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Canvaswork History in America

by Marcy Brown

Canvaswork has a long and rich history in America, although other forms of needlework such as samplers and quilts are better known a nd documented. This series of articles will introduce you to the history of needlepoint in the United States. This time we'll explore the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Canvaswork in the 17th century was used for pictures, upholstery, cushions, and other household items. The earliest examples of American canvaswork were probably made in England, although there is no definitive proof of that. Unlike crewel work, which interestingly was almost never done in the South, canvaswork was common across all of the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. These early canvaswork pieces were likely done by students and women with some wealth, since finding time for "fancy work" was a luxury when gardening, cooking, mending, cleaning, and child care took up so much of an average woman's time.

Although needlework on canvas is very distinct from actual woven tapestries, early canvaswork was sometimes called tapestry work. This likely derives from the richness found in many early tent stitched pictures.

Pictures were usually very elaborate, with detail taking on more importance than perspective or scale. Consider a picture stitched in 1664 by Rebekah Wheeler, daughter of one of the first settlers of Concord. The picture offers a border of landscape objects at the top, with animals and flowers at the bottom. People, animals, and flowers are all similarly sized. The picture is stitched primarily in Tent Stitch, with some characters created with raised stitches. Since Tent Stitch is excellent for working a detailed design, it was the stitch of choice for work with scenic or floral designs. Scenic pictures were probably displayed prominently in the home.

It was common in the 17th and 18th centuries to work Tent Stitch in horizontal rows, which of course stretches the canvas out of square. There also seemed to be a complete disregard for neatness on the back of the work. Long pieces of thread were frequently carried across to other areas of the canvas, something also seen in linen samplers from the period. Author Burrows Swan claims that "neatness on the back of embroidery was a virtue not adopted until late in the nineteenth century." (Winterthur Guide, p. 37).

Canvases with pictures already drawn on them were probably imported, and quite expensive, so some individuals advertised to teach needleworkers how to draw on canvas. For designs with repeating motifs, the motif might be drawn only once in the center and then the needleworker would carry the design across the entire canvas.

In addition to the Tent Stitch, other common stitches found in early American canvaswork include Flame Stitch, Cross Stitch, Queen Stitch, and Rococo Stitch. Flame-stitched canvas was used for chairs, benches, and bed curtains. Flame stitch was often known as Irish Stitch in early America, though occasionally was referred to as Florentine or Hungarian Stitch. Early newspaper advertisements frequently mentioned instruction in Tent, Irish, and Queen stitches, implying that needleworkers felt that good instruction might be required for success.

The Irish (Flame) Stitch appears vertical on the surface but diagonal on the back. Irish Stitch was used for most 18th century stitched pocketbooks, as well as chair seats, fire screens, pincushions, and wall pockets. In the next article we'll look specifically at the execution of the flame stitch and its many uses in early America.

References

Bath, Virginia Churchill, Needlework in America: History, designs, and techniques; (New York: Viking Press) 1979.

The needle arts: A social history of American needlework; (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books) 1990.

Swan, Susan Burrows, Plain & Fancy: American women and their needlework, 1700-1850; (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston) 1977.

--, A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework; (New York: Crown Publishers) 1976.