All posts tagged: embroidery

A 1920s Asian for the Western market coat

Mrs C has given me a very interesting textile on long term loan, and I thought it would be the perfect ‘Textiles on Thursday’ feature. The textile is an embroidered silk coat with a rabbit fur lining. The coat is fascinating for all sorts of reasons.  It’s an excellent example of an export textile, made in Asia (probably China, possibly Japan) for the Western market.  As an export textile, it’s particularly interesting because it isn’t a particularly luxurious item.  Chinese design features aside, the coat is a great piece of early 1920s fashion.  Finally, it’s an exciting vintage item because it isn’t that small, it easily fits a modern 14-16.  Poor Isabelle is a little swamped in it! So, let’s break it down.  First, what’s this export textile thing? Well, the West has had a love affair with Eastern goods and aesthetics for centuries.  Just look at Chinoiserie in the 18th century and Japonism in the 19th century, as well as the trade in kashmir shawls in both. The newest trends in Eastern imports always …

Exotic Mexico meets Kiwi Housewife

Carrying on from the Mexican theme of a few Thursdays ago, here is the final Mexican themed textile from my stash. It’s an embroidered apron, made by a Kiwi housewife, probably during the 1950s. I’d been collecting mid-20th century Mexican themed textiles since my interest in them was first sparked as a teenager by all the Mexican textiles in my Grandmothers stash. When I moved to NZ, I assumed that was the end of my collecting in that area, because I didn’t think that Mexico would have been a popular theme for fabric escapism so far across the world. You can imagine my delight when I found this apron in an op-shop a few months ago. I figured it was an anomaly, made by a talented embroiderer who had become tired of all the usual apron embroidery patterns. The apron was made by a skilled embroiderer.  It uses only a few stitches, but they are expertly executed, and the choice of stitches for the different textures in the design, such as the delicately scalloped senorita’s …

Initial initials

A while back I had a brilliant idea that I could embroidery my initials on some napkins. I have these gorgeous vintage napkins just crying out for a monogram: I should add in advance that I’m pretty average at embroidery, and have never done initials. Did that stop me at all? Nope. There are beginner, average, experienced, and expert sewers and embroiders, and then there are people like me, who’s skill level should be rated as ‘rash’.  Of course I forged ahead. First, I drew my initials.  Of course I practiced beforehand.  My sketchpad looks like a silly highschool girls journal. Then I attempted a satin stitch. Despite my lack of experience, the L came out pretty well on my trial fabric. So, with half an accomplishment, I took time to admire what I had created, and to anticipate how fabulous it was going to look on my finished napkins. Yeah….that…. First off, my ‘O’ wasn’t as good as my L Then the actual napkin fabric was much looser in weave, so wouldn’t embroider nicely. …