The Victorians had an obsession with all things Elizabethan and revived this style. During the Arts and Crafts movement that swept Europe and the U.S. early this century, many artisans (Stickly, Morris, Erte, to name a few) rebelled against overdone Victorian tastes for furniture, decorations, and even clothes. The simple contrast between white fabric and black thread found vast appeal to needle workers tired of too many things going on all at once. There are many stunning pieces from the 1930’s and 40’s combining amorphous, flowing lines filled with tiny counted thread diaper patterns that are obviously Elizabethan in inspiration, if not in origin. This embroidery does not have to be black. There are period examples done in crimson, blue, green, and yellow, sometimes together.

The Elizabethans called this style “trew stitch” or “Spanisheworke,” it is doubtful that blackwork embroidery originated in Spain. It seems that everyone who did blackwork had their own name for it. The Venetian sometimes called it punto scritto (writing stitch) and the Stowe & Folger inventories often just state that an item is worked over in black silk.¹ “Spanishework” seems to be the most popular name in England in the sixteenth century, and 1524 is the first printed date for this name.²

Blackwork makes an appearance on garments in the early 1500’s. Leonardo da Vinci sketched numerous people in garments adorned with blackwork. The New Carolingian Modelbook lists a garment fragment done in multicolored silks dated between the 13th to 15th century.³ These early designs are angular and castellated. Later designs use more diagonal stitches and this lends them more visual flow.

The Elizabethans loved to stem stitch the outline of all manner of flowers, fruit, and leaves with stem stitch and then fill them in with minute counted-thread patterns. Engraving became extremely popular around this time and embroidery reflected this. Instead of filling the stem outlines with repeating designs, small speckling stitches could be used to fill in the outlines. These speckles could be rendered by engraving while the diaper patterns would be too complicated.

It is widely believed that blackwork originated with Moorish textiles and designs. There are a number of designs printed in various pattern books of the mid-16th century, originating mainly in Germany, depicting the Arabic word Allah over and over again. Strict Islamic people take the commandment against graven images very seriously. Abstract designs are created, then mirrored or made into quarters. The Allah pattern repeats itself over and over again endlessly. This is a common decoration for a mosque and to a Northern European looks just like another pretty pattern. So pretty in fact, there are several renditions of “Allah” in period patterns for blackwork embroidery!

Some think that Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and the first wife of Henry VIII, Bloody Mary’s mother) brought blackwork to the height of English fashion. Since the first pattern books came from the printing houses of Germany (only natural, Germany is the home of the Gutenberg 42 line press and the printing capital of Europe during the 16th century) it is doubtful that her fashion preference dictated the style for all of Europe. Hans Holbein the Younger is best known for his depictions of counted-thread blackwork, and for this reason, reversible blackwork is often known as the “Holbein stitch.” Shirts and smocks get the attention first, and by the late 16th century, entire foreparts, sleeves, stomachers, partlets, coifs, and ruffs all became vehicles for blackwork. Many of the coifs, ruffs, and partlets also benefit from generous amounts of needle-made or bobbin lace, as well as real gold spangles — the ancestor of the sequin. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock’d is chock full of wonderful examples, and there is also a visual tour on the web at

Samplers abound from the late 1500’s, the Jane Bostocke sampler among the most important as it is the earliest known signed and dated sampler (dated 1598). This sampler features several examples of counted thread embroidery, including blackwork, executed in multicolored silks and contains some of the most striking designs of the period.

Arnold, Janet. Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d. London: W.S. Maney & Sons, 1988.

Bassée, Nicolas. German Renaissance Patterns for Embroidery: A facsimile copy of Nicolas Bassée’s New Modelbuch of 1568. Austin: Curious Works Press, 1994.

Bath, Virginia Churchill. Embroidery Masterworks: Classic Patterns and Techniques for Contemporary Application from the Textile Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1972.

Drysdale, Rosemary. The Art of Blackwork Embroidery. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1975.

Geddes, Elisabeth, and McNeill, Moyra. Blackwork Embroidery. New York: Dover, 1976.

Gostelow, Mary. Blackwork. New York: Dover, 1998.

King, Donald, and Santina Levey. The Victoria & Albert Museum’s Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1759. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993.

Mayer-Thurman, Christa C. Textiles in the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1992.

Pascoe, Margaret. Blackwork Embroidery: Design and Technique. London: Batsford, 1986.

Salazar, Kim Brody. The New Carolingian Modelbook: Counted embroidery patterns from before 1600. Albuquerque: Outlaw Press, 1995.

Schuette, Marie and Muller-Christiansen, Sigrid. A Pictorial History of Embroidery. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964.

Snook, Barbara. English Embroidery. London: Mills & Boon, 1974.

Zoppino, Niccolo. Esemplario 1530. Graphed by Susan J. Evans.