What did the Iban headhunters on Borneo do with their trophies? No surprise; they did what the winners of any competition do: took their trophies home and showed them to their wife or mother. And the women on Borneo did just as proud wives and mothers of Olympic gold medalists do—or those of a member [more...]
The new Dr. Who, Matt Smith, wears a distinctive jacket made of genuine Harris Tweed. The press has called it “timeless”, “traditional”, “vintage” and even “romantic”. The Doctor’s jacket is made from cloth woven in the 1960s, the same age as the TV programme itself. The fabric looks much like Harris Tweed woven today, and [more...]
I used to see the paisley design as a curled leaf or feather, without thinking about its history. Paisley fabric is “patterned with distinctive, ornate, teardrop- or feather-shaped figures, based on an Indian pine cone design”, according to the dictionary. Textile experts have called it a “drooping bud” or a “Kashmir cone”. It’s also been [more...]
In the late 1600s shawl was not yet an English word, though it was beginning to turn up in travellers’ descriptions of clothing they had seen in southern Asia. In the 1700s fine cashmere shawls from Kashmir and India arrived in Western Europe. At first they were not treated as clothing, but used to ornament [more...]
Pashminas took off in the later 1990s, when draping a generous piece of woven cashmere round your shoulders was a fashion trend in Western countries. At the end of 1996 a London journalist reported that “style guru Lucia van der Post” said the pashmina was “the most chic shawl around town”. The New York Times [more...]
Fans of old embroidery will find plenty in Scotland. The suggestions here are a few favourites, all in reach of Edinburgh or Glasgow. Traquair is an ancient house with a unique collection of old needlework. The 16th century petit point fruit and flower “slip” motifs are well-preserved, still waiting to be sewn onto soft furnishings, [more...]
Once upon a time the answer was always “No”. Strictly speaking, Fair Isle knitting is one particular kind of multi-colour stranded knitting from the Shetland Islands and nearby Fair Isle. Nowadays the name is spreading and you may find Fair Isle, or fairisle, used to mean almost any style of stranded knitting. Click through to [more...]
Fair Isle and the neighbouring island group of Shetland, on the northern fringes of the UK, have their own traditional styles of multicolour knitting. Local experts can tell the difference between the two, but the designs are so closely related that most people treat them as one single tradition. The early history wasn’t written down, [more...]
Lopi comes from the distinctive Icelandic sheep. Their fleeces have two layers, each with its own kind of wool. The sheep’s outer coat is water-repellent wool made up of long, tough fibres (called tog) and the under coat is highly insulating, made up of fine, soft wool (called thel or þel). The two fibres are [more...]
Lace knitting is often at its best in shawls. It drapes nicely round the shoulders, while the lacy patterns show up clearly across the back. The design, skill, and hours of work have created a beautiful, easy to wear, warmly luxurious wrap. Although knitted lace can also be used for other projects, delicate, elaborate, lacy [more...]
Gingham and checks belong together nowadays. It’s hard for us to imagine striped gingham, but it wasn’t always so. Striped gingham used to be popular, and it was only in the 20th century that we started to assume gingham must be checked. Gingham actually means cloth made of cotton that’s been dyed before weaving, not [more...]
Geane or Gene was once the English name for Genoa, Italy, which was known for producing a particular kind of cloth. Similar everyday fabric woven in 16th century England was named after it; at first called ‘Gene fustian’, but soon known simply as geanes or jean. (Spelling was still very variable!) In 19th century America [more...]
The most delicate Shetland shawls can indeed be pulled through a wedding ring. Knitted in cobweb lace patterns, from finely-spun wool, a shawl 6 feet square (1.8 metres) may weigh as little as 2 ounces (57 grams). To make one the traditional way, you need to know that the finest fleece comes from the sheep’s [more...]
Every rag rug is a unique hand-made piece of craftwork, and so it seems ironic that new industrial methods of textile production gave rag rug-making a big boost in the 19th century. Rugs made from strips of cloth existed well before factories began producing cheap fabric, but not in anything like the same quantity. Even [more...]