I love stitch constructions on detached warps – aka needleweaving and needlelace, and in 2007 blogged about these two pieces, Behind the Scenes 1 & 2, which I made in 1987.
In that post, I acknowledged the influence of the book, Needlelace and Needleweaving by Jilly Nordfors, that I’d bought back in the late 70s, and seeing it again on my bookself this week, I realise it’s probably always been a source book for popular fibreart techniques. People with little knowledge of historic textiles think how clever and beautiful these works are, which of course they are, but these techniques used to be featured in the decorative trims and borders of domestic textiles used every day in the homes of my grandmother’s era, and older. I’m sure there would be people using these techniques in the traditional ways they’ve always been used, as decorative trims or motifs in household linens and clothing. Embroidery guilds and organisations such as the Royal School of Needlework preserve information about historic works and the knowledge of how to make them, and there’s always a steady stream of stitchers for their workshops and guild activities.
Today we all go through the world with phone cameras in our pockets, and I sometimes take a photos, or even buy such vintage things in markets, because a thing of beauty is a joy for ever, and I do occasionally use them, because, I must confess, I now have an ironing lady – but in my 75+ years, I’ve ironed plenty of embroidered table cloths and fine linen serviettes myelf, because I love using them for visitors. Even more interesting though, is that today we can see these same techniques in works online on such sites as Pinterest and Instagram, and in galleries showing installation works by contemporary fibreartists. Some examples are https://www.instagram.com/p/DcI85N1Ih6Q/ by Celia Pym; https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOuPV-QjVto/ by Cole Bun; here are lots of lovely examples of weaving in tree branches ; and some interesting contemporary 3D needlelace by several artists including Leisa Rich.
Judging by what I see on Pinterest and Instagram, I sense increasing interest in such techniques, partly because to younger generations they appear to be unusual or even novel. Young people today see them in everyday use far less often than we did when young. I can’t think of many youngsters who’d be willing to spend the necessary time away from their screens to learn the skills to embroider and crochet the fine table linens and trims for household linens in the traditional designs that have been handed down over hundreds of years. I grew up without TV in the house until I was about 14, by which time I had learned basic needlework skills and developed a lifelong interest in stitch. Our kids had TV around them all their lives and they weren’t even teenagers when computers came along, so neither of my middle aged children ever made the time available to learn those skills from me, and my grandsons have no idea.
But that’s no one’s fault – it’s just a sign of how much and how fast things have changed in modern western societies. For those who do want traditional looking things, while there are plenty of vintage things around to collect, there are also plenty of beautiful mass produced items available, at different levels of quality and pricing to suit all budgets. They’re even more appealing if they’re made from easy-care or no-iron wash’n’wear fabrics 🙂 And the same goes for silverware, too, because no matter how beautiful it looks, the young don’t want to actually live with it, because it all needs to be polished regularly with elbow grease to look good….
