Art in Needlework

Fifteen centuries after a tapestry was laid in a Coptic tomb in Upper Egypt, its red wool has vanished—but the white pattern remains on the linen warp. What does this fragile remnant reveal about where embroidery ends and tapestry begins?

In this late-nineteenth-century guide, Lewis F. Day and Mary Buckle consider needlework not as mere ornament, but as an art shaped by material, thread and stitch. They trace the boundaries between embroidery, tapestry and lace, then take on a practical tangle: stitches known by confusing, contradictory names, and designs made without regard for the labor of making them. For designer and embroiderer alike, the stitch must suit the pattern—and the pattern must respect the stitch. Can understanding how stitches are made bring design and handiwork together?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.