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Connected by Threads Crochet a R Ru ussian Lace Shawl Trace the
History of Silk KNIT 1880s FANCY MITTENS From the
Middle Ages— Italian COUNTED
THREAD NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
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Volume XVIII
Number 6
F�������/Projects
20 16
T�� S��� S���� � �� S�� S��� �
b y W i l l i a m F. L e g g e t t
Trace the absorbing history of this extraordinary �ber, beginning in 2200 B .C .
20
A Silk Florentine Ornament to Embroider by Mary Polityka Bush
This ornament showcases the iridescence and beauty of silk.
24
C������ C� ������� �� ��’ M��� ��’� F� F������� ������ E������� �� T��� �������� ����� by Jeanine Robertson
Dating back to the late Middle Ages, this Italian counted-thread technique was a favorite of the young Catherine de’ Medici.
26
A Peacock Motif to Stitch in Cather ine de’ Medici Embroider y by Jeanine Robertson
The technique uses double running stitch over two ground threads stitched in the same manner on the return trip so as to form a twisted effect.
28
B��� N�� ���� S�������’ S�������’�� B���
by Nancy Nehring
This salesman’s book from the author’s collection has retail packets and individual examples of needles.
30
by Deborah Robson and Donna Druchunas
38 ON THE COVER ROCHET A A RUSSIAN L ACE CROCHET SHAWL, page 48 Photograph by Joe Coca.
Beatrix Potter, author of beloved children’s books, also worked tirelessly to preserve the historic buildings and landscape of England’s Lake District, including saving a breed of sheep essential to that landscape.
��
KNIT 1880s F ANCY MITTENS,
An 1882 booklet booklet that the the author purchased purchased at a �ea market market piqued her curiosity about the history of silk knitting yarn in America.
38
Fancy Silk Mittens to Knit
by Susan Strawn
The designer adapted a pattern from How to Use Florence Knitting Silk No. 4 for 4 for these stunning mittens.
page 38
FROM THE MIDDLE AGES— ITALIAN COUNTED THREAD,
“S����� A������ N� N��� �� ��� P���������”—C��������� S��� by Susan Strawn
TRACE THE HISTORY OF SILK, page 16
T�� T�� L��� L����� ��� T�� L������� �� B������ B������ P�����
40
page 24
Y��� ���� ��� N� N������� ������ P��������: T�� B���� S�� �� C������ b y S u s a n S t r a w n A pro�le of the company company,, which is located on a “century” farm, property owned continuousl continuouslyy by a single single family for 100 years years or more. more.
C OLUMNS/Departments
42
Letter from the editor Letters to the editor
��
The author’s maternal grandmother had a gift for embroidery and crochet that helped support her growing family family during the 1930s 1930s and early early 1940s. 1940s.
Books of interest
46
10 Necessities 12 TRIMMINGS
A sampling of old patterns: Tatted Designs
A Fan Edging to Crochet
by Bart Elwell
Complete instructions for an adaptation of an edging originally or iginally crocheted by Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh’ Hoeh’ss maternal grandmother.
Upcoming events Products of interest
C�������� C����� ��� �� T������: A M���� �’ �’�� C������� C�������� � F�� E�� ��� by Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh
6 Book Book Marks 8 Calendar
by Karen Joan Raz
This nature-inspired design, made with Brown Sheep’s newest yarn, Legacy Lace, features alternating panels of texture texture and lacy leaves leaves and a fancy fancy “berry” border border..
2 Notions 4 By Post
Holly Berry Cowl to Knit
48
An Orenburg Lace Shawl to Crochet Galina A. Khmeleva explores the tradition of Orenburg crochet, and Tatyana Mirer created the pattern from an original shawl shawl made in Russia, Russia, using commercially commercially available available yarn. yarn.
14 TAPESTRY
The new and noteworthy 52 Abbreviations
De�nitions
O E Visit pieceworkmagazine.com for free projects and articles, the P����W��� P����W��� index, index, back issues, and much more.
N O I O N S
M
ERRIAM�WEBSER’S DICIONARY de�nes the word “thread” as “a �lamentous length ormed by spinning and twisting short textile �bers into a continuous strand.” I think I’m sae in stating that anyone who is reading this issue o PieceWork is “connected by threads” in some ashion. Without thread, there would be no knitting, embroidery, crochet, sewing, quilting. Can you even imagine a world without it? I can’t. Tat’s one reason we decided to make this issue our tribute to all manner o thread. Te history o silk is long and intriguing. “ Te Story o Silk” (page 16) and “ ‘Simply Another Name or Perection’—Corticelli Silk” (page 34) provide the background or this glorious �ber. Te ways in which silk re�ects light imbue it with a magical quality not lost on centuries o kings and queens, emperors, sultans, and other wealthy patrons. And who knew that America had her own Silk Road on which “silk trains” sped rom West to East? I am a huge an o Beatrix Potter’s children’s books. I gave my niece a Beatrix Potter book with the appropriate stuffed animal or each o her �rst seven or eight Christmases. But I was unaware o Beatrix’s other lie—her efforts to save “the historic buildings and landscape o England’s Lake District, including saving a breed o sheep essential to that landscape.” O course, Beatrix also championed the wool that Herdwick sheep produce. In the early 1930s and 1940s in Chicago, the needlework skills o a mother o �ve helped support her amily. Although she died, ar too young, at thirty-seven, some o her work has survived. Te article “Connected by Treads: A Mother’s Crocheted Fan Edging” (page 44) poignantly illustrates the importance o threads in one amily’s lie. o the multitude o you who have contacted us about the September/October Needlework in Literature issue, thank you! We have been extremely pleased with the response, and your answers to my request to learn about other books with needlework reerences has increased my list by leaps and bounds. I am delighted to announce that the next literary issue will appear in the September/October 2011 issue. It’s not too late to let me know about other books; contact inormation is in the masthead at right. Our complete editorial calendar and our contributor guidelines are posted on our website, pieceworkmagazine.com; click on submissions in the list on the lef. We welcome submissions (even those that may not �t a particular theme). I hope you will review them and seriously consider submitting to PieceWork. At the close o 2010, I send my very best wishes to you and yours or a holiday season �lled with magic, laughter, and an abundance o connecting threads, and a new year brimming with joy.
EDITOR�IN�CHIEF: Jeane
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Betsy EDITORIAL ASSISTANT:
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PieceWork (ISSN
1067-2249) is published bimonthly by Inte rweave Press LLC, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537. (970) 669-7672. Periodicals postage paid at Loveland, CO 80538 and additional mailing offi ces. All contents of this issue of PieceWork © Interweave Press LLC, 2010. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited, except by permission of the publisher. Subscription rate is $29.95/year in the U.S., $34.95/year U.S. funds in Canada, and $39.95/year U.S. funds in foreign countries (surf ace delivery). Printed in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to PieceWork, PO Box 469107, Escondido, CA 920469107. SUBSCRIBERS: Please allow six weeks for processing address changes.Your customer number on the address label is your key to the best service possible. Please include it with all correspondence to avoid delays or errors.
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B Y
P O S
From Our Readers’ Hands
Cindy Harper’s husband, Garrett Harper, modeling his “Borreraig Park Kilt Hose.” Photograph courtesy of Cindy Harper.
I knitted these Scottish kilt hose rom “Borreraig Park Kilt Hose to Knit” (September/October 1995), using Paton’s Classic Wool yarn. It took me about two weeks rom start to �nish; I discovered that the twisted stitches go airly quickly once you get into the rhythm o the pattern. My husband loves his kilt hose and plans to wear them ofen. Cindy Harper Via e-mail
I loved “he hree-Rib Beret” (November/December 2009) as soon as I saw it and knew I had to make it or my three-yearold granddaughter, Wendy, or Christmas. I used Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport 100% superwash wool and added little sparkle pompoms and jingle bells rom my stash o odds and ends. Dona Bell Dona Bell’s granddaughter, Wendy Bower, wearing her Via e-mail festive three-rib beret.
Photograph by Joe Fi sher. Cindy and Dona, thank you for sharing your work with us. Readers, we would love to see any objects that you have made based on projects or textiles shown in PieceWork.
Correction Captions or two o the images in “Beauty and Use: England’s Rural Smock” (July/August 2010) were transposed. Te caption or the smock on page 47 describes the smock on page 48; the caption or the smock on page 48 describes the smock on page 47.
Send your comments, questions, and ideas to “By Post,” c/o PieceWork, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655; e-mail
[email protected]. Letters may be edited for space and c larity.
Wa tch
Visit KnittingDailyTV.com to: Watch streaming videos Download FREE patterns Download FREE tips and tricks Post comments and questions to the Knitting Daily TV forums Find your BS station airing Knitting Daily TV PLUS! Knitting Daily TV blog with host Eunny Jang, experts Kristin Omdahl and Shay Pendray
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Celebrating our 22 nd Year!
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXII Quilt, Wearable, Textile & Fiber Arts The Largest Quilt Festival on the Eastern Seaboard
February 24-27, 2011 Hampton Roads Convention Center Greater Chesapeake Bay/Williamsburg Area
Hampton, VA A�������� T��������� A freestyle embroidery kit on 100% printed Linen 55” x 55” Item: #07131
Available from Westminster Fibers, Inc. 800-445-9276
ww w.westminster�bers.com
MAQF ‘10 Best of Show "Circles of Life” by Linda French
“Show & Tell” Juried & Judged Quilt & Wearable Art Prize Money Competitions
Over 500 Quilts & Garments on Display Workshops ~ Lectures ~ Quilt-O Demonstrations ~ Appraisals Fabulous Merchants Mall www.make1yarns.ca
403.802.4770
[email protected]
M-AQF ‘11 Faculty: Gloria Loughman (Australia), Esterita Austin, Karen Boutte, Karen Lee Carter, Pepper Cory, Jo Diggs, Robbi Joy Eklow, Judi Gunter, Marjan Kluepfel, RaNae Merrill, George & Virginia Siciliano, Carol Taylor, Phyllis Anderson, Reid Barnhart, Bobbie Bergquist, Sandra Chandler, Vicki Clontz, Diane Dennis, Phyllis Twigg Hatcher, Connie Hindmarsh, Mary Humphreys, Joan Jones, Deborah Konchinsky, Kaye Moore, Maria Tamoaka, Virginia Walton & Pat Yamin View or print the brochure from our website or to receive a brochure in the mail send $3 to:
ANCUSO Show Management
M-AQF, Dept PW P.O. Box 667 New Hope, PA 18938
www.quiltfest.com
Background: Artist rendition Hampton Roads Convention Center
N OVEMBER/ D ECEMBER
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B O O K
M A R K S
Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s Kristen Rengren New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009. Hardbound, 160 pages, $27.50. ISBN 978-1-58479-761-6.
From her substantial collection o pattern books rom the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Kristen Rengren has selected the patterns or this beautiully illustrated book, updating them to include currently available materials, gauge (rarely included in vintage books), and step-by-step instructions. With projects ranging rom the adorable Pearl Shrug to the ashionable Audrey Hoodie and including hats, cardigans, toys, blankets, a snowsuit, and a christening gown, this book will delight anyone who knits or baby. —Jane Morrow Punchneedle: The Complete Guide Marinda Stewart Cincinnati, Ohio: Krause Publications, 2009. Hardbound with concealed spiral, 256 pages, $29.99. ISBN 978-0-89689-652-9.
Marinda Stewart thoroughly and enthusiastically introduces the art o punchneedle embroidery rom its uncertain origins to technical how-to, materials and tools, and special effects such as shading and sculpting. Nine projects with step-by-step photographs ocus mainly on home décor, including a photograph album cover, pillow, and Christmas ornament. A gallery, troubleshooting tips, and resource list complete the book. A must-have guide or the breathtaking craf Stewart describes as “painting with needle and thread.” —Michelle Mach Let Love Abide: The Marian Soss Sampler Collection Julie Buck and Becky deVries-Wong, eds. Redmond, Washington: In the Company of Friends, n.d. Softbound, 114 pages, $30. ISBN none.
In 1946, Marian Soss’s uture mother-in-law, Rose, gave her a small sampler that Rose’s own mother had purchased or 10 cents at a church sale in the early 1900s in Fargo, North Dakota. Tat sampler inspired Marian and her husband, om, to collect other examples. Let Love Abide documents more than 100 examples rom their collection with ull-color photographs, provenance (when known), size, materials, and stitches used. Te samplers date rom 1721 to the late twentieth century. Pro�ts rom the sale o the book go to Mission Hospice, San Mateo, Caliornia, Marian’s avorite charity. A treasure or sampler enthusiasts. —T. J. Blackburn
Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies in Ribbon Embroidery & Stumpwork Di Van Niekerk Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England: Search Press, 2009. Softbound, 152 pages, $29.95. ISBN 978-1-84448-430-0.
Di Van Niekerk brings the well-known “Flower Fairies” by English author and illustrator Cicely Mary Barker (1895–1973) to lie in a new way. Using color photocopies o the airies printed on cotton abric, Van Niekerk has embellished t he illustrations with ribbon embroidery and stumpwork. Meticulous step-by-step instructions, each airy illustration shown in color and ull page ready to be photocopied, hundreds o color detail process photographs, and large color stitch diagrams show readers how to make their own enchanting airies. Tis beautiul book has something or both beginners and advanced embroiderers. —Jane Morrow BOOKS ONLINE
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Finest Quality English Needles Named after William Shakespeare’s mothe r, Mary Arden needles are manufactured in the tradition of skilled English craftsmen. Previously available only in stylish European stitchery shops, Mary Arden offers a needle just right for your finest needleart. From quiltmaking and appliqué, to embroidery and beading, you can see and feel the difference a quality needle makes.
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designs, such as: • Comfortable knitwear for kids • Our favorite sweater patterns for men • Body-friendly shapes for everyone • And patterns for all seasons! From springtime tees to socks to cozy up next to the fireplace, your knitting needles will be in action every weekend of the year.
Interweave Knits Weekend 2010
is available at your local yarn shop, bookstore, or online at InterweaveStore.com N OVEMBER/ D ECEMBER
2010
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C A A LL EE N N D D A A R R C
EXHIBITIONS
Call for Entries. March 4–8, 2011. The National Academy of Needlearts Exemplary 2011, at The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Entry deadline: February 1, 2011. exemplary@ needleart.org; www.needleart .org/ExemplaryDetails.php.
Evening gown designed by Gianfranco Ferré for Dior. Silk crêpe and organza adorned with �owers. Autumn/winter collection 1989–1990. Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum Collection, donated by Betsy Bloomingdale. American Textile History Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts.
Call for Entries. May 26–28, 2011. Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta 2011, at the EXPO New Mexico in the Manual Lujan Complex, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Entry deadline: March 1, 2011. info@�berarts�esta.org; www.�berarts�esta.org.
Scottsdale, Arizona. Through
Photograph courtesy of Brian Sanderson; FIDM Photography.
January 2. More than Child’s Play: American Indian Dolls, at the Heard Museum North. (480) 4889817; www.heard.org/north.
San Diego, California. Through March 13. Quilt Visions Biennial: No Boundaries, at the Oceanside Museum of Art. (619) 546-4872; www.quiltvisions.org.
Hartford, Connecticut. Through Robe. Maker unknown. Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Late nineteenth century. The Megalli Collection. (2005.36.118). The Textile Museum, District of Columbia. Photograph courtesy of The Textile Museum.
March 26. Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art and Family, 1740–1840, at the Connecticut Historical Society. (860) 236-5621; www.chs.org.
District of Columbia. Through March 13. Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats, at The Textile Museum. (202) 667-0441; www .textilemuseum.org.
Rockland, Maine. Through December 31. Rug Hooking in Maine and Beyond, at the Farnsworth Art Museum. (207) 596-6457; www.farnsworth museum.org.
Lowell, Massachusetts. Through
Golden Gingko Kimono by Toni Gerdes. Silk, metal, gold foil on congress cloth. The National Academy of Needlear ts, at The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Spr ings, Colorado. Photograph courtesy of Jennifer Riefenberg.
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December 31. African-American Quilts Today: A Celebration of Motherhood, Sisterhood & the Matriarchs, at the New England Quilt Museum. (978) 452-4207; www.nequiltmuseum.org.
Lowell, Massachusetts. Through
Hawaii. March 27–April 10.
January 2. High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture, at the American Textile History Museum. (978) 441-0400; www.athm.org.
Knitting and Fiber Cruise. CraftCruises. (877) 972-7238; www .craftcruises.com.
Lincoln, Nebraska. Through November 15. American Tapestry Biennial Eight, at the Elder Gallery of Nebraska Wesleyan University. www.americantapestry alliance.org.
Charleston, South Carolina. Through September 5. Threads of War: Clothing and Textiles of the Civil War, at The Charleston Museum. (843) 722-2996; www.charlestonmuseum.org.
York, England. Through January 29. Freedom to Stitch: The Emergence of the Embroiderer as Artist, at the Quilt Museum and Gallery. 44 1904 613242; www.quiltmuseum.org.uk.
