Crewel Embroidery Art

Amazing!

The technical  and creative art of Crewel and Chain stitch Embroidery has been passed down through many generations, from grandfather’s, fathers then to sons and daughters. It is a labor of love and dedication to a work that carries on a great tradition of creative style and beauty. Crewel embroidery fabrics have been hand designed for generations, with a pencil in hand on large pads of paper. Some of the designs were literally designed for royalty. Today in this modern world they still embody a form of textile designs that also fits the current trends of our Interior design styles today. The Crewel handwork designs are worked with one or two-ply wool yarns and when embroidered onto the ground fabric they create a slightly raised design. The fabric choices are usually cotton duck fabric, twill, Linen, cotton velvet fabric, and lighter Silk fabrics and Organza fabrics used for Crewel fabric draperies. In fact Crewel designs on fabric are a feast for the eyes, they can be hand designed with a variety of colors. There are red crewel fabrics with elaborate floral designs, blue Crewel embroidery fabrics, white embroidery Crewel fabrics and as many designs and color combinations that the mind can imagine. The yarns are all hand dyed in large vats and hung to dry. One does not really see the full process that goes into each Crewel fabric design from the beginning of the drawing to the completed end product. There is a painstaking amount of time and labor and love that goes into each piece once the design is imagined and drawn.

Creating The Crewel Fabric 

How it all works!

There is someone to punch tiny holes in the paper for the entire outline of the design. Hours and hours can be spent sitting and punching these small holes. This allows for the design to be transferred onto the cloth. The ground fabric is then spread out on a wooden floor in length, and the prepared pattern is put directly on top. A fluid is put onto a cloth and rubbed with a chalk to imprint the Crewel design onto the fabric. 

The colors are all chosen and the yarns are all weighed in the designed colors. Then it is off to the needle artist. Once the long journey of the Crewel fabric design needle work is final it is off to be washed and cleaned.

The beauty of this Crewel fabric is that custom Crewel pillows, Crewel draperies, Crewel bedspreads, Crewel Duvets, and many crewel accessories can be made, Many item then are created with elegant and beautiful Crewel Chainstitch, embroidered rugs, pillows, wall hangings and more. The Crewel Chainstitch as used for rugs and some pillows certainly creates a very durable end product, as the needlework covers the complete fabric!