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The 2023 Witney exhibition catalog is their first hardcover book covering an extremely rare collection of treasures of the schoolroom from 1650-1750.  The primary collection is the 1667/1668 casket on the cover worked by Elizabeth Hall at the Shacklewell School outside Hackney and containing a number of small casket toys made by her.  The family continued to add items to the box such as a handmade layette set, small whitework pieces and their patterns.  The box also came with a set of samplers made later by other family members and friends from this small Quaker meeting.  What is stunning is the research done by Rebecca Scott and Isabella Rosner regarding Elizabeth, her friends and family using the extensive collection of family letters.  Never has so much been known about a set of embroidery from the period.  Copies of some of the important letters are shown in the book.  The casket and sampler worked by Hannah Downes, now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum's was made contemporaneously adding to the information.  Samplers worked by girls who went to school and were attendant at Elizabeth's wedding are included in the exhibit giving a fleshed out understanding of these women's worlds at the time.

This tome is a follow on to the 2022 Witney exhibiton catalog which extensively covered samplers of the period (and many are on display with the Hall sets now.  But it is the prequel to the 2024 Witney exhibition catalog which will be larger and will cover more caskets with their internal items which also have impressive information on the girls and their schools. 

The 126-page book has full page photography, including many views of the casket and very magnified views of the casket smalls in the clear photographs you have come to expect from Witney's catalogs with an essay about each piece.  

This is the 2024 Christmas Ornament kit in limited release.  Kits are available for the project including full tubes of the silks, spangles, beads and trim to work one ornament.  The instructions for the 4" diameter ornament with sampler stitches are available for free on the teaching site for download.  If you like buying ala carte, the spangles and trim are also currently available in the shop.  

The kit includes 40 ct Picadill White Linen, soie paris silks, gilt mignardise trim, shaped spangles, beads, a needle and the gilt bullion/silver check No 6 needed for finishing. New - a 4" die cut card stock/batting kit for finishing is part of the kit for easy and fast finishing.  Not included are fabric backing

This is the 2023 Christmas Ornament kit.   The instructions for the 4" diameter ornament with sampler stitches are available for free on the teaching site for download.  If you like buying ala carte, the spangles and trim are also currently available in the shop.  

The kit includes 40 ct Picadill White Linen, soie paris silks, five types of shaped spangles, beads, a needle and the gilt bullion/check cord or 9 OR gilt bullion/silver check No 6 needed for finishing.  Not included are fabric backing and card stock/felt for building the ornament.

NEW - a 4" die cut card stock/batting kit for finishing can be purchased (includes die cuts in matt board, poster board and three pieces of die cut batting) for easy and fast finishing.

This metal thread trims are tiny and were used extensively on 17th century stumpwork and up to today on Eastern European folk costume.  The gilt version is petite and close to the size used on 17th century stumpwork to edge costume on figures emulating metallic lace of the period.  The silver version is slightly larger and can still be used that way but opens up all kinds of other ideas to decorate embroidery.  

The gilt version is about 3/16" wide and the silver version is 1/4" wide

This is a metal thread that I have been searching for forever!  The machine to make it is intense and apparently only one company still has it (and it broke while making my large batch - I hope it can be fixed)

NEW!  Gilt Folien Die Stamped pieces:

Gilt Folien No 411 - small cup shaped die cut spangles that are patterned on both sides.  They can be held down with a bead, stitches, or a large french knot.  1 gram (approx. 20-24 in bag).

Gilt Folien No 198 - small flower shaped die cut pieces that are held down by stitch over them 2-3 times with a gold or colored thread.  1/2 gram (about 14) or 1 gram packages (about 28).  

This is one of the most exciting product finds in years for me - spangles that are shaped!  These spangles are made the way our normal ones are, but are then stamped with a die again to make them either textured or have a flower type shape.  There are two which were sent in the Frostings Box 6 (No. 22 and No. 24) and two NEW ones (No 27 and No 23).  