Brasstown, North Carolina. November and December. Weeklong and weekend craft classes, at the John C. Campbell Folk School. (800) 365-5724; www .folkschool.org.
Tyler,Texas. March 25–26. 30th Annual Azalea Quilt Show, at the Harvey Convention Center. www.qgetx.org/quiltshow.php.
Harrogate, England. November 25–28. The Knitting and Stitching Show, at the Harrogate I nternational Centre. 44 1394 288521; www.twistedthread.com.
Myanmar. January 19–February 6. Village handcraft workshops. Craft World Tours. (585) 54 8-2667; www.craftworldtours.com.
Day dress made by Mary Louisa Robertson for her mother Evaline Sarah Walton. Fan front bodice probably would have been worn with a white cotton chemisette to �ll in the neckline; the full skirt features directional pleating. Wool printed with tiny �owers. 1865. (HT 777). The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina. Photograph courtesy of The Charleston Museum.
Lisbon, Portugal, and Madeira Island. June 12–26. Needlework SYM POS IU MS, WORK SH OP S, CONS UME R SHOWS, TRAVEL
tour with Marie Yolande. (770) 941-3102; www.marieyolande .com.
Torrance, California. February 19–20. South Bay Quilters Guild Quilt Show, at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. www.south bayquiltsguild.org.
Colorado Springs, Colorado. March 4–8. National Academy of Needlearts Assembly 2011 for Embroiderers, at The Broadmoor Hotel. www.needleart.org/ Assembly.
Punta Gorda, Florida. February 25–26. 11th Biennial Quilt Festival: Birds of a Feather, at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center. www.peace riverquilters.org.
West Palm Beach, Florida. November 12–14. World Quilt Show–Florida, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. www.worldquilt.com.
Mali, West Africa. January 22–February 7. Mali Highlights and Music Festival. Behind the Scenes Adventures. (510) 2753662; www.btsadventures.com.
Detail of bed curtain made by Prudence Geer Punderson. Crewel. Worsted wool on undyed linen. Preston, Connecticut. 1750. Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut. Photograph courtesy of the Connecticut Historical Society; photograph by Gavin Ashworth.
CALENDAR ONLINE
This issue’s listing of events is also available on our website. Visit pieceworkmagazine.com; click on Inside This Issue.
PIECEWORKMAGAZINE.COM
Please send your event information at least four months before the month of publication. Listings are made as space is available; we cannot guarantee that your listing will appear.
Discover the Knitted Lace Traditions of Estonia
D
eepen your knowledge of lace knitting with 14 Estonian, heirloom lace patterns from Nancy Bush in the new edition of the bestselling Knitted Lace of Estonia , now with a bonus 1-hour DVD, also available for purchase separately. Learn about traditional lace knitting techniques such as: patterns and their variations subdued bobble constructing shawls and scarves and adding lace edges
Knitted Lace of Estonia Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions Nancy Bush 978-1-59668-315-0 8 ½ x 9; 150 pages DVD; 60 minutes $26.95 Available Now
Knitted Lace of Estonia with Nancy Bush DVD
On the DVD, Nancy guides you through valuable techniques speci�c to making traditional and modern Estonian lace scarves and shawls. Start successfully knitting Estonian shawls with Nancy’s expert tips and demonstrations.
Nancy Bush 978-1-59668-327-3 DVD; 60 minutes $19.99 Available Now
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N E C E S S I I E S Sew in Style
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wenty-four spools of Sajou’s Fil au Chinoise thread for hand- and machine sewing, four metallics and twenty variegated shades, in a glorious wooden storage box. Te BagSmith; ww w.bagsmith.com.
Fashion Forward
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Fairy Sword and Angel shawl pin sets designed by Nicky Epstein. JHB International; www.buttons.com.
Natural Fibers ▲ Needle Nanny ▲
Magnetic jewelry for needles. Puffi n & Company ; www .puffi nco.com.
New yarn line from Stitch Nation’s Debbie Stoller in partnership with Red Heart yarn: 100% Peruvian wool, viscose from bamboo/wool, and wool/alpaca. Coats & Clark; www.redheart.com.
Look for these products at needlework, yarn, and craft stores, in mail-order catalogs or online, or contact the supplier for the name of a retailer near you.
Where mixed media artists come to play
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FROM THE PAST AND AROUND THE WORLD
KNITTING TRADITIONS travels around the globe and through time — to Scotland, Sweden, Iceland, the Arctic Circle, Estonia, Russia, Peru, and beyond, seeking out the best designs, the most interesting techniques, and the most curious stories of our foremothers’ creative spirit. This special collection of 43 projects that knitters will love includes: Small projects – bags, caps, mittens, gloves, edgings and trims. Techniques – Swedish two-end knitting, Native American sweater knitting, and more. Socks galore – including how to knit two at once, one inside the other! And of course, more . . .
148 beautifully photographed and project-packed pages! $14.99
Available Now!
Watch for our next addition of Knitting Traditions available in February Now Available to Download
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T R I M M I N G S Tis column offers a collection of patterns, charts, and instructions that have been gleaned from old magazines and books that are no longer generally available. Te patterns and instructions for these small needlework articles are worded exactly as they appeared in the original publication. Use them as they are or adapt them to other techniques—but do have fun with them!
Tatted Designs No. 528—R. 2 d. s., p. until there are 5 p., then 2 d. s., close. Make 3 rings like 1st one, j. at 1st p., draw together in threeleaf clover. 2nd Shuttle—5 d. s., r. like 1st, but j. 2nd p. to 3rd r. in clover leaf, close; ch. 5 d. s., large p., 5 d. s., r. like last one, j. both at 2nd p., ch. 5 d. s., r. 3 d. s., clover leaf as 1st, then ch. 5, r. as before; ch. 5 d. s., j. to p., 5 d. s., continue in this way until all is made. No. 544—Make 3 rings, *3 d. s., p., * 7 times, 3 d. s., close; ch., * 6 d. s., p., * 2 times, 6 d. s., r. 10 d. s., fasten to 1st p. of 1st r., 10 d. s., close; ch., 6 d. s., p., 6 d. s., rep. ch. and r. until there are 3 rings to each of the 1st 3 rings made. Make 1 ch. like 1st 1 ch., fasten. Jane Moody used the tatting designs (#544 left; #528 right) found in Tatting Designs with Instructions Book No. 5 by Make row of clover leaves Adeline Cordet, published in 1916 by Valley Supply Company, St. Louis, Missouri, to embellish note cards; she used DMC size 20 crochet thread. of 3 rings each of 10 d. s., Photograph by Joe Coca. p., 5 d. s., p., close; 2nd ring, 5 d. s., fasten to last p. of r. just made, *5 .d s., p. * 2 times, 5 d. s.; 3rd ring, like 1st , j. by 1st p., ch. 6 d. s., p., 6 d. s., fasten to end p. of last r., rep. ch. and clover leaf, fastening middle p. of clover leaf to p. of ch. around center. —Submitted by Jane Moody from Tatting Designs with Instructions Book No. 5 by Adeline Cordet, published in 1916 by Valley Supply Company, St. Louis, Missouri.
You are invited to contribute a vintage pattern (1930s or earlier) for a small article or edging that you’ve found and made. Please e-mail a clear image of the article or edging, a scan of the original instructions, and the source to
[email protected] (please put rimmings in the subject line) or mail a photograph of the piece, a photocopy of the original instructions, and the source to rimmings, PieceWork , 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655; please include a daytime telephone number .
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Let celebrated designer Margaret Stove share with you her love of knitted lace. From the history of this classic knitting piece to 12 original patterns, Wrapped in Lace is a beautiful tribute to the lace traditions from around the world. Inside you’ll follow Margaret as she explores lace techniques, patterns, and customs in depth, including her quest to design and knit the legendary “wedding ring shawl.” Then, try your hand at patterns from the Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Orenburg, Estonia, and lace motifs of New Zealand, as well as contemporary Europe. Wrapped in Lace unfolds the knitted lace tradition
Wrapped in Lace Knitted Heirloom Designs from Around the World
Margaret Stove 160 Pages, 8 ½ x 9 $26.95 ISBN: 9781596682276
and preserves the patterns for generations to come.
Find Wrapped in Lace as well as a great selection of other Interweave products at your local yarn shop or independent craft retailer. N OVEMBER/D ECEMBER
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A P E S R Y
The Charleston Museum’s Permanent Textile Gallery
Basket of Flowers medallion quilt. Maker unknown; from the Aiken family of Charleston, South Carolina. Chintz appliqué. Circa 1840. Scenic ruins and �owers decorate the smaller medallions; pencil marks of the cross-hatch quilting patterns are still visible. Collection of The Charleston Museum. Photograph courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.
Founded in 1773, he Charleston (South Carolina) Museum is America’s �rst museum. o highlight its rich collection o historic textiles and clothing (some examples o which are shown here), the museum recently added a 2,000-square-oot (185.8-sq-m) permanent textile gallery. Te new gallery will accommodate either single-themed exhibits that �ll the entire gallery or two or more smaller ones at the same time. Study drawers enable visitors to view a selection o small-scale objects. Te inaugural exhibition, Treads o War: Clothing and extiles o the Civil War, opened on October 14 and runs through September 5, 2011. Planned to commemorate the sesquicentennial o the American Civil War (1861–1865), the exhibition “oers a peek into the lives o those lef on the home ront battling deprivation and ear while raising their amilies and protecting their property as well as those �ghting on the ront lines. Women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, uniorms and accessories, quilts, coverlets, and �ags, along with magazines, newspapers, daguerreotypes, and diaries provide tangible images o mid-nineteenth-century Charleston and a liestyle torn apart by war.” (An 1865 day dress rom the exhibition is shown in “Calendar” on page 8.) Future exhibitions will explore historic clothing, decorative needlework (quilts, samplers, embroideries, and household textiles), and militaria (uniorms and �ags). Curator o textiles Jan Hiester notes that the new gallery’s casework and lighting allow the inclusion o rare and ragile pieces previously considered too delicate or exhibition. For more inormation, contact Te Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St., Charleston, SC 29403; (843) 722-2996, or visit www.charleston museum.org. Two-piece dress. Maker unknown; worn by Josephine Manigault (Mrs. Hawkins Jenkins) of Charleston, South Carolina, to a St. Cecilia Ball. Silk damask. Circa 1886. The fabric was purchased in China about 1852 by her father, Louis Manigault. Collection of The Charleston Museum. Photograph courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.
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Thee STORY of SILK Th W ILLIAM F. L EG GE Te following is adapted from Te Story o Silk by by William F. Leggett (New York: Lifetime Editions, 1949). Leggett Te Story o Linen , and Te Te Story also was the author of other textile books, includi including ng Ancient and Medieval Dyes , , Te o Wool (Brooklyn, New York: Chemical Publishing, 1944, 1945, and 1947, respectively) . —Editor
E
VER SINCE HE HE ORIGIN o textile abricating, certain groups o people lef their imprint on clothing habits, �rst on their immediate neighbors and eventually upon the world o that era. Tis was especially true o silk. Indeed, it has been declared that man’s earliest experiences with an expanded
cultural civilization ollowed the widening distribution o silk.
ABOVE: Packet of silk thread stamped “Linhing,” the name of a Chinese merchant. China. Circa 1840. Paper and silk; 25 x 15 inches (63.5 x 38.1 cm). Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum; gift of the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames of America, 1980. (E82207). This packet was exported from China to Boston in 1840 on board the American brig John Gilpin of Boston. Anna Cutler of Boston acquired the packet from her grandfather, who served as the s upercargo or officer in charge of mercantile transactions trans actions on board the John Gilpin. Photograph courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.
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SILK IN CHINA
Te earliest authentic mention o silk occurs in the amous Chinese classic “Chronicles o Chou-King” believed to have originally been compiled about 2200 B.C. It is stated that the birthplace o silk culture was on the banks o the Hwang Ho or Yellow River in Shantung. Shantung anciently abounded in orests o wild mulberry trees that provided ood or a vast number o equally wild silk moth caterpillars, which attached their cocoons to leaves and twigs o those trees. An ancient Chinese manuscript titled “Wai-Ki” tells about the great Huangi, third emperor o China. He is credited with having initiated the use o silk as a textile iber in China when about 2640 B.C. , he entrusted to his avorite wie an investigation into rearing silkworms. It is related in a rather delightul legend that one day in the early spring as the youthul Empress was strolling along a garden path in the palace enclosure, her eyes caught sight o the movement o an unsightly worm that was ravaging leaves o a mulberry tree. Fearing to disturb the worm lest it might house the spirit o a departed ancestor, the Empress determined to study it, permitting it to eed undisturbed. Afer a ew days had passed, the worm lay as i dead, completely swathed in yards upon yards o delicate iber. Believing that this was the end o the worm’s existence and still thinking about the possible spirit o an ancestor, the Empress carried the cocoon to the palace where, a ew days later, she beheld what or her was a miracle. From the cocoon emerged a moth! m oth! When displaying the “soul prison” to some o the ladies o her court, it accidentally dropped into a bowl o hot water. Upon removing the cocoon rom its accidental bath, the Empress discovered that gum surrounding the cocoon �bers had become so sofened and loose that individual strands o silk �ber could be identi�ed, and these she careully unwound into a long continuous �lament, which because it had a bright golden color, may possibly have been the t he reason or designating yellow as the royal color o China. She reported her discovery to the Emperor, who directed her to examine the t he matter more closely and to test the
practicability o using the thread. Afer many efforts, she invented invent ed a small object to mechanically reel the silken �laments rom the cocoon, this being the most important step that led to China China’’s later ame as a s a silk-producing nation. She did not neglect to instruct her court in the new art o unwinding silk threads, how to use the threads or embroidery, and then later how to weave the raw silk in a patterned design on a hand loom. Te Emperor maintained a nursery o mulberry trees and places or silkworm culture, and ladies o the palace would draw lots to determine the ortunate one who would have the honor o temporarily caring or the silkworms. About 102 B.C. , the Chinese organized the southern and most dangerous overland camel caravan route between China and the but partially known Western Asia. he economic rise o China had developed a desire or trade expansion, and silk abrics made up the bulk o a trade, which eventually reached the Graeco-Roman world. Tis route to the Persian and Indian markets began on the western border o China proper and passed over mountain ranges to reach its terminus at Samarkand.
A silk moth (Bombyx mori ) on a bobbin.
Photograph © Michael Cook (www.wormspit .com).
S ILK IN J APAN
Te �rst authentic record concerning silk in Japan is a statement that in about A.D. 195, Prince Koma-o, o the ’sing dynasty o China, who as a renegade subject o the Chinese emperor voluntarily came to Japan and eventually was made a citizen o that country. He is said to have introduced tea and the Buddhist religion and also to have told the Japanese court about silk and the silkworm, bringing with him the Chinese type o silk moth. About 300, the Emperor sent some Koreans on a secret mission to China, possibly as lures to engage unemployed but skilled Chinese to return with them to Japan and instruct the people how to weave silk. Tese messengers returned with our Chinese maidens who were either persuaded to undertake the mission or were captured and orcibly taken to Japan. Tese young operators are credited with ounding the Japanese silk industry. By 600, the silk industry had become so important to Japanese �scal economy that reedom rom either military or civic duties
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Halcyon Yarn’s Gemstone Silk and Soft Twist Silk yarn. Yarn courtesy of Halcyon Yarn, Bath, Maine.
during the season o mulberry tree culture and silkworm raising was enacted into law.
wool could be sold in Italy only i it was certi�ed as o either English or Flemish origin.
S ILK IN I ALY
SILK IN FRANCE
here are many authentic twelth-century accounts o settlements in southern Italy by colonies o Saracen crafsmen who successully introduced sericulture and domestication o the silkworm in Italy. Te production o brocades was probably the oldest branch o the silk industry. Embroidered silks were also in demand, and under patronage o the Church, Venice and other textile centers developed a richly ornate type o liturgical embroidery. An almost equally important silk trade ce nter o the Middle Ages was Florence. By the end o the ourteenth century, over 16,000 Florentines were engaged in the si lk industry, and so careully were they guarded, that no Florentine silk weaver could leave that city without permission because a careless workman might disclose secrets o local silk weaving to operators rom a r ival city. Speci�c blame or the decline o the textile industry in Florence was laid at the door o the many skilled workers who emigrated to politically stable England, where much to the displeasure o all loyal Florentines, one o their leading textile amilies, the de’ Medici, had already established a textile actory. Quite ironically, it was not long afer this that any costly garment either o silk or
It has requently been asserted that the �rst white mulberry tree was brought rom Syria to France by Guiappe de St. Aubon in 1147 afer he returned rom the Second Crusade, and was planted at his home, and that as late as 1810, protected by a high wall, this tree was still living and provided leaves or locally hatched silkworms. It is said that cuttings rom this pioneer tree have provided descendants “to cover the soil o France.” Te French became acquainted with the real luxury o silk when Charles VIII (1470–1498) visited Milan. Never had he seen such luxurious abrics. Something new was the silk lace worn about the neck and waist, or, in France, lace had primarily been used or bed linen. Like everything else the king admired in Italy, the idea was copied. It was not until the sixteenth century that sericulture was really prosperous in France. During the years o its growth, titles o nobility were granted to many persons who had been most successul in raising silkworms, while princes and dukes attracted avorable notice o the king by becoming ardent sericulturalists. At the court o Louis XIV (1638–1715), luxury was at its zenith. Te French monarch quickly became the “omnium elegantiarum arbiter” o the French silk industry, and he maneuvered to practically monopolize the European silk trade, supplying a large volume o the silken abrics consumed in western Europe. It is recorded that early in his reign over one million silk workers were employed in France. SILK IN ENGLAND
We do not accurately know at what period raw silk was �rst brought to England, but ever since the Roman occupation, it had not been unknown to natives o that country. Te Syon cope, which is considered to be the �nest specimen o early English silk needlework, is thought to have been made in the thirteenth century by nuns residing in a convent near Coventry.
