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Kensington Stitch

The Kensington, or long-and-short stitch. The Kensington, or long-and-short stitch.

The Kensington stitch was originally called opus plumarium (‘plumage’ or ‘feather work’), due to its resemblance to the plumage of a bird. The Kensington stitch may be appropriately used for working out any floral design, no matter where the finished work is to be used. It is also sometimes used for working animals, human figures and landscape details, such as rocks or hills, where a massed effect of light and shade is desired.

The stitch was named after the Kensington School of Art Embroidery, now known as the Royal School of Needlework (London, England), who revived its use in the late nineteenth century.

The stitch is sometimes described as a form of long and short stitch. It is also known as solid embroidery.

In the USA, the term Kensington stitch is sometimes used to indicate the so-called crewel stitch, which is an irregular stem stitch used in nineteenth century crewel embroidery.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 3 June 2016)

GVE

Last modified on Tuesday, 14 March 2017 21:12