Crewel is embroidery technique originally used to bring epic stories to life using a wide variety of stitches to follow a design applied to a base fabric. The most recognizable designs are from its heyday in 17th and 18th century England, but today’s crewel fabrics run the gamut from traditional to modern abstract.
We’ll explore how crewel embroidery’s olden-times origins gave way to modern crewelwork that brings a piece of history into your home.
What’s the history of crewel fabric?
Crewel embroidery was popularized in England during the 1600s – 1700s and later migrated to colonial America. Yet its origins stretch back at least a millennium – the earliest surviving example is The Bayeux Tapestry from the 1070s (not actually a tapestry) depicting the Norman conquest on linen with worsted wool. A museum in Sweden also houses the Överhogdals tapestries from the 11th and 12th centuries that illustrate Ragnarok, or the downfall of the world.
Following those cheery beginnings, crewel embroidery was used extensively for religious vestements and altar drapings. After the Protestant Reformation, it became popular to use in secular settings and the home on furniture, cushions, and bed hangings. Designs progressed from “traditional” Jacobean motifs – “Tree of Life” with highly stylized flora and fauna paired with trailing vines and leaves, to Elizabethan garden-inspired patterns, to Chinese motifs done in primarily blue greens (sometimes a “dull pinkish red”) supported by brighter greens and browns and possibly inspired by Persian silks during the William & Mary period, and a Jacobean resurgence during Queen Anne’s reign. After it jumped the pond to colonial New England, stitch types became fewer, patterns smaller, with primary colors used most often.
Crewel found a natural fit in early Colonial home decor in the form of bed hanging. The “master” bed was often located in the parlor on public display, therefore richly embroidered fabrics became the ultimate status symbol. From 1896-1926 the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework in Massachusetts revived interest in crewel embroidery, and it remains a treasured decorative fabric today.
Crewelwork embroidery on a curtain, England circa 1696
How is crewel fabric made?
Originally made by hand embroidering worsted wool on a linen twill base cloth stretched in an embroidery hoop to create a raised, dimensional look, modern crewel is also done on stiff fabrics like cotton, polyester, velvet, silk organza or even jute in synthetic and natural embroidery yarns. Skilled artisans still do crewel embroidery by hand, but computerized automation has made mass producing the fabric a more affordable way for people to enjoy the rich fabric in their own homes. Firm base cloths are needed to support the heavy embroidery, but today’s fabrics have enough drape that they’re easier to use in home decor and clothing.
What are the best uses for crewel fabric in home decor?
Modern crewel embroidered fabric is wonderful for curtains, bedding, cushion and throw pillow covers, even lampshades! Its delicate, intricate nature means it isn’t suitable for super high-traffic, heavy use areas of the home.
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Some Regal Fabrics Crewel Selections:
K-VIVIANA MULBERRY
K-ANASTASIA CADET
K-PANORAMA SEA
K-ELDRICH SEASPRAY
K-RAZ SURF
K-ELDRICH BERRY
K-ELDRICH CREAM
K-ELDRICH MUSHROOM
K-RAZ PETAL
K-RAZ PUNCH
K-PANORAMA CANYON
K-PANORAMA CARNIVAL
K-PANORAMA INDIGO