I started designing my first motif last night, based on a pattern from a pattern book, and found I had to find out a few more things.

These are some things I've noticed in Elizabethan scolling vine design :

• Leaves and flowers may impact upon/cross over/go under vines

• An entirely different flower may be included with the main flower

• Leaves in the interior of one scroll may be of different shapes

• The end of the scroll is such that the main flower usually points 90 deg upwards, unless it is a hanging motif (eg peapods, foxglove) in which case it curves over more

• Leaves may or may not have stalks extruding from the main vine

• There may be partial leaves

• The following can be randomly spotted around as between vine space fillers, and may or may not be connected to it

• Butterflies, insects, snails
• Birds
• Leaves
• Pomengrates.
• Strawberries
• spangles
• Small curliques
• Acorns

• Leaves may intrude on the interior of the scroll from the main vine, or extrude from the inner coil of the vine into the interior of the scroll

• Leaves may come off the scroll in a straight line (tho I think this looks clumsy)

• Small stalks may curl over the main vine

• In Illumination work, I’m used to following the rule “leaves/fruit alternate on each side of the vine”. This rule isn’t followed here. They go wherever they’ll fit.

• Snails and the other creatures sit on balanced on top of the vine, not over it.

• Any insect may be free-floating.

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Sources ::

• Jacket (The Laton Jacket)

England
About 1610; 1620 (alteration)
Linen, embroidered with coloured silks, silver and silver-gilt thread
Width 60cm x length 51cm x circumference 79.5cm
Museum no. T.288-1994

• http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/coifpics.html

• http://www.bayrose.org/AandS/handouts/Tudor_Emb_Overview.pdf

• http://www.coraginsburg.com/catalogues/2004/costume_textiles_cat2004.pdf

• Woman’s jacket of linen embroidered with silk and silver-gilt thread, trimmed with silver and silver-gilt bobbin lace, English V&A T.228-1994

• Woman’s jacket in linen embroidered in silk, silver and silver-gilt thread. English 1600-1625. V&A 919-1873

• Woman’s Jacket, 1600-1625, Great Britain , Museum number V&A 919-1873