 Tambourwork was a new chainstitch embroidery fad of the 1780s influenced by Indian embroidered muslins . Stitched originally with a needle and later with a small hook , tambour takes its name from the round embroidery frame in which it was worked . Tambour was suited to the light , flowing ornament appropriate to the new muslin dresses of this period , and patterns were readily available in periodicals like the Lady 's Magazine which debuted in 1770 . 
