In dozens of countries and in hundreds of varieties, the venerable craft of white work has become a byword for the ultimate form of needlework elegance. Its 3,000-year history encompasses every conceivable form of garment and decorative linen, from peasant blouses to papal vestments and the bridal gowns of queens; it appears in many guises as the favored embroidery of needleworkers from Denmark to South Africa, from England to the Philippines.
Unfortunately, white work has frequently been neglected in the United States because of its underserved reputation as a difficult form of...