Fairies and their Origin (Part I)

According to Charles Perrault,

The word Fairy is derived from the ancient "faunoe o fatuoe" which, in the pagan mythology, indicated the faun's (deer) companions, creatures endowed with power of foretelling the future and ruling the human events. The word Fairy also comes from "fatigue", which in Middle Ages was synonymous with "wild woman", that is woman of woods, waters and, in general, of the natural world.

Fairies are so prevalent in mythical culture that it's natural to wonder where they came from. Different societies have come up with very different explanations of the origins of 'the little people'.

The Little People are said to be the dispossessed early tribes of the British Isles.They faded away into uninhabited places, growing smaller and smaller with time as they were forgotten and passed into legend. The Tuatha de Danann, People of the Goddess Dana, ruled Ireland before the Milesian invasion. They were driven underground where they became theDaoine Sidhe fairies.

The Irish believe that the fairies are a previously conquered society, the Tuatha De Danaan (People of the Goddess Dana), who were driven into hiding when the Celts invaded Ireland. The Pagan gods of the Tuatha, skilled in building and magic, went underground to live in the tombs and mounds they had built. Hidden from sight, they grew smaller in the popular imagination until they turned into fairies.

Other cultures believe that fairies are the souls of the dead, people not good enough to enter Heaven yet not bad enough for Hell. They wander the Netherland in between and are occasionally seen by humans. Along a similar theme, fairies are also believed to be angels that had been cast out of Heaven. Some fell into the sea and some onto the land, where they would do no harm if left alone.

In Wales, fairies are thought to be a race of invisible spiritual beings living in a world of their own. Some people also believe that fairies were originally local gods or nature spirits that dwindled in majesty and size over time.

In any case, those ethereal creatures have held my fancy since childhood. Beautiful pictures of fairies can be found here and here and here. These sites held me captive for long minutes. Then I decided to draw, color and then embroider one of these captivating images onto a vintage pillow cover.

Using previous instructions given on June 25 and the excellent tinting linen tutorial originating from Giggleface, here are the first steps toward embroidering this fairy project to be used on a pillow casing:

1) Find a transfer you like of a fairy or whimsical creature, or draw one yourself. An easy transfer can be found here: fairy (in the middle of the page is a tooth fairy for download);

2) Draw or transfer your image onto the pillow case fabric; be sure to use a transfer pen like Sulky;

3) begin the coloring/tinting of the fabric and go on to the embroidering process. Excellent embroidery "how-to" skills can be found here.

The next post will show the completed pillow project with the fairy in pinks.