Shirt thumbnail 1
Shirt thumbnail 2
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Shirt

1630-1639 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Exquisitely fine needlework adorns this man’s shirt of the 1630s. The technique used is drawn thread and pulled thread work, where strands of the woven linen are cut and pulled away. The remaining warp or weft threads are then embroidered together to create an openwork effect. This style of needlework can be found on the edge of the shirt front, back, sleeves and underarm gusset, as part of the finishing of all the raw edges. Each piece is then embroidered together rather than using conventional seams. French knots and insertion work further embellish the shirt cuffs, collar, shoulder and front.

It is not clear where this shirt was made. Although the overall embroidery style is similar to Italian needlework, it is slightly different in detail. The shirt may be an English imitation of an admired foreign example. The wide short sleeves of the shirt are characteristic of the 1630s and may well have been visible through the open seam of the doublet sleeve.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Linen; hand-woven, hand-sewn and hand-embroidered
Brief description
Man's shirt of linen whitework, 1630s, English or Italian
Physical description
Man’s shirt of fine bleached linen. It is made of 2 rectangles for the front and back, 2 rectangular sleeves, 2 rectangular shoulder pieces and 2 square gussets. The edges of all are finished with pulled-fabric work hems and the side, shoulder and sleeve seams are embroidered together. There 2 areas of simple insertions on the shoulder panels. The cuffs and collar are 5/16-inch (6 mm) wide and embroidered with white linen thread. There is a worked buttonhole at each end of each cuff and the collar.
Dimensions
  • Overall length: 101.5cm (approx)
  • Overall width: 165.6cm (approx)
Credit line
Given by Miss F. M. P. Hipwood
Summary
Exquisitely fine needlework adorns this man’s shirt of the 1630s. The technique used is drawn thread and pulled thread work, where strands of the woven linen are cut and pulled away. The remaining warp or weft threads are then embroidered together to create an openwork effect. This style of needlework can be found on the edge of the shirt front, back, sleeves and underarm gusset, as part of the finishing of all the raw edges. Each piece is then embroidered together rather than using conventional seams. French knots and insertion work further embellish the shirt cuffs, collar, shoulder and front.

It is not clear where this shirt was made. Although the overall embroidery style is similar to Italian needlework, it is slightly different in detail. The shirt may be an English imitation of an admired foreign example. The wide short sleeves of the shirt are characteristic of the 1630s and may well have been visible through the open seam of the doublet sleeve.
Bibliographic reference
Avril Hart and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: the 17th and 18th centuries, London: V&A, 1998, p. 194
Collection
Accession number
T.49-1934

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Record createdJanuary 2, 2007
Record URL
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