Links

Historical Needlework on the Web

The Blackwork Embroidery Archives - A wonderful starting place for counted blackwork. There are many free charts, a wonderful set of instructions for the Holbein or double-running stitch, and a good bibliography. 

Developing Your Own Pattern Book - Some helpful hints for keeping your own pattern book based on period imagery.

The Elizabethan Practical Companion Blackwork Gallery - This gallery is intended to assist costumers in looking at ways of incorporating blackwork embroidery into Renaissance-era costume.

Gavvin's Keep: Ladies Solar - Links to nearly every period and historical embroidery page on the 'net. An excellent starting place if you're searching for information on a historical technique. Highly Recommended!

Slips: Late 16th - 17th Century Embroidery - An article about slips, with several good pictures.

Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs - A revised version of an article that originally appeared in the 1995 Arts and Sciences Supplement of Pikestaff, the newsletter of the East Kingdom.

Information & Instruction

American Needlepoint Guild, Inc (ANG) - A treasure trove of stitch diagrams and instructions, articles on design, colour, and the theory of needlework, and opportunities to join challenging, interesting classes.

Classic Stitches - An extensive site for the Scottish magazine, including a large stitch dictionary and free projects ranging from freeform needlepoint to counted blackwork.

Counted Cross Stitch, Needlework, and Stitchery Page - Probably the best starting place to find nearly any information about stitchery on the Net, this site has everything from links to designers' pages to charities and businesses, with much, much more.

The Embroiderer's Guild of America - Check to see if there is a local branch of the EGA near you! This is another guild that studies historical and modern needlework and offers extensive lists of classes for members.

The Heritage Shoppe - Helpful information about embroidery stitches, essays, and several class-type articles make this a must-see.

Sharon Boggon's Home Page - Home of Sharon's Needlework Stitch Dictionary, a very useful reference. Also read about her use of textiles and fibers in modern art!

Designers & Ordering

Elegant Stitch - A well-known online shop with an extensive selection of products.

Herrschners Online - One of the most famous mail-order needlework companies has an impressive online presence as well! Join their free membership program and receive members-only specials and sales.

Luminosity Designs - Home of Jennifer Gilligan's illuminated manuscript designs, as well as others. She offers a petit point charted version of "May" from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.

Silkweaver Fabrics - A company offering various needlework fabrics at excellent prices. They also run constant eBay auctions.

Sue Lentz Needlework - An excellent place to order supplies from, Sue Lentz also does designs of her own, including her unique Stitch Sampler Sheets and Fabric Notebooks.

Wyndham Needleworks - A hard-to-beat online store, featuring an extensive line of supplies at very good prices.

X-Calibre Designs - Carol Leather's website, featuring blackwork and counted cross-stitch. There is a free introductory online blackwork class featured.

Fabrics & Fibers

DMC - One of the most well-known needlework companies, DMC's website features information about their threads, a history of the company, conversion charts and tips, and a large gallery of free projects ranging from crochet to counted cross-stitch.

Kreinik Online Thread Center - A huge website featuring information on all of Kreinik's products, from their well-known metallic threads to their real metal threads and paillettes, as well as a growing collection of free designs.

Rainbow Gallery - A website featuring information about Rainbow Gallery's enormous collection of threads, ranging from silk and wool to exotic blends, as well as tips for using their specialty fibers and free charts featuring different threads.

Wichelt Imports - The distributor of fine linens and fabrics, you can find an online catalogue as well as information on where to find their products.

Zweigart - Here you can find everything from an extensive online catalogue of their fabrics to helpful hints and tips to a calendar of needlework shows and events for the year.

Software

Hobbyware - Makers of Pattern Maker and Pattern Maker Pro for the PC. There is a downloadable demo as well as information about their programs.

PC Stitch Homepage - Another charting program for the PC, the site has a downloadable demo as well as information about their other software products, such as the Just Cross Stitch Pattern CDs and a plastic canvas charting program.

Books & Designs

Hard-to-Find Needlework Books - If you've been searching for a particular book for years, only to find that it's out of print, this is the place to look. Just be careful; your budget may not recover.

Sue's Cross Stitch Freebie Finder - A guide to free cross-stitch, hardanger, and blackwork designs on the web.

Graphics by

and