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(Updated 09/02/00)
Flowers have been a popular embroidery motif throughout history. Chaucer writes of a young squire whose shirt was embroidered with flowers. During the Elizabethan Era, the popularity of floral and herbal motifs reached its pinnacle. Flowers and herbs appeared on many different types of items. They were worked into nightcaps, sleeves, gloves, chemises, ruffs, handkerchiefs, cushions, sweet bags, hangings, furniture, and many other decorated surfaces. The motifs were worked in many different stitches, colors, and materials. One of the most popular uses of floral motifs was embroidered slips. A slip is a piece of embroidery stitched on linen, usually in tent or cross-stitch. Once the embroidery is completed in silk or wool, it is cut out from the ground fabric and applied to a background of satin or velvet.
Embroiderers used herbal or floral books known as florilegia for patterns and designs. La Clef des Champs of 1586 by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes of 1597 by John Gerard, and a pattern book by Peter Quentel of 1527 were popular pattern sources. Popular flowers were red roses, wild strawberries, blue pansies, carnations, columbines, pomegranates, pansies, pinks, cornflowers, primroses, cowslips, thistles, and lilies. A special favorite was borage. There is a website that has some nice examples of embroidery slips: http://www.victoriana.com/shops/andrews/slips.htm
Beck, Thomasina. The Embroiderer’s Flowers . Germany: David & Charles, 1997.
Gostelow, Mary. Blackwork . New York: Dover Publications, 1976.
Levey, Santina. Elizabethan Treasures: The Hardwick Hall Textiles . London: National Trust Enterprises, 1998.
(Copyright 1999-2004, Katherine Estep Stephenson)