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Berenike is the name of an ancient Egyptian port on the coast of the Red Sea, some 260 km east of Aswan. The port dates from the time of Ptolemy II (285-246 BC) and was particularly active from the first century BC until the second centuries AD, when it was one of the main shipping centres in the trade between the Mediterranean, Arabia and India. By the seventh century AD, Berenike had been abandoned because of poor economic conditions.

A baroque pearl is irregularly shaped, rather than being smooth and round. The shape of such a pearl may vary considerably. It may have slight aberrations or have a large, lumpy shape.

Badla is a form of metal thread embroidery associated with various Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf region the technique is usually known as badla. In (southern) Iran it is called khus-duzi, while in Egypt it is called tulle-bi-telli (‘net with metal’), which includes the French word tulle (‘net’).

Arpilleras reflect a South American folk art that uses appliqué, embroidery and patchwork to depict scenes of everyday life. The Spanish word arpillera derives from an old Spanish word for burlap or hessian cloth. They are sometimes called cuadros (squares). Most arpilleras are used as pictures and hung on walls. The most famous arpilleras and arpilleristas (the women who make them) are from Chile.

Akhmim embroidery is a form of modern ‘naive’ embroidery associated with the city of Akhmim in Upper Egypt. Textiles, especially woven forms, have been produced at the city for thousands of years. This relationship has been used by various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) to build up local weaving projects, especially for women, developing new weave and embroidery styles and bringing Muslim and Christian communities together.

Sarah Stone's sampler is one of the earliest surviving American samplers, and was made by Sarah Stone in 1678. She lived in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts (USA). The sampler is c. 42 x 19 cm in size and worked in coloured silks on a linen ground. It is worked in various stitches, including back stitch, cross stitch, detached buttonhole stitch, double running stitch, eyelets, long-armed stitch and satin stitch.

See Royal School of Needlework.

The Embroiderers' Guild is a British charity set up in 1906 by a group of sixteen former students of the Royal School of (Art) Needlework. They established a society to “deal entirely with embroidery, and with the first object of keeping up a high standard of work and design.”

See aida.

See aida.