Lmst

Am browsing Art In Needlework from 1900, and the foreword is talking about the uses of embroidery, and holy shit, this might be the nicest thing an Edwardian writer has said about anyone 'foreign' in anything I've read:
"In the case of a material in itself unsightly, the one course is to cover it entirely with stitching, as did the Persian and other untireable people of the East."
Untireable people of the East. Wow. That's almost pretty alright! 😂

#OldManuals #History

I was looking for a specific bit of mending technique and misremembered which book it was in, but look at this! Mending, darning and patching instructions straight from the 1920s. There's a couple I haven't much seen anywhere else, especially stoting.

https://archive.org/details/newdressmakerwit00butt/page/146/mode/2up?view=theater

#Mending #OldManuals

Oh, and just in case you're curious, I'm trying out the shirt waist sleeve on this page, the book is from 1909 and only slightly a hassle to interpret. The two part sleeve worked out pretty well, it's what I used for the Cinnamon Linen Jacket and would have been quite good if I hadn't messed up the back of it a little bit!

https://archive.org/details/americansystemof00merw/page/56/mode/2up

#OldManuals #Sewing #PatternDrafting

Today, in #OldManuals and #Millinery:
"There was a time in the millinery business when the trimmer was expected to construct as well as trim each individual frame, they being held, when sold at all, at exorbitant prices and at that only the most common ones being obtainable. That time has passed, as they can now be purchased in any desirable shape at but little in advance of the price of making and this with a vast saving of time and patience.

It is necessary, however, that the woman be familiar with at least the making of the most common frame or what is known as the flat frame, in order that she may alter or repair a hat in an intelligent manner."

https://archive.org/details/homemillinerycou00nati/page/22/mode/2up?view=theater

Me checking one of the tomes (an old Victorian tailoring manual) to see which directions the pad stitching on the collar should go and why, and once again gazing at diagrams like this.
Damn. 😂 I am definitely not going to do it as dense as that...

#OldManuals #Tailoring

A scanned and shoddily colour corrected page from an old cutting and tailoring manual, "The cutter's practical guide to the cutting and making of all kinds of body coats", which is a title that just rolls off the tongue. On the page there is an illustration showing different elements of the interfacing, padding and stays applied to a coat front, one with a separate skirt, like a frock coat. There are multiple overlapping layers of hair cloth, canvas, silesia, linen tape... And just so much pad stitching, so small and so dense. The collars and lapels depicted are just covered in minute hand stitching meant to provide support, and most likely some kind of stress injury. It's both beautiful and mildly anxiety inducing. A bunch of text surrounds the drawing, not related to the actual diagram.

Doing a bit of rest and relaxing in what comes naturally to me, which is messing around with drafting patterns.
Having drafted yet another different sleeve to maybe make a mock-up of another day, I've also come across a very fun word: Bunglesome!

#OldManuals #Edwardian

A screenshot of the scan of an old sewing and pattern drafting manual from 1909. It carries on describing a second fitting: "The lining is now ready for the second fitting. Urge your patrons at all times to wear smooth underwear; also to wear a good corset and to have it the same each time they are fitted. Once in a while a patron will lace differently and cause a great deal of trouble in the fitting this way. You cannot secure a perfect fit over bunglesome underclothes or over an old, broken-bone corset. If you find that these defects are true of a patron, do not hesitate to call her attention to it." The paragraph continues to something else which cuts off, but begins with: "Sometimes after boning a waist it is a little too tight. If so, let out in the under arm seams..." There is an illustration of arm's eye padding made of frills that is not related.

Meanwhile. There's a bunch of embroidery stitches and plenty of designs I've never seen in this book I'm now browsing. Here's a pretty conventional but absolutely lovely satin & crewel stitch sampler to entice you. "Art in needlework", 1900.
https://archive.org/details/artinneedleworkb00dayliala/artinneedleworkb00dayliala/mode/2up?view=theater

#Embroidery #Sewing #OldManuals

Two book pages side by side, yellowed and in black and white. On the left is a stunning bit of satin and crewel stitch done in different colours of thread, in such a way that it looks like there are nearly seamless colour gradients, when in reality it's all just meticulous blending as the work was done. The motifs are whorls and curls of flowers and leaves, organic and ornamental. On the right is the reverse side, the underside never meant to be seen. And this is, of course, more beautiful, tidy and elaborate than a lot of the right side of embroidery one usually sees. Pretty remarkable. The right side looks like it would feel smooth and silky to the fingertips.

Went into my bookmarks for a Victorian manual to check how the octagonal patches work, came across this one: "Instructions for patchwork - A new book of patterns and instructions for making fancy patchwork"
Enjoy, if such falls within your interests!

https://archive.org/details/instructionsforp00inga/mode/2up?view=theater

#VisibleMending #Victorian #OldManuals #Patchwork

#OldManuals

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