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Elizabethan Ceylon stitch icon
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch

Elizabethan Ceylon stitch main image

This Elizabethan version of the modern needlelace Ceylon stitch is worked from the bottom upwards and is normally worked in a column of stitching 3 or 4 stitches wide.  The stitch is worked without a cordonnet, rather it is anchored at the top and bottom and along both edges by stitching through the fabric.  The loops in this version are crossed in a Z direction (this means that the uppermost crossing thread is like a forward slash /), unlike the modern version which is crossed in an S direction (like a backslash \).

Unlike most needlelace stitches, this stitch is worked around the stitches in the previous row (rather than into the gaps between the stitches).

We are indebted to Jacqui Carey for her work in identifying this stitch in extant Elizabethan pieces, and diligent documenting of the working method.  See the References sections for details of her books which describe this and many other Elizabethan stitches.  N.B. the names used are descriptive names assigned by Jacqui Carey as historic records do not give us the names by which they were known.

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Looped Detached Chained Stems Elizabethan Needlelace

Further Reading

Elizabethan Stitches - a guide to historic English needlework by Jacqui Carey
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Sweet Bags - an investigation into 16th and 17th century needlework by Jacqui Carey
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Elizabethan Ceylon stitch is generously sponsored by Rosalind Grant Robertson for my paternal aunt, Violet Tylden-Pattenson née Peacock

Method

This stitch works best in metallic passing or gimp as it needs a thread which holds its shape, and on a relatively open weave fabric which allows the thread to pass through.
Historically the stitch is normally worked in columns of 3 or 4 stitches wide - the thread is carried behind the fabric across the width of the stitched area and so wider columns are not advisable.
Before stitching, draw two widely spaced parallel lines and mark 3 pairs of dots along the bottom edge.

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1
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 1 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 1 photograph
1

Bring your needle up on the left edge, slightly up from the bottom and take your thread down on the right hand dot of the first pair.

2
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 2 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 2 photograph
2

Bring your thread back up, one dot to the left.  Repeat this by taking your thread down three dots along, and back up one dot to the left.  Your thread on the surface should form a slight arch.

3
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 3 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 3 photograph
3

Repeat this for the final pair of dots and take your needle down on the right hand edge, level with where you started on the left edge.  This completes your starting row.

4
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 4 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 4 photograph
4

Bring your needle back up on the left edge, slightly above where you started, then slide your thread under the first stitch where the threads cross, from right to left.  Pull through.

5
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 5 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 5 photograph
5

Allow the thread to form a slight arch and then repeat by sliding the needle from right to left under the next two stitches in turn.

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Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 6 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 6 photograph
6

To finish the row, take the thread down on the right hand edge, level with where the row started.

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Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 7 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 7 photograph
7

Continue working the stitch by repeating steps 4-6.

8
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 8 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 8 photograph
8

For your final row, slide your needle under the previous stitch as usual, then take it through the fabric, level with the left side of the stitch.

9
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 9 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 9 photograph
9

Bring it back up level with the left side of the next stitch, and then slide it under the next stitch in the previous row, as usual.

10
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 10 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 10 photograph
10

Anchor your thread as in steps 8 and 9, then work the final stitch as in previous rows, taking your thread down on the right hand side.

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Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 11 illustration
Elizabethan Ceylon stitch method stage 11 photograph
11

The reverse of Elizabethan Ceylon stitch.

Elizabethan Ceylon stitch

Structure of stitch

Looped Detached Chained

Common uses

Stems

Embroidery Techniques

Elizabethan Needlelace

Related Stitches

Ceylon stitch Elizabethan tubular Ceylon stitch

Identifying Elizabethan Ceylon stitch

Historically, the stitch is normally worked in metal passing and forms coiling stems or seam coverings.  It is normally worked in bands no more than 3 or 4 stitches wide.  There is minimal thread visible on the reverse: the stitch goes through the fabric when it starts and ends, and along each edge, but the majority of the stitch is on the surface.

References

  • Jacqui Carey, Sweet Bags - an investigation into 16th and 17th century needlework (2009) , p.100
  • Jacqui Carey, Elizabethan Stitches - a guide to historic English needlework (2012) , p.114