Engracia de Madrigal — Recreation of a Knit Pillow

• Name: Baroness Engracia de Madrigal, OM
• Project: A Recreation of the Knit Pillow from Fernando de la Cerda’s Tomb
• Location: Shire of Hartshorndale
• East Kingdom Wiki Link:  Engracia de Madrigal – EastKingdomWiki
• Website/Blog Link:  Kingdom Arts and Sciences Competition Documentation
• Category: Textiles

My project was a recreation of the knit pillow found in the tomb of Fernando de la Cerda.  The tomb was closed on 1275 and opened for the first time in 1942.

The original pillow, still held at the monastery in Castille, Spain, was knit in 100% silk with 26 stitches to the inch.  The pillow I used as my primary source has two distinct panels.  One side is made up of the French fleur-de-lis (which indicates his marriage to Blanche of France) and the Spanish eagle.  The other side of the pillow has the Castile castle and the eight-petaled rose, thought to be a common symbol in various textiles.

For my own recreation, I used a 50%/50% wool/silk blend of yarn, knit on size 0000 (1.25mm) needles to a gauge of 24 stitches to the inch.  The panel was knit flat, backed with 100% wool and stuffed with Merino wool as the most common sheep breed in Spain in 1275.