The Embroiderers' Story

"Three years ago, Plimoth Plantation approached Tricia Wilson Nguyen, an MIT-trained engineer specializing in, of all things, historic needlework, to see if she would help lead an ambitious project. The museum wanted to re-create a lavishly embroidered 17th-century woman’s waistcoat as the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibition on how America’s founders dressed themselves.

"I told them they were totally crazy," said Nguyen, who lives in Arlington.

She knew it could take hundreds of people thousands of hours to do the intricate needlework, using a centuries-old embroidery stitch few people know. As if that wasn’t enough challenge, the materials needed - silver gilt threads, hand-cut sequins - had been out of production for centuries and would have to be reinvented."
This is the opening of an article about the 17th century recreation embroidered jacket that you see in the following pictures. The entire story is absolutely amazing.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Read the blog chronicling this project here: The Embroiderers' Story