Blackwork Embroidery 

There are two uses for blackwork, namely outline/border and fillwork.  I  consider these two forms to be completely different.  The earlier form, that which you can see in many early 16th century painters (examples are easily found in the paintings of Da Vinci and Hans Holbein the Younger), is a linear, geometric form which always obeys the weave of the fabric.  The later form, that which you can see on the sleeves of Elizabethan noblewomen (the best examples are found in late-16th century portraits of Englishwomen), is a free-form embroidery which may be filled with geometric diaper patterns.  They were very often relieved with vermeil threads, spangles, and secondary colors.

An example of early 16th century blackwork:

 

Although most commonly associated with Spain and England, where it was called trew stitch or Spanishework, blackwork had its origins in the Middle East.  Arabic people used the stitch to write their sayings in their banners, which led to the Italians naming the stitch Punta escritta  (writing stitch).  Although there are examples of blackwork from practically every area of the known world[1], we will focus on the specific blackwork used in the British Isles, Spain, and the Lowlands.

Essentially, early blackwork is a counted-thread embroidery worked in complex geometric shapes and patterns.  Primarily, blackwork was worked on even-weave linen with waxed silk thread[2].  In England, the favored color for the silk thread was black, although there are a few examples of red, and Spanish and French blackwork sometimes employed blue or green.  Occasionally, gold-wrapped thread was used..  Rarely were two colors used together in a blackwork pattern.  Black silk thread was imported from the Mediterranean via the Netherlands[3]. Very few blackworked items were truly reversible, and most embroiderers did not go to the added effort to make items reversible.  Every thread has been carefully ended and clipped so that it is difficult to find, even under close inspection.  The most coarse items which are extant equate to 32-count fabric[4] , which is considered fine by today's standards.

The stitches appear and are the same on the front and back of the piece.  In order to achieve this, blackwork requires using no knots.  In order to secure the thread, the needle is threaded with a doubled thread, and a "lark's knot" is secured using the loop of the doubled thread.

 When the thread is to be cut, it must be worked under several stitches (no less than five) and then cut close to the piece.  It was common to secure the stitches with wax. 

There is only one stitch required for basic blackwork.  If you can do a running stitch you can do blackwork.  All that is necessary to do is outline a shape and turn around and fill in the blanks when you're done.   Because of this stitch, the front and the back of the piece are exactly the same, it's a perfect stitch for embellishing cuffs and ruffs because you don't need a hem, and you don't need to double your fabric.

 Pattern Sources:

There are plenty of extant patterns for needlework.  Also, as mentioned earlier, some artists were so faithful to their sitter that you can actually take the blackwork pattern straight from their work--as can be seen in Hans' Holbein's painting of Jane Seymour (below)[8]

 

 

Bibliography

Altherr, Ilse, Reversible Blackwork, self-published 1978.

Arnold, Janet.  Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd.  Maney, London, 1988. 

Beck, Thomasina. The Embroiderer's Flowers. Newton Abbott, Devon: David and Charles, 1992.

Caulfield, Sophia Frances and Blanche Saward.  Dictionary of Needlework, Arno Press, New York, 1972.

Crowfoot, Elisabeth.  Frances Pritchard and Kay Staniland.  Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 4.  Textiles and Clothing c. 1150-c. 1450

Digby, George Wingfield.  Elizabethan Embroidery.   New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1964

Ganz, Paul.  Holbein:  The Paintings.  London, Phaidon Press, 1956

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

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

Pascoe, Margaret. Blackwork Embroidery. B.T. Batsford ltd. London. 1986.

Vinciolo, Federico.  Singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts, 1587.  Republished by Dover under the title "Renaissance Patterns for Lace, Embroidery, and Needlepoint"

Zöllner, Frank.  Leonardo da Vinci.  Taschen, Cologne.  2000