They are gilt and packaged in bags of 1 gram each.  They are almost 4-5 mm in diameter.  Depending on the spangle type, there are between 20-23 per gram.

You can imagine all kinds of ways to embellish them by using colored thread to secure them, a colored silk purl chip, a bead, etc.

A new online course started Jan 1st, 2024.  Late registrations taken 

There are only 24 spots available out of 250.

Paying in full is also a ~5% discount from installment plans.  

There are two ways to pay.  Either in full or on a 18-month payment plan using PayPal.  The links in blue below are for payment plans and take you to a PayPal page to complete the order.  Shipping is included, so please choose your correct region.  If your preferred email or shipping address is not the same as entered for PayPal, please email me with the correct info.  Husbands have a tendency to unsubscribe your class emails.

The installment plans have changed to have a total of seven shipments vs 2-3 shipments when paying in full.  That is why there is a discount for paying in full.

18-months USA Shipping ($205.33/month)

18-months Canada Shipping ($210.33/month)

18-months Rest of World Shipping ($215.85/month)

• The course will be an 'all-in-one' course with over 230 packages of silk and metal threads, silk purls, stumpwork glass eyes, stumpwork wire, stumpwork fruit forms, linen fabric, slate frame, casket box and lid inserts, and finishing materials (silk lining, lining papers, gilt edge papers, gilt woven edging ribbons (2 types), hardware, silk ribbon, mirror, glue, etc) for the entire project including 560 pages of instructions that are printed from pdf pages online, 7 stitch animations and 9 hours of detailed finishing videos (21 videos). 

• The course only assumes the most basic of knowledge - threading a needle, doing a basic satin stitch.  Full instructions for couching, needlelace, using the thread types, framing up your linen, tracing pattern, etc. are included.  The stitching is divided about 50% couching down unusual threads, 25% satin stitch/french knots, and 25% needlelace.  The emphasis is on using the unusual threads custom made for the project, learning the needlelace and doing the finishing - things that are new to the typical stitcher.   I have posted a blog with comments about taking the course from previous students for their perspective.

• Casket is: 11.5" wide x 8" deep x 6" high with feet

• It is designed to be worked over a 24-month period.  There are only 24 out of 250 spots for this course left and it is not planned on being run again after the spots are gone as some threads will not be available and the cabinet maker is retiring next year and these are all the boxes I will get.  100 people have already taken the project with several of the caskets finished and looking lovely!  (see a finished student casket here) 

• The course starts on January 1st with user names/passwords for the online materials sent that day.  Shipments of the threads/fabrics will avoid Christmas to reduce the impact of Christmas issues at post offices, theft on porches, and customs back-ups for international students.

• There will be between 2-3 shipments for the course if paid in full.  The installment payment shipments will be 7 shipments.  The linen, slate frame and half the threads will be shipped first.  (For installment payments, this first shipment is divided into 5 boxes vs 1 box).  A second shipment will include the box and more threads.  The third shipment will be the finishing papers, glues, tapes, etc.  Box sizes are different and not all items can be shipped in one box.   The shipments are timed to correspond with payment milestones.

• The instructions are released one lesson a month online.  All previous lessons remain open after a new lesson is released.  An email is sent on the 1st each month to remind you to log in.

• You stitch at your own pace.  There is an online forum (NING) which all students past and present in Thistle Threads courses use as a discussion and Q&A forum.  Pictures can be posted.

• Orders paid in full will have access to all lessons and materials shipped earlier, taking into account issues with near-holiday shipping.  Materials are only shipped after students have been given fair warning with an email so they can be on the look-out for boxes and give notice of vacation holds. 

• US shipping is priority mail.  Overseas shipping is first class mail except for the wooden box which will come priority mail. Customs duties are the responsibilities of the student.  I can not ship marked 'gift' or 'educational materials'.

• Please do not email me with requests for box only, patterns-only, box building instructions, or to reprice the class without items you already have.  The answer is no.  Why is the answer no?

If you are interested in taking the course or finding out more, email me at tricia@alum.mit.edu