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    White Work: Techniques and 188 Designs
    White Work: Techniques and 188 Designs
    White Work: Techniques and 188 Designs
    Ebook89 pages26 minutes

    White Work: Techniques and 188 Designs

    By Carter Houck

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In dozens of countries and in hundreds of varieties, the venerable craft of white work has become a byword for the ultimate form of needlework elegance. Its 3,000-year history encompasses every conceivable form of garment and decorative linen, from peasant blouses to papal vestments and the bridal gowns of queens; it appears in many guises as the favored embroidery of needleworkers from Denmark to South Africa, from England to the Philippines.
    Unfortunately, white work has frequently been neglected in the United States because of its underserved reputation as a difficult form of embroidery — the type of work that, as author Carter Houck states, is never seen "beyond the glass cases of a museum." In reality white work can be performed at all levels of expertise; even more important, Ms. Houck shows that superb results can be achieved without laborious practice and prodigious technique. From these pages white work emerges as a vibrant and continually evolving form of contemporary embroidery that is both beautiful in itself and valuable for its myriad uses.
    Ms. Houck assumes no previous knowledge of white work and provides complete information on materials, pattern-transferring techniques, and instructions and diagrams for over 20 stitches: the simple chain stitch and running stitch; satin stitches and French knots; and more difficult "virtuoso" techniques like the Star and Shadow.
    Following the instructions are 40 pages of magnificent patterns, including florals, repeats, abstract designs, spot and corner decorations in a wide variety of sizes and moods, and two complete sets of alphabets for use as monograms. For each design Ms. Houck has suggested a stitch or stitches that produce optimal effects. As a result, the book acts as a self-contained guide to white work that can transform blouses, cuffs, collars, scarves, place settings, curtains, or any embroidery medium into treasures of heirloom quality.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateJun 10, 2013
    ISBN9780486318066
    White Work: Techniques and 188 Designs

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    Reviews for White Work

    3.5/5

    16 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Better pictures than directions. But, some good ideas.
    • 3/5
      A stitch dictionary and patterns. No pictures of finished pieces. Handy, but by no means definitive.
    • 2/5
      While this contains many very pretty antique patterns, which I think the author says are early-20th-century German, the stitches taught are very basic. Pulled or drawn thread work, says the author, need whole books in themselves (then why call the book whitework when it deals only with surface embroidery?).
      If you already know how to embroider, you may appreciate the patterns. But if you need basics, look elsewhere, especially if you want to know what kind of fabrics and which threads you might want to use. And if you want to learn even slightly complex stitches or techniques, look elsewhere also.

    Book preview

    White Work - Carter Houck

    DESIGNS

    INTRODUCTION

    For most modern women the term White Work brings to mind visions of lacy, intricate pieces of embroidery obviously worked under a magnifying glass and too formidable to contemplate beyond the glass display cases of a museum. This vision is not necessarily true. White Work, which simply means white embroidery on white fabric, has long been a part of the embroidery tradition of many countries around the world. Since there must always be a smooth, even quality to the stitches that makes them blend perfectly with the background, White Work has always been the best way to show one’s talent in needlework. Whether the embroidery is composed of a few simple stitches or looks like elegant lace, the techniques are basically the same. Fortunately, a little time and practice with the basic stitches can produce a very fine piece of White Work.

    This book is intended as an introduction to the craft of White Work. It contains simplified techniques, stitch instructions and 188 embroidery patterns for White Work. I have chosen mostly those designs which can be worked effectively in raised embroidery using one, two or three types of stitches. I have purposely omitted many patterns that involve open work, pulled thread or cut work because I feel that these techniques are books in themselves. (See Fangel, Winckler and Madsen: Danish Pulled Thread Embroidery, Dover 0-486-23474-6.) The designs are grouped according to the stitches which I feel work best for them. As you become more sure of your technique, you can use other stitches, allowing your imagination to be your guide. The designs are all taken from an early twentieth-century German pattern catalog and were originally intended for White Work.

    A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHITE WORK

    Probably the oldest known piece that could be called White Work

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