Embroidery Articles - Ayrshire Embroidery

The Sharp Needle
© 2002

Ayrshire embroidery is a Scottish whitework technique.  Like Irish Mountmellick work, the technique was introduced to poor Scottish women so that they could supplement the family income with their embroidery.  Unlike Irish Mountmellick work, Ayrshire embroidery is much finer and more delicate than the coarser Irish Mountmellick work.  Ayrshire work consists of delicate floral designs on very fine cotton muslin and lawn.  If the work includes a lot of filling stitches, it is considered European needlelace.  The early stitchers were referred to as ‘flowerers’ because of the floral motifs they created.

In 1814, Lord Montgomerie died in Spain (one account says Sicily) of consumption and his widow, Lady Mary Montgomerie returned to their estate in Ayr, Scotland.  She brought with her a beautiful baby’s christening gown, made by a French needle worker.  This gown had delicate eyelet embroidery and overcast fillings, fine satin stitches and beautiful lace stitches that were inserted in the cut out spaces within the design.     Lady Montgomerie lent the christening gown to a Mrs. Jamieson, the wife of an Ayr cotton agent and asked her to duplicate the designs on the gown, and then to teach the poor women in the Ayr district the technique, thus creating a much-needed income for the families.  Mrs. Jamieson, together with her two daughters, all of whom were accomplished embroiderers, studied the beautiful overcast filling stitches and patterns, added more lace filling stitches and then in turn taught the technique to outworkers, who were mainly farmer’s wives and their daughters. 

In the 19^th century, a needlewoman of Ayr doing Ayrshire embroidery could earn the same income as a bobbin lace maker of Devonshire.  Mrs. Jamieson set high standards for her outworkers, only accepting embroidery that was perfectly executed.  More than one person would work a design; the embroiderer who specialized in the fine lace stitched fillings would be paid at a higher rate than the previous embroiderer who may have done the satin stitches and eyelet work.

Ayrshire work was sold all over the world, including North America.  This style of embroidery began its decline during the US Civil War in 1861 to 1865 when the northern states formed a blockade to cut off the cotton grown in the southern states, which was being exported to Britain. The Scottish muslin trade never recovered from this lack of supply.   As women’s fashions changed there was less of a demand for the fine floral embroidery.  The end to Ayrshire embroidery came when the Swiss invented a machine to duplicate the eyelet holes and lace stitched wheels, undercutting the Scottish handwork. 

Ayrshire work is typically done in hand; a hoop is only used for the lace fillings, pulled thread and drawn thread work.  The lace fillings create dark and light values to the work, as well as texture.  Ayrshire incorporates trailings which are tiny satin stitches over a padded outline stitch, eyelets, padded satin stitch and seed stitch.  Appliqué and shadow work are rarely used.    And since this is The Sharp Needle, Ayrshire work is stitched with a sharp needle.

Ayrshire and Other Whitework, Swain

http://www.heritageshoppe.com/heritage/essays/essay02.html

http://www.claeysantique.com/preciouseight.html    (good pictures of Ayrshire embroidery)

http://www.maybole.org/history/articles/gown/ayrshirchristeninggown.htm

http://www.accomplishments-shop.com/ayreshire.html

Some text compliments of Rosie Hughes of the Victorian Embroiderer’s Guild in Melbourne, Australia via the EGA internet list.

Copyright © 2002 by , used by permission.

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