Broderie anglaise (French, "English embroidery", ) is a whitework

needlework Needlework refers to decorative sewing and other textile arts, textile handicrafts that involve the use of a Sewing needle, needle. Needlework may also include related textile crafts like crochet (which uses a crochet hook, hook), or tatting, ( ...

technique incorporating features of

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

cutwork Cutwork or cut work, also known as in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace. Cutwork is related ...

and needle lace that became associated with England, due to its popularity there in the 19th century.

History and technique

Broderie anglaise is characterized by patterns composed of round or oval holes, called ''eyelets'', which are cut out of the fabric, then bound with

overcast Overcast or overcast weather, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, is the meteorological condition of clouds obscuring at least 95% of the sky. However, the total cloud cover must not be entirely due to obscuring phenomena near ...

buttonhole stitch Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-sewing stitches used in tailoring, embroidery, and needle lace-making. Applications Traditionally, this stitch has been used to secure the edges of buttonholes. In addition to reinforc ...

es. The patterns, often depicting flowers, leaves, vines, or stems, are further delineated by simple embroidery stitches made on the surrounding material. Later broderie anglaise also featured small patterns worked in satin stitch. The technique originated in 16th century eastern Europe—probably in what is now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

—but remains associated with England because of its popularity there during the 19th century. In the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, broderie anglaise typically had open areas in many sizes. Transfers were used first to lay out the design on the material. In some cases, the holes were punched out with an embroidery stiletto before finishing the edge; in other cases, the fabric was embroidered first, and the hole was cut afterwards, with scissors. Beginning in the 1870s, the designs and techniques of broderie anglaise could be copied by the Swiss hand-embroidery and schiffli embroidery machines. Today, most broderie anglaise is created by machine. Madeira work is a popular form of broderie anglaise associated with artisans on

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, a group of Portuguese islands off the coast of Africa.

Similarities with Chikankari

Chikankari, first recorded in the 16th century in Persia and India, involves intricate needlework with openwork and embroidery. Both techniques use specialised tools to punch holes in the fabric, allowing for the creation of intricate patterns. In Chikankari, a stitch called "Hool" exemplifies this, using a fine detached eyelet stitch where a hole is punched in the fabric and the threads are teased apart.

Fashion and popular culture

Broderie anglaise was extremely popular in England between 1840 and 1880 for women's underclothing and children's wear. The 1950s saw a resurgence in popularity, when it was frequently used to trim dresses and underwear. In 1959,

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

wore a dress of

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain weave, plain-woven textile, fabric typically with Tartan, tartan (plaid), striped, or Check (pattern), check duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton o ...

and broderie anglaise for her wedding to

Jacques Charrier Jacques Charrier (born 6 November 1936) is a French actor, film producer, painter and ceramist. Biography In 1980 he returned to the School of Fine Arts, and went back to painting that was full of references to his two passions, travel and ant ...

. In contemporary western fashion, it has been featured on a wide variety of modern garments such as shorts and even t-shirts. It has been characterized as "lace, but scaled-up" making it more robust and suited to daytime wear, and less associated with the fine, lacy look of lingerie.

References

*S.F.A. Caulfeild and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885.

Notes

External links

Broderie anglaise in TRC Needles19th century English bonnet: decoration with broderie anglaise
from Encyclopædia Britannica Online {{Lace types Needle lace English embroidery