Lectures and Workshops

The DAR Museum in Washington, D.C. holds one of the finest collections of historic needlework in the U.S.—a rich record of women’s artistry across centuries. In spring 2024, we returned to delve deeper, uncovering rare samplers, 17th-century pockets, and exquisite embroidery fragments.

This brand-new lecture shares our latest discoveries through vivid images and expert insight. Many of these fragile textiles are not on display, making this a rare look at the women who stitched their stories into history.

Few textiles capture the imagination like 16th- and 17th-century samplers—testaments to skill, learning, and personal expression. In response to popular demand, this new lecture is dedicated to these extraordinary works.

Featuring pieces from the DAR Museum, Harvard Art Museums, and the Fitzwilliam Museum, we explore delicate silks, intricate bands, and symbolic motifs. With expert insight and rare images, we’ll uncover how these samplers reflect the artistry, education, and evolving roles of early modern women.

The Huntington Library is a fascinating hidden gem tucked away in San Marino, California. As a part of the extensive complex which includes lush gardens and a museum, the library has an undigitized collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century embroidered book bindings. These embroideries range from the exquisite silk and metal thread and textural raised worked techniques to the humble but fascinating canvaswork so typical of that era.

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This lecture brings you into a collection that few people know about and fewer people get to see.

Elizabethan and Jacobean embroidery is renowned for its opulence and that is due in part to the unique dimensionality of early modern needlework. The real hero of this type of embroidery is the supporting structures: wool stuffing, padding, twine, wire. These critical elements were never meant to be seen once the embroidery was completed and so remain mysterious. With the passage of time, the breakdown of silk and other materials, and natural (or unnatural) wear and degradation, this curious architecture becomes visible and invites us into the inner workings of early modern embroiderers. 

In this presentation, we will lift the curtain of rich and beautiful dimensional embroidery and peek at the underpinnings and odd structures used to support these classic designs.

Roses show up in embroidery all the time, and many will recognize a double-petalled rose as a “Tudor Rose.” But what is a Tudor Rose and where did it come from? How are they depicted in needlework and how to are they different from a regular rose. This lecture will explore the sometimes violent history that was the origin of this flower, and the importance of this image in English iconography and embroidery.

This lecture can be extended to a 2-hour work for $300 (online).

The kit, sold separately, is a recreation of a Tudor Rose applique canvas-work artifact from the 17th century.  The original is 2 ½” by 2 ½” was worked in a variety of flat polychrome silks.  Though the front of the original is faded and soiled, we are able to view the back of the piece to match colors to the original brightness.  As was done in period, this is not a charted piece -- it comes with step-by-step instructions on how to stitch the original design.

Animals were a favorite motif in Elizabethan and Jacobean needlework -- from leopards and lions, to bears, bunnies and monkeys, to unicorns, camels and elephants.  We will celebrate this theme by examining a wide variety of 16th and 17th century needlework in close up detail, looking at materials used, colors, and techniques.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a vast and incomparable collection of over 75,000 textiles, many of which are gorgeous and historically important embroideries.

Join us as we look at a few of their amazing items, including Elizabethan and Jacobean coifs, caps, and book bindings.

The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and home to a collection of over 12 million items -- including some unique, beautiful, and remarkable embroidered book bindings.

We'd love to share with your our experience at the Bodleian, including taking the medieval oath administered to visitors not to start a fire in the stacks!  We'll explore some gorgeous needlework and discuss the historical significance of these books, including their connection to the Tudors.

Join us to discuss needlework from early modern England in the 16th and 17th centuries.  We'll use this time to examine extant embroideries, as well the patterns, pattern books, and other inspiration for amateur and professional needleworkers.  This visually rich lecture will include a wide variety of images to explore the importance of textiles to women and society as whole.