18th century embroidery is NO JOKE. (Trust me, we tried it.)

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[4] Synge, ‘Art of Embroidery’: “At the outset of the century, however, Parliament attempted to curb the importation of all materials ‘of China, Persia, or the East Indies’ as these threatened the prosperity of the english silk industry. In 1720 foreign coloured embroidery was prohibited, and even cotton goods were specified in the following year. These restrictions were relaxed in 1736, but in 1749 metal thread embroidery, lace and fringes were forbidden on the grounds of national economy.” (172)

[5a] Rozsika Parker, ‘The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine’, 2019 (p5). “The professional branch of embroidery…was, from the end of the 17th c to the end of the 19th c, largely in the hands of working-class women, or disadvantaged middle-class women.”

[7] Sorry, there’s no note here. We’ve just got the footnote timings a bit mixed up but have split [5] into ‘a’ and ‘b’ to sort it. I can't believe you made it to the end! Look at you appreciating a footnote list. Honestly, same. We should fill the comments with 👖 (or 🩲 if you're British) just to confuse everyone.

[bernadettebanner]

Hand & Lock’s Expert Embroidery Guide:
Throughout this film, many references have been made to various embroidery techniques & processes. Below, the Hand & Lock team have put together this helpful guide to recap on each.

Each process chosen for this project was carefully considered and utilised to replicate the 18th century waistcoat design chosen by Bernadette and her team, as closely as possible.

‘Hand Guided’
is a form of machine embroidery that requires a person to physically control the machine, and manually manoeuvre the fabric under the needle as the machine sews, creating fluid embroidered shapes. The beauty of hand guided, is that it has an organic aesthetic and often the embroidery artists individual style is evident in the work.

‘Digital Machine embroidery’
is a modern, computerised technique which requires expertise with both digital embroidery design softwares and complex machinery. Digital embroidery must be carefully designed and rigorously prepared to ensure a successful outcome where the two elements work seamlessly together. Experienced digital embroidery designers are able to manipulate their stitch files to mimic the effects of hand guided or hand embroidered stitching.

‘Hand Embroidery’
is an umbrella term that covers many of the highly specialised techniques mentioned, all of which are created completely by hand. These include:

‘Goldwork’
is the ancient art of highly decorative embroidery using metal bullion wires. Bullion wires are tightly wound metal springs that come in long lengths.
It is another umbrella term that has many more specific techniques within it. The main Goldwork techniques we have used in this project are:
‘Cutwork’- is a process where bullion is cut down to size and the embroiderer can use it like a 'flexible bead', passing their needle and thread down the centre of the spring to stitch it onto the fabric.
‘Essing’- is a technique where the bullion wire is manipulated by the embroiderer, stitching it down at angles to create curved shapes.
‘Passing’ - is a thick goldwork thread made of a cotton core wrapped in metal. It can be used like a normal thread and stitched through the fabric, or it can be worked only on the surface and 'couched' down.
'Couching':
is the method of laying materials on the surface of your fabric, and stitching over them to attach them down.

'Embellishment':
refers to the application of beads and sequins.

'Silk shading':
uses colourful silk or cotton threads, in long and short stitches to create blending.

You can try all of these hand embroidery techniques for yourself with the Hand & Lock X Bernadette Banner Embroidery Kit. The kit includes a panel of pre- machine embroidered fabric for you to work on top of!

[krystenreid]

Embroidery played a big role in organ transplants. Alexis Carrel, the French doctor on who first developed the ability to sew veins together went to the embroiderers and spent along time learning many of the different tiny stitches and practicing till he was able to do several hundred stitches on a small piece of cloth then he moved to working on animal tissue.

[Su-riob]

£6 -8k seems extremely reasonable considering the amount of work involved and the materials, especially when you consider what a modern 'designer' creation might cost.

[coolmth]

I almost cried when Singh said "everything I am is because of them." That's genuinely so beautiful to have a craft handed down through SO MANY generations and to have that knowledge essentially be sacred. So many different techniques discovered through the passing of the craft and tradition being perfected over the years and knowing this knowledge is only given because hundreds of years ago someone decided to pick this up and pass it on... All the way to him. That's so incredible, I can't help but tear up at that kind of magic.

