A very early form ofcroceted lace is late period (second half of the 16th century) but I have no evidence for crocheted clothing.
From Lace: a History, Santina M. Levey published in 1983 by the Victoria & Albert Museum inn association with W. S. Maney & Son. Ltd. p.92:
"Yet another development of the 1840's was the widespread adoption of crochet, both inIreland and elsewhere. The origins of this technique are obscure but it seems probable that it developed in France during the 17th century. Hooked needles were used in both the passementerie and lace industries and, in France, the 'stitch' used to link the pieces of a part of lace was known as a 'crochetage'. The development of this stitch into an independant technique is suggested by the Letters Patent which were granted to the French Mercers in 1653 and which listed among their goods all forms of lace and braid, including 'cordons facon de broderie, enriches en jolives qui se faconnent a l'escuille, aux des doights, au crochet, et au fuseau'. The new technique was probably stimulated by the vogue, during the second half of the seventeenth century, for gimp and all froms of metal lace and passementerie. There are a number of French references to crochet from this period and they suggest theat the term was used both for the hooked needle and for a product. [...] 'Chain lace' appears to have been the equivalent English term for the French chainettes de crochet, although the term probably referred originally to an open cord or braid. The earliest references date from the mid-sixteenth century; the Earl of Leicster had beds 'garneshed with a chaine lace of goulde and silver-copper', and it also featured in the Wardrobe Accounts of Queen Elizabeth. The appearance of late seventeenth-century lace is perhaps suggested by the little piece in figure 392. This border has a rather clumsy design which none the less relates to better quality laces of the late seventeenth century and its chained structure can only have been formed with a hooked needle in the manner of crochet."
Whew, I'm personally a little confused, since she dates the invention of crochet to the 17th century, then later says that the earliest reference is from the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd by Janet Arnold quotes one of those wardrobe accounts Santina Levey mentions: "Enbrauderinge of a paire of Sleves for a Wastcoat of fyne lynnen Clothe wrought allover with a worke of white Cheyne silke lace powdered full of stitches for workemanshipp therof xls. Item for v oz of Cheyne lace and silke spente upon the same sleves at iijs iiijd thounce...." p. 145
The photograph mentioned in the Levy quote has the lines of the design all done in chain stitch, with no solid areas at all. It looks a little like the 16th century braided bobbin laces (not the tape ones) only wider, and with the more realistic rather than geometric design that the technique allows.
I had been thinking of doing a piece for Pike or TI giving crochet directions for imitating 16th century bobbin laces for people who want the look and don't care about total authenticity. Now I am beginning to think that this is exactly the thing described here and it's actually correct (eerie huh?). I'm confused though, by the description 'powdered full of stitches'. I can't think of anything in the one photo I have that would fit that description. If you come across something - please let me know.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Choosing Lace for SCA Garb (1500-1600)
How to learn to distinguish types of lace:
- Look at lots of pictures of lace from your period, pay special attention to obvious distinguishing features. What makes this different from what you normally think of as "lace"? Where and how is it worn - on cuffs, collars, ruffs, edgings etc, or is this only seen on tablecloths?
- Look at photos of surviving pieces in museums, learn to distinguish bobbin from needle laces. Looking very closely at the photos you will be able to see how the threads run many threads woven together is characteristic of bobbin lace, solid areas appear to be woven. Needle lace is made with only one thread looped over itself in variations of the buttonhole stitch. Solid areas appear to be knit.
- Learn to make the stuff - you will soon find yourself able to recognize period lace from across a crowded room.
Things to avoid
- Mesh grounds, especially hexagons - this is a light delicate net with flowers and stuff worked in and maybe heavier threads outlining the motifs. also gentle wide scallops, these are charateristic of 18th century lace, it is what most people think of as "lace" and it is completely out of period.
- naturalistic looking flowers - period flowers in lace look more stylized than they do in later laces. they resemble architecture more than they do embroidery.
- Obviously polyester or nylong threads ("I'm Plastic!!!" they cry). Choose threads that look like natural fibers or real metal. The most common materials where white linen, gold and/or silver metal, white, black or colored silk. Sometimes 2 or more colers were used. Cotton is just fine, but should be starched.
Types of modern laces that copy period laces are:
- Handmade - I have seen some amazing lace from China that is even affordable (really!). Ask for Cluny, Le Puy, or Torchon style laces if anyone in the shop knows what they are. These are modern names invented in during the Victorian craft revival for 16th century style bobbin laces.
- Levers lace - this is the best of the machine made bobbin laces, the machine mimics the motions of the lacemakers hands. It's repetoire is somewhat limited, but within that scope it can take an expert to distinguish it from handmade. It is especially suited to Torchon and Le Puy laces.
- Chemical lace - this is an imitation needle lace made by embroidering cotton or polyester on a fine silk ground. The silk is then burned away in lye leaving the embroidery as freestanding lace. Sometimes you can find chemical laces inspired by period patterns.
Making the Laces of Le Pompe
This file is two postings I made to the rialto, hence the question/answer format.
