwork threads to make this an engaging motif to embroider. It is worked on a ground of silk faille and elegantly framed with looped gold passing.
Bronwyn's Bloom
The instructions for this project are available for purchase on the Project Instructions page
This is the second in the series inspired by the floral design on the Anne Boleyn fragment. It employs similar threads and techniques in orange, yellow, green and gold.
Elizabeth's Bloom
The instructions for this project are available for purchase
on the Project Instructions page
The third and final bloom in the Boleyn Series is a full flower with two small buds named for Anne's daughter. Purple, white and green silk make a perfect combination to compliment the first two blooms. Threads used include two widths of plate, passing, gilt sylke twist, pearl purl and lizerine, highlighted with sparkling crystals. The pattern is now available on the shop page.
Sweet Eglantine
This project is featured in Issue 113 of
Inspirations Magazine published in February 2022
Eglantine is the first flower in the series of three inspired by the 16th century botanical illustrations of the French artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues. The sprig is worked on a ground of ivory satin in layers of fine coloured silk and metal threads in gold and silver, bringing the delicate blooms to life.
Marigold
The third and final of the 16th century botanical series is the Marigold. The blooms sparkle in gold and red silk with gold metal highlights. Alternating layers of gold threads and gold and red silk add dimension to each petal. The bud is padded and shaded with silk over plate and the leaves are worked in satin stitch, plate, crimped plate, lizerine and smooth purl. Marigold is a handsome companion for
Eglantine and Sweet Pea. Instructions are pending.
Sweet Pea aka Simply Irresistible
The instructions for this project are available in
Issue #105 of Inspirations Magazine.
The delicate Sweet Pea flower is worked in purple silk and silver plate. The leaves are layers of gold threads and green silk and the stems and fine tendrils are various sizes of lizerene.
The seed pods are worked in satin stitch, padded satin and circular couched passing, partially covered in rows of laid gilt silk twist. It is a beautiful companion to the Eglantine.
Tudor Garland
Tudor Garland features a circlet of strawberry fruit and blossoms and larkspur flowers.
Worked in a wide range of metal threads and coloured silks, this is a challenging project for advanced embroiderers.
The instructions are available in A Passion for Needlework III, Blakeston Creamery published by Inspirations Magazine.
