到十六世纪，刺绣已成为英格兰和欧洲大陆高度发达的艺术形式。印刷材料的激增，特别是刺绣设计的书籍，为业余和专业刺绣师提供了丰富的图案。在这头十七世纪早期的骡子中发现的精湛工艺表明了专业的设计和制造。

By the sixteenth century, embroidery had become a highly developed art form in England and on the Continent. The proliferation of printed materials, particularly books of embroidery designs, provided a wealth of motifs for both the amateur and professional embroiderer. The superb workmanship found in this early seventeenth-century mule suggests professional design and manufacture.