page_title: Crewel embroidery
hierarchical_section_title: Crewel embroidery
caption_attribution_description: Detail of a fanciful leaft in crewel embroidery on a curtain, c. 1696, Victorian &amp; Albert Museum T.166-1961
context_page_description: Crewel embroidery, or crewelwork, is a type of surface embroidery using wool. A wide variety of different embroidery stitches are used to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old.
  The origin of the word crewel is unknown but is thought to come from an ancient word describing the curl in the staple, the single hair of the wool. The word crewel in the 1700s meant worsted, a wool yarn with twist, and thus crewel embroidery was not identified with particular styles of designs, but rather was embroidery with the use of this wool thread. Crewel wool has a long staple; it is fine and can be strongly twisted. Modern crewel wool is a fine, 2-ply or 1-ply yarn available in many different colours. Crewel embroidery is often associated with England in the 17th and 18th centuries, and from England was carried to the American colonies. It was particularly popular in New England. The stitches and designs used in America were simpler. The Deerfield Embroidery movement revived interest in crewel embroidery.
context_section_description: Crewel embroidery, or crewelwork, is a type of surface embroidery using wool. A wide variety of different embroidery stitches are used to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old.
  The origin of the word crewel is unknown but is thought to come from an ancient word describing the curl in the staple, the single hair of the wool. The word crewel in the 1700s meant worsted, a wool yarn with twist, and thus crewel embroidery was not identified with particular styles of designs, but rather was embroidery with the use of this wool thread. Crewel wool has a long staple; it is fine and can be strongly twisted. Modern crewel wool is a fine, 2-ply or 1-ply yarn available in many different colours. Crewel embroidery is often associated with England in the 17th and 18th centuries, and from England was carried to the American colonies. It was particularly popular in New England. The stitches and designs used in America were simpler. The Deerfield Embroidery movement (1896-1926) revived interest in crewel embroidery.
caption: Fanciful leaf in crewelwork, detail of a curtain, English, c. 1696. Victoria and Albert Museum T.166-1961.
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