A Stitch in
time, collecting
sewing
accessories. By
Margaret G
Powling
'When art and
engineering
combine, the
result is often
something not
only useful but
also beautiful.
Such is the case
with many
antique
needlework tools
and accessories.
But it wasn’t
always thus.
Early man
fashioned
garments using
thorns for pins
and fish and
animal bones as
bodkins,
forerunner of
the needle. As
time went on
improvements to
these implements
were made and
craftsmen
produced more
efficient tools...'
The National Trust invites us to the Officer and
a Gentleman costume exhibition at Killerton
House in Devon.
'The development
of photography
during the mid
19th century has
left a resource
for the study of
menswear in the
form of carte-devisite
photographs
which
complements
existing
portraits,
caricatures,
fashion plates
and tailor’s
manuals.
Information
about etiquette,
correct dressing
and the latest
fashion trends
now proliferated
in the press,
but although it
would have been
considered
un-gentlemanly
to appear badly
dressed and
un-groomed,
extravagance in
clothing was
regarded as
vulgar...'
Tapestries. An appreciation by Count Charles de
Salis.
'The word
tapestry is
sadly misused to
describe
embroideries,
needle-point and
the Bayeux
tapestry. A true
tapestry is
woven on a loom;
the warps,
usually upright,
being uncoloured
and the wefts,
brought in
horizontally,
having the
appropriate
colour. The
weavers working
to a cartoon,
which had been
produced by the
designer...'
Hat Pins and Holders, Andy
Violet shares the story of fasteners of such
common use in the 19th century that very little
has been written about them.
'The heyday of
the hat pin was
between the
1830’s and
1920’s when
ladies abandoned
their
snug-fitting
bonnets in
favour of larger
brimmed hats
which were now
fashionable.
Without the
ribbons with
which the hat
was tied under
the chin, hat
pins became a
necessity. By
the turn of the
20th century
fashion dictated
even larger
hats, which
ladies found
unwieldy to
wear, especially
in a slight
breeze...'
Baby Wore White, Robes for special occasions
1800-1910.
'Ever wondered
about that baby
gown that you’ve
kept all these
years, carefully
wrapped in
tissue, at the
bottom of the
wardrobe? Is it
hand-made? When
granny handed it
over, she said
it was over a
hundred years
old but was she
right?...'
The Textiles of Lucienne Day.
'THE YEARS
immediately
after the Second
World War saw
Britain enjoy a
period of
immense creative
output as the
public clamoured
for something
new, brightly
coloured and
exciting.
Successfully
rising to this
challenge was
Lucienne Day,
wife of
formidable
furniture
designer Robin
Day, who in the
early 1950’s
turned the field
of textile
design on its
head and became
a true pioneer...'
