A split stitch design for a shirt, in the German style

I recently had a chance to make a collar panel for a friend's shirt as part of a collaborative project.

I used this pattern from 'Book of Embroidery: 1534', by Johan Schartzenberger, Woodcutter of Augsburg as my inspiration.

Time was short on this one, so I made some adjustments to make working the piece a bit faster.

The original woodcut is a bit wonky in places, as so many of the period embroidery designs are. I am always torn whether to alter the design to make it more symmetrical, or leave it as is. I altered some of the wonky bits, but left the majority of the design as it was published.

The base fabric is linen (donated by THL Sorcha - thank you). The embroidery is worked in split stitch with a bit of double running stitch. I traced the design onto the linen using a Frixion heat-removable marker and a light board.

 

 

 

Overall, and given the time restrictions, I am fairly happy with how this piece turned out. Now it has been passed onto the next person for making up.

Many thanks to THL Sorcha for donating the linen.