Crewelwork came to the United States from England, where it gained its
popularity during the rule of King James I. This time in history was
the Jacobean period and the embroidery of the time was called Jacobean.
Crewel was taken from the type of yarn that was used "krua" which means
wool. This wool yarn was a thin worsted yarn made of two threads. The
term crewel embroidery actually means wool embroidery and today refers
to the design of the period not just the wool yarn that was used in the
stitching.
The first crewel or Jacobean designs came from the orient and were
called "palampores." These were painted or printed by the East India
Company and sent to England. The Tree of Life was the standard design
and was a stem rising from mounds or hills called "terra firma." It was
exaggerated foliage and flowers with birds and other wildlife done in
big and bold designs. Most of the crewelwork done was extremely heavy
as these were used to decorate walls and beds that were to keep out the
cold winds.
There were no standard stitches that were used in doing the crewel
embroidery but the most common stitches of the times were chain, stem,
long-and-short, straight, satin, french knot, running, feather and
herringbone. The fabric of choice during those times were very heavy to
accommodate the uses. The colors were normally in the green and blue
hues and only small amounts of yellow and muted shades of red were used.
When crewel was introduced to the colonies it was scaled down to suit
the needs of the times. The yarns that were used were also more crude
than the European yarns and the first dye that was used was indigo and
thus brought about an offshoot of crewel called Deerfield.
Today crewelwork is done in almost any type of yarn and on any fabric.
Only the style is the remnants of the original crewel of years gone by.
