It has been a while since we have published some embroidery charts via the TRC Blog, so I have been looking for some suitable items.

As we are working on the volume about Sub-Saharan African embroidery for the Bloomsbury World Encyclopedia of Embroidery series, it seemed appropriate to include some African embroidery patterns. These particular examples are based on the darned embroidered bands from a series of men's caps now in the British Museum, London. The caps come from Senegal and were acquired by the Museum in 1934.

There caps are made from a fairly coarse, locally produced cotton cloth that is very suitable for this type of counted thread work. The yarns used are also made of cotton and normally have a dark indigo blue, a mid-indigo blue as well as a light brown colour. The darning is worked in a running stitch usually over two, three and four warp/weft threads.

Please click on the illustrations below for a PdF-file.

Gillian Vogelsang, 21 December 2020

Two embroidery charts for dark blue and pinkish brown, geometric pattern darning from Senegal, western Africa, ca. 1930.

Two embroidery charts for dark blue, geometric pattern darning from Senegal, western Africa, ca. 1930.