Dipping into Goldwork

A variety of currents sent me scurrying to the library looking for books on goldwork embroidery.  For those of you not familiar with the term, it refers to metallic embroidery of many genres.  There’s a rich history of metals in embroidery, and of course, technology makes many of these materials accessible to the everyday embroiderer.  My library system had several books with Western historic and contemporary perspectives.

"New Ideas in Gold Work" by Tracy Franklin embroidery

"New Ideas in Goldwork" by Tracy Franklin

Alanna Nelson Explores Historical Gold Work Embroidery Techniques

"18th Century Embroidery Techniques" by Gail Marsh

I also enjoyed reading Virginia Churchill Bath’s “Embroidery Masterworks: Classic patterns and techniques for contemporary applications.”  And of course, even though it’s not gold work, this was irresistible:

Crewel and Surface Embroidery Designs by Trish Burr

Once this was gobbled up, I couldn’t resist and bought a copy of:


I’ve got a couple of projects in mind, and I’ve been trolling the Kreinik, Superior Threads and Berlin Embroidery sites for supplies. Mary Corbett has some interesting posts about her Tudor Rose goldwork project. Oh, dear, I feel a wave of metal embroidery coming on…