Back in the days when museums stored information about the objects in their collections in accession ledgers and card catalogs, structured vocabularies and classification systems were essential to the location and retrieval of this documentation. When dealing with manufactured objects, the basic nomenclature normally paralleled that used in the respective craft or industry. The higher-level… Continue reading A key to loop leadership
The 3000-year-old stitch eyes of Emilie Bach
Emilie Bach (b. 1840), a founding director of the Royal School for Artistic Embroidery (k. k. Fachschule für Kunststickerei) in Vienna, was one of the initial participants in the discussion of the techniques used for the early production of non-woven socks in Egypt. She was the first to identify a cross-knit fabric structure in such… Continue reading The 3000-year-old stitch eyes of Emilie Bach
Tunisian crochet with two hooks
The German periodical Der Blatt had a leading role in the publication of variant forms of the “ordinary Tunisian crochet stitch.” The first two appearing there are described in the post before last and depart markedly from what is now know as the Tunisian simple stitch (TSS). A variant presented in the 1 January 1862 issue differs from it… Continue reading Tunisian crochet with two hooks
The shepherd’s hook in mid-19th-century fancywork
I’ve used quite a bit of blogspace discussing slip stitch crochet and the flat hook used for it in widespread regional traditions. The stitch is termed “shepherd’s knitting” when first attested in the English language in 1812. The “little hook” described with it, is a “shepherd’s hook” in subsequent 19th-century sources. The initial English description… Continue reading The shepherd’s hook in mid-19th-century fancywork
Crocheted nalbinding
The post before last discusses the appearance, in ordinary crochet, of structural elements taken from the long-hook crafts of Tunisian crochet and crochet tatting. It focuses on Swedish practice in the second half of the 19th century and one of the source documents is the Handbook of Women’s Handcraft (Handbok i fruntimmers-handarbeten) by Hedvig Berg,… Continue reading Crocheted nalbinding
Spreading the word about the Tunisian crochet stitch
The 9 January 1858 issue of the German bi-weekly publication Der Bazar; Berliner Illustrirte Damen-Zeitung (The Bazaar; Berlin Illustrated Woman’s Magazine) presents instructions for an elaborate “crocheted cape” (gehäkeltes Tuch). The text goes into detail about the unnamed “type of crochet, which in any case will not be familiar to all of our readers.” It describes what is… Continue reading Spreading the word about the Tunisian crochet stitch
Tunisian crochet in Sweden in the 1860s
In January 1864, a Swedish monthly publication for fashion and fancywork commenced publication with the title Iduna, a Norse goddess associated with femininity and knowledge. Iduna, Journal for the Tasks and Concerns of Women, with Supplementary Patterns for Counted and Free Embroidery, Crochet, and Knitting, plus Fashion Plates. It was the latest in a series of… Continue reading Tunisian crochet in Sweden in the 1860s
