---
title: "Crewelwork"
description: "Crewelwork is surface embroidery worked in fine two-ply wool, called crewel, usually on a linen or cotton twill ground."
type: Glossary
url: https://teazle.art/glossary/crewelwork
published: 2026-10-14
updated: 2026-10-14
author: "The Teazle editors"
---

# Crewelwork

*Crewelwork is surface embroidery worked in fine two-ply wool, called crewel, usually on a linen or cotton twill ground.*

Crewel is a fine, loosely twisted worsted wool; crewelwork is free embroidery made with it, in stitches such as stem, chain, satin and long-and-short. Its classic setting is English seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century bed hangings, with large scrolling trees and exotic flowers.


## Sources

1. [Crewelwork (AAT 300264063)](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300264063). Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus
2. [Crewelwork (Q5184848)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5184848). Wikidata

Canonical: https://teazle.art/glossary/crewelwork