Blackwork Shirt, Part 2 of 6

Blackwork Shirt
The original shirt was made in England in 1540 (1535-50) and is owned by the V&A museum #T.112-1972. The museum description reads, “In this example, the collar and cuffs are embroidered in a pattern of stylized columbine and leaves in cross stitch. The embroidery continues on the seams of the sleeves and shirt body, even though these would not be seen. Collars and cuffs decorated in a similar way can be seen in portraits of men by Hans Holbein between 1535 and 1555.” It is a typical blackwork (technique) shirt made from fine, crisp linen worked in Coventry blue silk thread. Pieces include a front, back, 2 sleeves, short cuff bands and linings, ruffles, a collar and lining, and a collar ruffle. All of the embroidery except what is on the body seams was worked first, then the pieces cut, hems rolled and the whole thing was assembled by butting the seams and working the rolled hem with a double buttonhole stitch in long and short bars. (Arnold, PoF 4 p. 17 fig 1 &p. 65 fig. 1). Red, gold, blue or black are all appropriate embroidery colors for a child.
I followed the directions in Patterns of Fashion to make a shirt much like the original, but simplified the embroidery designs. It is entirely hand sewn.
First I made a test garment and adjusted the pattern; then drew the pieces on lightweight linen/cotton fabric. I planned on using an even count linen, but my son said it was pokey and he wouldn’t wear it. I simplified the embroidery pattern to fit the smaller size, and used a double running stitch on all of the motifs. Due to the uneven weave, I chose to embroider free-hand vs. counting. Free form embroidery is seen after 1570; prior to that counted was more common. I used Gunterman’s black silk thread as I had it on hand and it was the right weight for the fabric. I should have wrapped the hoop, but did not. The tricky part was finding a way through the embroidery patterns without tying off the tread too much. In blackwork, the front and back should look almost the same so it can be seen from both sides. That means the back can’t be a hot mess like it is in a satin stitch piece. The embroidery was a labor of love, not an economical use of time.

After the embroidery was finished I cut out the pieces and finished all the edges with a rolled hem stitch in linen thread. To make a rolled hem; fold the edge over, secure the thread, and catch two stitches one at the bottom of the hem line, one at the top of the fold. Repeat 4x and then pull tight. This is much easier than it sounds, but is time consuming. This was my favorite part of the project.

Cuffs & collar were assembled and sewn onto the neckline and sleeves using back stitches.

Then more embroidery; the sleeves were basted to the body with whip stitches and then sewn with double buttonhole stitches and embroidered water-skipper motifs. I took the linen thread out as the silk advanced. Again, it took forever.

Once the sleeves were set I stitched up the side seams in a similar fashion. First I decided to use the white linen thread because I was impatient and running out of time. I disliked the outcome and used the black silk on the other side and then over-stitched the first to even out the design. Side seams were butted with double buttonhole and whip stitches. I pinned both sides to a piece of paper to accomplish the task as it did not work well on an embroidery hoop. This is a period technique for open threadwork, but not one I use often.





The ties are braided cotton thread. In period they would have been fingerloop braid, lucette cord, or twisted back on themselves like the original. I was short on time and my son will lose the sleeve ties the first day, so cheap cotton is an economical choice, and 3 strand braids are fast. I worked some eyelets and threaded the braid through. The ties at the collar are stitched on. If this was generic toddler garb I would make a larger closed cuff with a band of elastic inside. That makes it child-friendly and it looks fine on the outside, but since it was for the competition I did it correctly. I may regret that.
One thing I added that the original doesn’t have is a worked thread bar at the neck slit. My son will try to rip this shirt off, and no reinforcement means mending.