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The Muncaster Bed Hanging Crewel Work Kit

Advanced Crewel Work Kit
$3,268.00

This extravagant Jacobean design is from a set of original ‘Tree of Life’ bed hangings in Muncaster Castle, Cumbria, in the English Lake District. The Pennington family, who have lived in the castle since 1208 have kindly given us exclusive permission to replicate this piece.

The full kit comes with a guarantee to supply you with enough wool to complete the design. Our Essential Guide to Crewel Work booklet and illustrated instructions are fully comprehensive and we are also on hand to help you at any point as you stitch. The design also comes fully mapped out over 16 pages of A3 Stitch Charts.

You will receive 10 of our special gold-plated needles for single thread, and 10 polished nickel crewel needles for double thread to ensure you are always working with a sharp needle (which is essential in Crewel Work!), plus 2 beading needles and beads. You will also receive a USB stick with high-resolution images of the original piece and a poster so that you may refer to it as you work through the design.

This kit also includes wool fleece to create Padded Satin strawberries in the same way as the original embroiderers. Read the full list of what's included in this kit. Read our FAQs on the Muncaster Bed Hanging Read the story of how we developed this kit

Suitable for: Advanced embroiderers

Kit Includes: Pure linen twill numbered and signed, 7 x Appletons crewel wool packs containing 29 skeins and 104 hanks, a wool list, fleece, 20 x needles (for double and single thread, plus beading needle), beads for eyes, scissors, a USB with images of the design, a 44-page stitch instruction booklet, 16 x A3 stitch charts, an A3 colour poster, and our 'Essential Guide to Crewel Work' booklet

Design size: 100 x 145 cm (40 x 57 in)
Linen size: 150 x 180 cm (60 x 72 in)

Stitches: Long & Short ‘as soft shading’, Buttonhole, Crewel Ermine, Satin, Raised Satin, Leaf, Bargello, Crewel Stem, Seeding, Padded Satin, Lazy Daisy, and French Knots

Additional equipment required to complete the kit: Slate frame

All of our Crewel Work kits feature the highest quality materials that authentically replicate those found in 16th and 17th century embroideries.

These include:
Specialist 'S' Twist Linen Twill Ground Fabric
- made to historic specifications
- minimum of 10 cm (3 inches) space on either side of the design

Threads
Depending on the kit, we use either Appletons Wools from England or hand-dyed Renaissance Wools from France
- full skeins or hanks, not strands!
- 2-ply

Printed material
- Full, bespoke instructions created by Phillipa Turnbull and carefully illustrated by our in-house artist Georgie. We take extra care to make sure we're by your side for each step of the process
- Stitch & Colour Chart to make sure you are in no doubt about where each colour and stitch type goes
- Essential Guide to Crewel Work Booklet - a specially created foundation guide for those who want to go over the basics from threading a needle to blocking your finished work.

Needles & beads
- Specialist for Crewel embroidery
- Gold-plated for single thread
- Polished nickle for double thread
- Beads (if your design has eyes!)

Frames, scissors and finishing materials are not included in your kit. To stitch your design, you will therefore also need:

1. An embroidery frame of your choice (such as a Seat, Floor or Slate Frame)
2. A pair of embroidery scissors


We recommend the Elbesee Seat Frame, which we sell in our store with three different sized hoops. You can buy the Seat Frame here or as part of our Starter Sets, which you can combined with your kit purchase and receive 10% off.

We are passionate about keeping embroidery alive, a living art form which new generations are inspired to try.

The countless benefits of practicing embroidery include lowering blood pressure, regulating breath, calming the nervous system, and providing an excellent excuse to form deep social bonds with friends, family and your local community.

If you want to experience some of the same benefits of practicing embroidery and think this might be the kit for you, please reach out to us and let us know how it helped you!

We donate 10% of the proceeds of this sale to support the upkeep of the original embroidery.

We are passionate about keeping embroidery alive for future generations. Our way of doing this is to follow a thread to the past, finding a link with embroiderers who throughout history have found inspiration, solace, meaning and connection through embroidery.

As such, almost all of our kits are inspired by historic embroideries. We research embroideries in public and private collections in the UK and bring them back to life by spending countless hours producing a faithful replica - in choice of materials, colour and of course design line.

We are on a mission to keep these embroideries alive and to allow more people to access them - whether through our historically-accurate kits, our online courses, or our life-changing in-person retreats. We go to the source and we hope to take you with us.

Where possible and appropriate we donate a percentage of the proceeds of the sale of a kit to the castle, country house, or institution that the original embroidery belongs to.

With this, we specifically support the care, safe-housing and understanding (both among caretaking teams and visitors) of the historic embroidery in question and its companions.

To date we have donated over £20,000 to the care of historic embroideries and have supported the businesses charged with their care. As such, needlework which was stored away and under-appreciated, is now understood, valued and cared for.

With this we have helped to improve understanding of and appreciation for some of the rarest and most culturally significant embroideries and textile collections in the UK.

We offer complimentary Standard Delivery on all UK Orders over £100 and all International orders over £200.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Complimentary Standard Delivery ~ 2-3 Working Days (Orders over £100) - FREE

Standard Shipping ~ 2-3 Working Days - (Orders under £100) - £5

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EUROPE

Complimentary Standard Delivery ~ 3-17 Working Days (Orders over £200) - FREE

Standard Shipping ~ 3-17 Working Days - (Orders under £200) - £8-£10 (depending on the weight of your order)

Express Shipping - 2-11 Working Days - £7-£35 (depending on the weight of your order)

DHL - Live rates calculated at check out

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INTERNATIONAL

Complimentary Standard Delivery ~ 3-17 Working Days (Orders over £200) - FREE

Standard Shipping ~ 3-17 Working Days - (Orders under £200) - £7-£10 (depending on the weight of your order)

Express Shipping - 2-11 Working Days - £9-£40 (depending on the weight of your order)

DHL - Live rates calculated at check out

VISIT OUR DELIVERY PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

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If you shop at our online store, your order is handled by our dispatch team managed by Georgie and Frankie in our Appleby office.