[bettierusso]

This was fascinating to watch! I have sewn for 65 years. A couple of tips to help the "burn" at the base of your neck at the back that we get from looking down at a project for hours, and the pain in the wrists after hours of intense needlework. #1- go to a bowling alley and buy a pro bowler's wrist guard. These are less $ than the "medical supports" and work much better. They have a metal support inside that helps decrease inflammation. #2- Buy one of the "heating pads" for your shoulders with the jelly-filled kind that can be either heated in a microwave or cooled in the refrigerator. They look like a short cape covering your neck and upper shoulders. Use this cooled if your neck is painful, or warm if you feel tense. #3- Keep a fine grid emory board in your sewing kits with a small salt shaker filled with either baby powder or pure cornstarch. The file will keep nail or rough skin smoother and avoid snagging sheer or silk fabrics & smooth out snags on thread spools. Use the salt shaker of cornstarch to sprinkle hands with to protect work from oils and sweat. Hope this helps somebody in their creations. We must never forget to have a Band-Aid and Neosporin available for any knicks or scratches that may occur after hours of sewing. #4- I always keep a small bottle of lubricating eye drops in my sewing kits to use for eye dryness and strain. These work wonders!! Have FUN ladies! Thank you for the wonderful video

[annassiter]

I’m a hand embroiderer and beader. Mostly I embroider denim vest and jackets.. one project will often take nearly a year… I am 67 and have been doing this since I was 15.. Embroidery is a passion of mine.. usually I have several projects in various stages of completion.. My days are filled with music, and creativity..

[annebiedenstein]

I could FEEL the tension when Heathcliff was cutting out the pattern. My heart is always in my throat whenever I cut out any fabric. I can’t imagine doing it on something so precious.

[ecummins]

I am a self taught hand embroiderer who specializes in silk and metal thread embroidery. This was exquisite to watch. It reminded me of the time I was part of a team of embroiderers replicating the coronation tunic of Roger II of Sicily under an extreme time crunch. I was tasked with the front panel of the bottom border and it took one SOLID month for me to complete. I would embroider from the time I got up until I went to bed, only taking any significant time away from it to cook and eat meals. The ex did the dishes and laundry because I had no time for it. I took only 2 days off during that entire month. It was insane, but the tunic in the end was glorious.

[astreaward]

I! AM! CRYING! I've been doing machine embroidery (and I started learning hand embroidery recently) for about 20 years and NOT ONCE have I heard someone I know in this industry speak so reverently about what goes into creating embroidery. THANK YOU so much for this video! And for introducing me to Hand & Lock :D Although I suspect my wallet will have reason to not appreciate that part lol

[johannaf]

making those button holes gave me so much anxiety, i cant even imagine being the one to actually "punch" them in !

[wabska]

As a beadwork artist - one aspect that makes this unimaginable and so valuable - is the repetitive muscle injury that comes from repetitive movement like embroidery.

Over days/hours of stitching, your wrist tendons can become injured beyond repair.

[hxyejqn]

I really enjoyed this video. The comment that 18th century embroiders were limited by the daylight reminded me of a scene from one of the Little House books. Twilight came and Ma, Laura & Carrie had to put away their knitting and sewing, but Mary, being blind, didn't have to because whether there was daylight or not didn't affect her. I'm reading the little house books to my niece.

[chrstimm]

This is better editing than a lot of full budget documentaries I've watched. Its tough getting regular people on camera to tell a story, and do it well. Great work!

[Shifterai]

Seeing goldwork fills me with such an unfortunate rage, my mother used to do stunning goldwork embroidery and then her embroidery which she was sending to an exhibit was stolen in the mail. She's never done goldwork since. It takes so much time and patience that I just do not have, but it's lovely hearing more about embroidery in historical fashion.

[carolepp]

I am 70 and am completely enamored with these types of videos you provide! I've been embroidering for over 65 years but NOTHING is even close to this! ❤

[pb]

whenever my family goes back to bangladesh to visit family my mum will spend a good chunk of her time shopping for saris and salwar kameez for herself and me. even mid-range commercially available garments can have exquisite hand embroidery on them, and my mum has many gorgeous pieces with yards and yards of hand embroidered detail. also, we still buy most of our salwaar kameez in pre-embroidered panels! we call them 3 pieces (the body, pants/skirt and the dupatta/scarf) the embroidered materials are taken to a tailor who will cut out the pieces and make up the garment to your size. i consider myself lucky to be exposed to this sort of work from a young age, especially now living in the west and being surrounded by fast fashion. as an adult i've become really interested in textiles and fashion history and part of that is due to this channel and bernadette's unwavering passion, thanks for another fantastic video!

[ashleyzinyk]

What happens onscreen at 5:27 is amazing: someone is handling a page of swatches (?), and when they turn it around, its appearance completely changes. In my field we call that a spatially-varying bidirectional reflectance distribution function (SVBRDF), and it happens with materials like wrapping paper and colored foil, but to try to make something of it deliberately must be wild.

[juliajs]

Bernadette, have you ever given Sashiko a glance? It's a Japanese sewing/embroidery craft that looks incredibly relaxing (probably once you've sold your soul to the goddess of needlework...)

[j_fenrir]

ugh i absolutely love 18th century embroidery. one of my fav waistcoats had entire rural farming scenes along the buttons interspersed with little bees and butterflies!!

[KateandBree]

I remembered your flat used to be landlord white, and now it's library green. The green suits this episode so perfectly and I don't know why it took me so long to realize it's turned green.

I'm so happy you collaborated with Hand & Lock and once again with Maayankraj Singh. Mr. Singh always brings such wonderful information that I wished I had learned in history class.