 methods create stitching that look the same on the front, but have drastically different patterns on the back. The three stitches are basketweave, half cross stent, and continental tent.
Basketweave is stitched in diagonal rows up and down the design. The unique basketweave pattern shows up on the back side. This is a great stitch for large areas and does not distort the base canvas.
The half cross tent stitch is worked in straight rows or columns. But the way it is stitched, the stitch goes over only one fabric thread on the back. This stitch uses the least amount of thread, but the final project is not as sturdy.
The continental tent stitch is probably the most common. It also is worked in straight rows or columns. The back will have diagonal stitches going over two canvas threads. This is a very good stitch for a piece that will have a lot of wear, like a foot stool or carpet.
Bargello is the next form of canvaswork. In the 17th century, canvas stitches became vertical and would typically go over four canvas threads. This method is more symmetrical with styles including Florentine, Flame, and Hungarian Point.
There are many pieces on display in museums including the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy. Works by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria are display in the Hungarian National Museum.
This technique became “obsolete” as other stitching styles gained popularity. In the 1960’s there was a revival when bargello exploded with the modern designs enjoyed today.
Berlin work evolved as a technique for stitching with wool on canvas. Several new developments in the 1830’s made this very accessible to most stitchers. There were improvements in the dyeing process, so now stitching wool was available in many more shades. This gave pieces more depth and definition.
Previously, a stitcher would hand draw a design on their canvas and then start to stitch, without any guidance. Then an ingenious pattern maker in Berlin began printing black and white patterns. The stitcher colored the patterns and then used the gridded pattern to stitch from, much like the patterns of today. These popular project sheets were inexpensive and soon became available around the world. At this time in history, “Berlin work” was synonymous with canvaswork.
Its popularity continued to grow as the work was showcased at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and in magazines such as The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine. Respected reference books like Beeton’s Book of Needlework (1870) defined Berlin work as “every kind of stitch which is made upon canvas with wool, silk, or beads”. Canvaswork is not mentioned, showing how universally accepted Berlin work had become.
In the late 1880’s Berlin work died out due in part to the Arts and Crafts movement. Designers didn’t change their styles to reflect the current trends and people stopped buying the patterns.
Before looking at contemporary canvaswork, it is not technically correct to use “tapestry” when referring to canvaswork. A tapestry is a woven piece, not a stitched piece. Yet, as often happens, there are exceptions to that rule, such as the Bayeux Tapestry.
One thing that ties all the earlier techniques together is that the entire fabric surface is covered in stitches. Not so with modern canvaswork. The American Needlepoint Guild defines needlepoint as “any counted or free stitching worked by hand with a threaded needle on a readily counted ground.” That really opens up the technique.
Today the background fabric can be part of the design, thus the need for colored canvas.
Another distinction is the number of stitches used in a design. There are hundreds of stitches and variations to choose from. There are excellent stitch guides available.
Today’s Canvaswork designers give you a variety of styles and stitches to choose from.
Canvaswork really has not had a time period when it was not in vogue. That may be due to the number of famous people who have stitched through the centuries. Mary Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette have many surviving examples. Princess Grace enjoyed stitching as well, and the American Needlepoi