Moorish Necessaire by Margaret Light

An embroidered footstool is sometimes seen as an oxymoron. That uncomfortable tension between spending hours creating a beautiful piece of art versus its intended utilitarian purpose of resting one’s feet.

The solution of-course is to apply the term ‘decorative’ and let everyone know your precious footstool is for looking at only, no feet please!

When Margaret Light set out to create her wonderful project ‘Moorish Necessaire’ from her book A Fine Tradition 2, she was very specific about its intended purpose and planned for it to be as utilitarian as it could in every way possible! The decorative part was never going to stop that.

This is both a highly functional and beautifully ornate necessaire capable of housing everything from threads, accessories and fabrics to a hoop, magnifier and printed instructions, such are its generous proportions.

When open, the finished necessaire measures 57cm x 32cm wide (22 ¾” x 12 ¾”) or 20 cm x 32 cm (8” x 12 ¾”) when closed, so you can see it’s really is as much about function as it is about form.

Moorish refers to Margaret’s source of inspiration for the motifs that came to her during a visit to the great mosque or Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain.

After seeing the spectacular Roman Byzantine style mosaics of the ribbed domes, Margaret adapted the stylised vegetal and floral designs to create enchanting embroidered elements to embellish her necessaire.

Featuring three floral emblems, the proportions of each matching the substantial nature of the necessaire itself, there is great joy to be found in working with over 20 different stitches across a restrained palette of 13 colours of Gumnut Yarns.

Replete with a pocket, a zipped enclosure, built in pincushion, thread rings and secured with buttons and thread loops, this is one necessaire that is bold and confident about its purpose and an unashamed piece of utilitarian art.

Make Your Own Moorish Necessaire

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Moorish Necessaire by Margaret Light is a necessaire with storage for threads and needlework tools embroidered with scrolling stems and stylised flowers.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Moorish Necessaire includes everything* you need to re-create this substantial stitching necessaire: Fabrics (unprinted), wool felt, wadding, zip, ricrac, cotton tape, metal rings, buttons, wool wadding, card, sewing thread, embroidery threads and needles.

*Please Note: To cater for flexibility of purchase, instructions are not included with our kits. For step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to the book.