Tucked away in Oxford is a hidden gem: Harriet Roberts, a stitching expert who teaches a craft rarely practiced in the United States.
The Boston native grew up stitching and sewing, but it was her grandmother’s embroidered chair that inspired her to learn a traditional British stitching technique called crewel embroidery.
Roberts explained that what differentiates normal stitching from crewel embroidery is the use of wool thread on a thicker, linen twill fabric to elegantly adorn things such as cushions, bed hangings, and curtains.
It is an art that requires attention to detail and an understanding of embroidery kits, which are complex patterns that embroiderers follow so they can reproduce the textiles. Roberts realized that no one taught crewelwork in the United States, so she set out on a search across the world to find a teacher.
“Find the best teacher you can, and do exactly what they tell you,” Roberts said.
Acting on her word, Roberts traveled to England, where she found one of the best teachers of crewel embroidery. In 2009, she connected with Phillipa Turnbull, a leading crewelwork designer and owner of The Crewel Work Company, and the two quickly went from having a mentor-student dynamic to becoming friends and business partners.
Roberts now helps to create Turnbull’s embroidery kits, reproducing beautiful textiles dating back to the 17th century that can be found in English castles and grand palaces.
“Embroideries would have been the most valuable thing in your castle because textiles were the most valuable thing,” Roberts said. “A team of men who had done apprenticeships came to castles, and they would stitch what you wanted.”
Turnbull obtains permission to enter such historic buildings, makes a sketch of the original textiles and sends the sketches to Roberts, who creates a detailed kit for others to buy on Turnbull’s website.
A portion of the kit sales are then donated to the castles to fund textile conservation. Roberts’ current project is a bed hanging from Gawthorpe Hall in Ightenhill, England, that she estimates will be four and a half feet by eight feet when she finishes.
When Roberts is not working on a kit for Turnbull, she is providing one of the only lessons in crewel embroidery available in this country.
“I am not aware of a crewel shop in America,” Roberts said. “And I have more supplies than most other needlework shops.”
In June 2023, Roberts started her own company, Oxford Stitch, LLC, opening her home to teach others who share her affinity for stitching. Her walls and chair cushions are adorned with her own handmade textiles, borne from her love of crewelwork.
“With any type of craft, if you can get into that flow state where you’re just in the moment, doing your thing, I think that is an incredibly healthy thing,” Roberts said. “And I’m definitely in my flow state when I’m stitching.”
