Crewel embroidery

Crewel embroidery, or Crewelwork, is a type of crochet embroidery using wool and a variety of different embroidery stitches to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old. It was used in the Bayeux Tapestry, in Jacobean embroidery and in the Quaker Tapestry sewn in the 1980s.The origin of the word crewel is unknown but is thought to come from an ancient word describing the curl in the staple, the single hair of the wool. Crewel wool has a long staple it is fine and can be strongly twisted. Modern crewel wool is a fine, 2 ply or 1 ply yarn available in many different colours.