Sardinian Needlework - Puntu Vanu, Punt'e Nù and Punt'a Brodu

Summer always has me thinking of learning something new and I usually decide to tackle a technique that I haven't tried yet. This summer though I am thinking of getting to know some techniques a little better instead of taking on a new one.

Lots of Italians head to Sardinia for their summer holidays and since I can't do that, I've been revisiting some of their needlework techniques in the unusually sunny weather we are having at home. There is nothing better than sunlight for visibility when stitching so I've been out on my deck under my own ombrellone.

In the spring of 2011 I visited Sardinia and spent some time getting to know a few Sardinian needlework techniques like Puntu Vanu, a type of smocking and two techniques that are specifically from Teulada: Punt'e Nù and Punt'a Brodu.

I'm running into all kinds of difficulties not the least of which is lack of good eyesight!

Puntu Vanu is usually executed on percale cotton fabric as it is traditionally worked into a shirt or blouse. I honestly tried to perform an evenly spaced running stitch line on a piece of percale but I couldn't see well enough to do more than a few stitches a day without hurting my eyes with the amount of magnification I needed so I switched to a piece of Sotema Batiste cotton.

Using Rosalba Lecca and Ebe Ciampalini's book, I chose a simple heart pattern and then withdrew one ground fabric thread into which I stitched my first running stitch line.

The first stitching line of my Puntu Vanu piece.

It was tough going as even the fabric count on the Batiste cotton is quite high. Eventually I figured out that if I wrapped my finger in piece of dark leather-like cloth and laid the work over it, I could see relatively well and the stitches went more quickly (the leather-like cloth was sent to me by the lovely Elizabeth Prickett for use when making Ruskin Lace. Unfortunately Elizabeth has since passed away so I cannot ask her for a supplier or even what the cloth is made of. If you really want to know, you could try contacting the webstore).

As Puntu Vanu is a kind of smocking, the strip of embroidery must be long as it will be pulled so that the fabric bunches up to form the pattern. Roughly a 36 inch strip of the Batiste of this thread count will produce a 12 inch piece of embroidery. I'll update you as I stitch more.

Photo from: Luoghi e Volti del Punto Filza

For my Punt'e Nù practise, I decided to make a bookmark using some of the colours found on the traditional Teulada man's costume. 

I took some patterns from this blog where you can also find the instructions on how to execute this embroidery. While you're there search Puntu Vanu, Punt'e Nù and Punt'a Brodu for some great photos! 

I think I'll trim my fringe down a bit more. This was made on 28ct Jubilee cotton fabric using DMC no. 8 Pearl Cotton:

Punt'e Nù stitching

And for Punt'a Brodu, I've taken part of a pattern off of a lovely vase painted by Marilena Ledda that I saw while in Sardinia in 2011:

The work of artist Marilena Ledda

I'm still trying to perfect my stitching on this pattern that I proposed for the EGA magazine Needlearts, June 2013. In the magazine, I did the pattern using embroidery floss but here I've done it using DMC no. 80 tatting thread. I still need a LOT of practise!

I hope you have enjoyed "travelling" to Sardinia with me. As far as I know there are no instructional books on Punt'e Nù or Punt'a Brodu. The instructions (which start in Febbraio 2010) for Punt'e Nù on the blog I mentioned above are quite good - give them a try! The only book I know of on Puntu Vanu is the one I mentioned above.

Luoghi e Volti del Punto Filza - new book

A few weeks ago I received a lovely package of things from Italy which included a book on Punto Filza or the Running Stitch. Now, you're thinking: the Running Stitch – really? You might pass it by thinking you already know all about the Running Stitch. I must tell you, this book is definitely worth hunting down.

The Running Stitch might be a simple embroidery stitch that you think you know but here it is used to execute some very special embroidery techniques. Luoghi e Volti del Punto Filza translates as: Places and Faces of the Running Stitch.

The book is softcover with 95 pages of glossy photos, historical information and how-to instructions for a type of Sardinian embroidery known as Puntu Vanu and su Bastonete and other names, depending on the region. This is terribly exciting as Sardinian embroidery in general has been jealously guarded for centuries. Up until very recently it has been impossible to learn the stitches of the many beautiful styles. We talked a little previously about Punt a Brodu and Punt'e nù and this is another of the Sardinian techniques that has long eluded me.

The first half of the book is dedicated to the different regions of Sardinia with emphasis on Puntu Vanu which is kind of like smocking... but different. There are step-by-step photo sequences and charted patterns and though the text is in Italian, those that already know how to smock may be able to figure it out from the photos. I don't smock but I'll be trying it out just as soon as I can find the time.

The second half of the book looks at the Running Stitch in other kinds of Italian embroidery like Catherine de' Medici Embroidery, Assisi Embroidery, Trapunto, Ars Panicalensis and Embroidery on Tulle, Lampugnani and Antique Deruta Pulled Thread. Then the last section is about the Running Stitch in other kinds of embroidery in other countries of the world. There are lovely large photos accompanying almost every one.

The authors, Rosalba Lecca from Sardinia and Ebe Ciampalini Balestri from Tuscany have worked hard to present a comprehensive and fascinating text. Email Rosalba Lecca for purchasing information. When I have some info on overseas purchase availability, I will post again.

I have just learned that the book is available through Tombolo Disegni - send an email request to order and she accepts PayPal.