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I got a call today to do some history rescue with a local historical society that has until the end of May to identify and remove anything they want from a 10-bedroom 1830 farmhouse, continually habited until last year, when the last of the family died without heirs.
I have with me one textile knot to untangle; there’s no electricity to work on-site, and also - social distancing.
Some of this is so extremely fragile I’m holding my breath untangling it. Look at this beaded net:
There’s some very fine lace trim in here too. It’s being the main culprit of tangles.
Got the lace free. Gotta measure it.
And /this/ little hecker is on wire, so it caught on /everything/. Probably was for a 3D effect.
Look at this little sweetie! So simple and subtle. For a sparkly beaded trim, anyway. All this was carefully cut from prior garments; reuse your cool textile stuff!!!
Thank goodness for thread that is obviously not structural! See that dark blue thread? I can cut that! (And since I’ve documented that this piece of trim was once sewn on with dark blue thread, I can infer that perhaps the last garment it adorned was dark blue.)
Whew! Ok, the most fragile piece is loose. It damaged itself in places, where the long tassels looped through the mesh and pulled. The narrow black braid was originally the top edge.
Here’s where the mesh is more intact.
3”x3” decoration with three wheels. Presumably the drop tassels were originally symmetrical, and the one on the right is missing.
Scrap of faceted black bead trim
16”x1.5’ band with several 1.5” drops in place, strings indicating where others may have been. Orientation on the original garment is unclear from the piece, but likely slanted on the bodice given drops.
This piece is lace, about 22” by 5.5”, and judging by the finished ends, probably a falling collar. It needs hydrating and pressing, with extreme care.
Side thread on hydrating old lace! Get a clean old cotton diaper, or piece of well washed flannel. Spray one third with room temp clean water.
Put your iron on “synthetic”; it’s cooler, and some synthetics are REALLY early! Smooth the lace as best you can along the center third, fold the damp third on top.
Lay dampened lace flat to dry, wash dirty press cloth! The lace will probably smell a bit musty, and the more precious the lace is to you, the more careful you should be; adding moisture is a risk!
Sometimes it’s very hard to tell which is the front side of the work! Which do you think is the front? Left or right?
Oh, this just took a really cool turn, but I have to eat dinner! Looking forward to seeing which side wins as the “front”!
The front is the left side photo! You can see the stitches on the reverse, where the beads were sewn to the braid.
Ok, here’s the exciting part: look at these trims!!!! Notice anything?
ITS ALL THE SAME TRIM!!!!
From this, I can infer that the original trim was this one: a heavily beaded checkerboard with scalloped sides edged in little picots.
At some point, someone wanted a lighter or more striking version, and CUT OUT the larger faceted beads!!
At some OTHER time, someone wanted something with scallops and long beads that make little BUTTERFLIES or BOwS!!
That leaves the remnants of the original heavy trim loose, like this. Orrrrr...maybe use the finer one as a flower-and-vine look? So versatile!
So, you’ve got a) one person using the same trim in many ways, b) several people repurposing old trim, or c) both! Neat! Bonus pictures of a cloak fastening! It’s missing the left center drop, and there’s a lovely hook on the back that would have grabbed the eye on the cloak.
For this next piece; @VioletRiotGames , you might want to be sitting down. 23”x2” band with large faceted round bead edges and very pointy drops. The movement on this is a-maze-ing, and it sounds like tiny dry leaves skittering across stone on a windy night.
Too many drops are missing to clearly infer the original pattern, but if I had to guess, I’d say every two beads along the edge and down the center so they didn’t overlap.
And check this out: it was attached to a garment using /pale blue and peach variegated silk thread!!/
My camera does not know what to make of “changeable” silk, but here you go, a picture with a blue and rose silk behind the black beaded trim.
Ok, almost done. This is a PAIR of trim lengths 26”x2”, and they are folded and stitched in a curve at one end, with extra little round beads added on!
Last piece. Thanks for sticking with this, and please support your small local history museums! This is a 3D layered lace and beadwork medallion. It’s 6”x6.5”, and stunning.
The lace is gathered and applied to the back, and there’s a layer of beading not visible from the front, so someone wanted the height or was repurposing an older piece.
The lace is quite dry, but this can’t be rehydrated in the same way. All the beads and outline threads are in great shape; just a bit of frayed thread on tight curves showing the rust core thread.
So that’s that! I’ll make my recommendations tomorrow, and maybe there will be something new to share! Stay safe, stay hydrated, be beautiful!
To review:
