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History of Embroidery in The Western Movement of the 1840s saw hard lonely years for those who chose to move west, away from the relative comforts of the city for life that would be uncertain at best, and grindingly hard for most. Fabric was extremely scarce, and every little piece was saved and used. We find quilts to be the one national "pastime" done with the needle across the country. It was not just necessary, but frequently the only outlet a very busy woman had for any creativity. Quilts rarely had borders at this time, which would have required a large amount of good fabric. Small pieces were used up to the edges, and were constantly being repaired. Life on the prairie was lonely, and any excuse to get together with other women was quickly grasped. (When were the first quilting bees?) The outside world belonged to men. Women had to make the best of housework and raising large families. Some women weren't happy with being the "little lady of the house", and struck off on their own, homesteading their own land and vying for jobs normally belonging to the men, including some of the professions. Hoops and luxuries were left behind, but a Godey's Ladies' magazine or two made it out west, and styles were adapted to the more practical needs of a rigorous life. Cotton substituted for silk and lasted much longer, gowns were made to last a long while by adding heavy linings, for there was little time for luxury sewing. Gowns with long trains purchased in the port cities and carried along on the trek west were immediately ruined, so the hems came up a bit, and ruffles were used for fancy dresses, (they had to have some fun), since it was more economical to replace a ruffle than the whole skirt. Ladies in the big cities were able to purchase imported fabric for their needlework. Calico was a craze in the latter half of the 19th century, and women in seafaring homes took pride in working nautical themes on household linens and quilts. Patriotic and political views were frequently expressed with a needle and thread as well. The familiar log cabin quilt was apt to be made with the center "hearth" stone in black fabric rather than the traditional red, and when this particular style of quilt was hung on the line to dry, the residence was noted as being part of the "underground railroad", a resting or stopping place for runaway slaves. With a woman's place being most definitely in the home, her education was sadly lacking. As so very much work had to be done, few girls were spared for education, and few went to school longer than it took to learn the basic alphabet and numbers before they were required to stay at home. Large families were considered a blessing, and as birth control was unheard of, and unthinkable, few women had time for the luxury of a formal education. Only the wealthy women could attend schools and academies for the
learning of needlework and domestic pastimes. Samplers were a sign of
affluence in A group of Scandinavian peoples came to The Victorian era saw a larger body of women with leisure time. Men were considered very successful if their women were "ladies" and did nothing useful all day, and many succeeded admirably. Delicate decorating was in vogue, and quilting was left behind in the cities, not being genteel enough. Crazy quilting became the accepted method of showing off skills in sewing, and soon, every available surface was covered with the finest fabrics and stitches and useful for nothing but the showing off of individual skills with the needle. The centennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1876 highlighted the lovely simplicity of Japanese art and needlework. This took off as a very agreeable source for inspiration in designing at the time. This was encouraged through many ladies' magazines. Not only designs, but techniques, suggestions and advice were freely given and taken by the multitudes. Contests were constantly being run, and ladies vied with each other, each hoping to outdo the other in any and all areas of needlework, as well as all areas of domestic living. Until the early 1800s, many patterns were given at or through schools for young ladies. Copies of early pattern books are so scarce as to make their history almost impossible to trace. It has been said that Adam, Chippendale and Sheraton brought pattern books to America from which many needlework designs were adapted. Looking at any intricate work of the time and comparing similar patterns gives almost unnecessary proof that such finely detailed stitching and coloring could be duplicated without having a pattern. In 1821 lessons and rules were published in book form along with instructions on how to prepare fabrics and sew in both plain and fancy stitching. Most notable are the patterns that were made available in the ladies' magazines of the day, such as Frank Leslie's Gazette of Fashion, Peterson's Magazine, Godey's Magazine, and Harper's Bazaar. Mountmellick embroidery, from Ireland, comes to mind. Work on preserving colonial embroideries came to be started in Deerfield,
Massachusetts. Known as Deerfield
embroidery, this work was begun to specifically reconstruct the badly
deteriorated work from the late 1700s that had all but been forgotten.
This was undertaken during the time that Finally, the Arts
and Crafts movement came in at the end of this century, and
transformed most of the furnished homes in |
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