Embroidery Articles - Mountmellick Embroidery

The Sharp Needle
© 2002

Mountmellick Embroidery is an Irish whitework technique that originated in Ireland around 1816 when Johanna Carter developed the technique at a London Exhibition and subsequently set up a small school in Mountmellick to teach the trade of embroidery to poor Irish girls and women in the area.  As Mountmellick items became widely known and appreciated, the technique moved from the hands of tradeswomen to those of Victorian women.  By the late 1800’s it had become a fashionable social pastime for the middle class and had made its way to America with Irish immigrants.  As the 20^th century wore on, the popularity of Mountmellick work declined until the 1970’s when Sister Teresa at the Presentation Convent in Mountmellick revived the tradition of Mountmellick embroidery.  When she realized there were no Mountmellick embroideries left in the convent, she set about researching the stitches and eventually began teaching them to others.  As the interest in Mountmellick grew, old pieces were discovered in homes and attics and brought to Sister Teresa.  An invaluable source of old embroideries was given to the convent by an old Quaker family, Mountmellick being the site of the first Irish Quaker settlement.  The convent teaches and sells introductory patterns to this day.

Mountmellick work usually includes large, bold designs from nature, especially floral designs. Many of the patterns are based directly on flora found along the banks of the Owenass River that flows near Mountmellick.  The primary stitches are the Mountmellick stitch, which is detailed in The Anchor Book of Free-style Embroidery on page 68, as well as satin, chain, bullion, buttonhole, lazy daisy, feather and French knots. There is no openwork or cutwork in this whitework technique.   Mountmellick work is distinguished from other whitework in that it is done on very serviceable white cotton ‘jean’ fabric, similar to the polished cotton used for upholstery today, and stitched with a relatively heavy white cotton matte thread. The contrast of the matte cotton thread on the satin jean fabric is very indicative of Mountmellick work.   The ground fabric used is generally a very white cotton which is soaked overnight in cold water and then boiled to bring out the bright white.  Edges are either finished with buttonhole stitch or fringed.  The embroidery was traditionally done on tablecloths, pillow cases, christening gowns and coverlets.  Mountmellick items are meant to used and washed and heirloom items are particularly beautiful because of the sheen from usage and repeated washings.  And since this is The Sharp Needle, Mountmellick is stitched with a sharp needle.

Lacis in Berkeley has books, ground fabric and threads for Mountmellick projects or you can order kits from Ireland.

Two excellent books on Mountmellick embroidery are:

Mountmellick Embroidery edited by Jules and Kaethe Kliot. 

Mountmellick Work:  Irish White Embroidery by Jane Houston-Almqvist. 

Some web sites that I found informative are:

http://islandireland.com/Pages/folk/mountmellick/embroidery.html  This site has wonderful pictures of Mountmellick work, including the one shown above, if you follow the links in the section on the flora of the Mountmellick area.

http://www.white-works.com/mountmellick.htm

Copyright © 2002 by , used by permission.

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