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Silk moth (Bombyx mori ) cocoons with reeled silk.
Photograph © Michael Cook (www.wormspit .com).
It was during the �feenth century that the manuacture o silk was �rst introduced to England. It is recorded that Henry V (1387–1422), in his invasion o France, not only attired his most important leaders in English-made silk, but that “his royal ship was distinguished by a sail o purple silk on which needlewomen o England had richly embroidered the arms o England and France.” James I (1566–1625) was an energetic supporter o the English silk industry. He organized the British and Colonial Silk Company to promote culture o mulberry trees and silkworms, and he imported 100,000 mulberry trees rom Italy and France, and these he sold to the public or three arthings each. However, no serious attempts seem to have been made to breed silkworms. Te new English colonies in America seemed to afford a certain source o raw silk supply. Also, trade contacts with India offered an even more certain and pro�table source o raw silk. It is recorded that by 1713, over 300,000 persons earned their livelihood either directly or indirectly in the English silk industry. SILK IN AMERICA
Spanish conquest o Mexico was the means o introducing silk culture on the Western continent. Nearly a
century passed beore mulberry trees and silkworms were again brought to the Western world. In 1608, James I o England inaugurated a series o costly experiments to interest English capital and colonial labor in the raising o silkworms. Vessels lef England with mulberry tree seed intended or the �rst such planting in North America. Te theory o the king was that while tobacco could be marketed almost everywhere and thereore used by the colonists as a medium o exchange, silk �bers would have to be manuactured into cloth, which would make the colonists dependent upon England or processing and wider marketing. By 1656, silk culture thrived moderately in Virginia, but not many years later, the silk industry was �nally abandoned, or, as compared with raising tobacco, silk production ceased to be attractive. Te English silk industry needed an increased volume o raw silk, and early in the eighteenth century, the English government gave every encouragement to growing and reeling o raw silk in their colonies o Georgia and the Carolinas. In 1749, the English government exempted rom import duty all silk produced in these colonies. In 1750, a small cocoon reeling mill was opened in Philadelphia, and rom that year until 1772 large sums
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were paid to Pennsylvania colonists to promote the culture o silk. Te �rst silk mill in America was erected at Mansield, Connecticut, in 1810 by the Mansield Silk Company: Horatio and Rodney Hanks spun silk �bers and twisted them into thread by means o machinery they had designed and constructed. Within the ollowing ten years, silk manuacturing was organized at Paterson, New Jersey when, in 1838, Samuel Ryle, “ather o the American silk industry,” designed and constructed a loom or weaving silk piece goods and another loom or the manuacture o spool silk. In the 1830s, the budding industry became the ob ject o unbridled speculation. Reports were broadcast that rom a single acre o trees, armers had obtained as high as $1,000 rom cocoons. Tus a wave o wild spec-
A
ulation in mulberry trees and silkworm eggs spread over the country. By the all o 1839, the market collapsed. Te mulberry tree craze ultimately changed the entire course o the American silk industry rom a producing to a manuacturing activity, and since that time no serious efforts have been made in America to raise silkworms on a larger scale. (For more on American silk, see “‘Simply Another Name or Perection’—Corticelli Silk” on page 34.) he story o silk is as romantic as any in history. It comes down to us shrouded in both mystery and mythology. Up to this day, although many attempts have been made, neither science nor accident has produced any �ne textile �ber that approaches the marvelous combination o utility and beauty so characteristic o silk. Tere is no substitute or it. ❖
Silk Florentine
ORNAMENT to EMBROIDER M ARY P OLIYKA B USH
S
ilk thread is particularly lovely in the way that it re�ects light. When the undulating rows o Florentine embroidery (also known as �ame stitch) are stitched with silk and mirrored to orm a our-way moti,
light is re�ected at a different angle rom each quadrant, creating an iridescence. Tis ornament makes use o two types o silk thread, Mori, which has a sof luster and the glossier Bella. INSRUCIONS MAERIALS
Notes: See the sidebar “Stitching with Silk: A Primer” Kreinik Silk Mori, 6-strand 100% spun silk thread, 5½ on page 21. Count careully, especially along the diago yards (5 m)/skein, 1 skein each of #4093 Light Icy, #4094 Medium Icy, #4096 Dark Icy, #7086 Dark nal between wedges. Pull the stitches just enough to make Straw, #8000 Soft White; Kreinik Silk Bella, 3-ply �lthem lie �at on the surace o the abric without distortament silk thread, 21 7 ⁄ 8 yards (20 m)/reel, 1 reel of ing its weave. I a stitch worked over just one abric thread #7086 Dark Straw; www.kreinik.com “sinks” out o sight, work a second stitch on top o it. Wichelt 32-count 100% linen fabric, #6576/55 Prairie Grain, 1 piece 10 x 20 inches (25.4 x 50.8 cm); www Cut the linen into two 10-×-10-inch (25.4-×-25.4-cm) .wichelt.com pieces. Hem or zigzag the edges o one piece and mount John James Needles, tapestry size 26; www.colonial in the embroidery hoop, pulling it drum-tight. Cut both needle.com Embroidery hoop, 7 inches (17.8 cm) in diameter types o thread into 18-inch (45.7-cm) lengths. DiMat board, 1 piece 4 x 8 inches (10.2 x 20.3 cm) vide each cut length o Silk Mori into its six component strands; use a single strand or each row o the Florentine Finished size: 4 x 4 inches (10.2 x 10.2 cm ) pattern. Do not divide the cut lengths o Silk Bella. Working rom the center o the abric outward, Silk Bella until all our wedges o the design have been stitch one wedge o the pattern as charted. Stitch only completed. Ater stitching one wedge, turn the top o the hoop the Florentine rows using Silk Mori at this time; do not stitch the center �lling or the straight border rows with 90 degrees toward the lef. Stitch a second wedge o the —continued on page 22 20
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Mary Polityka Bush’s fourway Florentine ornament stitched on linen fabric, using silk threads. Photograph by Joe Coca.
Stitching with Silk: A Primer Although silk thread has surprising tensile strength, it suffers rom undue abrasion. Te ollowing will help minimize wear and maximize the beauty o the �nished project while adding to the pleasure and satisaction o stitching with this luxurious thread. • Hands must not only be clean and oil ree, they should also be as sof and smooth as possible; dry skin and ragged cuticles can snag the silk. • I using wooden stretcher bars, sand the lengths and ends until they are smooth. I using a wooden embroidery hoop, wrap it with bias tape. • ape the edges o canvas or bind them with bias tape. Hem or zigzag the edges o abrics. Fray-preventive liquids may stiffen the edges o the abric enough to snag silk threads. • o minimize abrasion as the thread is pulled repeatedly through canvas or abric, select a needle that is small enough to not distort the weave yet one that is large enough to create an opening or the thread to pass through easily without rubbing against the abric. Te eye o the needle should be smooth and ree o burrs. • Cut lengths o thread no longer than 18 inches (45.7 cm). Longer strands are subjected to more passes through the abric, resulting in uzzy thread. • wo-step stab stitching causes less abrasion than does the one-step, in-and-out method used in handsewing. • o create the smoothest effects and optimize light re�ection, use a laying tool.
• Silk threads tend to untwist during the stitching process. Remedy this by occasionally turning the work upside down so the needle can dangle ree; it will automatically retwist the thread. Another method is to roll the needle between the thumb and ore�nger afer every ew stitches. Careully note the direction o the thread’s manuactured twist; some threads have an S-twist and others a Z-twist, which dictate the direction in which the needle must be rolled. • Body oil rom hands and wrists transers to and is absorbed by the silk. Mount the embroidery so that the working area is situated inside the depression created by the rame, stretcher bars, or hoop. • Do not clamp a hoop or snap-together bars atop completed areas o silk embroidery; this abrades the thread and crushes and may destroy the stitches. Cut the abric larger so the entire design is centered within the working area or mount the project on a rame that allows areas to be rolled up as they are completed while unstitched areas appear. • Dyes used in manuacturing silk thread may bleed. Dampening the thread to straighten it or stitching is not recommended. I kinks need to be removed, use a dry iron set on the “silk” temperature. For the same reason, it is saest not to wet-block or steampress completed silk projects. I steam pressing is necessary, do so on the wrong side with a pressing cloth atop the e mbroidery. Dry cleaning generally is considered the saest alternative or soiled silk embroideries. —M. P. B
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(continued from page 20)
pattern, taking care that all stitches intersecting along the diagonal edge share holes. Complete the remaining wedges in the same manner. Following the chart, use Silk Bella to �ll the center of the medallion and stitch the border rows with straight stitches. Remove the fabric from the hoop. If necessary, carefully press the fabric up to and around the embroidery. Cut away the excess fabric 1½ inches (3.8 cm) from the embroidery on all sides. Cut a square the same size from the second piece of linen. Cut the mat board into two 4- ×-4-inch (10.2-×-10.2cm) pieces. Cover one square with the unembroidered linen, wrap the edges to the back of the square, pull the fabric taut, and secure the edges with long lacing stitches worked
in both directions across the back of the square. Center, wrap, pull, and secure the embroidered fabric around the second square of mat board in the same manner. Glue the covered squares together, back to back; clamp or weigh down until the glue has dried completely. Make a twisted cord, using 3 yards (2.7 m) of #7086 Silk Mori. Glue the twisted cord around the edge of the ornament. Attach a hanging loop to one corner or to the center of one side, as desired. A B O U T T H E D E S I G N E R . Mary Polityka Bush is a needlework de-
signer, writer, and instructor who makes her home in Piedmont, California. She credits her love of and talent for hand embroidery to good genes. Mary has been a frequent contributor to PieceWork and to other needlework magazines since she turned her pastime into a career in the mid-1980s.
Chart may be photocopied for personal use.
Key
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#8000—Soft White
#4094—Medium Icy
#4093—Light Icy
#4096—Dark Icy
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#7086—Bella Dark Straw
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Catherine de’ Medici’s Favorite
EMBROIDERY TECHNIQUE J E A N I N E R O B E R T S O N
Rabbit motif from Giovanandrea Vavassore’s Opera nuova universale intitolata Corona di Ricami [Universal New Work Entitled Crown of Embroideries], published before 1530, embroidered in Italy, 2009. Photograph by Elisabetta Holzer.
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D
ATING BACK to the late Middle Ages and known in Italy as Punto Madama, Madama Caterina, or Punto Caterina de’ Medici, this Italian counted-thread technique initially was worked on homespun hemp called buratto (Italian or “sieve” or “sifer”) grown and woven by Umbrian peasant women. From
Umbria, the technique spread to Tuscany, where it became ashionable at the Medici court in Florence. It is said to have been a avorite o the young Catherine de’ Medici (1519–1589) who would introduce it to the French court when she went there in 1533 to marry Henri II de Valois (1519–1559), later King o France. Flourishing at the French court, the embroidery was enriched by more costly materials such as linen and silk. Upon the death o her husband, Catherine became regent or her son, Francis II (1544–1560), and began to be called “Madame” ( Madama in Italian); the embroidery technique has taken her name i n homage. Typical motis or Catherine de’ Medici embroidery are stylized arabesques, trees, �owers, grotesque �gures, animals, and birds connected together by ornamental retwork and surrounded by sometimes complex geometrical borders that have remained virtually unchanged over the
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centuries. As with many Italian techniques, the stitches themselves do not necessarily de�ne the technique. In the case o Catherine de’ Medici embroidery, it is the combination o double running stitch (also a eature o Assisi work) and buratto abric that deines the technique. That the
designs in sixteenth-century pattern books were suitable for Catherine de’ Medici embroidery is illustrated in the motifs in Opera nuova universale intitolata Corona di Ricami [Universal New Work Entitled Crown of Embroideries] by Giovanandrea Vavassore (dates unknown), whose work was published in Italy from before 1530 until 1572. Only a small quantity of buratto fabric is produced today in the old way—handwoven on ancient looms—by a few artisans in uscany. It is available in a variety of small sizes to be used as borders for items such as tablecloths, curtains, and towels. Te undyed fabric is available only in a width of 6 inches (15.0 cm); the ivory-colored fabric is available in widths of 2¾ inches (7.0 cm), 6 inches (15.0 cm), 77 ⁄ 8 inches (20.0 cm), and 1113 ⁄ 16 inches (30.0 cm). Prices vary from about $19 to $94 per yard (€15 to €73 per 0.9 m). raditionally used as a sieve for �our, buratto’s use as a netting ground for embroidery seems to have originated in Sicily and was at its height of popularity in Italy between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as testi�ed by the publication of the pattern book Il burato, Libro de recami [Te Buratto, Book of Embroideries] circa 1527 by Alessandro Paganino (dates unknown; actively publishing from 1507 through 1538). Marla Mallett in an online article, “Other Antique Handmade Lace” (www.marla mallett.com/l-other.htm), describes how the fabric was embroidered: “[he fabric] was handwoven on a loom in a leno structure featuring twisted pairs of warps. Te needleworker turned this fabric sideways and interlaced her pattern yarns with stitches that paralleled the warps.” Buratto also was used as the ground fabric for a variety of other traditional Italian embroidery techniques such as Deruta work and Sicilian and Sardinian �let work, as well as in pieces worked in colored silk. A piece of buratto embroidered in silk and linen f rom the sixteenth or seventeenth century is in the Civic Museum in Rovereto, Italy. A Burato d’oro [buratto of gold] is mentioned in the inventories of Ludovico Sforza (1452–1508), Duke of Milan. According to Il Punto Caterina de’ Medici [Catherine de’ Medici Embroidery] published in Milan, circa 1925, “Te technique has reached us through a few authentic examples preserved in the collections of the art museums of Paris.” It unfortunately does not cite which art museums. In Italy during the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a large movement toward the rediscovery of the “Feminine Arts” and in almost every region, schools and labo-
ratories sprang up to educate women and teach them local embroidery techniques to provide them with a means of supporting themselves and their families while still being able to complete their domestic duties at home. Completed works were then sold to local nobility or exported. Romeyne Robert (1878–1951), an American woman who married the Marchese Ruggero Ranieri di Sorbello, founded a school at the Villa del Pischiello in Passignano sul Lago rasimeno, Italy. Te school operated between 1904 and 1934, and among many other local embroidery techniques, it taught and produced Catherine de’ Medici embroideries. Te Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation Museum in Perugia preserves some pieces from the school. Other Catherine de’ Medici embroideries from this period are in the appezzeria Museum located in the Villa Spada in Bologna and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. oday, the Catherine de’ Medici technique is worked largely on modern-style buratto fabric, a 100 percent undyed or ivory Italian evenweave linen with about 16 threads per inch (6 threads per cm). A thick ivory 100 percent cotton twisted yarn called Cotone Povero [poor cotton] is used to stitch the motifs and edgings and also to make tassels. Edgings usually are worked in widely spaced blanket stitches or a double-crochet with picots over a narrow hem. A variety of knotted tassels are the essential �nishing touch to almost all pieces. Te actual stitching is executed in double running stitch over two ground threads, always stitching in the same manner on the return trip so as to form a twisted effect (see “A Peacock Motif to Stitch in Catherine de’ Medici Embroidery” on page 26).
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Rabbit motif from Giovanandrea Vavassore’s Opera nuova universale intitolata Corona di Ricami [Universal New Work Entitled Crown of Embroideries], published before 1530. Image courtesy of the author.
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Supplies or executing Catherine de’ Medici embroidery are available rom Italy online at www.italian-needlecrafs .com and www.tombolodisegni.it. Some sixteenth-century Italian pattern books and other historical documents, now out o copyright, are available in downloadable ormats rom the On-Line Digital Archive o Documents on Weaving and Related opics website: www.cs.arizona.edu/ patterns/weaving/index.html. F U R H E R R E A D I N G
Catherine de’ Medici embroidery designed by Rosalba Pepi, inspired by a Renaissance sampler, and stitched by Gloria Buracchi of the Laboratorio Tessile di Alice, Castiglion, Fiorentino, Italy. Naturally dyed silk thread on handwoven linen buratto (Italian for “sieve” or “sifter”) fabric. Italy. 2009. Photograph by Rosalba Pepi. Reproduction buratto (Italian for
“sieve” or “sifter”) handwoven linen fabric and Cotone Povero [poor cotton] thread, used to work Catherine de’ Medici embroidery. Placemat in background designed by Accademia Punto Assisi, Assisi, Italy. Collection of the author. Photograph by Joe Coca.
