All posts filed under: Textiles & Costume

Karen’s Gift: A velvet 1920s confection by Mrs Martina Downing

I really wanted to post something today, but wasn’t sure what. When in doubt, what could be better than costume deliciousness? Two months ago (has it been two months already!) I shared with you the first piece of Karen’s gift. If anything, I love this piece even more, though it’s hard to pick between two such glorious items! This velvet dress dates from the mid 20s, and bears a label with the name Mrs Marina Downing, 22 East Sixty-Fifth St, New York. Presumably Mrs Downing was the dressmaker. The dress is primarily in petrol blue silk velvet (be still my heart!) with flashes of cerise pink silk satin around the neck and in the hip trim. How fabulous! There is simple metallic embroidery around the neck, down the left side, and around the hem. It’s just another touch of detail and handiwork on the frock, and lends a nice shock of coarseness and permanency to a garment that could otherwise look too sweet and delicate. It’s like an amuse bouche for the dress. The dropped …

Karen’s Gift: the butter yellow 1930s/40s negligee

Published by The Dreamstress

Over a year ago I received an email out of the blue from a blog reader who had a small collection of 20s & 30s clothes that she thought I might like. Would I ever! That lovely lady was Karen, and the day her box arrived was like all my birthdays coming at once (only without any additional wrinkles or grey hairs): silks and velvets and beading and lace. The contents were a treasure trove of amazing pieces, in all my favourite colours and techniques. I photographed them right away, and have been meaning to share them with you ever since, but I’ve just been continually too busy this year. I finally got all the photos sorted for one of my favourite items (who am I kidding, they are ALL my favourite items!) and was going to show it to you to coincide with the HSF Yellow challenge, and then internet in Vanuatu was too expensive to upload them. So, a little late, but no less deliciously gorgeous, I present this 1930s/40s silk negligee in …

Terminology: What’s the difference between worsted & woolen wool fabrics?

Published by The Dreamstress

If you have ever gone shopping for wool fabrics you may have seen some of the fabric described as worsted, and some of it described as woolen. If you are me, you may have wondered what this meant. Aren’t all wool fabrics woolen? I mean, they are wool, right? Not quite! In brief, worsted and woolen are different types of wool (long staple vs short staple), prepared in different ways, resulting in a different look and feel. Under magnification, worsted yarns look smooth with long fibres, and woolen yarns are much hairier, with lots of short fibres and more pokey-out bits. Worsted wools are slick when woven, woolen wools are knitted, crocheted, or woven into softer, fluffier fabric, or fulled fabric. Worsted wools are better at keeping out the wind and rain, but woolen wools are warmer, because they are full of air which acts as insulation. Worsted is also used to describe a particular way of spinning yarn, or weight of yarn, but I’m not going to go into that because it’s a modern …