Wool Winder
July 3rd, 2012
Meet my new best friend.
I’d always laughed (albeit with a touch of the sour grape) at mechanical wool winders. What a lazy person who won’t make their own balls of yarn. Then I inherited this one, amongst a vast store of needlework tools from my grandmother, and I suddenly see the light. In seconds, a messy skein becomes a perfectly wrapped unit — better than a ball. The tension is perfectly controlled, as is the shape and placement of each overlapping strand.
Hurrah!
Embroidery Machine
December 17th, 2011
If you’re wondering why it’s been (gasp) more than two whole weeks since my last update, it’s because I am preparing to move 3,000 miles across the country. I’ve been packing madly, and growing more and more astonished at how much stuff we managed to store in our little Greenwich Village garret. Here’s one of the treasures I uncovered.
It came in a cardboard box that promptly disintegrated as soon as I opened it. The instructions were crumpled up, in nearly as poor shape. There was no way to save the box, alas, so I made the instructions my priority.
The paper was torn into three pieces, each one folded up like an accordion. And it was VERY dry. Lacking proper humidification tools, I broke out the steam iron and got to work, gently puffing steam at the paper until it relaxed enough to lay flat.
After a week or so resting between sheets of acid free paper under a heavy book, I was able to piece it together well enough to take this picture (edited a bit to take out the worst of the rips and flaws).
The embroidery machine belonged to one of my forebearers. I wonder what she made with it. I wonder what I’ll make with it…
Grecian Pattern Collar
November 27th, 2011
I’ve finished another one. Also from Cornelia Mee’s 1846, this is the “Grecian Pattern” collar. This is definitely better looking overall than the last — though I think I might like the first collar a tiny bit better if it were executed sans edging.
I love the way the front corners are worked on the diagonal. They look so “finished!” I redid this collar three times, and still didn’t get some of the details quite right. The directions aren’t terribly clear, and sometimes have to be tried out a few different ways. And the number of stitches NEVER comes out correctly. I begin to think it’s going to be trickier than I realized to translate these patterns for modern use.
In the meantime, I am having a blast working through the originals, if only to see what they look like! I’m already well into the third collar pattern, imitating point lace. Each is a surprise, and I am in awe of the clever methods of forming the corners — which are, after all, the focal points of the collar once it’s sewn onto your dress.
Completed Collar
October 25th, 2011
Here’s the correctly sized collar, crocheted “in imitation of Brussels lace.”
You may recall that I made this collar last week too — but didn’t trust the original pattern (from 1846) and ended up with a collar that fit my husband’s neck better than mine, and he’s quite a well-built fellow. Just between you and me, I don’t know that I’m overly fond of this collar. The last two rows (which account for the chain stitch borders) are a little silly, and even look kind of sloppy in places. Hopefully they will neaten up a bit when I block it.
I may also make another version and leave the last rows off entirely. But I did have to see how it looked according to the pattern. It’s such fun to follow patterns without pictures — you never know how they’ll turn out. Perhaps it will look better over a dress too.
Next up, Grecian Pattern Collar, also from 1846.
Collared
October 20th, 2011
My fascination with crocheted lace continues. While researching petticoat edging, I’ve come across so many collar patterns from the 1840s and 50s that I finally gave in. For my first attempt, I chose a pattern by crochet goddess Cornelia Mee in imitation of Brussels lace. I’m not quite sure in what way it is meant to resemble Brussels lace though.
There were still two more rows to be added when this picture was taken. They didn’t do much to increase its affinity to any Brussels lace I’ve ever seen.
This is real lace. I found the photograph (culled from Ebay) on Lace News. Brussels lace is a pillow lace, originally made in and around Brussels, naturally. It’s frequently confused with other types of lace made in the same region, including Brussels point, a needle lace that is quite different. At least the experts say so.
Back to my crocheted collar. It seemed awfully small when I began, so I added an extra 30 stitches to the starting chain, thinking that my gauge was off (always an iffy thing with an historic pattern) or that necks are simply bigger in 2011. But when I finished pressing it flat I was horrified to discover that my “swan-like” neck was just swimming inside the collar. So I immediately began a new iteration, sticking strictly to the pattern. I’m nearly done with the new version (it works up very quickly) and plan to give away the enormous one to someone who will wear it with modern blouses, which have wider necklines.
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