A history on redwork needlepoint

Redwork became popular in the late 1800's because of a colourfast thread made in Turkey. Up until then, coloured threads did not hold their colour in the wash and as a result could not be used with much success to adorn everyday items like dish towels and bed spreads.

The simplicity of redwork designs, and the fact that they were embroidered with very simple stitches on inexpensive muslins, meant that nearly everyone could have decorated linens. Children often learned how to embroider on "Penny Squares", little designs printed on muslin and sold at the general stores for a penny. Redwork quilts were mostly "summer weight" linens, meaning they had no batting. The Redwork squares were usually stitched together without sashing, and either quilted to a backing with a feather stitch or simply tied with string or yarn.

When synthetic dyes began to be manufactured in the United States, the popularity of Redwork diminished and embroidering with colors became very popular. Redwork can be embroidered in any color, Bluework and Blackwork is still Redwork, only it's done in Blue or Black.

Today you can find a wonderful variety of books with patterns that go from simple to advanced, as mentioned before it is a great way to get a child to enjoy needlework - why not get them to work with there favourite colour.

Happy stitching, XXoo S