is said to be the Spanish stitch referred to in the
old list of stitches, and very likely may be so, as the style and
manner are certainly not English; and we know that Catherine of Aragon
brought wonders of Spanish stitchery with her, and she herself was
devoted to the use of the needle. The story of how, when called before
Cardinal Wolsey and Campeggio, to answer to King Henry's accusations,
she had a skein of embroidery silk round her neck, is well known.

"The black silk outline stitchery on linen lasted well through the
late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Very little of it is seen
outside the museums, as, not being strikingly beautiful or attractive,
it has been destroyed. Another phase of the same stitchery was working
cotton and linen garments, hangings and quilts in a kind of quilted
pattern with yellow silk. The finest materials were used, the padding
being placed bit by bit into its place. The quilting work was made in
tiny panels, illustrating shields and other heraldic devices, and had
a surface as fine as carved ivory. When, as in the case of one sample
at South Kensington, the quilt is additionally embroidered with fine
floss silk flowers, the effect is very lovely."

One interesting feature of "black work" and similar flat embroideries
was their constant use in decorating furnishings for the bedroom. It
was peculiarly well adapted for quilts, as its rather smooth surface
admirably resisted wear.

[Illustration: OLD BED WITH QUILT AND CANOPY AND TRUNDLE
BED BENEATH

Now in Memorial Hall, Deerfield, Mass.]

[Illustration: TWO WHITE TUFTED BEDSPREADS

Both made in Pennsylvania about 100 years ago]

Fashions in needlework changed, but not with the same rapidity as in
clothing. Gradually ideas and customs from other countries crept
into England and new influences were felt. An established trade
with the Orient brought Eastern products to her markets, and oriental
designs in needlework became popular. About this time "crewel" was
much in vogue. This was embroidery done with coloured woollen threads
and was a step backward in the art. Some of this "crewel" work, done
in the seventeenth century, is described by M. Jourdain in "English
Secular Embroidery": "These hangings, bed curtains, quilts, and
valances are of linen or a mixture of cotton and linen, and one type
is embroidered with bold, freely designed patterns in worsted. They
are worked almost always in dull blues and gre