 In 1848 , the influential Gothic Revival architect G. E. Street co @-@ wrote a book called Ecclesiastical Embroidery . He was a staunch advocate of abandoning faddish Berlin work in favour of more expressive embroidery techniques based on Opus Anglicanum . Street 's one @-@ time apprentice , the Pre @-@ Raphaelite poet , artist , and textile designer William Morris , embraced this aesthetic , resurrecting the techniques of freehand surface embroidery which had been popular from the Middle Ages to the 18th century . The new style , called art needlework , emphasized flat patterns with delicate shading in satin stitch accompanied by a number of novelty stitches . It was worked in silk or wool thread dyed with natural dyes on wool , silk , or linen grounds . 
