Richter, Agnes. Handmade jacket embroidered with autobiographical text, 1895. Prinzhorn Collection, Heidelberg University Hospital, Inv. No. 743. Discussed in Rosner, Isabella. “I plunge headlong into disaster: Unstitching Agnes Richter’s Jacket.” The Polyphony, 2 September 2021. Sammlung Prinzhorn Internet Archive The Polyphony
This post is inspired by the research and reflections of Denise Jones, as featured in “A Suffragette Detective Story” on Selvedge Magazine’s website. Her work continues to illuminate the legacy of textile protest with clarity and compassion. A Mended Resistance Fig 1: Cissie Wilcox, an embroidered panel (December, 1911). All images © Museum of London.… Read More hidden protest: suffragette embroidery in holloway prison
Throughout history, embroidery has been a quiet yet powerful form of protest — especially behind bars. In prisons, stitching became an act of defiance, a way to reclaim identity, express resistance, and document injustice when voices were silenced. From suffragettes to political prisoners, embroidery offered a rare moment of agency within confinement. Where to Find… Read More prison embroidery: hidden resistance in stitch
Fig 1 Lorina Bulwer Textile Sampler Fig 2 Shoddy Exhibition Lorina Bulwer was an English woman who lived during the Victorian era and is remembered today not through conventional records or fame, but through a series of extraordinary, emotionally charged embroidered samplers. Created during her confinement in a workhouse in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, her needlework… Read More lorina bulwer: the embroidered outcry of a forgotten voice
Handsome embroidered, scented gloves were fashionable in the late-1500s and early-1600s Fashion and Status During his period, gloves were more than just a protective garment for the hands; they were symbols of wealth, power, and refinement. The nobility and upper classes often wore gloves adorned with intricate embroidery, made from fine leather, silk, or velvet,… Read More Why Were Embroidered and Scented Gloves Made?
Rachel Bakewell 