French Ecclesiastical Embroidery

Looking at beautiful embroidery makes me weak in the knees.


And taking pictures of beautiful embroidery...

Having images to keep and study...well...


That's priceless.


When I took my Tambour Beading Masterclass, Bob Haven treated our class by showing us this antique French ecclesiastical stole which he had bought at a flea market in Paris.


It was stitched on silk satin and the silk was basted onto a piece of muslin for safekeeping.


Bob understands the importance of preserving, sharing and studying these rare antique embroideries and didn't hesitate a second when I asked if I could post the images on my blog. Thank you again Bob.


The embroidery wasn't quite complete so you could see that the transfer was made by pouncing chalk over a series of needle holes pricked onto a pattern.


The holes were incredibly tiny -- this photo is a close up so the "dots" appear much larger than they actually were.


Because the piece was laid out on a high table, I wasn't able to get a picture of the entire stole. Sorry about that.


But I love to study the shading, the use of metal threads, the design, the stitches...


After returning home, I went on to Amazon France looking for French tambour beading books. Though I found a few, I was more intriqued by this amazing french book titled De Fleurs en Aiguille. I know enough French to know that the book was about flowers and needlework (actually...it's something like Flowers in Needlework: The Art of Embroidery in
the Visitation)...and the cover photograph gave me heart palpitations...so I took a chance and ordered it.


And OH!! I was NOT disappointed. This book is an absolute treasure trove of beautiful images and close ups of the embroidery created by the nuns of the Visitation of Mary or Visitandines founded in the 17th century in France. I found a newsletter here that explains a lot more detail about the museum, the Visitandines and their art...the book is actually a catalogue for a museum exhibit was held in 2009 at The Musée de la Visitation in Moulins.

I've added that museum to my "must see" list.

Most of the book's subject matter is ecclesiastical but don't let that fool you. It's absolutely stunning.


The book is written in French so I cannot understand very much. But it's worth the price and shipping for the pictures alone.

I also own a piece of ecclesiastical embroidery that I bought to study. However it is not nearly as fine as the work I showed you today. I'll share that tomorrow.

Have a beauty-filled day.