Carolyn came in her underwear and it was brilliant 😮

Now, it's not quite what it seems... Carolyn is one of our very talented members and belongs to The 1635 Household - a Jacobean re-enactment group. They mainly deal with domestic life rather than battles and the like. Carolyn kindly agreed to come and talk to us about Jacobean costume and what a fascinating morning we had. She brought lots of her 'higher-end folk' outfits - all of which she has made herself and also embroidered - her work is absolutely stunning, it was a real privilege to see them and hear about the process of designing and making.

Carolyn does lots of research to try and be as authentic as possible and takes inspiration from period portraits and original pieces found in museum collections. Her clothes are made from authentic materials - wool, linen, silk, taffeta and silk velvet. She also makes lace where possible. Thought has to be given to budget and practicalities such as washing.

Carolyn brought shoes, hose and ties, smock, fitted kirtle aka a pair of bodies, ruffs, collars , jackets, skirts and coifs. 

She started in her underwear - the shoes to kirtle... 

...and then gradually added the other layers explaining each as she went. As all items of clothing are made to fit the wearer everything was far more comfortable than you might imagine. 

This jacket was inspired by the Maidstone jacket and has a lovely peapod motif and looks stunning in white and red.

The black and white jacket was inspired by the Dandelion jacket in the Bath Museum

Often when we see historical items in museums the colours have faded but in reality the colours would have been much brighter sometimes with the addition of spangles (Jacobean equivalent of sequins) and the use of gold and silver threads.

The Margaret Layton jacket is perhaps one of the most famous embroidered pieces of period clothing you may have seen; it's in the V&A and is unusual as we have the actual jacket and a portrait of Margaret wearing it. Carolyn has a beautiful jacket invoking the V&A one.

Then we get to the coifs. We all loved the ingenuity of these items and the fact they were constructed in such a way that they fit almost anyone because they were gathered with a tie. Carolyn brought various examples all based on originals.

Clearer photos below! Then we were on to ruffs and rebato collars, pockets and knife holders, all beautifully made. 

What a talented lady you are Carolyn, it was such a pleasure to have you speak this morning and share your exquisite work.

Here's Carolyn fully clothed and some close ups of the embroidery - and yes, it's all her own work and all clothes are hand stitched too.

Blackwork and the V&A

 Details below of a research project involving blackwork and the V&A. Our group's members have been emailed details but they're here if anyone else is interested!

Hello!

My name is Toni Buckby and I am an artist, needleworker, and PhD researcher at Sheffield Hallam University and The Victoria & Albert Museum. 

Working with the Blackwork Embroidery collection at the V&A, I am exploring the potential of art/craft practices as a research strategy and interpretive approach for fragile textiles.

I am creating a number of artworks for the V&A as part of my research, one of which is a collaborative piece called "An unstitched coif…”

I am looking for 40 experienced embroiderers to contribute to this project and wondered if this is something your members might be interested in?

I am asking anyone with some embroidery skill to stitch their own version of a design copied from a coif (head cap) in the V&A collection and to come together in a series of in-person and online workshops throughout 2023 to share needlework techniques and reflect on their stitching experiences.

The completed embroideries, together with documentation of the participants' reflections, will form a body of work for public exhibition in December 2023 and will then be donated to the V&A collection.

Register your interest here: https://forms.gle/H2FqGsoi8UpZg4yq7 

Or email info@blackworkembroidery.org

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think might like to take part and feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions.

Kind Regards

Toni Buckby

Stitching in the snow!

Well, not quite stitching in the snow! It did snow a bit and was very chilly; a few members were delayed by ice but in the end we had a lovely day. 

Firstly, our thanks go to Sue D who has stepped down as our Programme Secretary; she has done sterling work organising this year's programme. In the meantime we are working on 2024 within the committee.

Thanks to Margaret who ran a silk painting workshop for us which was great fun. She had prepared lots of pieces with the gutta ready to go and we spent the morning watching colours magically blend!

Gail's techniques workbook for new members, who are beginners, was blackwork. The next technique will be Dorset buttons and stitching at the March meeting.