Humans have been embellishing cloth with decorative stitches for a very long time. Examples of embroidery have been found in China dating back to almost the 3rd century B.C. Discoveries of Viking embroidery from the 9th or 10th century have been discovered in Sweden. Embroidery was an important symbol of wealth and power during the medieval period in both Europe and the Islamic world where it was used on garments, table coverings, wall hangings, horse trappings, and pouches.

One problem early embroiderers faced is that many threads were not colorfast; natural dyes tended to bleed when garments were washed. This limited the number of useful applications for embroidery. During the 1740’s a colorfast red dye was developed in India or Turkey that became known as Turkey Red. Dyeing cloth or thread in Turkey Red was a labor-intensive, 17-step process that involved lye, olive oil, sheep’s dung, soda ash, rubia, a bit of sheep’s blood, and other ingredients. The end result was a rich, red cloth or thread that did not bleed or fade into pink or brown and was perfectly suited to cotton. Both were widely exported to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and America. Turkey Red cotton thread was less expensive than the silk threads commonly used for embroidery at the time.

The availability of Turkey Red embroidery floss inspired a trend in American embroidery called redwork. So you may be asking–what is redwork? Redwork embroidery relies primarily on outline stitches–or running stitches–to create designs on tea towels, aprons, tablecloths, pillow cases, and quilt blocks. Before the Civil War, general stores sold 6-inch squares stamped with patterns in red ink. Adults and children practiced their needlework skills using these “penny squares” which were often sewn into redwork quilts.

The 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia included displays of needlework from the Royal School of Art Needlework in Kensington, England and an extensive show of Japanese artwork. Both of these exhibits influenced American needlework–causing increased interest in embroidery and the addition of Japanese motifs in redwork patterns which often featured birds, animals, flowers, children, characters from children’s fiction, household items, and fashion accessories such as fans. Redwork was extremely popular between the late 1870’s and 1920’s. Widely circulated magazines such as The Ladies Home Journal and Godey’s Lady’s Book published embroidery patterns and advertised sources of redwork supplies.

A few decades after Turkey Red changed the stitching world, a colorfast indigo dye was developed. In short order, bluework designs appeared that were identical to redwork designs except for their color. Incidentally, blackwork is older than both redwork and bluework. Catherine of Aragon brought garments embroidered with black thread when she traveled from Spain to England to marry King Henry VIII. Traditional blackwork designs are geometric–using 90° and 45° angles to construct organic elements such as flowers, acorns, birds, berries, and leaves. Catherine’s style spread quickly among the English aristocracy.

Whether you stitch in red, blue, black, or your favorite color, redwork embroidery is having a revival. In addition, sewists are looking for fabrics that evoke the simple red-on-white or blue-on-white color schemes of redwork and bluework. Missouri Star carries redwork fabric and bluework fabric that would be beautiful for sashing, borders, or backing on a quilt made from embroidered redwork or bluework squares. We have redwork fabric collections for you to peruse, redwork fabric panels, and redwork fabric by the yard. We also have several redwork embroidery kits that will help you make ornaments, a table topper, or a mini-quilt. Whether you are new to redwork or a long-time fan, we hope you find materials at Missouri Star to make your stitchery shine.