A Peacock
Anchor Manual of Needlework. 1958. New edition, Loveland, Colorado: Interweave, 1990. Bellomo, Bianca Rosa, ed. Disegni per merletti e r icami. Libri di modelli del XVI secolo [Designs for Laces and Embroideries: Pattern Books from the 16th Century]. N. d. Facsimile reprint, Bologna, Italy: Nuova S1, 2009. Castaldi, Lucia Petrali. Dizionario Enciclopedico di lavori femminili [Dictionary Encyclopedia of Women’s Work]. 1941. Facsimile reprint, Perugia, Italy: Arti Decorative Italiane, 2007. Federici, Giuseppa. Nappe e Pendagli [Tassels and Pendants]. Ancona, Italy: Giuseppa Federici, 2007. ———. Punto Caterina De’ Medici—La storia, gli schemi [Catherine de’ Medici Embroidery: History, Patterns]. Ancona, Italy: Giuseppa Federici, 2004. ——— . Punto Caterina De’ Medici—2nd Album degli schemi [Catherine de’ Medici Embroidery: 2nd Album of Patterns]. Ancona, Italy: Giuseppa Federici, 2005. Kronauer, Elena. Fili d’Oro [Golden Threads]. 1951. Third edition, Milan, Italy: Domus, 1973. Out of print. Madama Caterina [Cather ine de’ Medici Embroidery]. Assisi, Italy: Accademia Punto Assisi, 2009. Micheli, Vima deMarchi. Tassels, Italian Style . Sacramento, California: Vima deMarchi Micheli, 1987. Ricci, Elisa. Old Italian Lace . London: William Heinemann, 1913. Available online at www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/metabook/oil ace.html. ———. Ricami Italiani Antichi e Moderni [Italian Embroideries, Ancient and Modern]. Florence, Italy: Le Monnier, 1925. Facsimile reprint, Bologna, Italy: Nuova S1, 2006.
Motif to Stitch in
CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI EMBROIDERY J E A N I N E R O B E R S O N
he peacock is a popular moti in many Italian
Medici embroidery (see the preceding article). Tanks
Fabric, 16-count undyed evenweave, loosely woven Yarn, 100% twisted cotton Needle, size 22 tapestry
to a legend that holds that its �esh will not decay, the
Design size: 24 stitches wide x 20 stitches high
embroidery techniques, including Catherine de’
peacock is a symbol o immortality. Its eye-catching
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appearance can suggest beauty but also pride and van-
The peacock motif designed by Giuseppa Federici and stitched by the author on buratto (Italian for “sieve” or “sifter”) fabric with Cotone Povero thread. Photograph by Ann Swanson.
ity, and its resplendent spread tail eathers can represent the sun or the cosmos. INSTRUCTIONS Note:
Each double running stitch is worked over two abric threads, stitching lef to right, and then returning right to lef. Follow the chart, beginning at the arrow and remembering to always orm the return-path stitches by entering to the right o the already executed stitch and exiting to the lef, orming a slightly twisted l ine o stitching. Complete all deviating paths as you move along the central design line. When executed correctly, the back side will resemble the ront, making the work reversible.
Peacock Motif Chart may be photocopied for personal use.
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R AN D D E S I G N E R . Jeanine Robertson lives
with her mother and daughter near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has been researching Italian needlework for ten years, belongs to several needlework guilds, and translates and writes for the Italian needlework website www.tuttoricamo.com. Visit her blog at www.italian -needlework.blogspot.com.
Double running stitch Chart and illustration courtesy of the author.
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Boye Needles
SALESMAN’S BOOK NANCY NEHRING
S
EVERAL YEARS AGO, I acquired the Boye salesman’s book o handsewing needles shown here. Te ring binder, measuring about 9½ by 11 inches (24 by 28 cm), is bound in aux leather; a thick plastic cover protects its inside covers and pages, which are separated by
protective sheets made rom pieces o woolen abric. Sample retail packets mounted next to needle size charts illustrated with actual needles are affixed to the inside ront and back covers and the book’s our pages. Hal o one page also contains an educational panel titled “How A Needle Is Made.” Based on prices on the packets and lack o Universal Product Codes, the book probably dates to the 1960s. The Boye Needles salesman’s book. Collection of the author. Photograph by Joe Coca.
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I compiled the charts on the opposite page des cribing the needles according to point shape, eye shape, and length/ size. Te smaller, basic sewing needles are made rom steel wire. he larger, specialty needles are made rom cast steel. Basic sewing needles were available in packages containing multiples o a single size or a range o sizes. hose who sewed only occasionally could buy assortments o different types o needles, particularly specialty needles; some assortments included a needle threader. Te cast-steel needles came in packages o a dozen in a single type/size.
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“How A Needle Is Made” shows thirteen steps in making a needle, beginning with a wire, and proceeding through pointing, orming the eye, inishing, and packaging. Each step is illustrated with an actual sample. (See also “Making Needles in the Nineteenth Century” on the PieceWork website: www.pieceworkmaga zine.com; click on “Free Projects & Articles” on the lef, then on “Articles” in the center box.) Most o the needles displayed in the book are still available today, although some names have been changed. We do more quilting than hatmaking today, and so millinery needles are sometimes labeled as
basting needles; mattress needles may be called doll needles. Only pack needles, originally designed to sew coarse sacking such as duck or burlap, seem to be disappearing as paper and plastic replace cloth for dr y-goods sacks. ❖
Page from the Boye Needles salesman’s book showing the “How A Needle Is Made” educational panel. Collection of the author. Photograph by Joe Coca.
A B O U T TH E A U T H O R . Nancy Nehring practices, teaches, and writes
about a wide range of needlework techniques. Her interests include dating needlework tools produced during and after the industrial revolution according to materials and manufacturing techniques.
Page from the Boye Needles salesman’s book with package labels and examples of needles. Collection of the author. Photograph by Joe Coca.
Pages from the Boye Needles salesman’s book with retail packets and individual examples of needles. Collection of the author. Photograph by Joe Coca.
BASIC SEWING NEEDLES Name Sharps Betweens/quilting Embroidery/crewel Millinery Cotton darners Wool darners Yarn darners Chenille Tapestry Tapestry (large) Beading Lampshade Self-threading
Point Shape sharp sharp sharp sharp sharp sharp sharp sharp blunt blunt sharp sharp sharp
Eye Shape small small elongated small elongated elongated elongated elongated elongated elongated elongated small small/double
Name Curved mattress Upholsterers’ Mattress Weaving Pack
Point Shape sharp sharp both ends sharp blunt triangular
Eye Shape elongated small elongated elongated elongated
Size/Length (compared to that of sharps) 1 (large) to 10 (small) 1 to 10/shorter 1 to 10/same length 1 to 10/longer 1 to 10/longer 5/0 to 1/0/longer, thicker than cotton darners 14 to 18/longer, thicker than wool darners 8 to 22/shorter 17 to 24/comparable 13 to 16/comparable, thicker than regular tapestry 11 to 16/longer, thin and �exible 6 curved (semicircle) 3 to 9 double eye, upper one split (calyx eye)
SPECIALTY NEEDLES Size/Length 16 to 18 gauge/curved (almost semicircle) 16 gauge/3", 3½" (7.6, 8.9 cm), curved with eye offset 14 gauge/6", 7", 8" (15.2, 17.8, 20.3 cm) 15 gauge/6" (15.2 cm) no gauge/4", 5", 6" (10.2, 12.7, 15.2 cm), point curved toward the tip
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The Two Lives and Two Legacies of BEATRIX POTTER D E B O R A H R O B S O N A N D D O N N A D R U C H U N A S
B
EATRIX POTTER (1866–1943) is known worldwide as the creator of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Mr. McGregor, and all of the other characters in her “little books” for children. In England, however, she is also known and celebrated for her years of steadfast work to preserve the historic buildings and landscape of England’s Lake District, including saving a breed of sheep essential to that landscape. As Hunter Davies writes in the December 31, 2006, issue of Te Sunday imes, “For the last 30 years of her life she hardly did any writing, devoting herself to what had become her big passion—Herdwick sheep.” He notes that the sheep don’t appear in the biographical �lm ( Miss PotBeatrix Potter and one of her Herdwick sheep winning �rst prize at the Fell Dales Association Show in Eskdale, Cumbria, England. 1930. Photographer unknown. (36883). Photograph © National Trust Photo Library, Swindon, England.
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ter ) that had just premiered: “Not very sexy, scraggy old Herdwicks.” Yet for anyone who has looked into a Herdwick’s face, these animals are as distinctive and unforgettable as Peter Rabbit. And for anyone who understands the intimate relationship between the Herdwick �ocks and the fells (treeless hills) of the Lake District, t hey are a resource that needs to survive. Because of Beatrix Potter, they have survived, although their continued existence requires ongoing attention. Born in London into a wealthy family and educated entirely at home by governesses, Helen Beatrix Potter early on developed interests in art and nature, eventually becoming an accomplished watercolorist and mycol-
ogist. Her ather, Rupert, a lawyer who was also an avid photographer, encouraged her in her study o art. Her mother, Helen, was more demanding than nurturing; any nurturing that the child Beatrix received came mainly rom the governesses. Her brother, Bertram, born when she was �ve, provided pleasant company until he was sent away to boarding school. Beatrix spent most o her ree time playing by hersel and with her many unusual pets, some o which became the models or characters in her books. Looking back, she considered her childhood to have been lonely and unhappy, but she recognized its advantages: “Tank goodness I was never sent to school,” she wrote in her journal years later; “it would have rubbed off some o the originality.” Beatrix irst visited the Lake District in the summer o 1882, when her parents rented Wray Castle in Cumbria. Te Potters continued to vacation in Cumbria, renting Lingholm, an estate near the village o Keswick, and other properties or several summers between 1885 and 1904. One o the Potters’ guests at Wray Castle was Hardwicke Rawnsley (1851–1920), then Vicar o Wray, whose energy, vision or, and commitment to the Lake District, including its Herdwick sheep, planted the seeds o Beatrix’s later activities. In 1895, Rawnsley, with the support o others, including Rupert Potter, ounded the National rust or Places o Historic Interest and Natural Beauty. Rawnsley also played a signi�cant role in the establishment o the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association. Even ater Beatrix came o age, her parents continued to control her lie, expecting her to care or them in their old age. In her thirties, she began publishing her stories or children and gradually ell in love with Norman Warne, her editor at Frederick Warne and Company. Because her parents opposed all potential suitors (they, especially her mother, were seeking “amily name and inherited land,” according to biographer Linda Lear), Beatrix and Norman became engaged secretly, but in August 1905, Norman died o a sudden illness. Grieving, Beatrix used a small inheritance rom her aunt together with earnings rom her books to begin the purchase o Hill op Farm in the Lake District in Sawrey, Cumbria. She
then began developing Hill op Farm as she could—her parents still required constant attention. She was thirtynine at this time. Over the next years, dedicated to preserving the landscape o the region, Beatrix began acquiring more property to care or, aided by a Lake District lawyer, William Heelis (1871–1945), and when she was orty-seven, she married him. Even then, she had to struggle to get her parents’ permission to marry (at the time o her engagement, Bertram was still keeping his own eleven-year marriage a secret or ear o their disapproval). In her marriage to William, Beatrix gained more reedom and independence than she had been able to experience as the unmarried daughter o aging parents in Victorian society. It was this second Beatrix— the married woman who developed a deep interest in the entire way o lie o the Cumbrian countryside, including its sheep—who changed the uture o the Lake District orever. In the June 11, 2010, issue o Yorkshire Post, W. R. Mitchell describes Beatrix Potter Heelis in later lie as “a small woman, somewhat tubby, with resh-looking ace and silky-white hair. She generally wore clothes o homespun wool. A straw hat was held in place by black tape under her chin.” Herdwick sheep grew the wool or the suits she wore. Was she ashionable? No. rue to hersel and her commitment? Always. No one knows how long Herdwick sheep have been in the Lake District or where they came rom (the word herdvyck in Old Norse means “sheep pasture”). Tey resemble sheep o Scandinavian origin in having a mix o �bers in their �eeces but differ rom them in having long tails. Whatever their origin, Herdwicks have an unusually close relationship to the hills they inhabit: Tey remember where they are born, and although they may wander to graze, they don’t travel ar. Tis homing instinct, called being “hefed,” is critical to management o the animals without ences. When land is sold in the ells, the sheep go with it. Sometimes, �ocks can be “rehefed,” but it is diffi cult. As Beatr ix wrote, “Tey are beggars to ramble, these hill sheep. I got 2 back rom Coniston last
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Study of a Herdwick sheep’s head by Beatrix Potter. Reproduced by permission of Frederick Warne & Co, London, England.
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tweedy texture best suited or durable carpeting or insulation. Separating the types o �bers by hand permits the spinning o yarns that contain selected components. Herdwicks have characteristic white aces and eet, and the color o their �eeces indicates their age. Born entirely black, Herdwicks quickly whiten on their ace and eet while the body remains dark or the �rst year or so. Over the years, the �eece lightens to a mixture o gray and white �bers In competitions, the backs o Herdwicks are dusted with a red powder (originally dust rom iron ore mines but now supplied in tubs as specially ormulated and very expensive “Herdwick red”) to show off the whiteness o the ace. Beatrix’s own �ocks o Herdwicks began with sixteen at Hill op and, with the acquisition o additional properties, extended to the thousands, managed or her by shepherds. At routbeck Farm, she had a �ock o about 1,100, and in 1927, there were 1,000 new Herdwick lambs at that arm alone. As she acquired sheep, she ollowed their genetics and breeding lines. She attended agricultural airs and en joyed the competitions, even becoming a judge. In 1935, she was chosen to be president o the Keswick Agricultural Show, and she also would have been the �rst woman president o the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association had she not died beore her term wa s to start. According to Hunter Davies, Beatrix Potter Heelis “died in December 1943, aged 77, spending her last nights sitting up in bed interviewing shepherds.” Among her last requests was one to her most trusted shepherd, om Storey: She asked him to scatter her ashes above Hill op Farm but to keep the exact location secret. Visiting Cumbria today, you eel that you might run into Beatrix Potter just around the corner. Except or the presence o cars, things look about the same as they might have when she �rst bought Hill op, which always was her spiritual home. Over the years, Be atrix Potter bought ourteen arms in the Lake District—more than 4,000 acres (1,619 ha)—which she bequeathed to the National rust with the stipulation that Herdwick sheep continue to be bred and raised on the land. Hill op Farm itsel has been preserved as it was when she owned it, also as a stipulation o her will. Beatrix Potter Heelis has let two treasures or uture generations, each substantial and remarkable on its own—her writings and drawings and a natural and historical landscape illed with the extraordinary Herdwick sheep. ❖ .
Beatrix Potter’s house at Hill Top Farm. Cumbria, England. 2010. Photograph by Dominic Cotignola.
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winter that were making tracks or Scawell [sic] where they were born.” In the twenty-�rst century, this characteristic has become an additional risk actor to t he breed’s survival. Te Rare Breeds Sur vival rust (www.rbst.org.uk), which oversees the status o individual breeds o arm animals in the British Isles, classi�es Herdwicks as geographically vulnerable because more than 75 percent o the population lives within a radius o 15 to 17½ kilometers (9.3 to 10.9 miles). An outbreak o oot-and-mouth disease during Beatrix’s time threatened her �ock, but her animals were just outside the area o worst incidence and did not have to be culled. In the outbreak o 2001, however, about 40 percent o the Herdwicks were slaughtered in the government’s attempts to control the disease. I they become extinct, Herdwicks cannot simply be replaced with other sheep. Most breeds won’t touch the tougher plants, such as bracken, which Herdwicks eat by choice, and the cost o encing in the vast open grazing areas o the Lake District ells required to contain nonhefed sheep would be prohibitive. Herdwicks are among England’s hardiest breeds. Unlike a Merino �eece, which consists only o crimpy, sof wool, a Herdwick leece contains our types o iber: a sof, short wool undercoat; longer, water-repellent hair; tough, short, brittle kemp, which adds lof and texture; and heterotype hairs, which change their structure to increase the insulating quality o the �eece in winter and increase its water repellency in summer. Tis combination o �bers makes the wool hard to process industrially, and so most commercial Herdwick yarns have a rough,
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A Herdwick sheep shown in a competition; its back has been dusted with red powder to make the face appear whiter. Cumbria, England. 2010. Photograph by Deborah Robson.
