The Collection

19th Century

One such item is a bedspread, knitted in white cotton. Many of us have a mental image of a Victorian bedspread, made up of small(ish) squares sewn together. This one is made in pieces, but not to that formula! It measures approximately nine feet by seven feet.

This dates from a time when there was no central heating, of course, when people would have woken up in winter to frost patterns on the inside of the windows (remember that? We do, but from the 1950s). In many ways wool would have been warmer, but cotton is easier to wash (it doesn't felt) and could be boiled if it was very soiled.

The bedspread starts with a centre square followed by rectangles worked round it and sewn on. It has a circular hole which has been patched so neatly on the front – even the patch has textured stitches.

One of the edge panels is not shaped and the final triangle has simply been folded over and left under the fringe.

The name and date of the maker are knitted in purl stitches on a stocking stitch ground: Hannah Smith 1837

This fine cotton knitted and beaded baby's bonnet dates from ca 1840, we think.

Can you imagine putting such a thing on a baby? The beads would be cold and relatively heavy!

This is a real rarity – a hand knitted Victorian bed cap – in perfect condition. It even has a mistake in the pattern!

It cost a massive £280, but, thanks to generous donations received, we were able to buy it

Boys were commonly dressed in loose garments until they were 'breeched', i.e. put into breeches or trousers. This would have been at about the age of five in most families, but could also depend on when the next sibling appeared and what other clothing was available to be handed down, and may also have been linked to toilet training. Their hair was quite often allowed to grow long and be curled. Portraits of the time can be a little confusing, as an apparent picture of a girl would have a boy's name on it.

The Guild Collection includes a boy's dress from the 1850s. We have a picture from a periodical from 1856 of a very similar dress.

The dress is made from quite heavy cotton, more sheeting weight than what we would use for dress weight nowadays. It has deep tucks in the skirt which one would assume to be to lengthen the dress when needed. However, the crochet/embroidered panel goes over these tucks and it could not be lengthened.

There are lots of fine pleats at waist level and surprisingly the fabric has not been trimmed at the waist, leaving a raw seam that varies from about 1 cm (1/2 inch) to 3.5 cm (1.5 inches).

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Victorian women were renowned for the amount of needlework they undertook. Very few women were allowed outside the home either by their fathers or their husbands, and the better off had servants, so they had time on their hands and many turned to intricate work. One example of this was beaded purses showing the most intricate patterning. For a lot of this work, the beads had to be strung on the thread in reverse order to that in which they were knitted or crocheted.

Although ladies' magazines were available with patterns and instructions, there is no doubt that many women worked out their own patterns laboriously by oil lamp. A certain amount of mathematical ability would have been necessary. Given that it was not the fashion to educate girls in the sciences, this must have been quite a struggle for some of them.

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In the late 19th century, if the Collection is anything to go by, knitting and crochet were used for undergarments such as this French crochet spencer. Worked in tight rows of double crochet, it has survived two world wars in an occupied country.

It must have been a very special garment to someone – even the darns are darned!

This camisole is beautifully hand sewn with pin tucks and faggotting as well as panels of crochet.

On the front is written: 'S. A. Throp 1879 No. 6'. People wore their garments in rotation, hence the No. 6

Detail of the camisole showing the handwriting

This bonnet may be frame knitted, as it seems to be a straight piece gathered into a small circular crown, which is edged with Bucks lace. Probably late 19th century.

There were already several fine bonnets in the Collection when this was acquired, but not a frame knitted one.

The dealer says this apron is 19th century, but, if it is rayon, it is more likely to be 1920s.

Again, it is probably frame knitted, with a pretty border; the top edge has a ribbon threaded through a row of eyelets.

This pair of cotton, jand knitted stockings has a lace pattern to knee height (30 cm [13"] from the heel) and stocking stitch tops, ending with three rows of eyelets (through which to thread fine ribbon or tape to tie round the thigh to hold them up?), and a few rows of K2P2 rib (61 cm [24"] from the heel).

The feet are surprisingly long, and one is about half an inch longer than the other (25.5 and 26.5 cms [10" and 10.5").

There are embroidered initials in a gothic font: 'MS' or 'WS'.

The stockings are knitted in the round, with a mock seam (one purl stitch on knit rows) in the middle of the neat leg shaping.

The stockings might be 19th century; the knitted fabric has no elasticity (being cotton and old), but there are no holes in the stockings, just some stains that are best not thought about too much!

Knitted stockings are few and far between – presumably they were darned and then worn till they fell apart – so these were well worth buying.

Irish Crochet

What we know today as 'Irish crochet' was developed during the potato famines as a way for women to supplement the family income. Many families in Ireland lived on small crofts growing their own food, largely at subsistence level. Their main staple was potatoes. Grain (cereal) crops were grown, but were too expensive for most people to buy. When the potato blight swept across the country between 1845 and 1851 and destroyed the crop, very few had cash reserves to go and buy alternative food. The need for work was recognised by, among others, the Ursuline sisters (nuns) who taught many girls and women work they could do in their own homes.  

The motifs copied those seen in Venetian lace, brought over from France by the nuns. Crochet was a quicker and therefore cheaper way of producing lace. Families specialised in particular motifs, keeping the details of how to make them so secret that many were lost. The crochet schools established in the 1850s and 1860s went into decline and fashions changed. However there was a revival from about 1880 to 1910, and most of the Irish crochet we know today dates from this period.

more Irish Crochet

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