Penny Loafers

Penny Loafers

I have to admit, I love shoes!  I don’t love the large, platform shoes with the 4 inch spikey heels, as I am terminally clumsy and would be wearing casts on both legs after only getting out of the car.  But all others would be good to go. Are they textiles?  Maybe not, but they are generally made of leather with some sort of synthetic fabric lining.  A compromise would be labeling them fashion accessories.

I read a small article a few weeks ago in the Wall Street Journal by Tasha Green who wrote about penny loafers.  I had a pair once, years ago, and I remember that nearly all my friends did as well.  They seemed to be especially popular with the young college men who wore them with khakis and blue blazers and button-down collared shirts.

According to Green, they were first produced by B.H.Bass (anyone from New England would recognize that firm) in 1936.  A testament to their popularity would be that I was wearing them 30 years later.  Apparently, students in the 1950’s were responsible for inserting the pennies in the pocket on the front of the shoe, hence the name.

Fashion is cyclic, as we all know.  Anyone who has discarded a pricey piece of apparel because it might be a bit dated lived to regret that move when it reappeared some time later. So now shoe designers are reintroducing the loafers and the article hinted at unusual colors, but to my mind the basics are the most practical because I also remember those shoe simply did not wear out.

Incidentally, the article was accompanied by a photo, “Dark Brown Penny Loafer, $1175, John Lobb”

Hotel Linens

Hotel Souvenirs

OK, ‘fess up.  Who, among you out there, never placed a “souvenir” from your hotel room into your carry-on luggage?  I have taken a huge number of shampoos, soaps and lotions, after all, I figure I truly have paid for these.  Also add stationery and those coffee singles.  But I honestly draw the line with bathrobes and towels.  And who in their right mind would want those dubious blankets. (I think crisp white duvets have revolutionized hotel décor, not to mention cleanliness) 

I came across these vintage towels in a basket of assorted linens  If you look closely, you may be able to see the logo of the Plaza Hotel of NYC in the damask weave.. 

Bath towel and hand towel from the Plaza Hote 

Before terry-cloth towels, bath and hand towels were woven linen or cotton.  It wasn’t until after WWI when returning soldiers told of the lush bath towels in Europe that manufacturers began producing the loop surface towels we now purchase.  In the beginning, though, this fabric was prone to snagging. When a looped was pulled or snagged it created a “run” with the background fabric showing through.  I’m sure you have all seen this in cheap terry fabric.  There has been improvement is the manufacturing process which eliminates this problem.

1950's Patio Prints on Barkcloth

Grandma’s Bark Cloth

Barkcloth is a heavyweight, cotton fabric with a rough textured surface.  Do not confuse this with a textile made from the bark of various trees: breadfruit, fig and paper mulberry found in South America and more frequently, Polynesia.

Grandma’s barkcloth was manufactured in the late 1940’s and 50’s when fine fabric was scarce due to WWII.  It is usually associated with large-scale prints of tropical florals and birds.  These fabrics were bold in palettes of chartreuse, yellows, vivid greens and corals.

Occasionally, the tone was more refined featuring stripes and softer colors of blues and creams.

Because of their terrific graphic qualities and the sturdiness of the weave, barkcloth became very popular as an upholstery fabric, especially for porch and patio furniture.  I remember seeing it on furniture in my grandmother’s “Florida Room”, as sun rooms were often called, although she lived nowhere near Florida. Actually, the climate wasn’t really sunny most of the time either.

Barkcloth with a Japanese motif

Today “patio prints” of barkcloth are very popular once again and vintage barkcloth is fetching surprising prices.  One word of caution, most vintage remnants lived a prior life as curtains, draperies or upholstered pillows and cushions.  If the fabric was placed in a room with direct sunlight and heat (they didn’t call them sun rooms for nothing) the textile will have become fragile and often fractures or splits will occur with reuse.  If you are planning on using this type of fabric for upholstery consider purchasing a reproduction and save the vintage for pillows and small accessories.

Occasionally, one might find textured, heavy, cotton fabrics depicting a bucolic scene reminiscent of toiles, incongruous though it sounds, a finely etched design on linen or cotton compared to a printed scene on roughly textured fabric. These mid twentieth century fabrics were produced for the middle class market by companies such as Waverly Fabrics and F. Schumacher & Co.   

Barbara Brackman - Quilt Historian

Barbara Brackman

Over twenty years ago at an antique show and sale I fell in love with textile history.  The show was housed in and for the benefit of an historic house in a small New England town.  As a member of our local quilt guild, I was attending a booth selling quilt publications.  Also a vendor who was a fellow guild member  sold vintage textiles including a very impressive selection of vintage quilts.

What I was especially intrigued by was the description of each quilt with its approximate date of creation.  While I could see the obvious distinction between 20^th  century pastel and “cute” printed fabrics and the more formal, somber characteristics of 19thC quilts, I didn’t understand the more subtle nuances that allowed for accurate dating.

When I commented on this to a friend and said I was really interested in dating quilts, she recommended the first resource book I ever purchased on textile history: Clues in the Calico by Barbara Brackman.

My background was in science and medicine and I was familiar with research material.  I found to my delight Brackman’s approach was very user friendly, written for the interested reader, not necessarily, the expert.

The more I studied textiles, the more I realized that the subject of textile history was a perfect fit for me and I have enjoyed every course, workshop, conference and reference article I have encountered since.  After those twenty years I still find enormous information to research and immense quantities of textiles to examine.

