The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Cutwork \Cut"work`\ (k[u^]t"w[^u]rk`), n. (Fine Arts)
   An ancient term for embroidery, esp. applied to the earliest
   form of lace, or to that early embroidery on linen and the
   like, from which the manufacture of lace was developed.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

cutwork
    n 1: embroidery in which the design is outlined in a buttonhole
         stitch and the intervening material is cut away