CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY
The history of Blackwork is a long and convoluted one with common myths surrounding its origins. It was originally considered to be derived from Spanish Blackwork which had been brought over to England by Catherine of Aragon after her marriage to Henry VIII.
However, this has been largely disproved as there is evidence of Blackwork embroidery already being present in England. The easiest reference to date with accuracy is found in Chaucer’sCanterbury Tales published in 1387, which refers to coal black silk worked both front and back on the collar of a smock; this is 114 years before Catherine arrived in England in 1501.
Spanish style embroidered cuff, 2018, graphite illustration by Katy Harald.
EARLY BLACKWORK
Sadly, there is very little evidence of early Blackwork left in existence and the pieces that have survived are often badly damaged; despite that, it is quite common for museum collections to hold fragments of embroidered textiles that have been cannibalized and salvaged from the original textiles. It is also possible to find examples of fabric which had obviously been stitched at some point; the stitches have now rotted away, leaving the bare fabric with needle marks dotted along the design lines.
This makes it challenging to accurately identify the work as Blackwork. It is possible to make an educated guess by assessing the designs marked on the fabric and comparing them to examples that do have some stitching remaining. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds many examples of these in their collections, mainly from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is assumed the reason that these stitches have been lost is due, in part, to the harsh dyeing process used on the silk threads.
Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework and researcher of historical dyes in textiles, says:
‘The making of the colour black was complicated and often embroidery threads were not necessarily dyed with the best dyestuffs, so making them more likely to fade or change colour.
Until the nineteenth century, black was often produced from overdyeing red, blue and then adding iron or tannins, gall nuts or walnuts. As such, these ingredients could lead to the rotting of the fibres over time.
From the nineteenth century onward most black cloth or thread was made from the heartwood of the logwood tree which was found in north America and some of the Caribbean islands.’
It was easier and slightly cheaper to source undyed silk so many embroiderers had their own recipes for the dyes used. This in turn had a knock-on effect to the longevity of the threads produced. This is also the main reason that so much of the Blackwork which has survived appears to be brown in colour as these homemade dyes were not colour-fast.
Jane Seymour, Queen of England by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1537. Holbein stitch is beautifully depicted along the edge of the cuffs. (Fine Art/Alamy Stock Photo)
BLACKWORK AND THE TUDOR COURT
It is not difficult to guess why Blackwork in England was associated with Catherine of Aragon as it appears to have become quite fashionable to wear embellished garments during the period when she was still married to Henry VIII, most notably f
