I’ve been thinking about this a good bit recently. Largely because I see things that are called “Bargello” that don’t quite fit into our regular picture of the technique.
When we think of Bargello, we think of straight stitches that move in a stepwise fashion. If the stitches are two different lengths, it’s Hungarianpoint. If the stitches are diagonal instead of straight, it’s Diagonal Bargello.
You can also take a Bargello pattern and turn it along one of more axes. If you turn it on one axis, it’s Two-way Bargello. Two-way can be on diagonal, horizontal, or vertical axes. On two axes running diagonally from corner to corner, it’s Four-way Bargello. I even have a book of Eight-way Bargello which adds two more axes, at the mid-point of each side.
To be Bargello, as traditionally defined, the pattern has to move in lines or define shapes, everything in steps. If you take a pattern, stitch it with straight stitches, but don’t have this step-wise motion, is it Bargello?
Looking at my vintage books, the opinion is mixed. I have one book that calls this Gobelin Stitch Embroidery, which I think is an excellent description. But I have another book that has almost exclusively this kind of pattern and calls it Bargello. It happens to be the newer book and the one I encountered first.
I am also seeing newer projects that are using the word “Bargello” to define Straight Gobelin patterns.
Do I care? Should you care? I don’t know. I’m throwing the question out to the world and would love to know what you think.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
I guess I’m a bit of a purist, but I think it’s wrong to “misname” stitches. If you’re going to the effort of learning a craft, learn the proper terminology that goes with it. I think it’s sloppy to be inaccurate that way. Like that saying “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well”. I’m not saying you shouldn’t stitch unless you’re expert at it. I am saying that you should do it to the best of your ability. And that includes learning the proper terminology. Otherwise, everything gets confused and noone knows what anything means anymore.