Red Knotwork in Assisi Work

This is my first piece of Assisi Work. I took the pattern from the book Here Be Wyverns: Hundreds of Patterns Graphed from Medieval Sources by Nancy Spies. If you haven’t seen the book, well, I highly recommend it. Ms. Spies researched period textiles, and then charted the designs. For research purposes, this makes the chart a tertiary source instead of a secondary or primary source, but in this particular venue, I’m willing to accept that. After all, if I saw a period piece of mosaic tile and wanted to copy the design for a needlework pattern, I would personally have to chart the design myself. Nancy Spies just saved me all that trouble. Thanks, Nancy!

According to the Wyverns book, the design is based on a tile from St. George’s Church, Fordington, England and dates to the 16th century. The pattern and description can be found on the bottom of page 182. The chart was easy to follow, except for one small section. There is a minor mistake in the chart, which threw off the knotwork a little bit. I had three identical sections, not four. I must have ripped that section out about four times until I figured out that the mistake was with the chart, not with me. In case you have the book and didn’t know about the mistake, row 29 should read: 8 blank squares, 2 filled, 5 blank, 14 filled, and then continue as normal with the rest of the row.

For this project, I used 28-count linen, and DMC cotton floss. The project was first outlined in back stitch, using two threads of black floss. Next, I experimented with different stitches and plies of thread in order to determine what would have adequate coverage. I chose to work the design in two plies of red floss in cross stitch.

With this as my first project in Assisi Work, I was uncertain how to work the threads on the back of the piece. The knot work design proved to be slightly difficult to maneuver -- lots of tiny little bits of design needed to be covered, right next to big blank spaces. In the very beginning of the piece, I worked the piece by completing one row before I moved onto the next, just like how I have completed needlework projects in the past. By doing the project this way, however, the red floss crossed behind the part of the design that was left blank. I didn’t like the idea of having the red show through the white part of the design, so I put the piece away for a few weeks and thought about it. Once I started back on the piece, I realized that I should just work the piece in sections instead of rows. I found it much easier to complete the knot work design, and I didn’t have to worry about the red from the back showing through to the front.

Overall, I like the way that this project turned out. I find the contrast of the red, black and white to be quite striking. If I were to do it over again, I would work the whole design in sections, and I would probably outline the project in red instead of black. Although the black outline looks good, in pre-17th century European embroidery, most pieces of Assisi Work were outlined in the same color in which the design was worked.