Empowering Girls through Embroidery

Jocelyn RussellMiddle and Upper School Art Teacher

Mary McDowell Friends Schooljocelynr@mmfsnyc.org 

EgyptianSampler Fragment, Mamluk period 1300-1420Plain weave linen embroidered with silk 17 ½ x 5 7/8 inches

Bayeux Tapestry c 1066Embroidery on linen1.6 by 224.3 feet

 

Betsy Wardwell (1785-1817)Mary Balch School, Providence, Rhode Island, 1797Plain weave on linen embroidered in silk17 ½ x 14 ½ inches

Hannah GilpinAcworth Schoolsampler 1800

     

Millsent Connor (born 1789)Embroidered Sampler, 1799Silk on linen 21 1/8 x 16 1/4 in.

Suffage Bannerc.1911Paint, embroidery and applique on canvas

Beryl WeaverSpare Rib1978Embroidered Runner

Kate WalkerWife is a Four Letter Word1978Embroidery on muslin

 

Elaine ReichekFuneral for the Grid. 1978Fabric and wood construction10 x 16 in.

Elaine ReichekSampler (Blade Runner).2001Hand embroidery on linen30 x 46 3/4 in.

Judy Chicago (Embroidery by Pat-Rudy Baese, Jane Gaddie Thompson and Joyce Gilber)Resolutions: A Stitch in Time Sampler1994 - 2000Counter Cross Stich and Embroidery on Linen

Judy Chicago (Embroidery by Jane Gaddie Thompson)Birth Tear, 1982Embroidery on silk

Tracey EminEveryone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995Appliquéd tent, mattress and light48 x 96 1/2 x 84 1/2 in

Jenny HartDirty Face, Crowning Glory, 2003 hand embroidery on cotton panel17" x 18"  

Jenny HartGirl with Japanese Clouds,. 2006hand embroidery on denim12" x 12"

 Jenny Hart with Dame DarcyBlue Lass, 2004hand embroidery on cotton panel18" x 24"

Jenny HartThis Work Never Ends, 2002

hand embroidery on vintage muslin10" x 8"

Allison Manch

Big Poppa, 2008 Hand-dyed embroidered handkerchief

My work features thematic illustrations of love and personal history via hand-embroidered drawings and text. The imperfection and vulnerability of the embroidered line resembles the fragility of human emotion, while the medium harks back to a seemingly distant past. Threading a sense of humor throughout, drawings and text are stitched onto handkerchiefs, tea towels, and tablecloths that are often adorned with preexisting machine-embroidered imagery. My aesthetic derives from a long-standing personal experience with the medium. My mother taught me embroidery as a child and my grandmother was a skilled lace-maker. This body of work started when I began crudely embroidering personal narratives and music lyrics onto cotton handkerchiefs inherited from my grandmother. While the work is not directly diaristic, the pieces are highly personal in their concept and execution. I draw from song lyrics, family photos, and figures from popular culture stitching imaginary lines to meaningful events in my life.

Allison ManchMy grandfather was a photographer, my grandmother was a lacemaker2008 Embroidered handkerchief

 

Allison ManchDorothy Manch's Golden Football, 2008 Embroidered handkerchief

Allison ManchThe Producers (Rza)2008 Embroidered handkerchief

Allison ManchContact2007 Embroidered handkerchief 

Joette Mauebe strong , 2009hand embroiderd re-appropriated linen, 15 x 58.5 in.

Tilleke SchwarzPlay with me, 2006 71 x 65 cm

Maggie Rozycki HiltnerThe Truth About Rabbits, 2007hand-stitched cotton and found textiles 10.5 x 24”

 Megan WhitmarshKing Kong & Love, 2005, 3" x 5", hand embroidery on fabric 

Non Iron On Transfer Methods - Carbon Paper

Transfer Pen (or transfer pencil) Method

Running stitch Pass the needle in and out of the fabric, making the surface stitches of equal length. The stitches on the underside should also be of equal length, but half the size or less than the upper stitches.

BACK STITCH Bring the thread through on the stitch line and then take a small backward stitch through the fabric. Bring the needle through again a little in front of the first stitch, then take another stitch, inserting the needle at the point where it first came through.

Satin stitch Work straight stitches closely together across the shape, as shown. Take care to keep the edge even, and if you are following an outline marked on the fabric, take your stitches to the outside of the line so that the marked line does not show.

Split stitchBring the needle through at A and, following the line to be covered, take a small back stitch so that the needle comes up through the working thread.