ABOU HE AUHORS. Sheep breeds have fascinated Deborah Robson
since she began spinning in the 1970s. She is writing a book about animal �bers (North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing, forthcoming) and is the owner of Nomad Press, which publishes books on traditional and ethnic knitting. Donna Druchunas is the author of numerous books, including Successful Lace Knitting: Celebrating the Work of Dorothy Reade (Woodinville, Washington: Martingale, 2010) and Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland and Arctic Lace: Knitted Projects and Stories Inspired by Alaska’s Native Knitters (Fort Collins, Colorado: Nomad Press, 2009 and 2006, respectively). Visit her website at www.sheeptoshawl.co m. They both recently spent time in Cumbria in the company of Herdwick sheep. F U R H E R R E A D I N G
Brown, Geoff . Herdwicks: Herdwick Sheep and the English Lake District . Cumbria, England: Hayloft, 2009. ———.“Rough Fell and Herdwick Sheep in Cumbria:A Proposal for Re-building Flocks and the Breeds in Cumbria.” http:// archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/fmd/fmd_report/documents/asubmissions/ref%20568.pdf (accessed August 23, 2010). Buckley, Norman, and Jane Buckley. Walking with Beatrix Potter: Fifteen Walks in Be atrix Potter Country. London: Frances Lincoln, 2007. Davies, Hunter. Beatrix Potter’s Lakeland . London: Frederick Warne, 2002. Out of print. Lear, Linda. Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature . New York: St. Martin’s, 2007. Linder, Leslie, and W. A. Herring, eds. The Art of Beatrix Potter . London and New York: Frederick Warne, 1972. Out of print. Mitchell, W. R. Beatrix Potter: Her Lakeland Years. West Yorkshire, England: Great Northern Books, 2010.
Taylor, Judy, Joyce Irene Whalley, Anne Stevenson Hobbs, and Elizabeth M. Battrick. Beatrix Potter 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World . London: F. Warne and The National Trust, 1987. Out of print.
Pattern Books, Herdwick Yarn, Visiting Cumbria Beatrix Potter was a knitter who �lled her home with handmade textiles. Her books and artwork and her longtime stewardship o England’s Lake District have also inspired other designers o handmade textiles. One such designer is Pat Menchini, whose Te Beatrix Potter Knitting Book (London, Warne, 1988) and Te Beatrix Potter Needlepoint Book (London, Warne, 1990) are out o print but readily and inexpensively available through used-book dealers. Some o Menchini’s designs incorporate characters rom the Beatrix Potter books; others evoke Beatrix’s art and lie; while still others honor Herdwick sheep. Herdwick yarn made rom �eece that has not been hand sorted can be too coarse or knitting sweaters, but its texture makes it a natural or bags, rugs, and outerwear. Selected �ner �eeces ofen are made into blankets. Dyed and natural Herdwick yarn o heavy worsted weight is available rom the Wool Clip in Cumbria (www.woolclip.com/products/yarn-and-mate rials.htm). Te dyes on the mixed �bers o Herdwick wool produce lovely, subtle colors. Te Nude Ewe (www.bedslie.org.uk/nude-ewe/products.htm#Wool) oers wool rom �ocks being used or environmental conservation. At this writing, Herdwick wool is available only in �eece orm. For inormation on arm stays and bed and breakast inns, including nearby Herdwicks, visit www.herdwick-sheep.com/accommodation/ index.htm.
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Simply Another Name for Perfection—
CORTICELLI SILK SUSAN STRAWN
Corticelli Silk Mills catalog, Florence Knitting Silk book, Corticelli silk thread (shown with a celluloid thread holder), Corticelli Kitten postcard, CorticelliBrainerd & Armstrong Roman Floss. Collection of Loene McIntyre, Fort Collins, Colorado. Photograph by Joe Coca.
T
EASING THE HISTORY o knitting rom diaries, Company, 1882). (In 1882, Nonotuck would have mailed pattern books, and photographs may be difficult, me the booklet ree o charge on receipt o two 3-cent but �nding the history o knitting yarn can prove stamps.) Its tattered covers hang by shreds, but inside, the even more elusive. Company archives disappear into �res dog-eared pages detail orty-seven “rules” (instructions) and �oods, and ofen paper records are eventually simply or ashion patterns, ancy stitches, and ree knitting addiscarded. Occasionally, however, a window onto historical vice, exquisitely illustrated. Directions or creating a lampyarn may open serendipitously as it did with my $5 pur- shade with 928 pieces o ringe cut rom silk knitting yarn chase at a �ea market o a booklet titled How to Use Flor- remind today’s reader o the rigors o Victorian-era chic. ence Knitting Silk (Florence, Massachusetts: Nonotuck Silk All patterns call or pure silk yarn.
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How to Use Florence Knitting Silk piqued my curiosity about the history of silk knitting yarn in America. I began to unravel it, starting with the names Florence, Nonotuck, and Northampton, and the Corticelli brand of silk yarn. E ARLY S ILK PRODUCION IN AMERICA
Coveted for its distinctive luster and affinity for dyes, silk was treasured and held in secret in Asia for millennia before it was smuggled into Byzantium and transported along ancient trade routes into Europe in the late Middle Ages. Europeans introduced sericulture (the production of raw silk through the cultivation of silkworms) into North America as early as 1613, predicting that it would become a backbone of the colonial economy. But although English kings reportedly supplied colonists with silk cocoons and mulberry trees, urging silk production in place of tobacco, American silk entrepreneurs had little appreciation for Asians’ experience and skills in raising silkworms and reeling silk cocoons (see also “Te Story of Silk” on page 16). he story of Corticelli Silk can be traced to Samuel Whitmarsh (1801–1875) and the founding of the Northampton (Massachusetts) Silk Company in 1837. Whitmarsh built a “cocoonery” on his property, promoted raising silkworms as a cottage industry, and speculated on mulberry trees. When word spread that Whitmarsh was promoting the shrubby ‘Multicaulis’ cultivar of white mulberry (Morus alba) over all other mulberries as food for ravenous silkworms, investors poured their savings into the purchase of ‘Multicaulis’ trees, drastically in�ating the market. When the economic bubble burst, in1839, the Northampton Silk Company, along with many other American sericulture endeavors, failed. Anecdotal reports of wealth from silk continued to drive interest, however. Te Northampton Association of Education and Industry, an abolitionist organization that
was part of the broader utopian movement of the nineteenth century, purchased the failed Northampton Silk Company. Although the association strove to establish a textile industry with humane working conditions for its employees, notorious difficulties in raising �nicky silkworms signaled the end of sericulture in the region by 1844, and further diffi culties led to the dissolution of the Northampton Association in 1846.
Corticelli Purse Twist thread. Collection of Loene McIntyre, Fort Collins, Colorado. Photograph by Joe Coca.
IALIAN CONNECIONS
Samuel Lapham Hill (1806–1882), a cofounder of the Northampton Association, purchased the silk mill, intending to import raw silk to be twisted into sewing thread for his new business, the Northampton Steam Mills. His timing was uncanny. In 1852, Hill met Isaac Singer (1811– 1875), whose development of a home sewing machine design had been impeded only by the lack of sewing thread that did not tangle in the machines. Hill had the answer with a three-strand silk sewing thread spun using recently improved machinery. Smoother than either two- or four-ply thread, Hill’s “machine-twist” thread resisted tangling in sewing machines. Singer told Hill that he would buy all the thread that Hill’s company could produce. Te resulting windfall for Northampton led to the city’s renaming the mill district Florence in reference to the major silk-producing city in Italy, and the Northampton Steam Mills reorganized in 1855 as the Nonotuck Silk Company, named for an American Indian tribe that had once occupied the area. A remarkable businessman, Hill built the Nonotuck Silk Company into arguably the largest silk thread manufacturer in the world. He added lines of spun silk yarn and mercerized cotton thread for knitting, crochet, tatting, and embroidery. He capitalized further on the Italian connection by naming lines of thread or yarn Bartolini and Corticelli. Consumers gravitated to the new, Italiansounding brands. Corticelli became so well known that in
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Corticelli Spool Silk thread box, Corticelli trade card, Corticelli Purse Twist thread. Collection of Loene McIntyre, Fort Collins, Colorado. Photograph by Joe Coca.
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Spool of Corticelli’s Florence Knitting and Crochet silk thread. Collection of Loene McIntyre, Fort Collins, Colorado. Photograph by Joe Coca.
1922 the Nonotuck Silk Company became the Corticelli Silk Company. R A W S I L K F R O M J A P A N
Hill readily acknowledged that raising silkworms was better done in Japan, the source o most o Corticelli’s imported raw silk (the only sericulture that Corticelli Silk Mills practiced was raising silkworms and cocoons or educational boxes and charts). In a “little textbook” called Silk: Its Origin, Culture, and Manufacture, Corticelli described the labor-intensive process needed to raise “Corticelli Silkworms” in Japan. According to the book, the silkworm egg “resembles a turnip seed” rom which a tiny black worm with sixteen legs emerges; thousands o worms munching mulberry leaves make a “noise like alling rain.” Afer shedding its skin our times, the worm (actually a caterpillar), now 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, spins its cocoon. Emerging at the rate o 9 to 12 inches (22.9 to 30.5 cm) a minute rom the spinneret, an opening near the mouth, two strands o liquid silk harden on contact with air to orm a single thread bound together with sericin. Te caterpillar metamorphoses into a moth within the cocoon, which, lef to its own devices, would eventually burst out, breaking the silk threads into countless short pieces. So that the silk may be reeled as continuous �lament �ber, cocoons must �rst be steam-heated to kill the moth. According to the Corticelli book, it took experienced Japanese workers to sort cocoons by color and texture, remove outer loose silk, sofen the gluelike sericin, then brush, clean, and unwind each cocoon until only one thread showed. Treads rom s everal cocoons were gathered together and repeatedly doubled and twisted— a procedure requiring great skill—into hanks o raw silk or export to Corticelli. A M E R I C A ’ S S I L K R O A D
Growing prosperity in America had created a nearly insatiable demand or silk products, especially clothing, but raw silk had to be transported halway around the world to supply the 1,000 pounds (454 kg) o raw silk that Corticelli claimed that it manuactured into silk thread each day. American imports o raw silk increased rom one million pounds (454 mt) in 1874 to 26 million
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pounds (11,793 mt) in 1914 and 51 million pounds (23,133 mt) by 1934. o meet t he increased demand or silk in America, a new “silk road” emerged to transport raw silk rom Japan to America. High prices or imported raw silk justi�ed the expense o overland transport versus the longer, slower, cheaper sea route through the Panama Canal. Not only did aster transport lessen the chance o thef o the valuable cargo (only gold and silver bullion were more highly valued) or damage to it by heat and moisture, but the market price or raw silk could �uctuate by the minute, costing manuacturers losses in the thousands o dollars while the silk was en route. Still, the irst part o the journey had to be by sea. American reighters equipped with rooms designed to protect silk rom moisture damage crossed the Paciic Ocean in eight to ten days. On arrival in Seattle, Vancou ver (British Columbia), or San Francisco, silk cargo was loaded in a matter o hours onto special “silk trains” headed or East Coast distribution centers. From 1910 through the late 1930s, hundreds o silk trains crossed the continent. People would gather along the routes to watch as they sped across the North American prairie, each with a steam engine pulling at least our baggage cars loaded with silk, plus a coach or crew and guards. Te typical coast-to-coast trip took rom seventy to eighty hours. SELLING CORICELLI SILK
Corticelli Silk Mills achieved ame with irst-prize awards at industrial airs and competitions. Teir published pattern books were helpul and progressive: How to Use Florence Knitting Silk contains tables with calculations or various sizes o stockings knitted using different yarn weights, a chart or a thumb gore, explanation o knitting abbreviations, and even a reprinted Scienti�c American article extolling the virtues o Corticelli silk manuacturing. Hyperbole was not spared, as in this introduction to Corticelli Lessons in Crochet Book No. 5 (1917): Te wonderul demand that we are having or Corticelli instruction books in the art o lace making cannot be construed as anything else but a great public endorsement o these works. It is really not surprising when one considers the originality, vari-
ety and merit of Corticelli designs, the clear and beautiful manner in which they are illustrated and the explicit instructions given for their execution. Corticelli advertisements claimed that perfection was the company’s only acceptable product, as its slogan, “Simply Another Name for Perfection” attests. he company’s advertising triumph, however, was the Corticelli Kitten. Exceptionally popular toward the close of the nineteenth century, “kitten ads” in general were used to sell all manner of products from cigars, stove polish, and railway travel to stockings, rubber heels, and silk knitting yarn. he frolicsome, fluffy Corticelli Kitten, introduced about 1900, kept the Corticelli brand in plain sight on stores’ display cabinets and eye-catching signage and i n�ltrated homes across America with countless giveaways. It appeared on cat-shaped calendars, trade cards, postcards, labels, and pattern booklets, and stamped into the wood on the ends of thread spools. Advertisements in Te Delineator, McCall’s, Harper’s Bazaar, and Ladies’ Home Journal showed the Kitten tugging or playing with silk thread; the copy proclaimed, “oo Strong to Break—Does not Knot.” In 1911, Corticelli offered prints for sale of a painting of the Kitten by Ben Austrian (1870–1921), and Corticelli Kittens appeared in New York’s imes Square entangling silk thread in their paws on one of the nation’s �rst electric, animated billboards. Te back of a Corticelli postcard claims that the sign measured 100 feet (30.5 m) long by 35 feet (10.7 m) high and boasted nearly 3,300 electric lights. DECLINE AND DEMISE
Corticelli had expanded rapidly, but the company was plagued with problems common to the silk industry in particular and to textile mills in general: complex industrial machinery, management and training issues, strikes, growing challenges with silk supplies and prices, outdated �nancial practices, overproduction by competing companies, and high labor costs compared with those in Europe and Asia. In 1913, for example, American workers earned an average daily wage of $1.50 to $3 for eight to ten hours of work while Japanese made a mere 15 to 20 cents for ten to fourteen hours.
Following World War I (1914–1918), a further challenge arose with the advent of “arti�cial silk” (rayon or viscose), including standardized yarns quickly developed for needlework. During the war, a blockade of German dyes and other chemicals had compelled the United States to train its own chemists and produce its own chemicals. Spurred by postwar concerns that a similar blockade of Japanese silk could occur if relations with Japan deteriorated, America supported rayon production, which grew accordingly from an estimated 1.5 million pounds (680 mt) in 1913 to 35 million pounds (15,876 mt) by 1935. Te cost of rayon remained less than half that of silk even when the price of silk plummeted from $18 per pound ($39.60 per kg) in 1920 to $3 ($6.60) in 1930 and $1.30 ($2.86) in 1934. Te fashion for simpler dresses with shorter skirts during the 1920s had decreased the demand for silk fabric and silk sewing thread, and American women were willing to settle for less than the best in ready-to-wear clothing. In the manufacture of airplane wings, metal skins began to replace coverings of treated (“doped”) cotton fabric sewn with silk thread. Te stock market crash in 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression greatly reduced the demand for luxuries such as silk thread and silk knitting yarn. In 1930, Corticelli discontinued mill production in Florence, and in 1932 it merged with Belding-Heminway; the resulting Belding Corticelli company closed operations in Northampton the same year. Although traces of the Corticelli name in Florence persist only in street names and mills converted to apartments or offices, the knitting legacy of Corticelli lives on in our enjoyment of luxurious silk and silk-blend knitting yarns—and in the survival of vintage Corticelli patterns for knitting silk. And, having learned of them, who could fail to appreciate the romance of the silk trains or the appeal of the Corticelli Kitten? ❖
Corticelli Kitten 1915 calendar. Collection of Loene McIntyre, Fort Collins, Colorado. Photograph by Joe Coca.
F U R H E R R E A D I N G
Chittick, James. Silk Manufacturing and Its Problems. 1913. Reprint, Charleston, South Carolina: BiblioBazaar, 2009. Feitelson, Ann, and Peter Weis. “The Silk Industry of Florence, Massachusetts.” PieceWork, January/February 1999. Field, Jacqueline, Marjorie Senechal, and Madelyn Shaw. American Silk 1830–1930: Entrepreneurs and Artifacts. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press, 2007.
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Iseminger, Gordon L. “Silk Trains on the Great Northern Railway.” Minnesota History Magazine , Spring 1994. Muncaster, Alice L., and Ellen Yanow. The Cat Made Me Buy It: A Collection of Cats Who Sold Yesterday’s Products. New York: Crown, 1984. “Raw Silk Culture and the Manufacture of Sewing Silk.” Scienti�c American 47(4), July 22, 1882. “Silk in Northampton.” Northampton Silk Project, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. Members of the Smith
Susan Strawn’s “Fancy Silk Mittens.” Photograph by Joe Coca.
