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Recent Instagram posts from @historicembroidery:

These amazing embroidered chopines, platform shoes used to protect one’s feet and clothing from dirt or muddy streets, date to the early 17th century. Though much of their fabric has disappeared, you can still see fragments of the rich red velvet embroidered with metal thread. These shoes are at Skokloster Slott (@skoklostersslott) and the second photo was taken by Göran Schmidt

Dream shoe alert! These embroidered lace up boots were created by French shoemaker Francois Pinet for the 1867 Paris Exposition and are now in the collection of the @batashoemuseum. They are embroidered with poppies, cornflowers, and leaves. I love an embroidered Victorian boot! 👢

Today I saw the “Souls Grown Deep Like the Rivers: Black Artists from the American South” exhibition at the @royalacademyarts with @luciewhitmorecurator and really enjoyed it! Unsurprisingly, my favourite pieces were the Gee’s Bend quilts. The earliest quilt on display was made in 1930 and the most recent in 2021. It was such a joy to see the quilters’ wonderful use of colour and ingenious stitching. Also on display were several pieces by Thornton Dial which @luciewhitmorecurator accurately called “metal quilts” (picture 3 is an example) and which were put beautifully into conversation with a quilt by Mary Lee Bendolph (picture 4). My favourite quilt was one made by Marlene Bennett Jones (picture 1) — my heart skipped a beat when I saw the combination of corduroy and denim! It was also great to see @commonthreadspress zines for sale in the @royalacademyarts shop. Go see the exhibition if you’re in London!

In honour of #stpatricksday, here is a lovely map sampler of Ireland. M.L. Carter stitched Ireland’s counties and provinces in silk threads, completing her work on the 19th of May 1840 • • • map sampler, Irish, 1840, National Museum of Ireland, DT:2010.5

Here are a few details from the Paracas Textile, a truly stunning stitched survival made in Peru between 100 and 300 AD. It’s made of cotton and camelid fibres. According to the @brooklynmuseum, “This extraordinarily complex mantle, or cloak, is one of the most renowned Andean textiles in the world. It was most likely used as a ceremonial object. The ninety figures decorating the border, created by needle knitting, have been interpreted as a microcosm of life on Peru’s South Coast two thousand years ago, with a particular focus on agriculture. Many of the images illustrate native flora and fauna as well as cultivated plants. Costumed figures may represent humans impersonating gods and acting as intermediaries between the real and supernatural worlds. Severed human trophy heads are shown as germinating seeds, suggesting the practice of ritual sacrifice and the interconnected cycles of birth and death.” • • • “Mantle (“The Paracas Textile”),” Peruvian, 100-300 AD, Brooklyn Museum, 38.121

I made this video for International Women’s Day a few days ago and thought I’d share it here. It was nearly impossible to choose just 10 objects to talk about and almost as hard to talk about them all in under three minutes!

I spotted this at the @vamuseum a few days ago and it’s been on my mind a lot since (and I shared it on my Twitter yesterday, so had to share it here, too). It’s a patchwork and appliqué cover made in Prague in 1790, though it’s maker is unknown. It depicts a wide variety of scenes — some are taken from every day life, while others are focused on military and cultural events.

Every day is #internationalwomensday when you study historical embroidery! To celebrate, here are depictions of women on 17th-century embroidered cabinets and caskets. Studying how girls and women depict themselves is one of my favourite things. It is a joy and an honour to celebrate and share the work of women’s hands 🪡🧵

I have to repost this incredible embroidered hussif made by a man named William Burwise in 1852. It illustrates needlework’s role in disability and convalescence and speaks to the power of stitch to convey emotion. This singular object tells so many stories.

Tweets by IsabellaRosner

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