Georgie personally selects your kit and checks its contents before passing it to Frankie to wrap in tissue paper and seal it with our signature logo sticker before it is prepared for shipping.

All with care and sincere thanks for your support. Each owner of a Crewel Work Company Kit is part of our wider family so please keep in touch as we love to hear about your progress, the ups and downs of creating your piece, and how it ended up!

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RETURNS 

We are committed to bringing you high quality needlework experiences, which is reflected in the choice of materials included in our kits. If, however, you are unsatisfied for any reason, we are happy to refund the whole amount to you on receipt of the product you have purchased. Refunds will be accepted within a 30 day period of when you receive the product.

All items should be returned new, unused and in original Crewel Work Company packaging.

All successfully returned items will be credited to the card used when placing the order, less any shipping costs, international taxes or import duties incurred. For payments made by PayPal, refunds will be credited to your PayPal account and will be visible immediately. Reimbursement time to the credit card associated with your PayPal account depends on the company that issued the card.

Parcels are returned at your own cost, and it is advised that you obtain a free certificate of postage from the Post Office or any courier company of your choice, as we can only be responsible for your parcel once it has been received into our offices. We can also arrange for our courier company to collect the parcel. You will need to be at the provided address to hand over the parcel, and there is a charge for this service.

As the responsibility for international customs duties and local VAT/GST (outside of the EU) lie with the customer, The Crewel Work Company are unable to refund any charges incurred upon delivery of the order. However, you may be able to recover these by contacting your local customs bureau directly. 


Please note, items should not be returned to us without prior notice. 

Shipping costs will be refunded for items that are incidentally delivered in a damaged or in a faulty condition and for orders cancelled before dispatch under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs).

All orders should be returned to The Crewel Work Company, 1 Old Spooners Yard, The Sands, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, CA16 6XN, United Kingdom. You will be notified by email once your return has been received and processed by a member of our team. 

For additional help or queries regarding the returns process, simply contact us.

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DUTIES

Depending on which country we are sending your goods to you may incur import duties.

Customer Reviews

Based on 7 reviews
86%
(6)
14%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
C
Christy Dillon
3 or 4 stars on directions 5 stars for the project

I love this project but I wish that there would have been more in-depth directions
on each of the separate patterns and a description of each stitch used and pictures to go along with the outline of each pattern that is given. The booklet doesn't give enough directions on what to do. I'm really good at this type of embroidery but I still got lost on parts of it.

A
Alice Matey
Muncaster Bed Hanging

I am about half way through this piece and enjoying the work, I have been very ill with Leukemia and needed and bone marrow stem cell transplant ant this has be a very helpful distraction.

S
Stacey Totzke
Muncaster Bed Hanging Madness! Woohoo!

To say I’m thrilled about this kit is an understatement. Every time I look at the pattern, yarns, etc. I get a thrill. My slate frame arrived a few days ago and I have been relishing every moment of setting it up and dressing it. My mom was very instrumental in enabling the purchase of this kit for me and I will always be grateful to her for that. Thank you to everyone at the Crewel Work Co. for all of your dedication, hard work and inspiration/perspiration that make this kit and all your other goodies available to us lucky folks! Humbly yours, Stacey Totzke

D
Denise Foster
Excellent

This kit is superb. Everything you need is in it. Nicely packaged. Full instructions with the design sectioned off on A3 size paper. Looking forward to starting it when my husband has made my frame.

E
E.W.

This is a first class kit. Wonderful fun to do. The quality if really first class. Yes it is a large kit but well worth every penny. I enjoyed this so much I am doing another one. A must for anyone who loves big projects and using best quality materials.

Customer Reviews

Based on 7 reviews
86%
(6)
14%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
C
Christy Dillon
3 or 4 stars on directions 5 stars for the project

I love this project but I wish that there would have been more in-depth directions
on each of the separate patterns and a description of each stitch used and pictures to go along with the outline of each pattern that is given. The booklet doesn't give enough directions on what to do. I'm really good at this type of embroidery but I still got lost on parts of it.

A
Alice Matey
Muncaster Bed Hanging

I am about half way through this piece and enjoying the work, I have been very ill with Leukemia and needed and bone marrow stem cell transplant ant this has be a very helpful distraction.

S
Stacey Totzke
Muncaster Bed Hanging Madness! Woohoo!

To say I’m thrilled about this kit is an understatement. Every time I look at the pattern, yarns, etc. I get a thrill. My slate frame arrived a few days ago and I have been relishing every moment of setting it up and dressing it. My mom was very instrumental in enabling the purchase of this kit for me and I will always be grateful to her for that. Thank you to everyone at the Crewel Work Co. for all of your dedication, hard work and inspiration/perspiration that make this kit and all your other goodies available to us lucky folks! Humbly yours, Stacey Totzke

D
Denise Foster
Excellent

This kit is superb. Everything you need is in it. Nicely packaged. Full instructions with the design sectioned off on A3 size paper. Looking forward to starting it when my husband has made my frame.

E
E.W.

This is a first class kit. Wonderful fun to do. The quality if really first class. Yes it is a large kit but well worth every penny. I enjoyed this so much I am doing another one. A must for anyone who loves big projects and using best quality materials.

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