College community, local historians, and artists explored and documented the silk industry in and around Northampton; www.smith.edu/hsc/silk. Silk: Its Origin, Culture, and Manufacture. Fl orence, Massachusetts: Nonotuck Silk Company, 1895, 1902. Reprint, Florence, Massachusetts: The Cor ticelli Silk Mills, 1911. Out of print (available online at www.archive.org/details/silkitsorig incul00nono).
Fancy Silk Mittens to Knit SUSAN SRAWN
he booklet, How to Use Florence Knitting Silk No. 4, published in the 1880s by the Nonotuck Silk Com-
pany o Northampton, Massachusetts, assured readers that “descriptions [or knitting patterns] are cle ar, and, i strictly ollowed, there can be no ailure to reproduce the designs.” Not quite. Such claims in v intage patterns ofen prove little more than colorul bits o editorial exaggeration. Engraved illustrations, however detailed, requently ail to match written instructions, and numbers o increases and decreases may not add up to correct totals in speci�c rounds. “Rules” or ladies’ ancy mittens, or example, called or the knitter to decrease over the our cast-on stitches at the top o the thumb gore but later to pick up and knit the same our stitches. Adapted rom “Ladies’ Fancy Silk Mittens Rule 24” (rom How to Use Florence Knitting Silk No. 4), this mitten pattern ollows the original written instructions, but with corrections, which are noted below. Te long thumb gore and lace-and-cable pattern create an especially well-�tted MAERIALS
Naturally Hand Knit Yarns Dawn, distributed by Trendsetter Yarns, 50% New Zealand wool/50% silk yarn, laceweight, 171 yards (156.4 m)/25 gram (0.9 oz) ball, 3 balls of #02 Berry Red; www.trendsetteryarns.com Skacel Collection Addi Needles, set of 4 double pointed, steel, size 0 (2 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge; www.skacelknitting.com Cable needle Stitch holder or waste yarn Stitch counter (helpful for counting increases and decreases for shaping thumb and hand) Tapestry needle Finished size: About 7 inches (18 cm) in circumference and 12½ inches (32 cm) long Gauge: 21 sts and 30 rows = 2 inches (5.1 cm) in St st See page 52 for Abbreviations
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mitten. I chose to use a blend o lustrous silk and washable wool, although the mitten could be knitted using silk yarn or a washable wool/nylon blend o sock yarn. INSRUCIONS
Cuff CO 82 sts and divide onto 3 needles. Join into rnd, taking care not to twist sts. Rnd 1: K. Rnd 2: *[K1, yo] 6 times, k1, p2; rep rom * 7 more times; k8, p2—130 sts. Rnd 3: *Sl 1, kl, psso, k9, k2tog, p2; rep rom * 7 more times, k8, p2—114 sts rem. Rnd 4: *Sl 1, k1, psso, k7, k2tog, p2; rep rom * 7 more times, k8, p2—98 sts rem. Rnd 5: *Sl 1, k1, psso, k5, k2 tog, p2; rep rom * 7 times, k8, p2—82 sts rem. Rep Rnds 2–5 a total o 16 times and, at the same time, cable over the 8 St sts every 12 rnds as oll: Sl 4 sts onto cn and hold in back o work, k4 rom lef needle, k4 rom cn. Hand Next 8 rnds: Work irst lace panel in patt, p2, k52, p2, work last lace panel in patt, p2, work cable, p2. Tumb Gore Right mitten: Work �rst lace panel, p2, k10, p1, inc by k into back and ront o next st (k1b&), k3, inc by k into ront and back o next st (k1&b), p1, work in patt to end—2 sts inc’d. Lef mitten: Work to 19 sts beore last lace panel, p1, inc by k1b&, k3, inc by k1&b, p1, k10, p2, work last lace panel, p2, work cable, p2—2 sts inc’d. Both mittens: Work 3 rnds even. Inc rnd: Work in patt to p st o thumb gore, p1, k1b&, k to 1 st beore p st, k1&b, p1, work in patt to end— 2 sts inc’d. Rep last 4 rnds nine more times—27 sts or thumb gore, not including p sts on each side o gore. Work 3 rnds in established patt. Next rnd: Work in patt to p st o thumb gore, p1, place next 27 sts on holder or waste yarn, CO 4 sts, work in patt to end. Next rnd: Work in patt to p st beore CO sts, k2tog, k2, k2tog, work in patt to end. Work even in patt until piece measures 10 inches (25.4 cm) rom CO, or 2½ inches (6.4 cm) less than desired �nished length, ending with Rnd 5 o lace patt— 81 sts rem. Next 2 rnds: K7, p2, k to last 21 sts, p2, k7, p2, k8, p2. Shape op o Mitten Note: None o the numbers in the original pattern add up properly, so here is my revision, with numbers that will
create the shape intended or the original. 1st dec rnd: *K7, k2tog; rep rom *—72 sts rem. K 7 rnds plain. 2nd dec rnd: * K6, k2tog; rep rom *—63 sts rem. K 6 rnds plain. 3rd dec rnd: *K5, k2tog; rep rom *—54 sts rem. K 5 rnds plain. 4th dec rnd: *K4, k2tog; rep rom *—45 sts rem. K 4 rnds plain. 5th dec rnd: *K3, k2tog; rep rom *—36 sts rem. K 3 rnds plain. K2tog to dec 1 st on each needle every rnd until 4 sts rem on each needle; dec at a different place on each needle on each successive rnd—12 sts rem. K2tog 2 times on each needle—6 sts rem. Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch (20.3-cm) tail. Tread tail through rem sts and pull tight to gather. Tumb Sl 27 sts rom holder onto 3 needles. Pick up and k 4 sts, including 2 CO sts and k2tog sts—31 sts total. Divide sts onto 3 needles. K until thumb measures 1½ inches (3.8 cm) rom pick-up rnd or ½ inch (1.3 cm) less than desired �nished length. Shape Tumb ip K2tog on each needle, staggering the decs, until 4 sts rem. Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch (20.3-cm) tail. Tread tail through rem sts and pull tight to gather. Finishing Weave in loose ends using the tapestry needle, i desired. How to Use Florence Knitting Silk No. 4 advises that loose ends “do no harm and are not s een” inside the mitten. Simply draw the loose ends inside t he work. Submerge the �nished mittens in cool water with gentle shampoo (add vinegar to set the color, especially i using red yarn). Rinse thoroughly. Lay the mittens �at to dry. Do not pin out and block; blocking will stretch the lace-and-cable pattern.
Pages from How to Use Florence Knitting Silk No. 4 (Florence, Massachusetts: Nonotuck Silk Company, 1882), showing the instructions for Rule 24. Ladies’ Fancy Silk Mittens. Collection of the author. Photograph by Ann Swanson.
A BOU H E A UHOR AN D D ESIGNER. Susan Strawn, formerly an illustrator and photostylist for Interweave, is an associate professor at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, where she teaches dress history, cultural perspectives of dress, and surface design. A knitter herself, she is the author of Knitting America: A Glor ious History from Warm Socks to High Art (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 2007). She thanks the Seattle Public Library for access to the Eulalie and Carlos Scandiuzzi Writer’s Room while writing this article .
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The Brown Sheep Company sign. Mitchell, Nebraska. 2010. Photograph by the author.
Yarn from the Nebraska Panhandle: The BROWN SHEEP COMPANY SUSAN SRAWN
D
RIVING HE BACK ROADS o the Nebraska panhandle in search o the Brown Sheep Company’s
headquarters on a arm near Mitchell requires a certain amount o determination or anyone unamiliar with the rural Nebraska landscape. Te journey calls to mind the ar greater determination, persever-
ance, and enterprise that have been needed to survive, let alone prosper, on the Great Plains and lends insight into the history o the Brown Sheep Company, one o the ew U.S. manuacturers o commercial yarns. Lie in the panhandle has always been tough going. Te windswept land is prone to drought and �ood alike, extremes o hot and cold, and seasons punctuated by urious hail- and rainstorms, lightning and thunder, tornadoes and blizzards, even plagues o grasshoppers. Only towering sandstone bluffs and buttes carved by wind and water over the millennia and occasional stands o trees along the rivers and creeks break the vast high plain leading to the Rocky Mountains. Native peoples—among them the Kiowa, Sioux, Pawnee, and Crow—lived here in eart h lodges or traveled across the land while hunting bison. Among Europeans, only ur trappers, traders, soldiers, and missionaries ven-
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tured into the region at �rst. Military-Indian con�icts, devastation o the bison herds, and t he beginnings o a �ood o white settlers drove the Native American tribes rom this land. Few homesteaders hazarded settling in the panhandle until the ederal government’s Kinkaid Act o 1904 opened ull-section tracts o land (the earlier limit had been a quarter section per homesteader), making possible cattle and sheep ranching and dry-land arming. On the treeless prairie, settlers ofen built their �rst house o sod (slices o hard earth cut rom virgin prairie). Te Brown Sheep Company is located on a “century” arm, property owned continuously by a single amily
or 100 years or more. Harlan Brown had developed and and Cotton Fine, Handpaint Originals, Wildoote Sock run a sheep-eeding and wool production operation there Yarn, Prairie Silk, and Country Classic. Te company addsince 1945, but thirty years ago, with m arket �uctuations ed Waverly Wool in 480 colors or use in needlepoint, and and dwindling returns on sheep and wool, he realized that recently, Legacy Lace or lace knitting. he would need to �nd another outlet or wool grown Harlan and Janet Brown are still involved with the on the amily arm. day-to-day operation o the business but Harlan Brown was �fy-�ve when have turned over its management to he ounded the Brown Sheep their daughter, Peggy Jo Wells. Company in 1980. He and Te company attributes much his wie, Janet, a dedicato its success to its thirtyed needleworker, believed ive employees. oday, that the way to continBrown Sheep distributes ue raising sheep was to yarn throughout the Unitproduce their own line o ed States and in Australia, yarn rom the wool o their Canada, France, Germany, own �ocks. Tey started by Ireland, Israel, and the Unitbuying some spinning machined Kingdom. While the Browns ery—a spinning rame, pin drafno longer raise sheep themselves, ers, and other equipment—rom a mill they purchase as much wool as possible in South Carolina, which they brought back in rom local woolgrowers. their own semi and trailer and installed in a ormer lambServing as a central location or at least �ve rural couning shed. In their �rst year o operation, they developed ties, Brown Sheep’s mill shop oers more than twenty op o the Line, a line o 100 percent wool singles in cream, classes in knitting, crochet, and elting or different skill black, and blended grays. levels, with an emphasis on instruct ing the younger genhe next challenge was selling it. Loading samples eration o emerging �ber artisans. In 2009, the company’s in their car, the Browns drove to potential markets, but �rst annual Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair drew more breaking into the yarn market proved difficult. Teir per- than 1,000 �ber enthusiasts—an impressive crowd or a sistence paid off, and their �rst successul market was in �rst-time event in a sparsely populated region. the Southwest selling to Navajo weavers, most o whom As you drive the back roads o the Nebraska panhanno longer raised, spun, or dyed wool rom their own sheep dle near the Brown Sheep Company, the landscape’s dra(the restoration o the traditional Navajo-Churro sheep matic sandstone buttes and blus and requent storm and wool to Navajo lands and people was then in the ear- clouds on the horizon are constant reminders o the prely stages). Te Browns also recognized the potential o carious nature o lie on the Great Plains. ens o thouthe handknitting market but understood knitters expect- sands o people traveled the native and emigrant trails ed more color and variety in their yarn. Te Brown’s son, across the region, and the smaller number who came to Robert, studied the art o dyeing natural �bers and ex- stay needed a special brand o determination and persepanded the color line or op o the Lamb to include �- verance to succeed. Among the descendants o those who teen colors. In addition, the Browns developed Lamb’s stayed are the Browns, who in 2010 celebrated the 100th Pride, a blend o 85 percent wool and 15 percent mohair. anniversary o the amily arm, the t hirtieth anniversaWithin our years, the business had outgrown the ry o their thriving iber business, and Harlan Brown’s lambing shed, but a 30,000-square-oot (2,787-sq-m) ad- eighty-�fh birthday. ❖ dition accommodated spinning and dyeing equipment, and the old lambing shed became the warehouse and ship- A B O U H E A U H O R . Susan Strawn, formerly an illustrator and ping center. In 1987, the company added Nature Spun, a photostylist for Interweave, is an associate professor at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. She teaches history of dress, cultural 100 percent wool yarn developed by the North Central perspective of dress, and surface design.A knitter herself, she is the author Wool Growers Association, and expanded urther dur- of Knitting America: A Glor ious History from Warm Socks to ing the 1990s with Lamb’s Pride Superwash, Cotton Fleece High Art (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 2007).
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A display in the Brown Sheep mill shop. Mitchell, Nebraska. 2010. Photograph by the author.
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Holly Berry Cowl to Knit K A R E N J O A N R A Z
Detail of Karen Joan Raz’s Holly Berry cowl, showing the “berry” border. Photograph by Ann Swanson.
T
his nature-inspired cowl, made with Brown Sheep’s newest yarn, Legacy Lace, is a versatile accessory that warms both your head and neck. Comprising alternating panels o texture and lacy leaves, it is knitted in
the round and eatures a mini I-cord bind-off edge and a ancy “berry” border. Stitch Guide Dec/Inc (DI): K2tog but do not drop sts rom lef needle, k2tog tbl and drop sts rom lef needle. Sssk: [Sl 1 kwise] 3 times, insert lef needle into ronts o these 3 sts and k them tog—2 sts dec’d. INSTRUCTIONS
Using the knitted method (see “Techniques” sidebar on page 43), loosely CO 127 sts. K 1 row. Join or working in the rnd by k tog �rst and last st o row, making sure not to twist the sts—126 sts rem. Pm. K 1 rnd. Work Rnds 1–20 o Lea chart seven times, then work Rnds 1 and 2 once more. BO using Mini I-Cord BO as oll: *K1, ssk, sl these 2 sts back to lef-hand needle; rep rom * until 2 sts rem, ssk, asten off last st.
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MATERIALS
Brown Sheep Legacy Lace, 75% washable wool/25% nylon yarn, laceweight, 430 yards (393.2 m)/50 g (1.75 oz) skein, 1 skein of #10 Cream; www.brown sheep.com Skacel Collection Addi Needles, 24-inch (60-cm) circular, size 4 (3.5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge; www.skacelknitting.com Marker Tapestry needle Blocking wires and T-pins Finished size: 23 inches (58.4 cm) in circumference and 20 inches (50.8 cm) long Gauge: 22 sts and 32 rnds = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in leaf patt, after blocking See page 52 for Abbreviations
Bottom Border Sl 126 lps o the knitted CO onto the circular needle (see Figure 1). With RS acing, join yarn, and CO 9 sts onto lef-hand needle. Work Rows 1–6 o Berry chart orty-two times. Graf the 9 sts on needle to the 9 CO sts using Kitchener st (see “Techniques” sidebar below). Finishing Weave in loose ends, then block to size. See Figure 2 or blocking wire placement. Note: Because this piece is not �at, the blocking wires can cause the piece to have creases where the wires have stretched the piece. Once it is dr y and all pins and wires have been removed, lay the piece back down �at with the creases dead center on top o each other. Spritz just the area o the crease, �atten with your hand, and allow it to dry again.
Karen Joan Raz’s Holly Berry cowl knitted with Brown Sheep’s Legacy Lace yarn. Photograph by Joe Coca.
Key
A BOUT TH E D ESIGNER. Karen Joan Raz learned to knit as a child; lace knitting has been her obsession for the past �fteen years. A freelance designer fo r yarn companies, magazines, and books, she works at Knitche in Downers Grove, Illinois, and is a designer/teacher at www.ahamomentknits.com.
T E C H N I Q U E S
Leaf Pattern onRS; RS; p on WS kkon WS
19 onRS; RS; k on WS ppon WS
17
k1tbl k1tbl
15
yo yo
13
k2tog k2tog
11
ssk ssk
9
ssk (1 st from edging ssk (1 st from edging and and 1 picked-up st)
7 5
k3tog k3tog
3 sssk(see (see Stitch Guide) sssk Guide)
1
slsl22as k2tog,k1, k1,p2ss as ifif to to k2tog, p2sso on RS slsl22as k2tog,k1, k1,p2ss as ifif to to k2tog, p2sso on WS Berry Pattern slsl11wyf wyf on on WS WS (k1, p1,k1) k1)in same (k1,p1, p1, k1, k1, p1, in same st
5
no nost st
3
BO11st st BO
patt pattrep rep
Figure 1 (above): slip loops onto the needle; Figure 2 (below): blocking wire placement. Photographs courtesy of the designer.
5
Charts may be photocopied for personal use.
1
Knitted Cast-On Place slipknot on left needle if there are no established stitches. *With right Figure 1 needle, knit into �rst stitch (or slipknot) on left needle (Figure 1) and place new stitch onto left needle (Figure 2). Repeat from *, always knitting into last stitch made.
