Crewel embroidery or crewelwork is a type of surface embroidery using wool. A wide variety of different embroidery stitches are used to follow a design outline to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old. Crewel embroidery is traditionally done on a medium-weight plain weave linen or on linen twill. I like linen twill, . It's a nice crisp medium-weight twill, made specifically for hand embroidery. This example dates back to approximately 1870 and is done on linen twill. It is in absolute mint condition and for most of its life it has been in the armoire. The different colours are still as bright as when it was first embroidered and not affected by the sun.. The piece is framed with crochet lace. A very unique and rare piece.