The Embroidery of Cilaos

Content : A tradition born on La Reunion Island.
Angèle Mac-Auliffe (1877 – 1908) was the daughter of a doctor from Brittany, who moved to La Reunion where he was appointed doctor of the thermal establishment of Cilaos.
Angèle is an autodidact passionate about white embroidery. Exploring different techniques such as Tenerife lace, she mixes, she purifies, invents patterns, imaginary flowers: the embroidery of Cilaos was born.
At 23, she created an embroidery workshop and passed on her technique to young girls. After her premature death, the workshop continues to develop. Then, nuns structure this workshop by training and offering work to women. It is a wonderful story of transmission which means that, from mother to daughter, the technique continues.

The embroidery of Cilaos is not frozen ; it is a living embroidery, in
perpetual evolution, corresponding to the fantasy and imagination
of the women from this isolated place.

This book embraces all the diversity and originality of the embroidery of Cilaos. In it, readers will discover the detailed History of this style of embroidery, including unpublished documents, such as photos of samples attributed to Angele Mac-Auliffe.
A technical notebook will give readers all the basics step by step, allowing them to realize the simplest patterns up to the most complicated ones. A series of original models will be proof that this embroidery can be modern and versatile.
It allows people to repair clothes with originality and elegance. They can also use it to fill a frame, make decorations on cardboard, lampshades, chair backs, etc.