Kitchener Stitch
Figure 2
Step 1: Bring threaded needle through front stitch as if to
purl and leave stitch on needle. Step 2: Bring threaded needle through back stitch as if to knit and leave stitch on needle. Step 3: Bring threaded needle through �rst front stitch as if to knit and slip this stitch off needle. Bring threaded needle through next front stitch as if to purl and leave stitch on needle. Step 4: Bring threaded needle through �rst back stitch as if to purl (as illustrated), slip this stitch off, bring needle through next back stitch as if to knit, leave this stitch on needle. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until no stitches remain on needles.
DI Guide) DI(see (see Stitch Stitch Guide)
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Five pillowcases with crocheted edgings made by Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh’s maternal grandmother, Mary Rebecca Spagnola. Photograph by Ann Swanson.
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LEFT: One of
three existing images of Mary Rebecca Spagnola. Studio photograph on postcard. Chicago, Illinois. Circa late 1920s. Photograph courtesy of Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh.
RIGHT: Pillowcase with crocheted fan edging made by Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh’s maternal grandmother, Mary Rebecca Spagnola. Bart Elwell adapted the edging for the project shown on page 46. Photograph by Ann Swanson.
Connected by Threads:
A MOTHER’S CROCHETED FAN EDGING R O S E M A R I E S A L E M I H O E H
I
NEVER KNEW my maternal grandmother. In fact, her own children have only a few precious memories of their mother, Mary Rebecca Spagnola, who died January 3, 1944, at “thirty-seven years, three months, and twenty-eight days.” Tose bleak words from her faded death certi�cate were not the �rst blow dealt to my mother, Julia Spagnola Salemi, and her four siblings. Just three years earlier, their father, Leonardo Spagnola, had died at age thirty-six. Because it was Mary’s wish to keep her children together,
they were relocated from their home in Chicago to Maryville Academy, a Catholic orphanage and school in Des Plaines, Illinois, where each child remained until completing high school. I had learned odds and ends of their days at Maryville over the years, but information about the children’s brief home life in Chicago was scarcer still. Not until I showed some of my grandmother’s needlework to the PieceWork staff did I begin to cobble together the story of a woman whose gift for embroidery and crochet had helped
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support her growing family during the 1930s and early 1940s. From conversations with Mom, I learned that Mary herself also had been orphaned and had been raised by her grandmother; it was this grandmother who had taught her to embroider and crochet. My mother, eldest of the Spagnola children, proudly recalls accompanying her mother on a mile-long walk to a Chicago dry-goods store to purchase crochet hooks and t hread. Mom also remembers that Mary would ask friends and neighbors the color of their sofas and chairs and later would see her mother incorporate those colors into lacy doilies and antimacassars that quickly and skillfully spiraled off her crochet hook. Tese were the accessories that the friends and family members had commissioned. Mom’s memories of embroidered dresser scarves and a Bart Elwell’s adaptation of the crocheted fan edging sewn to a purchased baby pillow embellished with embroidery. Photograph by Joe Coca.
bath towel embellished with a crocheted basket and daisy edging have endured more than seventy years. o this day, she continues to ponder the fate of a strip of popcornstitch crochet, the beginning of a bedspread that she believes was her mother’s �nal project. Among the few examples of Mary Rebecca Spagnola’s needlework that sur vive are several exquisitely crocheted edgings meticulously sewn onto linen pillowcases. We asked Bart Elwell to adapt one of the crocheted edgings, and his adaptation follows. Bart’s decision to edge an infant’s pillowcase with his adaptation makes it a �tting tribute to this much-loved mother of �ve. ❖ A B O U H E A U H O R . Rosemarie Salemi Hoeh is PieceWork’s
editorial intern. She attributes her crocheting, knitting, embroidery, and quilting skills to patient teachers and creative genes.
Fan Edging to Crochet
A
BAR E LWELL
o create a pattern from an existing piece, I use one of three possible strategies. If the design looks familiar, I browse through the patterns that I’ve collected over the years: Sometimes I can �nd the pattern in an old publication
or discover one that has similarities, which I can adapt to the one I am duplicating. Te second method is to make a rough sketch of the design and start �lling in details, such as the number of visible stitches and their type. Te third is just to start crocheting; I refer to the original piece, make adjustments, and keep notes as the work progresses. I used the second method for the lace edging made by Rose Hoeh’s maternal grandmother, Mary Rebecca Spagnola (see the article that precedes this project). It appears that Mary handsewed connections joining one fan repeat to the next. I experimented, trying to create a raised loop at the connecting points to give a dimensional quality, but I was not pleased with the result; in the end, I decided to alter the design so that I could make the joins as I worked the pattern. Because this lace edging is worked as a continuous pattern, back and forth in rows, determining the correct starting point was critical so that the ending of each fan repeat would lead correctly into the next.
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MATERIALS
Presencia Fincrochet, 100% cotton thread; size 50 thread (959 yards [876.9 m]/50 g [1.8 oz] ball) with a size 13 hook will produce an edging about 2 1 ⁄ 8 inches (5 cm) wide, size 20 thread (492 yards [449.9 m]/50 g [1.8 oz] ball) with a size 11 hook will produce an edging about 3 5 ⁄ 8 inches (9 cm) wide; www.presen ciausa.com Crochet hook, size 13 (0.85 mm) or size 11 (1.1 mm), steel Finished size: See above; length varies depending on number of reps Gauge: Gauge is not critical for this project See page 52 and below for Abbreviations ABBREVIATIONS
dpc—double picot cluster nxt—next p—picot tch—turning chain x—times STITCH SEQUENCES
Rep A: (Ch 2, dc in nxt dc) 2x. Rep B: Rep A, 5 dc in nxt ch-4 sp, dc in nxt dc, rep A, dc in top ch st of turning ch of prev row. Rep C: Ch 3 turn, dc in nxt dc, rep A, ch 4, sk 5 dc, dc in nxt dc, rep A. STITCH GUIDE
Double picot cluster (dpc): Ch 5, make 1 sc into the top 2 lps of the dc just made, ch 5, make 1 sc into the top 2 lps of the sc just made.
I hope that you will enjoy working this pattern as much as I did. And my sincerest thanks to Rose for sharing it with us. INSTRUCTIONS
Notes: Annotation within parenthesis in the instructions followed by a number and the letter x indicates a pattern of stitches that is to be repeated; the number represents how many times that sequence is to be duplicated. Ch 3 at the beg of each row is counted as a dc but referred to as tch within the instructions. Ch 8, sc in 5th ch from hook to form a ch-4 lp, ch 25. Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook, (ch 2, sk 2 ch sts, dc in nxt ch st) 2x, ch 4, sk 4 ch sts, dc in nxt ch st, (ch 2, sk 2 ch sts, dc in nxt ch st) 2x, ch 4, sc in top of ch-4 lp, ch 3, sl st in the beg ch st—6 dc, 1 sc, 4 ch-2 sps, 2 ch-4 sps, 1 ch-3 sp. Row 2: Ch 3, turn, 6 dc in nxt ch-3 sp, 1 dc in nxt sc, 6 dc in nxt ch-4 sp, 1 dc in nxt dc, rep B (see Stitch Sequences)—26 dc, 4 ch-2 sps. Row 3: Rep C (see Stitch Sequences), 1 dc in each of the nxt 12 dc, 2 dc in nxt dc and in top ch st of tch of prev row—23 dc, 4 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-4 sp.
Row 4: Ch 3, turn, *sk 1 dc, dc in nxt dc, (ch 2, sk 1 dc, dc in nxt dc) 7x, rep B—20 dc, 11 ch-2 sps. Row 5: Ch 3, turn, dc in nxt dc, rep A (see Stitch Sequences), ch 4, sk 5 dc, dc in nxt dc, (ch 2, dc in nxt dc) 9x, ch 2, sc in 1st ch st of tch—14 dc, 1 sc, 12 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-4 sp. Row 6: Ch 3, turn, *(3 dc in nxt ch-2 sp, dc in nxt dc) 8x, rep B—44 dc, 4 ch-2 sps. Row 7: Rep C, 1 dc in each of the nxt 28 dc, 2 dc in nxt dc, 1 dc in nxt dc, 2 dc in nxt dc, 1 dc in top ch of tch—41 dc, 4 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-4 sp. Row 8: Ch 3, turn, *sk 1 dc, dc in nxt dc, (ch 2, sk 1 dc, dc in nxt dc) 16x, rep B—29 dc, 20 ch-2 sps. Row 9: Rep C, (ch 2 dc in nxt dc) 16x, ch 2, sk 2 ch sts, sc in 1st ch st of tch—23 dc, 1 sc, 21 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-4 sp. Row 10: Turn, sl st in ch-2 sp, *ch 3, dc in same ch-2 sp, ch 2, 2 dc in same ch-2 sp, [ch 2, sk nxt ch-2 sp, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in nxt ch-2 sp] 8x, ch 2, sk 1 dc and ch-2 sp, dc in nxt dc, ch 2, dc in nxt dc, 5 dc in nxt ch-4 sp, dc in nxt dc, rep A, dc in top ch of tch—47 dc, 21 ch-2 sps. Row 11: Ch 3, turn, dc in nxt dc, rep A, ch 4, sk 5 dc, dc in nxt dc, ch 2, dc in nxt dc, ch 2, sk nxt ch-2 sp and 2 dc [(2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in nxt ch-2 sp, ch 2, sk nxt (2 dc, ch-2 sp, 2 dc)] 8x, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in nxt ch-2 sp, sk nxt 2 dc—42 dc, 21 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-4 sp. Row 12: Turn, sl st in nxt dc and in ch-2 sp, *ch 3, dc in same ch-2 sp, dpc (see Stitch Guide), 2 dc in the same ch-2 sp, [ch 2, sk nxt (2 dc, ch-2 sp, 2 dc), (2 dc, dpc, 2 dc) in nxt ch-2 sp] 8x, ch 2, sk nxt 2 dc and ch-2 sp, dc in nxt dc, ch 2 dc in nxt dc, 5 dc in ch-4 sp, dc in nxt dc, rep A, dc in top ch of tch—47 dc, 9 dpc, 12 ch-2 sps. Row 13: Rep C, ch 4, sc in nxt p lp of prev fan motif, ch 3, sc in nxt p lp—7 dc, 2 sc, 4 ch-2 sps, 1 ch-3 sp, 2 ch-4 sps. Row 14: Rep Row 2. Row 15: Rep Row 3, sc in nxt p lp, turn. Row 16: Sl st in nxt dc, ch 3, rep Row 4 from *. Row 17: Rep Row 5, sc in nxt p lp, turn. Row 18: Sl st in nxt sc, ch 3, rep Row 6 from *. Row 19: Rep Row 7, sc in nxt p lp, turn. Row 20: Sl st in nxt dc, ch 3, rep Row 8 from *. Row 21: Rep Row 9, sc in nxt p lp, turn. Row 22: Sl st in nxt sc and in ch-2 sp, rep Row 10 from *. Row 23: Rep Row 11, sc in nxt p lp, turn. Row 24: Sl st in nxt 2 dc and in ch-2 sp, rep Row 12 from *. Rep Rows 13—24 until desired length is reached. A B O U T T H E D E S I G N E R . Bart Elwell i s a self-taught croch eter. He
is a member of the International Old Lacers Inc. (IOLI) and teaches classes in lacemaking techniques. His original designs won �rst place in 2007 and third place i n 2009 in IOLI’s annual Lace Contest.
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The crocheted Orenburg lace shawl. Photograph by Joe Coca.
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An
Orenburg Lace Shawl to
CROCHET
I
n 2006, the Russian knitter Svetlana Vaseluk sent me this triangular, two-color crocheted shawl that she had made. At �rst, I thought that an Orenburg shawl that was crocheted, not knitted, was somewhat
unusual, perhaps even rare, but it triggered memories o a project that I worked on more than �feen years ago. I was able to obtain an original document written in 1913 by the Russian research scientist Sophia Alexandrovna Davidova on the origins o down knitting in the Orenburg region o Russia. When I began to display Svetlana’s crocheted shawl at shows, requests or the pattern were overwhelming. From the standpoint o design, the shawl is quite remarkable and visually stunning, but because my preerred textile
medium is knitting, I asked Brooklyn, New York, crochet designer and teacher atyana Mirer to create a pattern rom the original using commercially available yarn (the original was made rom yarn spun rom the �ber o
The Goats of Orenburg
Orenburg goats come rom the steppes near the southern tip o the Ural Mountains.
In Russia, their �eece is reerred to as Orenburg down. Te two most common colors are white and gray. Tere is a legend rom long ago that one goat lived eleven years. As he got older, his coat got lighter and lighter in color and �ner and �ner in texture. Bur this is just legend: Goats live or �ve or six years. Te best down comes rom healthy goats who stay outside all winter—the long bitter cold weather on the steppes allows the down to grow long and ull. Tere are rare variations o color in down rom the Orenburg region, such as silver and brown, that are o superior �ber quality and highly prized. Tese colors occur as a natural variation and produce �ber o a very �ne micron count. Some think that brown may have been the original color o the goats early in the development o the breed. At the turn o the century, historian S. A. Davidova reported on the popularity o the thick brown warm shawls—warm as ur coats and o very high quality—that were shipped to Siberia but also available in department stores in St. Petersburg and Moscow. But by the 1960s and 1970s, brown shawls ell out o avor with Russian women; they were thought o as a babushka peasant color, and efforts were made to breed the more ashionable goats o silver, white, and dark gray. Te result o this misguided breeding is the extreme rarity o brown goats today. Breeding efforts aimed at “improving” the down and meat and increasing production per animal have resulted in longer, harsher, and straighter �ber. Efforts are now underway to back-breed to the original brown. Te goats are combed in February/March and again twenty to twenty-�ve days later. Goat combs have a wooden handle and six to ei ght steel hooks. Te �ber is preerably not cut rom the goats because cut �ber sheds when knitted up. First-quality combed down has less than 10 percent guard hair; second-quality has 10 to 20 percent guard hair. Down with more than 20 percent guard hair is considered third quality and is used to make lower quality products such as socks, mittens, scarves, and hats. —G. A. K. Adapted from Gossamer Webs: Te History and echniques o Orenburg Lace Shawls by Galina Khmeleva and Carol Noble (Loveland, Colorado: Interweave, 1998) .
Orenburg goats being fed. Orenburg, Russia. 1996. Photograph from the collection of Galina Khmeleva.
Combing an Orenburg goat. Orenburg, Russia. 1996. Photograph from the collection of Galina Khmeleva.
