Victorian Needlework: Techniques and Designs

by Flora Klickmann (editor)

Second to none in their admiration of fine stitchery, the Victorians adorned their homes and wardrobes with lavish displays of needlework and similar handicrafts. Most nineteenth-century women engaged in some form of sewing ― whether for pleasure, economy, or both ― and in the absence of a tutor, they turned to handbooks such as this rare and authentic guide to the rich and varied intricacies of needlecraft.

Scores of diagrams and photos offer clear illustrations of the step-by-step directions for mastering an array of techniques and patterns. Ranging from a practical lesson in hemstitching to creating doilies with Hungarian embroidery, this vintage volume offers a treasury of what the Victorians termed "fancywork": decorative stitching such as Bulgarian, Catalan, Hungarian, and Baro embroidery; netting; Berlin wool-work; Bohemian, Carrickmacross, Innishmacsaint, and reticella lace: and a bevy of cousins to the burgeoning family of needlepoint.

Aspiring or accomplished, needleworkers at every level of expertise will find projects here to love ― knotting fringes for a handsome finished edge, trimming collars and cuffs with dainty punched work, making a lace collar in Brussels braid, and numerous other crafts, all abounding in old-fashioned charm.

Dover unabridged republication of the edition originally published as The Cult of the Needle by The Office of "The Girl's Own Paper & Woman's Magazine," London.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Emily Flora Klickmann was an English journalist, author and editor. She was the second editor of the Girl's Own Paper, but became best known for her Flower-Patch series of books of anecdotes, autobiography and nature description.