My hero, Barbara Brackman, was always interested in history and preservation.  She was a member of the National Trust and a founding member of the Kansas Grassroots Art Association in 1974.  Her passionate interest in quilt history lead her to become a founding member of the American Quilt Study Group, and was inducted into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame in 2001.

Brackman has written over a dozen books on the topic of quilt history and currently designs reproduction vintage fabrics for Moda.

Creating "Tape " Lace

Battenberg Lace

Battenberg lace, also called tape lace, is familiar to most of us.  Tape laces are made on a foundation of fabric tape.  Originally, the tape was handmade needle-lace or bobbin lace, but since the industrial revolution commercially made tape has been available for purchase in varying widths.

The tape is basted onto a pattern of either paper or fabric.  A sturdy thread on either side of the tape made be gathered to adjust the tape to the curves of the pattern.  Then a variety of needle-lace stitches create the lace-like filling in the areas between the tape outline.  Stitches include, but are not limited to, buttonhole, bar or “bride” stitches, Russian stitch and net stitch (along with many variations of the above stitches).  These filling stitches do not pierce the ground fabric but form a cohesive fabric that is connected to the ground by the original baste stitches securing the tape.  Once the design is finished, these basting stitches are removed and, voila!, you have a piece of lace to be used as a corner piece for a collar or hankie or appliqué or insertion for a dress bodice.

In modern applications one could use a sewing machine to produce the filling stitches, using a dissolvable ground that is rinsed from the lace.  

purchased commercial lace tape

preprinted lace pattern on fabric ground









pattern labeled "Honiton collar #13"

preprinted patterns on paper.     note basted tape on pattern top right

preprinted pattern for a dresser scarf

2 vintage pieces 


note the tape on the right has a scalloped edge rather than straight

modern machine made collar with tape lace edging and insertion

imported machine made doileys from China

For needleworkers of all levels, this type of lace can be made over a weekend.

Craft Guilds

Join a Guild

Do you have a few hours a month?  Do you want to improve your proficiency in your favorite pastime?  Do you wish to make new acquaintances who share your interests?

Then join a guild.  There are guilds in every endeavor, from art to weaving located right in your community.  Large or small, these groups provide inspiration and instruction with the added bonus of a pleasant social atmosphere.

Last week I was invited by the Dropped Stitch Knitters Guild of Albuquerque  to present a program on textile history.  Note the presentation was NOT on the subject of knitting, as I can make a scarf, which looks better bunched up or tied, but that’s about the extent of it.

Guilds date back to early medieval times, although I believe from much earlier times groups of artisans  formed associations to protect their interests.  It was during the 12thC that the formal organizations known as guilds were introduced into society.  The first guilds to appear were Merchant Guilds, followed by Craft Guilds whose main purpose was to maintain a monopoly on their products and no one could practice a craft without belonging to the guild. Therefore, there was a guild formed for nearly every occupation from bakers to lacemakers.

Guild members were protected from dubious practices such as price-fixing, revelations concerning processing secrets and price-cutting.  Hours of work were regulated and there were strict guidelines for quality of workmanship, as each article had to be inspected and  approved.. Each guild member was expected to perform public service.

There were three levels of guild membership: apprentice, journeyman and master.  The apprentice, usually a male (although there were guilds who admitted women), lived with the master.  His room and board and tuition expenses were paid for by his family.  During this time he was not allowed to marry.  After a period of 2-7 years, depending upon his trade he would then become a journeyman.  Journeymen received a salary and were also housed in the master’s home.  In order to obtain the status of master, the journeyman had to produced his “masterpiece”, working on his own time and purchasing his own tools and materials.

But back to the Dropped Stitch Knitting Guild.  These ladies are serious knitters.  Seriously wonderful knitters.  During Show and Tell each produced their current or recently finished project.  Knitted animals for a grandchild, absolutely gorgeous shawls and wraps and one unbelievable graduation gift.  The gift was intended for a graduate of astronomy and featured 2 round (I would say each nearly 45 inches in diameter) depictions of the night sky: one of the northern constellations and the other of the southern constellations.  The membership of this group, like all guilds, includes all levels of expertise. Beginners can be inspired, experienced artists can explore new techniques and materials.

So, again, if you want to sharpen your skills or learn new ones, join a guild.

Such a Simple Tool - The Safety Pin

Such a Simple Tool- The Safety Pin

Have you ever faced a missing button, a drooping hemline or gaping closure?

Textiles often need additional “hardware” for them to function as articles of clothing: buttons, zippers and pins.   Far back into history, as early as the Bronze Age, metal skewer-like objects served as clasps to hold lengths of whole cloth together, forming a semi-fitting article of apparel to function as a loose body cover and protection from the elements.

In Roman times these closures, known as “Fibulae”, served as brooches to fasten tunics and togas .  Wealthy folk in Medieval Europe used elaborate pins made of precious metals and ivory, and by the 1400’s pins were made from drawn wire and much more affordable to the common population.

However these early fasteners had a slight disadvantage in that they were quite sharp, there are many references to their use through the ages as weapons.

It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that a mechanic cum inventor, Walter Hunt, developed a   u-shaped pin whose point is forced into a safety clasp by a spring.  This invention became invaluable as a closure for cloth diapers (baby protection).  A sample of the Hunt pin is part of the NY Museum of Modern Art.  It really is a functional piece of sculpture, when you consider it

Got a Baby?  Then you have these!

Today, pins are made of steel, brass and stainless steel. Every household has many of these fasteners in many sizes for a wide variety of uses , they really are invaluable!

From small to huge

Remember when price tags were easy to remove?

Safety pins used as fasteners on the backs of jewelry pins

My favorite bracelet made of beads and safety pins