Cath Bond - Art Online
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November 3rd, 2005. Visit to Bath Costume museum
Thursday, 03 November, 2005 - 20:47
My friend and I visited Bath Costume Museum recently to gain inspiration for my textile course. The Costume Museum takes the visitor on a journey through costume from the 1600s to present day. All the costumes are displayed behind glass in subdued light in order to protect the materials. This was unfortunate because it wasn’t possible to see the stitch detail in all its glory. Nevertheless it was a privilege to see the costumes and link the development of fashion styles through time. We were given audio guides to listen to which enriched the experience, as explanations were given about the types of stitching used, the influences of politics, war, introduction of machinery etc. on the styles and the functional uses of the costumes. One dress was made in miniature which was so rich in stitches. This was used by the dressmaker as a sample to take to ladies in high society, so that they could choose the dress they wanted made.
It’s is a wonderful place to visit to see embroidery work at its best. I enjoyed every bit of it, and was amazed by the quality of the work created in the past. It seems quite ironic that textiles were much more exquisite, majestic, and refined when the world didn’t have access to machines, technology and all that we have now to create textiles. Mass production seems to create a divide between the textile and the individual. When I see textiles created by hand and I imagine the time it took to sew each stitch, it feels like that labour, energy and creativity is woven into the fabric. It gives the fabric an extra dimension of life that carries on throughout the centuries. Mass production clothes the masses but sacrifices the magic of hand-woven stitch.
Renaissance ornament design also had an impact on embroidery; the exploration by Raphael and other artists of the excavated art of ancient Rome included both the naturalistic carvings and the fanciful images of the wall paintings on which the grotesque style was based. In addition, flat stylised forms and interlaces (arabesques) were introduced from the Islamic world. The fruits of this rich mixture were spread with the help of printed sheets of ornament designs and pattern-books, some of which were aimed specifically at the amateur embroiderer…The influence of the printed designs is most clearly seen in the fine linen embroideries of the mid-sixteenth century onwards. They were worked both for dress and for furnishings, usually with vorder patterns varying from simple geometric interlaces to complex designs of swirling, naturalistic foliage or ganciful combinations including grotesque figures.
5000 Years of Textiles, Jennifer Harris. p.205
Elizabethan man’s shirt
One particular piece that inspired me was an Elizabethan man’s shirt from 1580-1590 decorated with blackwork embroidery. This is done with a thread so thin it looks like the images are drawn on with an ink pen. What amazed me was the fact that the designs looked so modern and quirky:
Unfortunately you can’t see the detail in this picture, but one of the images was of a bee which was so simple and so striking. The embroidery work is decorative rather than functional
Blackwork is a counted-thread embroidery worked in geometric designs with black silk on even-weave linen. Black isn't the only acceptable color for working these patterns (red or scarletwork was also popular). The Elizabethans frequently called blackwork Spanysshe work, and it was traditionally believed that the craft had come into popularlity with the arrival of Catherine of Aragon at the English court. But in fact, there are references to black silk embroidery on body linen as far back as Chaucer.
See website
Silver Tissue Dress
The first dress I saw was the earliest complete costume in the museum dating from the 1600s (time of English Restoration of the monarchy and the Court of Charles II). It was so beautiful and so delicate. The dress was made of a fabric called “silver tissue”. This was made of cream silk woven with silver metal thread, creating a “moiré” or “water” effect. I also noticed green thread trapped in faded brown cream parchment lace: The audio guide explained how the dress was probably originally owned by a girl of around 15, who would have worn it to a court event. I can understand how much this dress would have been treasured over the centuries, originally in relation to the memories imbued in it by the wearer, and then after by the admiration of the stitch work.
It inspired me to think about how I could recreate the quality and movement of water through the use of a mixture of media e.g. light green delicate gauze overlaid with antique style lace with silver metallic thread sewn throughout.
I spent a Friday morning choosing materials and threads inspired from this dress, and am really pleased with the outcome. It captures the delicacy I was looking for, and the movement of waves. I also enjoyed adding the random element of bullion stitches and couching on top of the piece. I placed some stuffing under some of the gauze to create a raised effect from the swirling stitches. I also added green tissue paper under the gauze but this can’t be seen so well. The use of silk paper worked well because it’s possible to see the swirls in the silk paper through the gauze:
Jane Austen exhibition
Two of the dresses shown in this exhibition (from the film Northanger Abbey) had embroidery stitches which created quite delicate effects. One was a white spotted muslin dress. Each spot in the muslin was created through raised stitches such as French knots. The other dress was made up of beautiful filigree patterns made from tambour work; a chain stitch effect created by stretching the muslin across a frame, and stitched with a tiny tambour hook.
The stitches I have been using in my creative work are centuries old. It’s a privilege to have time to learn and understand the effects of these stitches. I particularly liked the use of satin stitch to create shading, much like the shading I do when I paint watercolour.
