Category: Needlework

A dress of many patterns

Hi, everyone!

Today on the blog it’s all about a dress recreation project: a dress of many patterns.

I’ve spoken about the idea of recreating a vintage, Edwardian-styled dress from the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol. The plan is to recreate the basic pattern of a tea dress using swatches of recreated needlework items. So, it’s a reproduction on two levels: design & construction.

wedding dress dated from 1911
Heirloom 1912 wedding dress and shawl worn by Francis Mason Watson of Blyth in 1912. (Photo used courtesy of the Huron County Museum.)

The dress design will be based on an Edwardian Tea Dress-style wedding dress originally worn by Francis Mason Watson (1890 – 1918) a former resident of Blyth, Ontario. The shawl and dress will be made up of vintage pattern samplers (swatches) based on textile items in the Huron County Museum. Stitchers of all levels and techniques are welcome, beginner to advanced.

The needlework techniques used in the swatches will depend on the skills of the volunteers that take part. If there are tatting experts, for example, tatting reproduction swatches could be worked up and incorporated into the dress.

A visit with 1911 vintage

IA while ago, I enjoyed a visit to the museum and getting a look at the 1911 wedding dress in person. The simply lovely cream-coloured wedding dress dates from 1911. It’s even more beautiful in person – the images give just a hint of its charm. And so you can get a look too, here’s a collection of images of the dress…

wedding dress dated from 1911

The dress’s construction is simple, consisting of basic shapes (rectangles, triangles, and squares) and so would lend itself to a swatch contruction. Portions of the dress have a lovely silky sheen; I can imagine those portions would be lovely knitted or crocheted using a fibre with a sheen to it. Other portions of the dress are matte and would lend themselves to recreation using another fibre, perhaps a fine wool blend.

Let’s stitch some history

Would you be interested in joining in this creative reconstruction project? Needle workers & stitchers of all technique and skill level are welcome to join.  The museum has a wealth of vintage textile items (such as knitting, quilting, crochet, embroidery) and you are sure to see a stitched item that would inspire you.

I’ve put together a number of the images of needlework textiles items from their collection. I’ve tried to include examples of crochet, knit, tatting, lace, and embroidery. There are many more textiles in the museum. Have a look at these examples…

heirloom counterpane dresser scarfa portion of the counterpane baby blanketTidy Chair Back Pattern

Next steps

What do you think? Want to join us and stitch a sampler? The pattern you recreate or create (if you are inspired to make your own version) would then be published as part of a collection, Stitching Our History – a Collection of Needlework Patterns from the Huron County Museum.

Contact me by email or sign-up for my newsletter if you’d like to get involved or get regular updates on this project.

Please note all photos are courtesy of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol and are used with permission. Thank you to Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol for their support.

Vintage textiles on display

A small number of the Huron County Museum‘s many beautiful heirloom textiles were on display in the Governor’s House adjacent to the historic Gaol for Sunday’s counterpane knitting workshop in the parlour.

Starting from the left in the photos, you can see a counterpane crib blanket, a counterpane bureau scarf, a pair of knit men’s gloves (the pattern is similar to Sanquhar), and a crocheted counterpane bed coverlet.

There are so many more lovely items in their collection. These are but a few examples.

Would you or someone you know be interested in recreating patterns based on the heirloom textile items in the museum? Their collection holds many, many needlework items such as quilts, doll cloths, doilies, dresses, mittens and embroidered textiles.

And by the way, 2019 is going to be an exciting year for textile lovers – the museum has something very special in the works!

Thank you!

thank youThank you so much to everyone who attended the knitting workshop at the Gaol in the Goderich yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 9.

It was truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet you and share some creative time together.

And thank you also to Sinead and the Huron County Museum for encouraging me to share my work and for organizing and hosting the workshop in the wonderful Governor’s House.

Thank you, all!

Counterpane Pincushion, inspired by history

A counterpane pincushion, inspired by the pattern of an heirloom counterpane baby blanket in the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol
A counterpane pincushion, inspired by an heirloom counterpane baby blanket in the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol located in Goderich, Ontario.

Do you love stitching from old patterns?

I certainly do. I also enjoy trying to recreate a pattern based upon a stitched item.

This pincushion is inspired by a white cotton counterpane baby blanket in the collection of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol in Goderich, Ontario.

