Tom of Holland's knitted darning samplers.

Ebay today.

Maine Thread

Yum. Another Katy Hackney find.

There are some really lovely basics at Maine Thread.

Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė

So - I know absolutely nothing about this artist other than I stumbled upon her whilst on one of those online journeys that can end up anywhere.

Her name is Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienėbut and she is from Lithuania.

You can take a further peek here.

Sashiko Detail

My current obsession - Sashiko/Boro.

Indigo, Boro and Sashiko

 

 

  

The Japanese tradition of stitching, patching, mending and recycling has resulted in a fantastic tradition of peasant, or folk clothing. The ragged, textured result of all the layers of stitching is called Boro.

White mending stitches became a decorative technique of their own, called Sashiko. Intricate patterns were stitched onto woven indigo fabrics creating bold decorative detail.

See Sri Threads blog and gallery for some great items.

Darning

Some lovely darning, recommended by Alice Hoult, found here.
Thank You, Alice.

Stories

For me, this is the job in a visual nutshell.
Stories of a life, character, episode or event, shown in a garment.

Costume Designers, story tellers in their own right, give an audience clues to where a person comes from geographically, the period they inhabit, their history, class, profession, perhaps their emotional state and where they may be heading to or from at the moment we see them, through their clothing.

The garments they wear hold and exhibit tales through wear and tear and crisp newness alike. Mostly I love the wear and tear.

This is an original skirt, C1900, see the tiny hand stitching behind the repair, the fading and the fraying.
The skills of a good Breaking Down Artist are never to be underestimated, replicating these stories is a highly skilled technique.

1850's Schoolhouse Quilt

This beautiful quilt looks so contemporary, it is hard to believe it is more than 160 years old.
More information here.

Hand Sewing C1890

Interior Details

Hooks

Viewed closely, this dress has been heavily worked; hand sewing, machining, alterations and mends. The fabric has also been re-cut from the original, earlier dress, into this 1890's pattern. 
Stories, always stories, that's what makes a garment more fascinating.

Interiors 2

The light in the costume house is dim so the pictures are warmer in tone than the true colours.

 

More Abernyte Finds

Not bad for fifteen quid?

red stitching details

assorted laundry tapes

laundry tape

red label 1950's

A little Greek prayer.
Women hand-stitch these and they are worn pinned to the
inside of clothes, keeping their prayers close to their hearts.