The Stitch Safari Podcast
Episodes
The Japanese Aesthetic and Kimono
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The romantic and exquisitely wrought designs of the Japanese aesthetic featured on numerous Kimono, inspired many through their elegance and exotici...
Embroidered Rank Badges or Mandarin Squares
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rank Badges or Mandarin Squares as they’re also known, are a true representation of the elegance and diversity of East Asian embroidery – there’...
Embroidered Dragon Robes
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dragon Robes conjure exotic, mythical images of a colourful past concept of the mysterious Far East, drawing deeply on ancient Chinese culture and sym...
The Evolution of East Asian Silk Embroidery
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
East Asian Silk Embroidery - an exquisite and stunningly beautiful art form emerging from China, the ancient masters of silk, migrating to Korea and J...
Elizabeth I's Wardrobe
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Embroidery was front and centre, of Elizabeth I's wardrobe, playing its role in enriching surfaces, referencing the symbology of colour – a t...
Bess of Hardwick and the Prison Embroideries of Mary Queen of Scots
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bess of Hardwick is probably best known for the immense value of the inventories she had made sometime during 1601, itemising all the furnishings an...
The Field of the Cloth of Gold
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There was one event during 1520 that was quite possibly the costliest, most excessive, most elaborate, dazzling display of overt and blatant showiness...
The Magnificence of Tudor Textiles and Embroidery
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Tudor’s were the great image-makers of their time, glorified by some of the world’s most magnificent paintings and extant textiles and embroid...
Raised Work, Embossed Work, Stumpwork
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dimension and height in the needle arts create visual excitement and form, and the Elizabethan’s propelled this form of embroidery to a whole new ...
Blackwork Embroidery
16 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This delicate, counted thread technique, traditionally worked in black thread on a white or off white even-weave fabric such as cotton or linen, has a...
Embroidered Samplers
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Derived from the Latin word ‘exemplum’ or Old French term ‘essamplaire’ meaning example, Samplers were a way to reference various designs, typ...
Elizabethan Embroidery - An Overview
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the Elizabethan age, came high adventure and travel, bringing new design inspiration, and fostering that much-needed re-birth or re-flowering of ...
Opus Anglicanum - The Flowering of Embroidery Then and Now
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore Opus Anglicanum and its effect on fashion and embroidery in the 20th and 21st centuries. The simple fact is, that in the ...
The Art and Techniques of Opus Anglicanum
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Opus Anglicanum was the Haute Couture of its time, whether, for secular or religious garments, coverings, purses, seal bags or even horse trappers, th...
What Is Opus Anglicanum?
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Opus Anglicanum refers to the body of unsurpassed English embroidery, spanning a period from 1100 – 1450. It took the medieval world by storm and ...
The Black Prince's Jupon
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The focus for this episode is on a medieval garment – over 600 years old, worn by Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince.
The Bayeux Tapestry - Satire and Marketing
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode will end our exceptional journey with inspired satire, as well as its marketing appeal, uniquely reinforcing the Bayeux Tapestry’s long...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Influencer
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Bayeux Tapestry is its indisputable power as an influencer, both Napoleon and Hitler saw power in the med...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part V
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Enter Matilda. A secret operation, called Special Project Brittany, codenamed ‘Matilda’ was brought into play where The Bayeux Tapestry was to b...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part IV
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Bayeux Tapestry - a fragile strip of medieval linen covered in embroidery telling the story of the Battle of Hastings, wrangled over by so many ...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part III
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Moving forward to World War II - The Bayeux Tapestry was now a survivor for almost 880 years, so what exactly was it about this monumental embroider...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part II
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores the three French plays inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry along with its return to Bayeux, where it was easily accessible for a tim...
The Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part 1
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The longevity of the Bayeux Tapestry displays the footprint of its past, both artistically and historically, and most importantly, as an embroidery te...
Medieval Embroidery Stitches
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we'll be taking a quick look at the types of stitches used throughout this time as well as to re-cap on just how far we’ve com...
Medieval Embroidery Tools
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Looking at, and researching surviving work produced during the Middle Ages, has made me want to explore the tools Medieval embroiderers used. Woul...
Medieval Guilds
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Medieval Guilds were formed to promote and protect the art of embroidery, a major trade in the Middle Ages.
The Sequestered Stitch: Monastic Embroidery
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode I’m looking through some fascinating information on Medieval embroidery worked in nunneries and monasteries, the providers of a...
Medieval Narrative Textiles - A World in Images
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today the connection I want to explore, deals with the art of a stitched or woven narrative in Medieval textiles – a world in images, to see if I ca...
Medieval Colour
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many ways to approach Colour – it’s something I love working with and I’ve researched a great deal, but I have to say, looking at i...
Medieval Artistic Styles: The Influencers - Part 1
10 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Embroidery is and will always be a reflection and mirroring of cultures, fashions and styles. Just look to the many excavated finds throughout the w...
Medieval Artistic Styles: The Influencers - Part 2
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I’ll be focussing on the final four of the eight styles that impacted on Medieval Art. I like to call them The Influencers. I...
An Introduction to Medieval Art and Embroidery
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Medieval Art - a period when embroidery was King. It’s time, fellow followers of needlework and stitch to embrace the stunning aesthetic of Mediev...
Cloth of Gold: Sea Silk
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Believed to bring good luck, the rare byssus cloth is extremely light and warm and is made from fibres harvested from giant molluscs. One of its rem...
Wool - The Common Cloth
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you remember that feeling of comfort and warmth from a favourite hand-knitted woollen jumper? Each interlinked stitch enveloped us with hand-made...
The Threads of Life - Cotton
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cotton, that soft, fluffy, staple plant fibre, was well known and used from ancient times. It grew wild, it travelled the globe naturally, via its s...
Idioms, Proverbs and Truisms
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore some of the figurative illustrations of the word stitch and its component family that have enriched our daily lives and lit...
Silk - The Shimmering Mist
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The word silk conjures the exotic romanticism of The Far East and The Silk Road, with a history replete with the secrets of sericulture, caravan trade...
The Fibres of Life - Flax
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meander through history and pre-history and delve into the wonderful world of fibre. This episode sheds some light on one of the big four natural pl...
Trek Stop #1 History, Legends and Customs
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I’m going to start our trek with a connection between Leonardo da Vinci, The Ceremony of the Broken Needle, and The Needle and Thre...
The Art of The Needle
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The hand sewing needle was a precious resource, of global importance, but at some point in time, it’s utilitarian use for garment construction also ...
Introduction to Stitch Safari
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stitch Safari Podcast is a brand-new fortnightly expedition into the art of the needle, stitch and embroidery, trekking through its development, a...