I’ve been reading about Armenian embroidery! The examples on this particular site are all based on complex interlacings of variations on the herringbone stitch. This results in somewhat stylized geometric designs, like the embroidered cross in the photo to the left. The cross is an Armenian cross (notice the eight points), and the eight-pointed star is also an Armenian symbol. The site says this relates to the eight points of the compass. The pillowcase below is from their gallery of Armenian work.
I don’t know if I want to do an entire embroidery in this stitch, but I absolutely love these borders.
The site also has detailed instructions and diagrams for the embroidery. Two basic stitches are introduced, then on a separate advanced page they provide sixteen motifs and borders with diagrams to explain the steps. The diagram to the left is the final step of one of the motifs on the advanced page. Below is an excerpt of one of the diagrams from the basic tutorial:
Finally, this is an excerpt of one of the borders discussed in the advanced page: 
embroidery for ducks 
Thankyou for so many very interesting posts. I appreciate the effort you are putting in, with useful links and pictures 🙂 🙂
i’m excited about the wiki you are making! so very cool! such a good idea!
I hope it helps the historical embroidery world. I collect them anyway – so why not put them on-line and help provide inspiration/education to my embroidering friends out there?
Tho I have been a bit slack in the last year due to other issues. I need to get back to ‘an hour in the morning on motifs’. I’ve got a huge collection of links I need to chase up, plus so many more images in the sources I’ve already started on!
These interlaced patterns are very intriguing – something I intend to try, one of these days!
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