Episode 30: Stumpwork
Mar 2, 2026 · 21 min · 11 segments
Have you listened to our latest episode yet? Here's the description: Stumpwork Embroidery from West to East: Birds, Bees, and Byzantine Icons! Ever seen a piece of embroidery where the petals…
Mar 2, 2026 · 21 min · 11 segments
Have you listened to our latest episode yet? Here's the description: Stumpwork Embroidery from West to East: Birds, Bees, and Byzantine Icons! Ever seen a piece of embroidery where the petals…
And you can find links to all our social media accounts on our website at handmadehistorypodcast.com. And if you're not interested in actually doing embroidery, but just want to listen to us chat about the history of stump work, don't worry.
That's what we're going to do for the rest of this episode.
Sonia, want to kick us off? So what is
stump work? Stump work is a special type of embroidery that incorporates three-dimensional elements.
This means raised stitches, padded portions, or separate pieces of fabric that are embroidered and then sewn on.
Stump work also often incorporates embellishments such as beads, sequins, buttons, and ribbons.
Some work has a long history, as we'll see.
However, across time and place, it has a few common characteristics.
The first is that it is dimensional.
It uses padding, like we mentioned above.
It also uses separate embroidered pieces to make your work literally pop.
These pieces are called slips.
Often they are stitched around wire.
Another common characteristic of stump work is that it includes a lot of satin stitch.
This is when you cover an area with long stitches.
It's a technique that looks really smooth because it's so densely stitched.
And modern machine embroidery uses a dense satin stitch to embroider logos on ball caps and tote bags.
Satin stitch or long and short stitch were often used to thread paint.
Thread painting is a modern term, but the concept is at least several hundred years old.
And this is when you use a few different colors to make the work look lifelike.
Another common trait is a wide variety of interesting dimensional stitches.
This includes knots like French and bullion knots, stitches that imitate knitted garments, turkey work, which involves stitching big loops of thread and then trimming them, and couching, which is when you take a piece of thread, cord, or wire and tack it to your backing with another piece of thread using tiny stitches.
Finally, stump work often depicts scenes including people and things from nature, such as plants, animals, and even insects.
And you can find links to all our social media accounts on our website at handmadehistorypodcast.com. And if you're not interested in actually doing embroidery, but just want to listen to us chat about the history of stump work, don't worry.
That's what we're going to do for the rest of this episode.
Sonia, want to kick us off? So what is
stump work? Stump work is a special type of embroidery that incorporates three-dimensional elements.
This means raised stitches, padded portions, or separate pieces of fabric that are embroidered and then sewn on.
Stump work also often incorporates embellishments such as beads, sequins, buttons, and ribbons.
Some work has a long history, as we'll see.
However, across time and place, it has a few common characteristics.
The first is that it is dimensional.
It uses padding, like we mentioned above.
It also uses separate embroidered pieces to make your work literally pop.
These pieces are called slips.
Often they are stitched around wire.
Another common characteristic of stump work is that it includes a lot of satin stitch.
This is when you cover an area with long stitches.
It's a technique that looks really smooth because it's so densely stitched.
And modern machine embroidery uses a dense satin stitch to embroider logos on ball caps and tote bags.
Satin stitch or long and short stitch were often used to thread paint.
Thread painting is a modern term, but the concept is at least several hundred years old.
And this is when you use a few different colors to make the work look lifelike.
Another common trait is a wide variety of interesting dimensional stitches.
This includes knots like French and bullion knots, stitches that imitate knitted garments, turkey work, which involves stitching big loops of thread and then trimming them, and couching, which is when you take a piece of thread, cord, or wire and tack it to your backing with another piece of thread using tiny stitches.
Finally, stump work often depicts scenes including people and things from nature, such as plants, animals, and even insects.
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