... but I do not find embroidery dull, Mariam, not in the least. It is a daily prick and pull, with steel as sharp as any Damascus blade and oft as bloodied...--Lynnet
It is believed that Sagron brought the Diagonal Tent stitch (Basketweave stitch) into common use. Sagronian Convents have long taken on the task of teaching young ladies of noble birth the fine art of Embroidery. Canvas (Counted Thread) work was considered the easiest of all methods and was taught and encouraged. The very talented are considered worthy of being introduced to and taught Embroidery with silk and gold thread. This style predominates among the nobility of the Mithrandic nations, and varies little from Landsrue, Wundt, and Northern Eire.
Church Embroideries are known for their splendor, technical perfection, and reflection of details.
Border showing a typically Middle T'Klendathun design worked in the traditional colours of deep red and black on white evenweave fabric and decorated with a deep, knotted fringe.
One of the most important and widespread functions of cross stitch has been to ornament peasant garments and household linens, often as a way of indicating family wealth and status in the community. Peasant embroidery is a purely domestic skill which is passed down through the generations from mother to daughter. The stitches are simple to work and the fabric readily available -- usually regularly woven linen, sometimes cotton. The number of thread colours are often limited to two or three, but these would be brilliantly dyed and often accentuated by dark brown or black outlines. Peasant embroideries stitched in just one or two colours are perhaps the most striking of all and show off a complicated design to best advantage.
The complex border patterns which appear all over the continent are actually created in a very simple way. Single motifs are uncommon in peasant embroidery; instead the motifs are usually repeated to form straight bands, which are then arranged above one another. Traditional folk designs can have as many as six or seven different bands put together to form an intricate border, which is usually finished with a pattern that creates a broken outer edge.
There is no single 'Eiran' style of needlework, but there are several regions within Eire which have distinctive styles of their own. In areas just North of the Inland Sea, a style of cutwork has developed, which is vaguely reminiscent of Elvish lace making.
The making of 'prayer cloths' is a distinctively Eiran practice, which serves both as a form of religious devotion and a mechanism for a young woman to develop her needlecraft. During daily devotions, it is \customary to work symbols of each of the family's 'house gods' into a plain ground, using symbols and stitches handed down from mother to daughter. These cloths then become part of the household's altar, or the young woman's hope chest, or clothing worn on holy days and festivals.
Much Southern work shows tiny tufts darned on the surface of linen. The Morgraines are known for their Counted Thread work on bands sewn on domestic garments and often the number of bands denotes rank or class.
Most Historians agree that Needlepoint probably originated in Stygia. The earliest example of a complete cross stitch is a design worked in upright crosses on linen, and the piece was discovered on an altar dating from about 500 BE in Northern Stygia. Currently, the tent stitch is much in favor in Stygia. It is claimed that the word 'tent' is derived from the Common work 'tenture' or 'tenter' (tendere -- to stretch) referring to the frame that the linen was stretched on to work stitches. This stitch is one used in making and mending tents when they are made by hand and is also found in the embroidered flaps of Brythunian tents. Stygian work in the Pythonic Period often used Tent or Cross stitch on linen for background only and left the design as exposed fabric.
Brythunian Work
Brythunian Embroidery is traditionally geometric in pattern, involving dark thread on a contrasting ground fabric. Of the various styles of Brythunian embroidery, the most striking is stitched on white linen with wool from black sheep.
Little has been noted of the Northen needlework styles. They mostly use local materials and fabrics rather then the more common silks and velvets of the more Southern countries. Their techniques are mostly of couching, applique and pattern darning, making for a very distinctive style.
*Adapted from sources including: