How does detached buttonhole stitch work in stumpwork and why is it the technique's foundational stitch?

Detached buttonhole stitch is the stitch that makes stumpwork's three-dimensional quality possible, and understanding why it works the way it does is the entry point for any stumpwork Patreon curriculum. In conventional embroidery, every stitch enters and exits the ground fabric, anchoring itself to the foundation. In detached buttonhole stitch as used in stumpwork, the stitch does not touch the fabric surface after its anchor row — it builds a textile structure entirely in the air above the ground, suspended from its starting points and from its own previous loops. The anchor row is the beginning: a row of straight stitches is laid across the top of the shape to be filled (typically along the wire edge for a shaped element, or along a traced line on the fabric for a flat fill area). These anchor stitches are sewn into the ground fabric normally. The working thread then works back across the shape, entering each anchor stitch loop with a buttonhole loop — passing under the anchor stitch from right to left, looping the working thread under itself, and drawing snug. The result is a row of buttonhole loops hanging from the anchor stitches, touching the fabric only at the anchor points. Each subsequent row of detached buttonhole works the same way, but into the loops of the previous row rather than into anchor stitches: the needle passes under each loop of the previous row, the working thread loops under itself, and the loop is drawn to the same tension as the previous row. After several rows, the resulting fabric — a free-hanging mesh of interlocked loops — is dense enough to be self-supporting when worked over a wire armature or a padding shape. The stitch tension is the critical variable: too tight and the work puckers and draws in, too loose and the mesh is visible rather than producing a smooth woven surface. For Patreon creators, teaching the correct tension through video — showing hand position, how the working thread is held, and how to draw each loop to the same tension as its neighbors — is the single most important instructional contribution a stumpwork creator can make, because this is the skill that cannot be conveyed by written instruction or still photographs.

What wire gauges do stumpwork creators use for armatures, and how is the armature constructed?

The wire armature is the structural skeleton of raised stumpwork elements such as petals, leaves, wings, and standing figures, and wire gauge selection determines the element's rigidity, formability, and compatibility with the thread used to cover it. Stumpwork wire is typically uncovered (bare) or paper-covered fine steel wire. Gauge 28 (approximately 0.32mm diameter) is the most commonly used weight in stumpwork — fine enough to bend by hand into accurate petal and leaf silhouettes without tools, stiff enough to hold a formed shape against the pull of detached stitching, and compatible with most silk floss at standard covering density. Gauge 28 is appropriate for medium-sized petals (15 to 30mm), most leaf shapes, dragonfly wings, and the outer body outlines of insects and small animals. Gauge 30 (approximately 0.25mm) is finer and more flexible, suitable for small delicate elements including fine insect legs, narrow petal outlines, the veining detail of transparent wings, and filigree elements within larger figures. Gauge 30 is less suitable for large elements — the wire deflects under stitching tension and the finished element has insufficient rigidity to maintain its three-dimensional form. Gauge 26 (approximately 0.40mm) is heavier and less commonly used in fine stumpwork, appropriate for large structural elements requiring firm rigidity — large leaves that will be bent upward from the ground in a curved pose, or the supporting frame of a standing figure. Gauge 32 to 36 is specialist wire used for miniature stumpwork at very fine scale. Armature construction: the wire is cut to approximately double the perimeter of the shape to be formed (for single-wire closed shapes like petals and leaves) or to the length required for open shapes (insect legs and antennae). The wire end is bent with pliers at one point, then formed by hand around the shape outline — following the traced or transferred silhouette on paper or a template — by bending the wire in small increments with fingernail or fingertip pressure. The two cut ends are twisted together at the point where they meet, forming a closed outline with a twisted wire tail. The tail is what gets couched or stitched to the ground fabric: it is laid flat against the fabric at the base of the element's position, and several anchoring stitches are worked over it. Once the tail is secured, the raised wire outline is ready to receive detached buttonhole or other filling stitches. Some stumpwork designs use the wire outline only for the outer shape, filling the interior with detached buttonhole stitch. Others cover the wire itself by wrapping it — overcasting or whipping stitches worked continuously over the wire in thread matching the element's color palette — before filling stitches are added. Covered wire armatures are more robust and produce a finished outer edge that reads as embroidered rather than as metal.

What padding techniques does stumpwork use and how are carpet felt, string padding, and bump thread applied?

Padding is the technique that creates the sculptural relief of stumpwork without wire armature — used for filling in backgrounds, creating rounded forms, and building up surfaces that are then covered with satin stitch or other surface stitches rather than detached stitching. The three primary padding materials in stumpwork each produce different profiles and are selected according to the height, edge definition, and stitch coverage the finished element requires. Carpet felt (dense wool felt, typically 2 to 3mm thick, sometimes available in 1mm and 4mm weights) is the standard padding for high-relief sculptural fills. The felt is cut to the outline silhouette of the motif using small sharp scissors — curved embroidery scissors for organic shapes — and applied by couching stitches worked across its surface or by invisible stitches at the perimeter. Multiple layers can be stacked: a smaller layer first (slightly smaller than the motif outline), then a medium layer, then the largest layer cut exactly to the motif edge. The layered pyramid of felt produces a smoothly domed profile when satin stitch is worked over it, because the largest piece at the top provides a gradual slope from the fabric surface to the peak. Single-layer felt produces a flat-topped pad with a more abrupt edge. For stumpwork berries, the felt pad is cut in a circle and domed by the satin stitches worked from the perimeter toward the center (or in straight parallel stitches with extra coverage at the center). For leaves and petals worked in satin stitch (as distinct from detached buttonhole), the felt cut to the leaf shape builds the relief that gives the stitch its sculptural quality. String padding (raised padding using cotton perlé or thick cotton string couched in parallel rows) is the technique for elongated forms — stems, caterpillar bodies, long narrow leaf veins, and linear raised elements. One strand of thick string is couched at the center of the elongated shape, then a second strand is couched on each side of the first, then a third on each outside of those — building up parallel rows of couched string until the outline of the element is filled. The satin stitch or long-and-short shading stitch worked over the couched string produces a convex cross-section rather than the flat cross-section of stitch worked directly on fabric. The string-padding technique is related to the raised gold work padding in goldwork embroidery, where string and felt are also used under metal thread, but in stumpwork the padded element is typically finished in silk or wool rather than metal. Bump thread (a thick twisted cotton thread of approximately 3 to 4mm diameter, sometimes called padding twist or bump cord) is used for individual rounded padding elements — single berries, round flower centers, large bead-like elements within a design. A length of bump thread is couched on the fabric surface in a coil or spiral to build a rounded pad at the required scale, then satin stitch is worked from the fabric edge, over the bump, to the opposite fabric edge, covering the thread completely. The bump-thread pad produces a more spherical profile than carpet felt layering for small round shapes, because the center of the coil is higher than the edges, and the satin stitches converge at a single point at the top of the curve.

What are stumpwork slips and how are they constructed and applied?

A stumpwork slip is a motif — typically a flower, leaf, insect, butterfly, or small animal — embroidered on a separate foundation fabric and then cut out and applied to the main embroidery ground rather than being worked directly on the main piece. The term 'slip' is derived from the 17th-century horticultural term for a cutting taken from a plant — the implication being that the embroidered motif is a cutting that can be applied (slipped) onto another surface. The slip technique is one of the most distinctively stumpwork methods and is partly responsible for the technique's characteristic look of elements standing out from the ground at odd angles, apparently resting on the fabric surface rather than growing from it. Construction of a slip: the foundation fabric for the slip is typically a closely woven plain-weave fabric — fine cotton, silk organza, or white lawn — stretched tightly in a small hoop or on a piece of card. The design of the slip is traced or transferred onto this foundation. The embroidery is worked on the slip foundation using any combination of surface stitches: satin stitch, long-and-short shading, outline stitch, detached stitches worked over padding. The scale of the stitching can be finer than what would be practical on a complex main ground piece, because the slip is worked in isolation and can be rotated easily for stitch angle. Once complete, the slip is cut out from the foundation fabric using small scissors, cutting close to the outermost stitching so that no foundation fabric is visible at the edge. The slip edge is the outer stitch boundary — if the design includes a satin stitch border or an outline stitch, those form the cutting guide. If the outermost stitches are long-and-short shading without a definite border, a small perimeter of foundation fabric may be left and concealed under the applied element. Application: the slip is placed on the main ground piece in its intended position. Tiny stitches in a thread matching the slip's perimeter color are worked from the main ground fabric through the slip edge and back, effectively sewing the slip to the main ground at its perimeter. For flowers and leaves that should appear to stand upright from the fabric, the slip is applied with stitching only along its lower edge (the stem or base), leaving the upper portions free and allowing the element to be curled or bent forward. A stumpwork pansy made as a slip, for example, would have its lower two petals stitched flat to the ground and its upper three petals curling upward and forward, held in position by the stiffness of the foundation fabric and any wire that may have been worked into the outer edge before application. The slip technique allows elements of extreme complexity — including multiple layers of overlapping petals, detailed insect wing venation, and realistic botanical shading — to be worked under magnification on a separate small frame and then composed into a larger design without the difficulty of working fine detail in a large awkward hoop.

What is the 17th-century English raised work tradition that stumpwork descends from, and how should Patreon creators use this historical context?

The term 'stumpwork' is a modern invention — it appears in needlework literature from approximately the 1850s onward, possibly derived from 'stump work' referring to the wooden stumps or molds used to pad figures in 17th-century raised embroidery, or possibly a corruption of the German 'stof werk' (stuff work, meaning fabric work), but the technique it names has its origins in a highly specific historical tradition: English raised work embroidery produced from approximately 1640 to 1720, primarily on silk satin ground fabric for the decoration of caskets, mirror frames, pictures, and book bindings during the late Stuart period. Stuart period raised work (the technically correct historical designation, as the work was produced predominantly during the reigns of Charles I, the Interregnum, Charles II, James II, William and Mary, and Anne) is the most ambitious domestic embroidery tradition in English history. It combines multiple techniques in one piece: surface stitches (satin stitch, long-and-short shading, split stitch, stem stitch, tent stitch on applied canvas), needlelace (detached stitches building free-standing three-dimensional elements), applied elements (silk ribbon, metal threads, real seed pearls, coral beads, mica chips called 'spangle,' and occasionally dried flowers, carved wooden or ivory faces and hands for human figures), wire armatures, padding, and slips — often all within one casket panel measuring 20 to 30 centimetres square. The subject matter of Stuart raised work is characteristic and largely consistent across surviving pieces: biblical narratives (Abraham and Isaac, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Esther and Ahasuerus, the story of David) or royal allegorical scenes (figures representing Royalty, Justice, Peace, and Plenty, often in contexts celebrating Charles II's Restoration in 1660) set in detailed landscape compositions featuring a central raised figure group, surrounding naturalistic elements including flowers, insects, birds, animals, and architectural details (fountains, castles, tents), and a decorative border. The figures have separately worked or carved faces applied over the stitching, with silk thread hair and metal thread or silk clothing. The scale is miniature — even quite large figures in Stuart raised work measure only 5 to 8 centimetres in height. Contemporary stumpwork — as taught and produced since the 1990s revival led by designers including Jane Nicholas, Kim Thittichai, Trish Burr, and Alison Cole — draws directly on these techniques but typically presents smaller single-subject designs (one flower, one insect, one bird) rather than the elaborate multi-figure narrative compositions of the Stuart period. For Patreon creators, the historical context is valuable content in two ways: as direct instructional material (reproducing a historical technique from a specific museum example, with analysis of the stitches and materials used), and as context for the origin and significance of techniques that might otherwise seem arbitrary. A Patreon module explaining why wire armatures are used under butterfly wings in stumpwork is made richer by explaining that the same technique appears in museum collection Stuart casket panels from the 1670s, and the creator can show photographs of historical examples alongside their contemporary reproduction.

Patreon for stumpwork creators: wire armature gauge selection, detached buttonhole stitch mechanics, carpet felt and string padding, slip panels, 17th-century English raised work, silk thread selection, and Apple Tax impact on iOS creator revenue in 2026

2026-07-30 · ~5,500 words · KeepTier

Stumpwork — also called raised embroidery, English raised work, or, in its historical context, Stuart raised work — is the embroidery tradition built around the problem of making flat fabric three-dimensional. Where conventional embroidery covers a surface, stumpwork builds above it: petals curl forward from the ground, insects stand on wire legs above the fabric, padded fruit rises in relief from a flat satin background, and entire figures are constructed from free-standing needlelace worked in the air above the foundation. The technical vocabulary that makes this possible — wire armatures, detached buttonhole stitch, padding layers, and the slip application method — is genuinely complex, genuinely teachable, and genuinely dependent on video instruction to convey the spatial relationships that define raised work. For Patreon creators, this combination — complexity that generates subscription-worthy content depth plus strong visual appeal that drives discovery on image-forward platforms — makes stumpwork an unusually strong niche for a long-running, multi-tier paid subscription.

Detached buttonhole stitch: the foundational stumpwork technique

Detached buttonhole stitch is the mechanism at the heart of stumpwork’s three-dimensional quality, and every stumpwork Patreon curriculum must build from it. The word “detached” names the essential property: after its initial anchor row, the stitch does not re-enter the ground fabric. It builds a textile structure entirely in the air above the ground, suspended from anchor stitches and from the loops of its own previous rows. The resulting free-hanging mesh of interlocked loops becomes the petal, wing, or leaf of the finished element.

The anchor row: a series of straight stitches laid across the top edge of the element to be filled. For a wire armature element (a petal or leaf with a shaped wire outline), the anchor row stitches pass over the wire at the top edge, into the fabric at the outline, and back to the starting side — forming a row of parallel bars that bridge the top of the element. For a non-wired element worked on the fabric surface, the anchor row is simply a row of stitches worked directly on the fabric along the upper boundary of the fill area. These anchor stitches are the only stitches in a completed detached buttonhole fill that touch the ground fabric at all.

The first working row: the needle passes under the first anchor stitch from right to left (for a right-handed worker), and before drawing through, the working thread is looped under the needle from left to right, so the needle exits from inside this loop. Drawing the needle through creates one buttonhole loop anchored to the anchor stitch. The needle moves to the second anchor stitch and repeats. The row of buttonhole loops hangs from the anchor stitches, touching nothing below them. The consistent loop size from anchor stitch to anchor stitch is the primary technical challenge of this first row: the loops must be the same size as each other, and the tension must be even but not tight, because subsequent rows will fit their loops into these first-row loops and any irregularity compounds through the work.

Subsequent rows: each row works into the loops of the previous row, not into the fabric. The needle passes under the first loop of the previous row, the thread loops under itself, and the new loop is drawn to match the others. After three or four rows, the fabric structure has developed enough surface tension to be self-supporting: it can be pressed gently upward from behind the ground fabric (for elements that are to stand free of the ground) or left flat against the fabric surface (for elements that are to appear as a filled shape rather than a raised volume). Over a wire armature, the detached buttonhole fabric stretches between the wire edges and the central tension keeps it taut, producing the convincing petal or wing shape of finished stumpwork.

The critical variable is stitch tension. Each new loop must be drawn to exactly the same tension as its neighbors — a specific pulling force on the working thread that becomes habitual with practice but cannot be communicated in writing. Video instruction showing hand position, finger placement on the working thread, and the moment of drawing snug is essential. This is the first reason stumpwork Patreon content cannot be replicated by a book or a PDF pattern: the spatial kinesthetics of tension control require observed demonstration. A Patreon creator who demonstrates this stitch convincingly — at full speed and then in slow motion at the loop-drawing moment — has produced content with lasting value for their entire subscriber base.

Wire armature construction: gauges, forming, and anchoring

The wire armature gives stumpwork its most dramatic visual characteristic: elements that physically project from the fabric surface, holding their three-dimensional form indefinitely. Wire armatures are used for petals and leaves that extend beyond the fabric edge, insect wings made from fine needlelace or wrapped wire, standing figures held by wire legs, and any shaped element that must maintain a specific silhouette against the surrounding fabric.

Wire gauges and their properties

Stumpwork wire is designated by gauge number, where higher gauge numbers indicate finer wire. The standard range for stumpwork is gauge 28 to 36, all of which can be formed by hand without tools for the tight curves and small silhouettes typical of the technique.

Gauge 28 (approximately 0.32mm diameter) is the standard stumpwork wire, used by Jane Nicholas as the baseline in her systematic published instructions and appropriate for the majority of stumpwork elements: rose and clematis petals (20 to 35mm), medium to large leaf shapes, butterfly and dragonfly wings at standard scale, and the torso outlines of standing insect bodies. Gauge 28 holds a formed bend against stitching tension from detached buttonhole or whipping stitches, resists the small lateral forces of adjacent elements in a composition, and is malleable enough to be adjusted — a finished wire element can be gently re-bent to adjust its pose after application without risk of breaking the wire or disturbing the stitching.

Gauge 30 (approximately 0.25mm) is the fine-detail wire: insect legs, narrow leaf veins as separate elements, the framing outline for very small petals (under 15mm), and the antenna of moths and butterflies. At this gauge, the wire provides a visible line with minimal rigidity — fine insect legs in completed stumpwork work bend freely under the slightest touch, which is actually desirable for visual realism. For transparent dragonfly wings where the wire forms the veining structure and needlelace or organza fills the wing panel, gauge 30 provides sufficient definition without the visual heaviness of gauge 28.

Gauge 26 (approximately 0.40mm) is the heavy-duty armature wire for large structural elements that must bear the weight or tension of significant stitching: the trunk of a standing figure (wire bent into a humanoid armature and wrapped with thread before clothing stitches are applied), large leaves intended to curve upward from the ground at an angle greater than 45 degrees (the thicker wire resists sagging over time), and the structural base elements of three-dimensional constructions that include multiple applied components above them.

Forming and anchoring a wire armature

The process of forming a wire armature begins with tracing the silhouette of the element onto paper. The wire length needed is approximately twice the outline perimeter of the shape for a closed element (petal, leaf) or the full outline length plus an anchoring tail for an open element (single curved stem, antenna). The wire is bent around the traced outline by hand, using fingernail pressure for tight curves and firm finger-and-thumb pressure for gradual curves, following the silhouette as precisely as the wire diameter allows. Where the wire returns to its starting point, the two ends are twisted together for 8 to 10mm — three or four tight twists — producing a small twisted tail that will anchor the element to the fabric. This tail is placed flat against the main fabric at the element’s intended base position and couched in place with thread-colored-to-match, using 4 to 6 short stitches crossing the tail. Once couched, the twisted element lies on the fabric surface and the formed wire silhouette rises above it, ready for stitching.

Wire coverage before stitching: some stumpwork practitioners wrap the entire formed wire armature in thread before working filling stitches over it, producing a covered outer edge that reads as embroidered rather than metallic. The covering stitch is whipping — tiny stitches worked continuously over the wire, angled slightly to follow the wire direction — in the thread that will be used at the element’s outer edge. For a pink rose petal, the wire is whipped in the darkest pink (because the outer edge catches shadow). For a green leaf, the wire is whipped in the darkest edge color. Covered wire armatures add construction time but produce significantly more polished finished elements, and the technique difference (covered vs. uncovered wire) is one of the refinements that distinguishes advanced stumpwork from introductory-level work. Patreon creators who demonstrate both approaches — with before and after photographs of finished elements — provide content that serves both beginner and intermediate subscribers.

Padding: carpet felt, string padding, and bump thread

Padding is the technique family that creates sculptural relief in stumpwork elements worked in surface stitches rather than detached stitches — berries, rounded petals, fat caterpillar bodies, and dimensional leaves whose relief comes from bulk rather than from wired projection. The padding must be cut, built, and applied before the covering stitches are worked, because the covering stitches lock the padding in place and shape the surface.

Carpet felt

Carpet felt — dense wool felt of 2 to 3mm thickness, sometimes called stumpwork felt or tapestry felt to distinguish it from thinner craft felt — is the primary padding material for high-relief sculptural fills. Its density and compressibility make it ideal: satin stitches drawn across the felt surface compress it slightly at the stitch points and allow the felt to dome between stitches, producing a smoothly curved profile under the covering thread.

Application method for layered felt padding (the standard technique for high relief): cut three pieces of felt to the motif shape, each slightly smaller than the last. The smallest piece is applied first, centered on the motif position, couched at the perimeter with 4 to 6 stitches. The medium piece (approximately 2mm larger on all sides than the small piece) is applied over it. The largest piece (cut to the precise outer boundary of the motif) is applied last. The pyramid of layered felt produces a gently domed profile when viewed from the side: the surface grades from ground level at the outer edge to the full combined thickness of three layers at the center. Satin stitches worked over this pyramid follow the dome contour rather than the flat ground, producing a sculptural relief visible from multiple viewing angles. The number of layers determines the maximum relief: one layer (approximately 2mm height), two layers (4mm), three layers (6mm). Historical stumpwork casket panels from the 17th century use padding depths of 8 to 12mm for major figure elements — achieved by combining felt layers with string padding and sometimes small carved wooden or cork inserts under the felt.

String padding

String padding uses thick cotton perlé (typically size 3 or 5) or specialist padding cord couched in parallel rows to build a ridge or elongated relief form. It is the correct technique for stems, caterpillar bodies, sausage-shaped berries, and any elongated element where carpet felt layering would produce an awkward segmented appearance rather than a smooth continuous form.

The procedure: a single strand of perlé is couched along the center line of the elongated element, anchored with tiny crossing stitches every 2 to 3mm. A second strand is couched parallel to the first on one side, at a distance equal to the strand diameter. A third strand is couched parallel on the other side. A fourth and fifth are couched on the outer sides of the second and third. The result, viewed in cross-section, is a bundle of parallel cords that creates a convex ridge when satin stitches are worked from one edge of the element to the other, crossing over the top of the cord bundle. The curvature of the cross-section depends on the number of cords: three cords (narrow, high ridge for thick stems and insect thoraxes), five cords (medium ridge for caterpillar bodies and plump stems), seven or more cords (low wide dome for broad elements). The covering satin stitches should be worked at a slight angle across the cord bundle rather than straight across, to produce a spiral appearance — appropriate for caterpillar segments — or exactly perpendicular, for stems and smooth linear elements.

Bump thread padding

Bump thread — a thick twisted cotton cord of 3 to 5mm diameter, sometimes called bump cord or padding bump — is the padding material for individual spherical elements: round berries, large knotted buds, spherical dew drops, and any element where maximum height in a compact footprint is needed. A length of bump thread is couched to the fabric in a tight coil or spiral, building up a mounded pad at the element center. The coil is couched at each wrapping, with tiny stitches drawn through the fabric alongside the cord. For a single berry, the coil covers approximately the diameter of the finished berry: four to six concentric rings of bump thread, each ring couched before the next is applied. Satin stitches are then worked from the fabric at one side of the berry, over the bump mound, to the fabric at the other side, completely concealing the padding. The satin stitch spacing on bump thread elements must be tighter than for flat surface satin stitch, because the distance the stitch covers (over the mound) is greater than the footprint of the element, and a stitch spacing appropriate for flat work leaves visible gaps at the peak of the mound.

Stumpwork slips: embroidered motifs worked separately and applied

The slip is stumpwork’s most distinctive compositional technique and one of its oldest documented practices. A slip is a motif — a flower, butterfly, leaf, bee, or any bounded design element — embroidered on a separate foundation fabric, cut out, and applied to the main embroidery ground by stitching around its perimeter. The technique allows fine detail work on a separate small frame (where the foundation fabric can be stretched perfectly tight and rotated freely for optimal stitch angle) and then composited into a larger design without the compromise of working fine stitches on a complex heavily loaded main ground.

Foundation fabrics for slips: fine cotton lawn or Swiss batiste for most applications (provides tooth for stitching without excessive stiffness), silk organza (for elements where the slip will be bent or curled so that parts of it stand above the main ground), white cotton muslin (the historical choice in Stuart raised work). The foundation is placed in a small ring hoop (5 to 10cm diameter) drawn drum-tight, which ensures that stitches do not distort the surrounding fabric as they are worked. The design is transferred to the foundation fabric (pencil or water-soluble pen outline), and the embroidery is worked in full detail including any padding or wire elements incorporated into the slip. A butterfly slip, for example, would include: wire outline around each wing panel, detached buttonhole or needlelace filling worked over the wire, body shape padded with a small twist of wool or bump thread, separate antennae worked in wire and thread. All this work happens in isolation on the small foundation.

Cutting out: when the embroidery on the slip foundation is complete, the slip is cut from the foundation fabric using very small, sharp scissors — Kelmscott curved-blade stumpwork scissors or equivalent fine embroidery scissors. The cut follows the outermost stitching as closely as possible: for an element with a defined outline stitch at its edge, the cut goes immediately outside the outline; for an element where the outermost row of stitching is satin stitch, the cut passes through the edge thread on the fabric foundation, just past the end of the stitches. No foundation fabric should be visible at the edge of the finished slip.

Application: the cut slip is positioned on the main ground in its planned location. Tiny stitches in perimeter-matching thread attach the slip to the main ground fabric through the edge of the slip. For a flower that is to lie flat, all edges are stitched down. For a flower whose petals should project, stitching is applied only along the base (stem attachment point), and the petal sections are left free — they can be gently bent upward or allowed to drape according to the design intent. For overlapping elements — a bee sitting on top of an applied flower — the underlying elements are applied first, then the overlying elements are applied over them, hiding the lower edges of the upper slip under the body of the lower one.

Historical context: Stuart raised work 1640–1720

The 17th-century English raised work tradition from which modern stumpwork descends is among the most technically ambitious periods in European domestic embroidery history. Surviving examples are held in museum collections worldwide — the Victoria & Albert Museum in London has one of the largest collections, including complete caskets with their decorative panels intact — and provide both the historical context and direct technical reference material for contemporary stumpwork creators.

The casket was the characteristic Stuart raised work form: a wooden or card box, approximately 20 to 40cm in length and 15 to 20cm in height, covered on all exterior surfaces with panels of raised work embroidery that were worked separately, glued to the box surfaces, and framed with silk ribbon or metal braid. The casket interiors were sometimes also decorated with needlelace panels or silk lining. The box was then used for storage of jewelry, personal papers, or household items. Examples that have survived intact retain their original contents — small books, embroidered pincushions, mirror glass fragments, miniature portraits — making them time capsules of 17th-century domestic life as well as technical exhibitions of the raised work tradition.

Mirror frames (rectangular or shaped frames surrounding a looking glass, typically 40 to 60cm in height with wide borders) and framed pictures (embroidered compositions mounted in black lacquered or gilded frames for display) were the other primary Stuart raised work formats. Mirror frame compositions often continue the naturalistic border tradition — raised flowers, insects, and small animal figures surrounding a central mirror panel — with the embroidery width of 8 to 15cm providing sufficient space for complex multi-technique work. These frames survive in significant numbers in British country house collections where they escaped the destructive reuse that has removed many caskets from their original context.

The subject matter of Stuart raised work is identifiable from a consistent iconographic vocabulary. Biblical narratives drawn from the Old Testament (Abraham and Isaac, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the story of Esther) appear in the majority of extant casket panels, probably because the same biblical story was a standard subject in embroidery pattern books circulating in England from the 1590s onward. The Garden of Eden was a particularly common central scene, combining the narrative content (Adam, Eve, the serpent, the Tree of Knowledge) with the abundant natural vocabulary of the tradition (fruit trees, flowers, animals, birds, fountains) that allowed the embroiderer to display technical range within a known compositional format. The Restoration of Charles II in 1660 introduced a brief fashion for overtly royalist allegory — figures of Royalty, Justice, Peace, and Liberty, often with the initials CR or a crown motif — but this faded after approximately 1680 as the political urgency of the Restoration period receded. The range of techniques in a single Stuart casket panel typically included: tent stitch on applied needlepoint canvas (for background landscape), surface silk stitches (satin stitch, long-and-short shading in silk floss for flowers and clothing), needlelace detached stitches (for collars, cuffs, and architectural details such as tent panels and fountain columns), padding and stumpwork for major figure elements and large fruits, and applied materials including seed pearls, coral beads, mica chips (called “spangle” or “mecca” in period sources), and separately carved wooden or ivory faces and hands for the human figures — the embroiderer working the bodies and clothing while faces and hands were purchased separately from specialist suppliers.

For Patreon creators, this historical material is content in two ways. As direct instructional reference: any museum with a significant Stuart raised work collection (the V&A, the Embroiderers’ Guild collection held at Hampton Court, the Winterthur Museum in the US, the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia) permits close photography of the technical details in public galleries, and the resulting images provide documentation of historical stitch choices, thread types, padding depths, and composition methods that are directly applicable to contemporary practice. As subscriber enrichment: explaining why a raised honeybee is worked with separate wire legs, organza wings, and a bump-thread-padded body becomes a richer lesson when illustrated with an example from a 1675 casket panel where the same technique appears in the same combination of materials.

Thread selection: silk, metal, and specialty threads

Stumpwork thread selection is more constrained than in surface embroidery styles because the raised construction requirements place specific demands on thread performance. Detached buttonhole stitch in very fine thread produces a filmy transparent mesh appropriate for insect wings; in medium silk floss it produces a denser petal surface; in wool it is not typically used. The thread must have sufficient twist and plying stability to maintain loop shape in detached stitches without kinking or collapsing.

