A stunning bustle at the V and A Museum

A stunning bustle at the V and A

This fabric really caught my eye at the 'Undressed - a brief history of underwear' exhibition at the V and A (see previous post).

 

It was so contemporary and could have been woven now, it was a delightful pale grey colour. It was making up this bustle:

 

(Image  copyright of the v and a museum) (1) 

I was particularly interested as I suspected it was made  from  crinoline. Crinoline was a fabric woven in Norwich (2) and contained horsehair. (The word comes from the French 'crin' for horsehair. ) On reading the label, I found it was woven crinoline, described on the label as a mixture of linen and horsehair. The label also indicates that bustles of this type were worn from about 1869-1880  and by 1890 these were no longer worn. My initial thought was that the fashion didn't last long, but then on reflection I realised how bizarre that thought was. Catwalk shows try and establish a 'trend' for one season now, so 11 years would be along time for a trend! 

This is even more interesting to me as I have cousins whose family owned mills in Norwich and  Wymondham that wove crinoline. Between us we are trying to find out more about this type of weaving and the mills involved. 

(1) More about this bustle. If you haven't been to the V and A and are interested in Fashion then a visit to the V and A is a must and also a look at their 'new' textile area at Clothworkers Centre. More about this one can be found in their online collection. 

(2) Morris Thelma in 'Made in Norwich' 700 years of Textile Heritage notes that Crinoline was a fabric with a cotton warp, crossed with horsehair ( the weft- my addition!) used for stiffening, especially crinoline skirts. It was known to be made by E.F. HIndes (1850s) and Bollingbroke &  Jones (1883-7 ) p 85

Day 31 Creativity - The East Anglian Linen Industry

This is about beginnings and endings! I initially planned to write a blog post a day during August about the different things I do – hence Creativity 1 – 31. It has taken me longer than a month – but hey never mind there had to be time for the actual creativity. I aim from now on to write one or two posts a week…  I never expected to write this post – and have abandoned what I intended to write about – as I have become interested in the past and finding out more about the local linen industry.

 
Since moving back to East Anglia I find myself next door but one to Flax Farm and 200 yards from us is an area which the map called Flaxlands. This is intriguing.
On discussing this with a member of the local History Society, I was told the flax was at one time grown and retted here and taken to the workhouse to be spun and there was a lot of flax.
So I was even more intrigued when an email dropped into my inbox saying that Rickinghall Further Education Group ( a village half a mile from me by quiet roads) was having a series of lectures on Looms, Linens, Woollens and Worsteds - a History of East Anglian Textiles. Unfortunately I missed the first two - due to being on holiday in Scotland so last week was my first attendance.
Wow, this was fascinating. It seems that mainly hemp was grown not Flax in South Norfolk and North Suffolk. Lots of references were made so I have lots of leads to find out more.

On a practical level I remember spinning flax - turned out it was 2004. So I have found the flax I spun from and the linen thread I spun. Much bleaching was needed - I boiled in soda , several times, to get this silken looking thread.

 

(The spun thread is about a mm diameter, quite thick for me!)

I was very lucky to be able to attend a workshop by Riitta Sinkonen-Davies who was a great patient tutor. She was chosen to weave the Rochet Rowan Williams wore at his inauguration as Archbishop of Canterbury.
I remember it was not easy to spin - mainly because I wanted it fine I guessed. It involved a distaff and a bowl of water on my lap.

I also found out examples of hemp and flax both in the natural 'yarn' state and bleached. The hemp is more 'rustic'. The joys of having a good stash!

Needles to say I have more flax to spin and am going to have another go. But not in public in the class! Spinning flax needs concentration and no audience for the first few hours if I remember correctly.

Rita's website is a delight. www.riittaweaving.wordpress.com.

Repurposing vintage embroidered linen

As some of you know life has been a little difficult for me over the past few months. In hindsight this is been for about nine months now, although I didn't realise how bad I was getting until about November! I have now been diagnosed with chronic migraine. This is a relief as it is nothing more sinister but for those of us with chronic migraine it is a challenging & unpredictable condition. I am gradually getting to grips with the situation but still in the position of only having occasional days when I am completely headache free. The challenge at the moment is not to try and run around headless doing everything that I previously did on those days.

I have treated myself to a mini iPad that I can dictate to and hence spend less time at the laptop. This is being a big success.

I am on the look out for enjoyable textile projects that I can complete while headache free. It is a long time since I have done any real embroidery so I have set myself one!  It is to make a sleeve for my mini iPad for when in my handbag. I have a linen chair back saved while clearing my aunt's house.

 

It have used the 1950's floral arrangement for the sleeve front – apologies for the photos- the linen has played havoc with the photography!

I have researched some ideas from my textile library for a complimentary embroidery for the back of the case and enjoyed working this bluebell one.

 

I have backed this with iron on interfacing & padded it to give the case some body. Then I formed the sleeve and added some vintage mother of pearl buttons and two matching loops.

 I am delighted with my new iPad sleeve I hope you enjoy seeing it too.

There is more of her vintage needlework in the drawer - I have a plan for a case for the paper tissues I carry in my handbag too! So watch this space!