Crewel Embroidery

Foreword<br > As Principal of the Royal School of Needlework where Miss Wilson<br >gained the School s Diploma in Embroidery and Design， and subsequently<br >was employed by the School as an Instructress， it gives me the greatest<br >pleasure to write an appreciation of the book which she has written on<br >Crewel Work. The writing of a successful book on such a subject re-<br >quires， on the part of the author， an intense interest and a wide know-<br >ledge of her subject， to say nothing of a lucid style and a power of ex-<br >position. These qualities are， in my view， very apparent in the book<br >which Erica Wilson has produced.<br > The words \"Crewel Work\" cover a very wide field. Miss Wilson has<br >devoted a most interesting and instructive section to the history of this<br >embroidery and I feel sure that this will appeal to all embroidery lovers.<br >In the book are listed some \"sixty-odd\" stitches which are employed in<br >the particular type of embroidery of which she writes. These， with their<br >variations， would， in my view， cover any \"piece\" or project of crewel<br >work， large or small. The stitches are carefully listed and described， and<br >their method of working is as carefully given. The veriest beginner should<br >find no difficulty in learning from these careful notes， how to work and<br >to employ these varied stitches. The details of planning the design， choos-<br >ing and preparing the frame， materials， etc.， should be of invaluable<br >assistance to the novice， and indeed a guide to the more advanced worker.<br > Color， as Miss Wilson points out， is most important and yet the most<br >difficult thing for an amateur to use. Her aids to the choice of color are<br >most practical and should be of help to many embroiderers.<br > Since Erica Wilson has， on many occasions， given credit to the Royal<br >School of Needlework for her training as an embroideress， I hope that<br >it would not be amiss for me to say that that Institution endeavours to<br >instill into its students the ideals of craftsmanship and a desire to \"learn<br >more.\" Miss Wilson has indeed profited by her training and I commend<br >this book to~ embroidery lovers as a text book for all practitioners and<br >as an encouragement to pursue the study of this most fascinating art.<br > Grace Hamilton-King<br > PRINCIPAL<br >ROYAL SCHOOL OF NEEDLEWORK<br >