Fine silk floss is the standard stumpwork thread. Au Ver à Soie d’Alger (7-filament silk twist, Parisian manufacturer, used by Jane Nicholas as the canonical reference thread in her published work) provides excellent detail resolution in 1 to 3 strands for fine stumpwork, a full color range of several hundred shades, and consistent twist that maintains loop integrity in detached stitches. Pearsall’s Stocking Twist (a fine twisted silk thread available in a limited but historically accurate color range, used in reconstruction of 17th-century raised work) has firmer twist than stranded silk floss and is preferred for some detached needle lace applications where maximum loop definition is needed. Pearsall’s Filoselle (a slightly heavier silk floss) works well for broader detached fills and satin stitch padding covers. Edmar specialty threads (Brazilian, lively twisted silk and rayon threads) are used by some contemporary stumpwork practitioners for decorative surface stitches and textured fills where the high twist produces a distinctive dimensional surface quality. These are not appropriate for fine detached work but add variety for backgrounds and compositional elements.

Metal threads appear in stumpwork for gilt and silver decorative elements: couched passing thread for outlines and borders, purl (coiled fine metal wire) for textured padding, check thread for sparkle elements, and Pearl Purl (a heavier coiled wire) for framing device outlines. The use of metal thread in stumpwork reflects the goldwork influence on the Stuart raised work tradition — 17th-century pieces often combine silk, metal thread, and real gold spangles in the same panel — and contemporary stumpwork makers who incorporate metal thread are working in direct continuity with the historical technique. For Patreon creators, goldwork technique crossover is a natural expansion of stumpwork content: patrons who have mastered the silk and wire techniques of stumpwork are well positioned to learn metal thread application, and a curriculum that transitions from core stumpwork into metal thread embroidery sustains subscription engagement beyond the initial learning curve.

Stranded cotton (DMC, Anchor) can be used in stumpwork for background landscape elements where the finer resolution of silk is not required, and is more accessible for beginners who are not yet ready to invest in specialist silk threads. A stumpwork Patreon that uses stranded cotton for beginner tier content and introduces silk thread at intermediate and advanced tiers manages both the subscription cost and the skill level gradient efficiently.

Contemporary designers: Jane Nicholas, Kim Thittichai, Trish Burr

Jane Nicholas is the Australian designer who produced the most systematic and comprehensive published reference for contemporary stumpwork, including The Complete Book of Stumpwork Embroidery and a series of focused design books covering specific subject categories (butterflies, gardens, Australian flora). Nicholas’s approach is methodical: every element in her designs is documented with specific thread colors (Au Ver à Soie d’Alger color numbers), wire gauge, padding specification, and stitch sequence. Her published designs function as notation systems as much as patterns, providing enough technical information for a competent embroiderer to reproduce the work. Patreon creators working in the Nicholas tradition can structure their curriculum around systematic element types — a month on petals (wire armature formation, detached buttonhole filling, surface stitch alternatives), a month on insects (segmented body padding, wire leg insertion, wing construction in organza vs. detached lace), a month on botanical elements (stem padding, leaf wiring options, flower center techniques) — with the same level of documented technical precision.

Kim Thittichai is a British designer known for integrating stumpwork techniques with mixed-media and contemporary design approaches, including the use of organza, dissolvable fabric, and unconventional materials alongside traditional wire and needle lace work. Thittichai’s book Stumpwork: Contemporary Methods for Raised Embroidery represents a departure from historical reconstructionism toward contemporary design sensibility. For Patreon creators, the Thittichai approach opens content territory that the historically focused approach does not: experimental materials combinations, abstract rather than botanical subject matter, and the integration of stumpwork with quilting, mixed-media textile art, and contemporary embroidery design. A Patreon that positions itself at the intersection of traditional technique and contemporary application attracts a different subscriber demographic than one focused exclusively on historical technique.

Trish Burr is a South African embroiderer and designer whose work focuses on highly realistic botanical and wildlife subjects worked in long-and-short needle painting, often incorporating stumpwork elements for specific dimensional effects within an otherwise surface-worked design. Burr’s approach demonstrates that stumpwork need not be an isolated technique tradition — it can be the three-dimensional component within a predominantly flat-stitch design, used selectively for maximum visual impact rather than as the exclusive technique of an entire piece. For Patreon creators who come from a surface embroidery background and are extending into three-dimensional work, Burr’s integration model provides a more accessible entry point than full stumpwork composition.

Apple Tax on iOS Patreon subscriptions: what stumpwork creators lose from November 2026

Apple’s 30% in-app purchase fee applies to all Patreon subscriptions completed through the Patreon iOS app from November 1, 2026. The stumpwork and raised embroidery creator audience is concentrated on platforms with high iOS adoption: Instagram (where process photography and close-up detail shots of raised work are the dominant content format) and Pinterest (where stumpwork inspiration boards are among the most saved categories in needlework). The iOS share of Instagram usage in Western Europe, North America, and Australia — the primary stumpwork markets — is consistently in the 65 to 80% range. YouTube serves tutorial content for the technique-focused subscriber, with iOS mobile viewing in the 55 to 70% range.

Revenue calculations assuming 73% iOS reach (mid-range for a stumpwork creator with significant Instagram and Pinterest presence) at four tier price points:

At $15/month: $15 × 0.73 × 0.30 = $3.29 per subscriber per month lost to Apple. At 60 subscribers this tier, $196.88/month ($2,362.50/year).

