May with Liz Tapper - Opus Anglicanum

Opus Anglicanum literally means English Work.  This was the name for a period of English embroidery that was renowned throughout Europe and beyond.  Opus Anglicanum made use of split stitch in silk floss along with underside couching worked in metal threads. It only came to an end when the Black Death swept across the world, wiping out most of the English embroiderers skilled in this technique and leaving the way open for the quicker, and therefore cheaper, techniques of tapestry shading and surface couching of metal threads from abroad to take precedence.

The kit includes the design hand drawn onto a square of a calico, silk floss in a range of lustrous shades, metal thread, linen thread, full instructions with stitch diagram & stitch guide, beeswax and an embroidery needle. Currently only gilt and copper smooth passing are available for the halo.

The finished embroidery measures approximately 5cm wide by 7cm high.