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
Scottish and shepherd’s knitting revisited
Several accounts of the history of crochet in early Victorian fancywork texts mention a transition to it from shepherd’s knitting that began in the second half of the 1830s. One such statement is found in the 1844 edition of My Crochet Sampler by Frances Lambert. Crochet — a species of knitting originally practised by the peasants in… Continue reading Scottish and shepherd’s knitting revisited
Novelties in crochet — crochet à frivolité
In 1861, Cornelia Mee and Mary Austin published a book titled Novelties in Crochet. It includes three illustrated instructions for “crochet à frivolité” that emulate tatting, using an ordinary crochet hook and standard crochet stitches. One is for the “wide festoon edging” shown here (with the written instructions at the end of this post).They published… Continue reading Novelties in crochet — crochet à frivolité
From shepherd’s knitting to shepherd crochet
Sweden is a good place to be located for someone researching the historical and contemporary use of flat hooks for slip stitch crochet. It’s only a thirty minute walk from the desk where this blog is maintained to a folkcraft store in central Stockholm that regularly stocks such hooks, so it was easy for me to… Continue reading From shepherd’s knitting to shepherd crochet
Crochetedness vs. nalboundness
I’ve devoted quite a few posts to historical evidence of slip stitch crochet. It is firmly attested in illustrated instructions beginning in 1785 and there are vaguer footprints of it having been around significantly longer than that. One of the more important issues raised by the less certain evidence is the possibility of slip stitch crochet… Continue reading Crochetedness vs. nalboundness
