Woven wheel corner

Spider
Bar rosette
Close English wheel

Woven wheel corner is a drawn thread stitch which embellishes a corner with a woven circle.

The alternative name of ‘spider’ is used by Therese de Dillmont in her 1884 Encyclopedia of Needlework. It is used to reference various woven wheels, most of which have eight threads/group of threads protruding from the central ‘body’.

The earliest evidence of the use of a woven wheel corner is on a 17th century whitework band sampler, currently held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Drawn

Woven

Circular

Border

Embellishment

Insertion

Drawn Thread

Whitework

Method

To prepare a corner, follow the preparation steps of either stitch entry Drawn thread preparation or Drawn thread removal (alternative preparation) or for a large corner using buttonhole stitch Drawn thread preparation with buttonhole edges.
Unlike a standard woven wheel, this drawn thread version is worked over an even number of spokes and so the wheel itself will look different.

In this sample hem stitch has been worked to gather the border threads in bunches of two.
Work your chosen stitch down the length of the vertical border and then carry the thread across to the opposite woven end in the corner and take the needle into two threads of the woven end.

Woven wheel corner method stage 2 photograph

Use the needle to carefully wrap around the thread across the corner up to the border stitching previously completed and then run the needle through the stitching and cast off to the side. Repeat with the horizontal border taking the needle down into the last bar of the previously worked area.

Woven wheel corner method stage 3 photograph

Bring the needle up two threads into the fabric in the top left and take it down at the bottom right to form a diagonal stitch, then wrap around this thread back to the start. Make a couple of small stitches to travel to the bottom left.

Woven wheel corner method stage 4 photograph

Bring the needle up two threads into the fabric in the bottom left and pass the needle through the crossed threads in the centre before taking it down at the top right.

Woven wheel corner method stage 5 photograph

Wrap along the thread as for the centre to complete the spokes of the wheel. Then begin to weave through the spokes.

Woven wheel corner method stage 6 photograph

Weave over and under alternate spokes all round the wheel, keeping the thread fairly tight the first time.

Woven wheel corner method stage 7 photograph

Weave round the wheel again, keeping the thread more relaxed for each subsequent circle so that it builds in size. Remember not to completely fill the corner.

Woven wheel corner method stage 8 photograph

After a few circles the wheel is complete. To finish off by wrapping around the last spoke back to the bottom left and cast off in the fabric.

Woven wheel corner method stage 9 photograph

The finished woven wheel corner.

Woven wheel corner

References

'17th century whitework sampler', Victoria and Albert Museum (2021). Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O359932/sampler-mason-margret/ (Accessed: 19 October 2021)
Thérèse De Dillmont, Encyclopedia of Needlework (1886)
Ros Hills, Pat Gibson, Needlelace stitches - classic and contemporary (1989) , p.111