Artisan Works Embroidery Tutorials

Blackwork Embroidery Patterns – Six More Transcriptions

by Sidney Eileen

The past couple weeks my health has been in a state of forced downtime following just far too many big exciting events spaced just barely far enough apart for me to manage to do them, but not actually fully recover.  I’ve also needed an extended break from hand sewing, and have not had the wherewithal to start a new embroidery project.  Since I hate being completely idle, that means I’ve been poking away at transcribing some more blackwork embroidery patterns, in part as an exercise to get more familiar with how to use a bamboo tablet pen to draw digitally.  So, I present to you, six more Elizabethan design transcriptions for your reference and use.  (Well, technically five Elizabethan designs and one Tudor design, but who’s keeping track?)

I am providing all of these designs for personal use, free of charge.  They are also available for non-profit educational use, provided I, Sidney Eileen, am given credit for the transcriptions.  If you do make something using or inspired one of my designs or transcriptions, I would love to see your creation.  Please share it here, on my facebook page, or tag me in a tweet (@Sidney_Eileen), instagram (@sidney_eileen), or facebook post (@bySidneyEileen).  It’s the amazing things all of you do that inspire me to provide resources like this one.

These patterns and any others I have posted can also be found all in one place on the page, Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Patterns.

Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern, transcribed by Sidney Eileen, from a Portrait of Henry VIII
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern, transcribed by Sidney Eileen, from a Portrait of Henry VIII

Portrait of Henry VIII of England c. 1537, Hans Holbein, the Younger (detail) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hans_Holbein,_the_Younger,_Around_1497-1543_-_Portrait_of_Henry_VIII_of_England_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern, transcribed by Sidney Eileen, from a Portrait of Mary Hill. In the portrait, the knotwork grids are completely consistent, but the manner in which they join is not, and no single visible join is clear and consistent within itself, so I created a join that was similar to a couple of them and created a consistent repeat pattern.
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern, transcribed by Sidney Eileen, from a Portrait of Mary Hill. In the portrait, the knotwork grids are completely consistent, but the manner in which they join is not, and no single visible join is clear and consistent within itself, so I created a join that was similar to a couple of them and created a consistent repeat pattern.

Mary Hill Mrs Mackwilliam 1567 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Hill_Mrs_Mackwilliam_1567.jpg

Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Panel, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Panel, transcribed by Sidney Eileen. I wasn’t sure what the little black squigglies were supposed to be, so I left them off of the transcription.
1580–1620 Panel of Blackwork, silk blackwork embroidery on linen fabric, in the collections of the Met Museum.
1580–1620 Panel of Blackwork
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Unfinished Coif, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Unfinished Coif, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
Unfinished Blackwork Coif from the beginning of the 17th century.
Unfinished Blackwork Coif from the beginning of the 17th century.
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Coif, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Coif, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
1610-1620 Blackwork coif with spangles, from the Glasgow Museums Collections. Silk blackwork embroidery on linen fabric.
1610-1620 Blackwork coif with spangles.
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Jacket, transcribed by Sidney Eileen
Freehand Blackwork Embroidery Pattern from Extant Jacket, transcribed by Sidney Eileen. If you look at the detail from the extant jacket, no two barberries are exactly the same. There are differences in the leaves and the little spirals that prevent uneven gaps and white space. If you use this pattern in an all-over manner like the original jacket, keep that in mind as a technique for filling space, rather than adhering perfectly to this pattern on every single repetition.
1610-1620 Jacket Blackwork Embroidery Detail, from the Museum of London Collections
1610-1620 Jacket Blackwork Embroidery Detail