At $28/month: $28 × 0.73 × 0.30 = $6.13 per subscriber per month. At 35 subscribers, $214.62/month ($2,575.44/year).

At $55/month: $55 × 0.75 × 0.30 = $12.38 per subscriber per month. At 15 subscribers, $185.63/month ($2,227.50/year).

At $120/month: $120 × 0.78 × 0.30 = $28.08 per subscriber per month. At 8 subscribers, $224.64/month ($2,695.68/year).

A stumpwork Patreon with 118 subscribers distributed across these four tiers loses approximately $821.77/month ($9,861.12/year) to Apple IAP after November 1, 2026. The stumpwork creator audience — predominately women in the 35 to 65 age range, iOS-dominant, in markets with high iPhone penetration rates — is among the most iOS-concentrated audiences in the embroidery creator space.

KeepTier: web checkout that routes around Apple IAP

KeepTier provides a web-based subscription checkout that operates entirely outside the iOS in-app purchase system. A stumpwork creator who places their KeepTier subscription link in a YouTube video description, an Instagram bio (or their link-in-bio landing page), a pinned post in their Facebook embroidery group, or an email newsletter captures new subscriber payments without entering the Apple IAP pathway. The full subscription amount, minus Stripe’s standard processing fee (2.9% + $0.30), reaches the creator.

The stumpwork audience is already accustomed to following external links for purchasing: specialty silk thread from Soie d’Alger stockists, uncovered wire from Stef Francis or Rajmahal, carpet felt from Jenny Bradford Embroidery Designs, and pattern books from designer websites. A KeepTier subscription link in the same locations where these suppliers are already linked is not a friction point for this audience. For the stumpwork creator, the routing decision preserves approximately $820 per month that would otherwise flow to Apple’s fee system permanently from November 2026 onward.

Tier structures for stumpwork Patreon creators

The stumpwork technique hierarchy — from basic padded satin stitch through single wire armature elements to complex multi-element compositions — provides the natural structure for a three-tier Patreon, with each tier representing a distinct skill level and a corresponding increase in content production investment.

Tier 1 — Floss ($12–$15/month): one monthly design release in PDF format covering a single stumpwork element — a padded berry, a satin stitch leaf with string padding, a simple straight-sided felt padding fill. The pattern includes a thread color list (with DMC equivalents as well as Au Ver à Soie numbers for accessibility), a materials list specifying padding requirements, a stitch list with brief descriptions, and a finished-object photograph. This tier serves: the beginner who is learning stumpwork from books and YouTube and paying for curated, reliable pattern resources; the intermediate embroiderer who primarily works surface embroidery and is dipping into stumpwork; and the subscriber who supports the creator’s work but is not yet confident enough to attempt tutorial video content. At $12–$15/month, this tier requires relatively low production time (one design per month, PDF output only) and can be batched several months in advance.

Tier 2 — Wire ($28–$35/month): monthly design with pattern plus a 20 to 30 minute technique video demonstrating the construction of the month’s element from materials preparation through completion. The video must address: setting up and stretching the foundation fabric, tracing the design, forming the wire armature (if applicable), working the anchor row, demonstrating the detached buttonhole stitch at close range, and the finishing sequence. Stumpwork video instruction requires the same careful camera setup as naalbinding and hardanger — the three-dimensional construction happens in a small spatial zone that must be tightly framed, well lit, and shot from an angle that shows the needle path relative to the previous row loops. For wire armature elements, an overhead-plus-side two-camera setup (or a single camera on a flexible arm that can be repositioned) allows the simultaneous documentation of the wire outline and the stitch being worked into it. Creators who develop a production setup that clearly shows the spatial relationships of detached work attract and retain subscribers specifically for that visual clarity.

Tier 3 — Panel ($55–$80/month): monthly pattern and tutorial video plus a longer-form module covering the design and construction of a complete stumpwork composition — a three-element botanical study (flower, bee, butterfly over a stem), a historical reproduction (a specific Stuart casket panel element reproduced with documented materials and technique), or a technical deep-dive covering one stumpwork category in comprehensive detail (all approaches to three-dimensional flower construction: petals in detached buttonhole over wire, petals as slips, petals as wired organza panels, petals as padded satin stitch, petals in turkey work, and the compositional situations where each approach is preferred). This tier serves the advanced embroiderer building a formal stumpwork portfolio, the textile art educator preparing course materials, and the embroiderer who wants to develop original designs rather than reproduce published patterns. At this tier, content production investment is significant — a complete composition module may require 6 to 10 hours of design, stitching, filming, and editing — but the subscriber is receiving content with unique value: a comprehensive treatment of a specific technical problem that no published book or free video provides in the same depth. Apple Tax impact at this tier ($65/month mid-range, 76% iOS, 12 subscribers): $65 × 0.76 × 0.30 = $14.82 per subscriber per month × 12 = $177.84/month ($2,134.08/year) permanently lost to Apple unless routed through web checkout.

See the KeepTier blog for analysis of Apple Tax impact across embroidery and fiber arts creator categories, and preserve your subscription revenue from November 2026 at keeptier.com.