>When I have visited this bridge, I have found many discussion on manyI am :-)
>topics, with the mix varying from time to time. Someone has to
>start the threads, you know.
>
>As so I will bring up _my_ topic. I have been trying to reproduce
>16th century Bobbin Lace. I am using _Le Pompe_ a reproduction
>pattern book, and photos of period lace. I am not getting the right
>look. Threads of what seems to be the right thickness seem too stiff
>and tightly twisted.
>
>Who else is making lace? What thread do you use? How has it turned
>out? Have you found any good close-ups? I have many pictures
>that show the pattern nicely, but not enough to see what the thread
>is like.
>The technical section in _Le Pompe_ is very poor and mostly
>doesnt even mention what size and kind of thread used. To anyone
>who hasn't seen this book, reproductions of one and part of a second
>period pattern book are bound with modern prickings and directions.
>The author of this section seems more familiar with later lace and
>works them much more "lacey" than the pictures of period laces that
>I have have found, which are quite sturdy looking.
Lace in the SCA
The following was posted to rec.org.sca
I am a beginning bobbin lacer who is almost ready to try a real project.
The only problem, is that once I started researching uses of bobbin lace
in period, I could find very few. I know that it existed in late
period, but most of the ruffs/cuffs, etc. that I see in portraits look
like they were done in another lace form (reticella? I'm certainly no
lace expert...). Certainly none of the lace I see in portraits looks
even remotely like the patterns I've been practising on. So what was
bobbin lace used for? Was it just used as a ground for needle made
lace? Or am I just looking at the wrong portraits?
Many bobbin lace patterns of the period were designed to imitate needle lace which is far more time consuming and expensive. One of the Dover paperbacks - Mincoff and Marriage, Pillow Lace has a photo of an extant length of bobbin lace that looks like the pattern was drawn from the reticella patterns in Vinciolo (a 16th cent. needle lace pattern book). Many of the modern Cluny patterns fall into this category, if you look through folios of Cluny patterns you are likely to find several which will be perfectly acceptable for our period, in fact I'm working up one such pattern now for a handkerchief. As a general rule you can always substitute bobbin for needle lace anywhere you see it in portraits and if you look very closely you may find it is bobbin lace.
If you are confused becuase none of the period laces you see look like Torchon, I think it is because that style was less popular in England and France than the braid laces. There is a surviving period bobbin lace pattern book, the Modelbuch which is mostly Torchon patterns, so perhaps the style was more popular in Germany. I have seen a few examples of Torchon lace in period portraits in Santina Levey's book Lace a History, but they are far outnumbered by the braid and tape styles
I am a beginning bobbin lacer who is almost ready to try a real project.
The only problem, is that once I started researching uses of bobbin lace
in period, I could find very few. I know that it existed in late
period, but most of the ruffs/cuffs, etc. that I see in portraits look
like they were done in another lace form (reticella? I'm certainly no
lace expert...). Certainly none of the lace I see in portraits looks
even remotely like the patterns I've been practising on. So what was
bobbin lace used for? Was it just used as a ground for needle made
lace? Or am I just looking at the wrong portraits?
Many bobbin lace patterns of the period were designed to imitate needle lace which is far more time consuming and expensive. One of the Dover paperbacks - Mincoff and Marriage, Pillow Lace has a photo of an extant length of bobbin lace that looks like the pattern was drawn from the reticella patterns in Vinciolo (a 16th cent. needle lace pattern book). Many of the modern Cluny patterns fall into this category, if you look through folios of Cluny patterns you are likely to find several which will be perfectly acceptable for our period, in fact I'm working up one such pattern now for a handkerchief. As a general rule you can always substitute bobbin for needle lace anywhere you see it in portraits and if you look very closely you may find it is bobbin lace.
If you are confused becuase none of the period laces you see look like Torchon, I think it is because that style was less popular in England and France than the braid laces. There is a surviving period bobbin lace pattern book, the Modelbuch which is mostly Torchon patterns, so perhaps the style was more popular in Germany. I have seen a few examples of Torchon lace in period portraits in Santina Levey's book Lace a History, but they are far outnumbered by the braid and tape styles
carving
I started carving, off and on back in 1995, and started doing it seriously in 1999. Although I worked a regular job, I did make the time to pursue my carving activities
One of the things that really bothered me when I first started was the fact that most of the carving books I purchased seemed to be written for people with at least some carving experience. Perhaps it is because of the "money factor" involved in printing a book with lots of color photographs. It costs money to produce these books and the publishers have to produce them at an affordable price. Still, that does not help the person who needs more detailed explanations. I have found that many people, myself included, are "visual" learners. A detailed illustration and a simple explanation are the keys to success for these persons.
Once I got to the point where people didn't have to look at my work and take a guess as to what it was, I figured I had developed some skills, and experience that I could pass on to other "beginners". Why not write a detailed tutorial that filled in the empty spaces in the books ? My tutorial may be much too verbose for some (just skip steps if that is the case), but I have a particular audience in mind. (BEGINNERS with NO carving experience at all)
Feel free to download my tutorial for your own use. If you are teaching a carving course, you may make copies for your students or direct them to my Web page. If you make copies and distribute them, please give me credit for my work and don't sell them for a profit.
