The Backside of a 16th Century Blackwork Embroidered Coif

At the V&A Museum in England, there is a blackwork embroidered coif from 1590-1610 made of linen.

(Coif)
 

"Until the end of the 17th century the coif was informal headwear for women. Plain linen versions were worn by the working-class. Middle-class and aristocratic women wore elaborately decorated coifs. It would have been worn by itself indoors, or with a hat on top in public." (Coif)

"A coif of linen embroidered with black silk thread in back stitch and running stitch, and silver-gilt thread couched in knots. The pattern consists of repeated sprigs of holly leaves and berries. The coif has cheek pieces, but no widow's peak. The front edges are worked in black silk thread in knotted buttonhole stitch, interlaced with silver-gilt thread. The top edge is embroidered in black silk and buttonhole stitch. The top seam and crown gathers have been unpicked at a later date. The coif is unlined. The sides of the coif are virtually straight except for the cheek pieces, when seamed together the forehead line would be without a central peak. Patterned with eleven horizontal rows of tiny holly sprigs with minute insects in the interspaces." (Coif)

However, the point of today's blog post is the backside of this coif! The tail end of some of the threads is visible on the backside, to show that the tail was woven into the backside of the embroidery. Also, check out how this is not iconic of the earlier 16th century reversible blackwork embroidery, as there are spaces between the holly leaves on the front side while the backside shows a thread connecting the different leaves as the next leaf was embroidered.

(Coif)