Berlin wool work patterns were first published in
Berlin, Germany, early in the 19th century. The first Berlin wool patterns were printed in black and white on grid paper and then hand-coloured. Previously, the stitcher was expected to draw the outlines on the canvas and then stitch following the colours on the pattern. Counted stitch patterns on charted paper, similar to modern
cross-stitch patterns, made it easier to execute the designs, because amateur embroiderers were able to follow the patterns using just a simple
tent stitch. They were published mostly as single sheets which made them affordable to middle-class women. Soon they were exported to
Britain and the United States. The patterns were used sparsely in the United States until the 1840s, when they started to appear in women's magazines, after which "Berlin work" became all the rage. Indeed,
Berlin work became practically synonymous with
canvas work. In Britain, Berlin work received a further boost through the
Great Exhibition of 1851, and by the advent of ladies' magazines such as ''
The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine''. The popularity of Berlin work was due largely to the fact that, for the first time in history, a fairly large number of women had leisure time to devote to
needlework. Designs started to be published in Vienna and Paris as well, and included geometric, floral, and pictorial scenes, before sentimental Victorian tastes impacted the patterns. Berlin work patterns could be applied to various kinds of clothing and home furnishings or could be made as stand-alone artworks, in the style of needle paintings, which are works that copy well-known master paintings in thread. In the late 1880s, the demand for Berlin wool work decreased dramatically, largely because the tastes had changed, but also because Berlin work publishers failed to accommodate new tastes. Other, less opulent styles of embroidery became more popular, such as the
art needlework advocated by
William Morris and his
Arts and Crafts movement. Yet the wide distribution of Berlin work patterns had made needlework available to a large number of women, and it also caused them to become interested in other types of needlework. ==Motifs==