It’s been a long, long time since I’ve written anything about ecclesiastical embroidery here on Needle ‘n Thread.

Ecclesiastical embroidery is essentially church-related embroidery, and as a category of embroidery, it embraces several of the most exquisite embroidery techniques out there – especially goldwork and silk shading.

If you’re somewhat new to Needle ‘n Thread, you might not know that my real interest in embroidery sprang from art history studies in college, and specifically getting into the study of ecclesiastical embroidery when doing research for art history.

Since then, I’ve spent years collecting resources on ecclesiastical embroidery, along with old pieces of ecclesiastical embroidery. When traveling, I tend to seek out places where I can examine extant examples of historical pieces of ecclesiastical needlework. It fascinates me, and I eat the stuff up whenever I have a chance!

Lately, I’ve been pattern chasing – that is, trying the trace the origins of some ecclesiastical embroidery patterns (a very difficult thing to do!). This particular image that I’m going to share with you today has come up several times in my pattern-chasing endeavors.