Please feel free to e-mail my family regarding this tutorial. They will try to answer all my mail, but it may take a few days to get back to you.
Let us know what you think of this site. Your input will help us determine how long to leave the site active.
One more bit of advice. Even if you have access to a local woodcarving club, get on several of the carvers lists that appear on the Internet. My favorite is the Woodcarver's Porch (see link in sidebar). This is a great group of helpful people. Once you become a member of this group, you never stop learning. They are more than willing to offer good, sound advice and the pool of experienced carvers is unbelievable. 'Ol Jud, the moderator, does a good job of keeping everything under control. Sometimes, we even talk about carving. So, if you want a group with no "chat" this is not the place to go........... Consider yourself forewarned !!!!!!!!!
One of the things that really bothered me when I first started was the fact that most of the carving books I purchased seemed to be written for people with at least some carving experience. Perhaps it is because of the "money factor" involved in printing a book with lots of color photographs. It costs money to produce these books and the publishers have to produce them at an affordable price. Still, that does not help the person who needs more detailed explanations. I have found that many people, myself included, are "visual" learners. A detailed illustration and a simple explanation are the keys to success for these persons.
Once I got to the point where people didn't have to look at my work and take a guess as to what it was, I figured I had developed some skills, and experience that I could pass on to other "beginners". Why not write a detailed tutorial that filled in the empty spaces in the books ? My tutorial may be much too verbose for some (just skip steps if that is the case), but I have a particular audience in mind. (BEGINNERS with NO carving experience at all)
Feel free to download my tutorial for your own use. If you are teaching a carving course, you may make copies for your students or direct them to my Web page. If you make copies and distribute them, please give me credit for my work and don't sell them for a profit.
Please feel free to e-mail my family regarding this tutorial. They will try to answer all my mail, but it may take a few days to get back to you.
Let us know what you think of this site. Your input will help us determine how long to leave the site active.
One more bit of advice. Even if you have access to a local woodcarving club, get on several of the carvers lists that appear on the Internet. My favorite is the Woodcarver's Porch (see link in sidebar). This is a great group of helpful people. Once you become a member of this group, you never stop learning. They are more than willing to offer good, sound advice and the pool of experienced carvers is unbelievable. 'Ol Jud, the moderator, does a good job of keeping everything under control. Sometimes, we even talk about carving. So, if you want a group with no "chat" this is not the place to go........... Consider yourself forewarned !!!!!!!!!
WHAT IS INTARSIA?
The term "Intarsia" is derived from the Latin Verb interserere, "To insert or the process of inlaying wood". In making an Intarsia style picture, each piece of wood is selected for color variation and grain direction then cut, sanded and glued in place in accordance to a working pattern. The finished piece of art could be best described as being similar to a 3D Picture Puzzle or a Painting created using Wood.
•tar•si•a
Pronunciation [ intär´sEu ]
or tarsia
An art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, esp. of wood mosaic. in•tär´sist -- a person who creates in or practices intarsia. Intarsia is thought to have been developed during the thirteenth century Renaissance period in Siena, Italy. The process was derived from the Middle Eastern inlays of ivory upon wood.
This art was widely practiced in Italy from c.1400 to c.1600. The fashion for intarsia declined thereafter, although some works in this medium were still produced. Intarsia work was also practiced to a limited extent in eighteenth century Japan, Imperial Rome, Egypt, and Persia. Intarsia is sometimes known as inlay. Inlay, however, is now more generally restricted to the true process as applied to objects of wood and as distinguished from parquetry and the veneered work of marquetry. Also mosaic, for stone and glass, and niello and damascening for metals.
Thanks to the efforts of people like Judy Gale Roberts who started doing intarsia in the seventies, and Jerry Booher, who joined Judy in the eighties, the art of intarsia was revived and improved to the form we love today.
Intarsia Collection list is available.
•tar•si•a
Pronunciation [ intär´sEu ]
or tarsia
An art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, esp. of wood mosaic. in•tär´sist -- a person who creates in or practices intarsia. Intarsia is thought to have been developed during the thirteenth century Renaissance period in Siena, Italy. The process was derived from the Middle Eastern inlays of ivory upon wood.
This art was widely practiced in Italy from c.1400 to c.1600. The fashion for intarsia declined thereafter, although some works in this medium were still produced. Intarsia work was also practiced to a limited extent in eighteenth century Japan, Imperial Rome, Egypt, and Persia. Intarsia is sometimes known as inlay. Inlay, however, is now more generally restricted to the true process as applied to objects of wood and as distinguished from parquetry and the veneered work of marquetry. Also mosaic, for stone and glass, and niello and damascening for metals.
Thanks to the efforts of people like Judy Gale Roberts who started doing intarsia in the seventies, and Jerry Booher, who joined Judy in the eighties, the art of intarsia was revived and improved to the form we love today.
Intarsia Collection list is available.
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