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Orenburg goats). Here is the result o that collaboration. What is old is new again! —Galina A. Khmeleva
INSRUCIONS
Notes: Te shawl consists o motis, which join togeth-
MAERIALS
Treenway Silks Silk Blends, distributed by Skaska Designs, 45% angora rabbit/55% silk yarn and 45% yak/55% silk yarn, laceweight, 1,543 yards (1,410.9 m)/100 gram (3½ oz) skein, 1 skein of White angora rabbit/silk (A) and 1 skein of Gray yak/silk (B); www.skas ka.com Crochet hook, steel, size 0 (3.25 mm)
er as you work. Te border is worked afer the shawl body Finished size: 88 inches (223.5 cm) long and 45 inches is complete. (114.3 cm) wide Moti (worked in rnds) Gauge: 1 square motif = 4 inches (10.2 cm) Wrap A around �nger 3 times, sl yarn ring off �nger, See page 52 and below for Abbreviations insert hook into ring, yo and draw yarn through, yo and draw yarn through lp on hook. See Figure 1 on page 52. ABBREVIAIONS Rnd 1 (RS): Work 12 sc into ring taking care to cover yarn ch sp—chain space end, ending rnd with a sl st in �rst sc. cl—cluster Rnd 2: Ch 6 (cts as dc and ch-3 sp), [dc, ch 3 in each sc] cts—counts 11 times, ending with a sl st in the 3rd ch o beg ch— dtr—double treble crochet 12 ch-3 spaces. Rnd 3: Sl st into 1st ch-3 sp, ch 3, 2-tr cl into same ch-3 SPECIAL SICHES sp, (ch 5, 3-tr cl into next ch-3 sp) 11 times, ch 5, end2-treble cluster (2-tr cl): *yo the hook 2 times, insert hook into indicated sp, yo draw through, (yo draw ing with a sl st into top o beg ch. through 2 lps on the hook) 2 times, rep from * 1 Fasten off. more time, yo draw through all 3 lps on hook. Rnd 4: Attach B with a sl st into 1st ch-5 sp, [ch 3 (cts as 3-treble cluster (3-tr cl): *yo the hook 2 times, insert hook into indicated sp, yo draw through, (yo draw 1st dc), 4 dc, ch 5, 5 dc] into 1st ch-5 sp, [ch 1, sc into through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 more ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into next ch-5, ch 1, (5 dc, ch 5, 5 dc) times, yo draw through all 4 lps on hook. into next ch-5 sp] 3 times, ch 1, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into next ch-5, ch 1, ending with a sl st into top o beg ch (4 corners). Row 4: Ch 6, 5 dc in ch-2 sp, *ch 1, sc into next ch-5 sp, ch Rnd 5: Ch 3 (cts as dc), dc into each o 4 dc, [(3 dc, ch 5, sc in next ch-5 sp, ch 1*, (5 dc, ch 5, 5 dc) in next ch-5 5, 3 dc) into ch-5 sp, dc into each o 5 dc, ch 5, sc into sp, rep rom * to *, (5 dc, ch 2, tr) in last ch-6 sp, turn. ch-5 sp, ch 5, dc into next 5 dc] 3 times, (3 dc, ch 5, 3 Row 5: Ch 6, 3 dc in ch-2 sp, *dc in next 5 dc, ch 5, sc dc) into ch-5 sp, dc into each next 5 dc, ch 5, sc into into ch-5 sp, ch 5, dc into next 5 dc*, (3 dc, ch 5, 3 dc) ch-5 sp, ch 5, sl st into top o beg ch. into ch-5 sp, rep rom * to *, (3 dc, ch 2, tr) into ch-2 Rnd 6: Ch 3 (cts as dc), dc into next 7 dc, [(3 dc, ch 5, 3 sp, turn. dc) into ch-5 sp, dc into next 8 dc, ch 3, s c into ch-5 Row 6: (1st hal moti joining) join 2 lps (see Joining sp, ch 5, sc into next ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc into next 8 dc] 3 Loops in “echniques” sidebar on page 51), 3 dc into times, (3 dc, ch 5, 3 dc) into ch-5 sp, dc into each next ch-2 sp, dc into next 4 dc, sk 6 dc o moti and join sts 8 dc, ch 3, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc in next ch-5 sp, ch (see Joining Stitches in “echniques” sidebar on page 3, sl st into top o beg ch. 51), dc in next 4 dc, sk 3 dc o moti and join sts, ch 3, Fasten off. sc into ch 5 sp, join lps, ch 3, dc in next dc, join sts, dc Hal Moti (worked in rows) in next 3 dc, sk 3 dc o moti and join sts, dc in next 4 Wrap A around �nger 3 times, sl yarn ring off �nger, dc, [3 dc, join lps, 3 dc] in ch-5 lp, dc in next 8 dc, ch insert hook into ring, yo and draw yarn through, yo and 3, sc in ch-5 lp, ch 5, sc in next ch-5 lp, ch 3, dc in next draw yarn through lp on hook. 8 dc, (3 dc, ch 2, tr) into ch-6 sp. Row 1(WS): Work 6 sc into ring taking care to cover the Fasten off. yarn end, turn. Note: While joining the next side o hal moti use the Row 2: Ch 6, (dc, ch 3 in next sc) 4 times, dc in next sc, joining instruction in a mirror image. (ch 2, tr) into last st, turn—6 sps. Body Row 3: Ch 6, (3-tr cl, ch 5) into ch-2 sp, [3-tr cl, ch 5 Make 1 moti completely. Join motis and hal moin next ch-3 sp] 4 times, (3-tr cl, ch 2, tr) in ch-6 sp, tis tog as described in “echniques” sidebar on page 51. turn.
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While making next moti, inish 5 rnds �rst. Ten, while working the 6th rnd, join sts and the ch-5 lps with the prev moti or motis (see Joining Moti(s) in “echniques” sidebar below). Notes: ake care that all motis and hal motis join tog with the right side up. Te bottom o the shawl includes one moti, the second row 2 motis, and so on until the last row with 12 motis, ollowed by 13 hal motis at the top o the shawl. Te hal motis on the edge are made with B. While joining the next moti side use the joining instruction in a mirror image. Border (worked in rows) With the right side acing, attach B at ch-5 sp o hal-moti edge. Row 1: Ch 7, sc into lst ch-5 sp (edge lp), (ch 5, sk 4 dc, sc between 4th and 5th dc) 2 times, ch 5, sk 3 dc, sc into ch-3 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-3 sp, (ch 5, sk 4 dc, sc between 4th Figure 1 and 5th dc) 2 times, ch 5, sk 3 dc, sc into next sp, *ch 5, sc into next sp, ch 5, sk 3 dc, sc between 3rd and 4th dc, ch5, sk 4 dc, sc between 4th and 5th dc, ch 5, sk 4 dc, sc into ch-3 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-3 sp, (ch 5, sk 4 dc, sc between 4th and 5th dc) 2 times, ch 5, sk 3 dc, sc into next sp*, rep rom * to * around edge to top o shawl to the last ch-5 sp, (ch 5, dtr) in last ch-5 sp (edge lp), turn. Rows 2, 4, 6: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp, *ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp (lp), ch 5, 3-tr cl into next lp*,
Key ch sl st sc dc tr 5 ch
rep rom * to * to the last lp beore the corner lp, work ch 5, (sc, ch 5, 3-tr cl, ch 5, sc) into corner lp, rep again rom * to * to edge lp, (ch 5, sc, ch 5, dtr) into edge lp, turn. Rows 3, 5, and 7: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 5, sc into next lp*, rep rom * to * to the corner, (ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp beore 3-tr cl, ch 5, sk 3-tr cl, sc into next ch-5 sp) into corner, rep again rom * to * to edge lp, (ch 5, sc, ch 5, dtr) into edge lp, turn.
T E C H N I Q U E S
Joining Ch-5 Loops Joining Motif(s) Ch 2, take hook out o st, insert hook in the speciied ch-5 lp o another moti, pick up the abandoned st and draw through, yo, draw through, ch 2, cont to work the rnd.
Joining Stitches Finish the speci�ed dc, take the hook out o st, insert it in the speci�ed dc o another moti, pick up the abandoned st and draw through, cont to work the rnd.
Rnd 6: Ch 3 (cts as 1st dc), dc into
next 7 dc, [3 dc, join with corner ch-5 lp o another moti (see Joining Ch-5 Loops at lef), 3 dc] into ch-5 sp, dc into next 4 dc, sk 6 sts o other moti and join sts (see Joining Stitches at lef), dc in next 4 dc, sk 4 sts o other moti and join sts, ch 3, sc into ch-5 sp, join loops, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc in next dc, sk ch-3 sp o other moti, and join sts, dc into next 3 dc, sk 3 sts o other moti and join sts, dc into next 4 dc, [3 dc, join with
corner ch-5 lp o other moti, 3 dc] into ch-5 sp, (one side o the s quare moti is joined with corresponding side o the other one), [dc into next 8 dc, ch 3, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 3, dc into next 8 dc, (3 dc, ch 5, 3 dc) into ch-5 sp] 2 times, dc into next 8 dc, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp, ch 3, ending with sl st into top o beg ch. Fasten off. Note: While joining the next moti side use the joining instruction in a mirror image.
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ABBREVIATIONS
Row 8: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 5, sc into next lp*, rep from * to * to the corner lp, (sc, ch 5, 3-tr cl, ch 5, sc) into corner lp, rep again from * to * to edge lp, (ch 5, sc, ch 5, dtr) into edge lp, turn. Rows 9 and 10: Rep Row 3. Row 11: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 5, sc into ch-5 sp (lp), ch 5, 3-tr cl into next lp*, rep from * to * to the last lp before the corner lp, work into this lp (ch 5, 3-tr cl, ch 5,), (sc, ch 5, 3-tr cl, ch 5, sc) into corner lp, (ch 5, 3-tr cl) into next lp, rep again from * to * to edge lp, (ch 5, sc, ch 5, dtr) into edge lp, turn. Fasten off. Row 12: Attach A, ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 5, sc into next lp, rep from * to last lp, ch 5, sc in last lp, turn. Row 13: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 6, sc into next lp, rep from * to last lp, ch 6, sc into last lp, turn. Row 14: Ch 7, sc into edge lp, *ch 7, sc into next lp, rep from * to last lp, ch 7, sc into last lp. Do not cut yarn; cont work on the top of shawl. Top Edge Row: Ch 3, [*3 dc into top edge lp, 4 dc into next top edge lp*, rep from * to* to the yarn lp of the center half motif, 5 dc into yarn lp, then rep again from * to *], rep sts in brackets to the end. Fasten off. Finishing Weave in all ends. ABOUT THE D ESIGNERS. Galina A. Khmeleva of
Fort Collins, Colorado, is the owner of Skaska Designs and a frequent contributor to PieceWork. She has been teaching the art of Orenburg lacemaking to U.S. knitters since 1996. Visit her website at www .skaska.com. Tatyana Mi rer has a bachelor’s degree in Ladies Wear Fashion Design from the Moscow Design Institute and is a knitwear and crochet designer and a Craft Yarn Council certi�ed teacher. Her designs have been published in magazines and books .
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beg—begin(s); beginning BO—bind off CC—contrasting color ch—chain cir—circular cn—cable needle CO—cast on cont—continue(s); continuing dec(s) (’d)—decrease(s); decreased; decreasing dc—double crochet dpn—double-pointed needle(s) foll—follow(s); following hdc—half-double crochet inc(s) (’d)—increase(s); increased; increasing k—knit k1f&b—knit into the front and back of the same stitch—1 stitch increased k2tog—knit 2 stitches together k3tog—knit 3 stitches together k5tog—knit 5 stitches together kwise—knitwise; as if to knit lp(s)—loop(s) m(s)—marker(s) MC—main color M1—make one (increase) p—purl p1f&b—purl into the front & back of the same stitch p2tog—purl 2 stitches together p3tog—purl 3 stitches together p7tog—purl 7 stitches together patt(s)—pattern(s) pm—place marker prev—previous psso—pass slipped stitch over pwise—purlwise; as if to purl rem—remain(s); remaining rep(s)—repeat(s); repeating rnd(s)—round(s) RS—right side sc—single crochet sc2tog—insert hook in nex t stitch, yarn over, pull loop through stitch (2 loops on hook); insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, pull loop through stitch (3 loops on hook); yarn over and draw yarn through all 3 loops on hook; completed sc2tog—1 stitch decreased sk—skip sl—slip sl st—slip(ped) stitch sp(s)—space(s) ssk—slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 knitwise, knit 2 slipped stitches together through back loops (decrease) ssp—slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 knitwise, purl 2 slipped stitches together through back loops (decrease) st(s)—stitch(es) St st—stockinette stitch tbl—through back loop tog—together tr—treble crochet WS—wrong side wyb—with yarn in back wyf—with yarn in front yo—yarn over *—repeat starting point ( )—alternate measurements and/or instructions [ ]—work bracketed instructions a speci�ed number of times
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800-309-5348 PO Box 3864 Reston, VA 20195
May 26-28, 2011, Albuquerque, NM Call to Entries Deadline March 1, 2011
[email protected] www.fiberartsfiesta.org
Make One Yarn Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mancuso Show Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 MissBabs: Hand-Dyed Fiber Goods. . . . . . . . 55 Oomingmak, Musk Ox Producers . . . . . . . . . 55 Purl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ifc Royalwood Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Skacel Collection Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 Synergo Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 NC Enterprises (slipcovers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 unney Wool Company/O-Wool . . . . . . . . . . 7 Westminster Fibers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Wooly West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
N OVEMBER/D ECEMBER
2010
PIECEW ORK
55
PIECEWORK MARKETPLACE Classifieds
Stop to Shop NEEDLEWORK
BEADS
TE X T I L E S
SHOP
HEIRLOOM GLASS BEADS, innovative and
VINTAGE and ANTIQUE TEXTILES. Vintage
DIRECTORY
unique supplies. Color matching, bead sample cards, wholesale—low minimums, retail—no minimums. 60-page catalog $4. Beadcats, PO Box 2840, Wilsonville, OR 97070-2840. (503) 6252323;
[email protected]; w ww.beadcats.com.
Embellishments, Tools, and How-To: Fine antique lace and lace for crafting, beads, buttons, ribbons, trims, scrap-bags, calicos, homespun, silks and velvet, flowers, notions, and sewi ng smalls. Vintage patterns, wallpaper, photos, and ephemera. Doll clothing, quilts, linens, vintage and antique clothing. www.vintageandantiquetextiles.com. 538 Main St., Sturbridge, MA. (800) 225-9406.
B OOKS AND VIDEO
HUGE SELECTION. New and out-of-print
needlework books. Information for free catalogs and newsletter. Ruth Kern Books, PO Box 35366, Phoenix, AZ 85069. (800) 429-5075; rkern3@ mindspring.com; fax (602) 944-1753; www.ruth kernbooks.com. Free book searches. EVENTS
7TH ANNUAL PITTSBURGH KNIT & CROCHET FESTIVAL. February 11–13, 2011, at the
Four Points Sheraton, North, Mars, PA 16046. www.pghknitandcrochet.com; (412) 963-7030. Classes, demos, market, fashion show, trunk shows. Free activity this year: Machine needle felted pin. Nicky Epstein will feature a “Barbie Fashion Retrospective.” FABRICS
100% WOOL FELT AND DOLL MAKING sup-
plies including cotton knit velour, organic skintone cotton knit, silk plant-dyed and undyed in several weights. www.achildsdream.com. Save $5 with code: PW. (800) 359-2906. NATURALLY DYED SILKS, wild silks, Ahim-
saTM Peace silks, fine cottons. Artisan hand-dyed by Master Natural Dyer Cheryl Kolander, true natural dyes 100% and formulated for fastness. www.aurorasilk.com, (503) 286-4149, Portland, Oregon. STITCHING SERVICES
GHOSTSTITCHERSPROFESSIONALSTITCHING SERVICE for your knitting, crochet, cross-
TR A V E L
BEHIND THE SCENES ADVENTURES: 2011 TEXTILE TOURS with the Experts! Ghana: Cloth
& Culture—February; Peru & Bolivia (Easter in Andes), with Nancy Thomas; also Eastern Turkey, Laso, and Cambodi a. www.btsadventures.com; e-mail
[email protected]; (510) 275-3662. CRAFT and FOLK ART TOURS. Bhutan, Mo-
rocco, Christmas in the Carpathians 2010, Myanmar (Burma), Southern India, Chiapas (Mexico), Romania, Christmas in Oaxaca 2011. Small, personalized groups. Craft World Tours, 6776PW Warboys, Byron, NY 14422. (585) 548-2667; www .craftworldtours.com. CRAFT CRUISES. Join us on a knitting cruise!
Hawaii with Myra Wood and Kristine Brooks; Norwegian Fjords with Sally Melville; Scandina via with Karen Alf ke and Lotte Kjær; Bermuda with Judy Pascale; Canadian Rocky Rail with Joan Schrouder; Alaska with Jared Flood and Lorilee Beltman; Canada and New England with Donna Druchunas and Joan Schrouder; and China’s Yangtze River with Lily Chin. Visit www.craftcruises .com or call (877) 97-CRAFT. WE B S I T E S TO V I S I T
WWW.LACEMAKING.COM provides all you
need to make lace—European bobbins, Battenberg, and Princess tapes. Antique and wearable lace. Home of the Lacemaking Circle discount club (Free!).
stitch, crewel, hardanger, pulled-threads, embroidery, and needlepoint projects. www.ghoststitch ers.com.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Alpaca Direct—Brentwood www.AlpacaDirect.com Huge selection of luxury yarn, roving, and knitting supplies. Classes and support. 144 Continente Ave., Ste. 170 (925) 237-2575
The Yarn Boutique—L afayette www.yarnboutique.us Beautiful yarns; friendly, personal service; sensible prices. Located in La Fiesta S quare near FedEx/Kinko’s. 963-C Moraga Rd. (925) 283-7377 COLORADO
Gypsy Wools—Boulder www.gypsywools.com Specializing in natural fibers, hand-dyed, handpainted and natural color. Exotics, rare and heritage breed fibers, unusual custom spun yarns. We’re not your average yarn store. 1227 Spruce St. (303) 442-1884
Table Rock Llamas Fiber Arts Studio Inc. —Colorado Springs www.tablerockllamas.com Knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving, felting, and dyeing. 6520 Shoup Rd. (866) 495-7747 CONNECTICUT
Mystic River Yarns LLC—Mystic www.mysticriveryarns.com Basic to exotic yarns in a pleasant ambiance. Classes, workshops, and personal service by expert knitters. 14 Holmes St. (860) 536-4305 MARYLAND
Millicent’s Yarns & More—Cumberland www.millicentsyarns.com Called one of the top 10 yarn shops on the East Coast. Two hours from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and D.C. Easy on/ off I-68 in western Maryland. 27 N. Centre St. (301) 722-8100 TE X A S
Rose Path Weaving—Lindale www.rosepath.net In east Texas, just off I-20 on Hwy. 69N. High-quality yarn in natural fibers. Skacel and Brittany knitting needles and beads. 2808 S. Main St., #E (903) 882-3234
To be listed in PieceWork’ s “Needlework Shop
S H O P O N T H E WE B
Directory,” please contact Stephanie Griess at
www.babesfibergarden.com Spinning wheels, electric spinners, and accessories and function before form that are affordable. (877) 628-3208
(877) 613-4630 or
[email protected]. 56
CALIFORNIA
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