Bayeux Stitch

Book excerpt: The term 'Bayeux stitch' often describes the laid and couched work that was used across Europe in the middle ages. This practical book of techniques and projects demonstrates the simple style of the Bayeux tapestry, before showing variations based on both surviving examples and adaptations of medieval manuscripts. It explains the narrow range of stitches used in laid and couched work and introduces the limited colour palette in medieval embroidery and the rhythmic use of colour. There are twelve projects with step-by-step sequences that illustrate how to stitch subjects ranging from knights to trees, and from dragons to bishops. By introducing subtle variations of techniques and materials, Tanya Bentham illustrates the endless potential of this beautiful embroidery, and brings it alive for today's embroiderers.