Egyptian Pattern Darning 2

Saturday, July 1, 2023

A long while ago, I posted a similar project on pattern darning by Lin Vandenberg, called Historical Egyptian Treasures. With the first, I followed the rules as exactly as I could. The bookmark immediately went into Boy’s library, since he always has a stack of books in play at any given time, bouncing from topics like philosophy, engineering, role playing games, and – most of all – books he is always surrounded by – what-I-call the “alphanumeric soup” of computer technology. I knew this bookmark would disappear, too, so I veered from the rules a little. Rather than using the red and white theme that came in the kit, I went with his favorite color: green. I happened to have the right sizes of perle cotton in my stash, so no shopping required!

According to the kit, this pattern “is an adaptation of a 13th-15th century” Mamluk period design (same as the other bookmark). “The diamond diaper pattern [repeated geometric patterns] and the pattern darning technique itself would travel to many distant lands where other embroiderers adapted it to become an integral part of their own distinctive needlework styles.” Indeed, I was working on this in the lab during a break, and an Ethiopian student said it is basically the same as the traditional work his sisters make.

Though this pattern is labeled as #4, and the other #3, I found this one much simpler to finish. The darning pattern is relatively the same in difficulty, but the edging is what I found a difference in. I struggled a lot with #3, but this one – though tedious as well – was easy to grasp. I suppose the numbering just wasn’t related to scale of difficulty at all. (If you have an eagle-eye, please ignore the mistakes;) I also didn’t need to flip the linen’s orientation with each row, so I did stitch both left-to-right and right-to-left – maybe because I’ve gained more skill, or simply that the pattern was easier to follow in either direction. Below is the reverse side – the uneveness is caused by securing thread ends.

Pattern darning is about the only counted stitch I can tolerate – cross-stitch and needlepoint (or crochet/knitting) just isn’t for me as I’ve said time and time again, though I do appreciate them, of course! I wish I could find Vandenberg’s other patterns, just to round out Boy’s bookmark collection, but the internet – as it so rarely can – has let me down. Boo.

 

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2 Comments

  1. Marjorie

    This pattern came from me. Lin lives in Egypt now and doesn’t have much Internet access. We’re still in contact. She’s no longer stitching much. She’s drawing and painting now. I’ll ask if she has more charts. I think I gave you all I had. I’m planning to record a voice message tonight.

    Reply
    • thecrafties

      I suspected as much, Marjorie! That would be wonderful if she had any copies left – I’d happily buy them from her:) Please pass on my thanks for the design and kits.

      Reply

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