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.

Women’s textile cooperatives in India

One of the things I enjoyed most about my recent textile tour to India with the retreatrecreate group was the interaction with local women. We visited formal textile cooperatives as well as women working in their villages and were welcomed so generously everywhere by the women and their curious smiling children. They all gave us small cups of masala chai while we admired their work as they showed us the techniques they use and answered our questions about their work and lives. All the members of our group were craftspeople so we appreciated the work being done and were genuinely interested in the details of the techniques.

At the Sadhna group in Udaipur we learnt how the group trains and encourages women in local crafts such as embroidery, applique and block printing. Over 600 women work on a piece work system and are given the materials they require as well as access to sewing machines. We joined some of them in a workshop where they showed us how to embellish fabric with shisha mirrors, how to work fine applique and how to make small round fabric buttons. I was delighted my teacher praised me for my neat stitching in the applique work as I felt I’d passed the test!

At the Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur we joined the women in their workshop to see their embroidery for cushion covers and fabrics for soft toy making. They were a lively group and were very interested to see photos of our children and grandchildren and to find out about our lives. The Trust is a non-profit charitable organisation which provides free education to women and girls and trains them to earn their own living through stitching. After our time in the workshop we joined some of them for a cookery demonstration and a delicious lunch.

At other times we visited women in their villages sitting in the shade working on their embroidery together in sociable groups. These settings suggest a simple life with no cares but the reality is that these women are supplementing the family income as well as carrying out all the responsibilities women have throughout the world – their life is not easy. They all had stocks of beautifully made crafts for us to buy at what we hoped were reasonable prices and most of us bought pieces at every place we visited. At least the money goes straight to those doing the work and it places a value on women’s work and gives them some status as breadwinners in their villages.

It also allows them to work in their homes while keeping an eye on their children, rather than having to travel to find work or to labour in the fields. Hopefully, the fact that we had travelled specially to see them also raises their status within their community. Despite the differences in our economic circumstances I felt that at the end of the day we empathised with each other as women and stitchers – I hope they felt the same.