White cotton counterpanes (or coverlets) were common in the nineteenth century, as was “white knitting,” due to the preference at the time for white bed coverings and because of the ready availability of cotton yarn.

Counterpanes are made up of smaller units (squares or octagons, for example) that are worked separately and then joined together to create an overall design or effect. They were traditionally knitted or crocheted in white or cream-colored cotton yarn. Patterns were numerous and could be quite intricate.

a portion of the counterpane baby blanket
The heirloom original, the inspiration for the pincushion. A portion of the folded counterpane baby blanket can been seen in the photo. (Photo courtesy of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol)

Knitted about 1812, the white cotton counterpane in the museum’s collection is of a simple and lovely design. The blanket was constructed of 3-inch (7.6-cm) square units joined together, forming an overall On Point pattern: the eyelet spaces create the optical illusion of nested diamonds. Each unit is worked from one corner to the opposite corner, with garter stitch in the lower half of the unit, a row of eyelets through the middle, and alternating stockinette-stitch and reverse-stockinette-stitch ribbing above. The garter-stitch rows feature a yarn-over increase at the beginning of each row.

The front of the pincushion features the same overall layout as the museum’s crib blanket. On the reverse of the pincushion, the units are placed so that the yarn-over edges connect to highlight the lovely lace-like effect created when the yarn-overs are joined by a simple whip stitch. The knitted edging is a recreation of the original edging on the crib counterpane.

PINCUSHION INSTRUCTIONS

Pincushion Units

Make 8
CO 2 sts.
Next Row: Yo, k to end—1 st inc’d.
Rep last row 33 more times—36 sts.
P 1 row.
Eyelet Row (RS): K1, [yo, k2tog] 17 times, k1.
P 1 row.
K 1 row.
*Next Row (WS): K1, k2tog, k to end—1 st dec’d.
Next Row (RS): P1, p2tog, p to end—1 st dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows once more—2 sts dec’d.
Next Row (WS): P1, p2tog, p to end—1 st dec’d.
Next Row (RS): K1, k2tog, k to end—1 st dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows once more—2 sts dec’d.
Rep from * 3 more times—4 sts rem.
Next Row (WS): K1, k2tog, k to end—3 sts rem.
Next Row (RS): P1, p2tog, p to end—2 sts rem.
Next Row: K2tog—1 st rem. Fasten off.

EDGING

CO 13 sts
Row 1: K2, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k1 [yo, k2] 2 times—15 sts.
Row 2: K8, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k1.
Row 3: K2, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k7.
Row 4: K8, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k1.
Row 5: K2, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k3 [yo, k2] 2 times—17 sts.
Row 6: K10, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k1.
Row 7: K2, [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k9.
Row 8: BO 4 sts, k6 (including st rem on right needle after BO), [yo, k2tog] 3 times, k1—13 sts rem.
Rep Rows 1–8 until piece measures 25 inches (63.5 cm), ending with Row 8. BO all sts.

FINISHING

Wash all pieces and dry flat to block. For the front of the pin cushion, arrange four units so the ribbing sections align, and sew together using whip stitch. For the back, arrange four units so the yarn-over sides align, and sew together using whip stitch. Weave in ends. Sew front and back pieces together, leaving one side open for stuffing. Fold felted batting in half, fill to desired thickness with fiberfill stuffing, put into pincushion, and sew last side closed. Sew on edging using whip stitch. Sew ends of edging together.

ABBREVIATIONS

BO bind off
CO cast on
DEC decrease
K knit
K2tog knit two stitches together
P purl
P2tog purl two stitches together
RS right side
WS wrong side
YO yarn over

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

6 inches (15.2 cm) square, excluding edging.

YARN

The sample was stitched with DMC Baroque, 100% cotton thread, bedspread weight, 416 yards (380.4 m)/75 gram (2.6 oz) skein, 3 skeins of White.

NEEDLES

Needles size 0 (2 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge.

GAUGE

36 sts and 72 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in garter st; one unit = 3 inches (7.6 cm) square.

NOTIONS

Tapestry needle
Warm and Natural Felted batting, 6 x 12 inches (15.2 x 30.5 cm)
Warm & Natural Needled Cotton, the Warm Company
Small amount of fiberfill stuffing.

 

Visit the Patterns Page for pattern downloads.