Interested in the History of 17th Century Needlework?
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59-page article on 17th century boarding school embroidery
One of the voices that is missing from historical texts is that of the makers of embroidereries and manufacturers of their materials. This knowledge, called 'embodied knowledge' in the historical community not only can enrich the narrative that surrounds embroidery but often contradicts what has been portrayed in historical texts. As embroidered objects are often some of the few pieces of hard evidence of women's daily lives; it is frequently used as a stand in for women of the past. It is important that embroidery is no longer trivialized or misrepresented in its purpose, skill, complexity, labor, cost and educational or economic impact. One of the primary reasons these voices are missing are the effect of artificial barriers to how history is written and researched. There are many fantastic voices being published in museum catalogs, specialist antique dealer catalogs, and self-publications on needlework; but these efforts are not reaching the larger historic research and publication community because they aren't indexed in databases. Those who have used their embodied knowledge to study needlework owe it to these anonymous women (better called "makers once known") to publish at least once in an academic journal to change the entire historical narrative by bringing our voice to discourse on women of the past.
On Female Education: Projects of Mastery in Seventeenth-Century English Boarding Schools, Patricia Wilson Nguyen in Winterthur Portfolio vol. 59 no 1
This study challenges traditional, text-focused and feminist interpretations of 17th–19th century needlework by combining embodied knowledge with statistical analysis. Examining samplers, pictures, and embroidered objects—often linked to English boarding schools and some colonial American examples—it argues that such works reflect women's education, agency, and skill. By analyzing these artifacts and the life of embroiderer Martha Edlin, the research reveals women's creativity and problem-solving abilities, offering a more nuanced view of their education and societal roles.
'A Bearinge Clothe for the Christeninge' - Part I: Contexts, Materiality and Values, Mary M. Brooks, Cristina Balloffet Carr, and Patricia Wilson Nguyen in Textile History.
This striking gold embroidered cloth had an unknown purpose when accessed into the MET collection in 2016. The team of Brooks, Carr and Nguyen have used the object to pioneer new methods of examining an embroidered textile for evidence of individual embroiderers in a professional setting. In the first paper in a series of three, the purpose of the encrusted embroidery is determined which led to a change in the cloth's name. This object was displayed in the 2022-23 exhibition The Tudors, Art and Majesty in Renaissance England
‘A Bearinge Clothe for the Christeninge’: Part 2: Materials and Making of a Bearing Cloth in the Metropolitan Museum, Cristina Balloffet Carr, Patricia Wilson Nguyen & Mary M. Brooks in Textile History
Part II tests the idea that the object was made in a professional workshop. Using mathematical modelling of needle movements, it estimates total labour time and, by dividing this by the number of embroiderers, the overall duration of the project. Analysis of the design principles shows methods used to speed production and points where individual embroiderers could interpret motifs and choose stitches. The findings indicate that this was a high-quality, professionally made bearing cloth that a team could complete relatively quickly to meet a deadline.
Micrograph is tiled from several hundred separate micrographs.
Scandal and Imprisonment: Gold Spinners of 17th Century England, Tricia Wilson Nguyen in Textile Society of America 2020 Symposium Proceedings.
This article lays out the arguments that gold thread embroidery was more than just something fashionable and shiny to wear. There were real economic impacts which led to the types of scandals that one expects if embroidery is money.
This article can be downloaded and read as open access using this link
