Bayeux tapestry stitch

 

During our Icelandic textile tour we had a workshop to learn about Bayeux tapestry stitch, which was used to work the famous Bayeux Tapestry. It is a traditional technique in Iceland and is thought to have originated in Scandinavia. Fifteen ecclesiastical pieces worked in Bayeux stitch from the late 14th to the early 17th century still survive in Iceland.

The stitch is also known as ‘laid and couch work’ and is designed to fill a large area using minimal embroidery thread. A thread is laid across the area to be filled, a small stitch is used to secure it and the thread is then taken back to the original side, parallel to and adjoining the first thread, where another small securing stitch is made. The entire area to be filled is covered with thread in this way, on the surface, with the reverse of the work showing only the tiny securing stitches along the edge of the area.

Once the area is covered in close parallel lines of thread, another thread is laid, at a right angle to the original threads, on top of them. This thread is then secured at intervals with small couching stitches at approximately 5 mm intervals. As you can see from the images, the upper threads and the couching stitches can be the same colour as the main work or a different colour.

Working the upper thread in parallel lines is the traditional way of working but it is also possible to work curved lines as well. Once one upper line of thread has been worked others are then added to cover the entire area to be filled. To give some definition to the different parts of the design the area to be filled is usually outlined with stem stitch before it is filled with Bayeux tapestry stitch.

The earliest examples of Bayeux tapestry stitch are the Bayeux Tapestry and a fragment from a tomb in Durham, England, both from the 11th century. The Bayeux tapestry tells the story of the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy in 1066. It is 70 m long and about 40 cm deep and it is thought it was commissioned by William’s half-brother Odo Bishop of Bayeux and embroidered by women in Kent in the south of England in the 1070s. At that time, Anglo-Saxon needlework known as Opus Anglicanum was famous across Europe for its high quality. The Tapestry is housed in the Musee de la Tapisserie de Bayeux but is being loaned to The British Museum in London from September 2026 to July 2027. This will be the first time it has returned to England since being made in the 11th century.