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"Shell Stitch" - A Needlelace Edging

4/16/2018

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Today, a brief needlelace tutorial!  This is a simple edging stitch, meaning you can use it to decorate your hems and other edges, even if you're not hard-core into lace-making! 

The stitch is called "shell stitch" in the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, as well as in other sources.  However, several Victorian resources I've found online name it the "point de Venise", and Thérèse de Dillmont simply numbers her stitches (which is not memorable at all)!  As you may recall from my post about French Needlelaces, the nomenclature for lace is not consistent.  So "point de Venise" could mean Venetian needlelace in general as well as being a name for this particular stitch.  I'll stick with "shell stitch" for this tutorial, since the finished nubs look like wee shells. 
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Colbertism and French Needlelace

3/12/2018

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Today an informative post about the development of French needlelaces!  As I previously defined it, needlelace is lace made by embroidering with a needle rather than braiding with bobbins or crocheting or knitting.  During the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King), the French government made a deliberate investment in lacemaking, as part of a wide-ranging plan to become Europe's center for luxury goods, fashion, and taste.  They had stiff competition in all those fields: the Italians and Dutch were already Europe's sourcebook and marketplace for luxury goods.  In particular, as relates to lace, the bobbin laces of the Netherlands were fantastically expensive and popular.  But the needlelace of Italy was also prestigious;  Italy developed needlelace from its history of drawn thread work and reticella, and by the 1600's the Italian gros point de Venise, which was sculptural and meant to look like carved ivory, was the needlelace to beat.   The French set out to beat it. 

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Tatting Information for a Beginner

1/6/2018

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A friend asked me to compile some information for her friend, who wants to learn to tat.  I thought: why not put my answer here, so it may benefit others, as well?  I should note that I'm not an expert tatter, but a beginner.  I am writing this to give a fellow beginner the vocab and links she needs to get started, and to point to the real experts!
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Tatted Doiley, picture by Renata Niemczyk, via Wikimedia Commons

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HSM 2017 April - Teneriffe Lace

11/6/2017

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I have not been very on top of the Dreamstress' Historical Sew Monthly challenges, not for lack of sewing, but because nothing I've done the past year is very historical!  Modern clothing and mending and commissions have been the order of the day.  But April's challenge called to me from the start: 
  • April: Circles, Squares & Rectangles – Many historical garments, and the costumes of many people around the world, use basic geometric shapes as their basis. In this challenge make a garment made entirely of squares, rectangles and circles.
Now, I've done rectangular construction before (chemises, pajama pants, et cetera), but don't really enjoy, because I don't really enjoy the fit.  Boxy and relaxed isn't my favorite style for myself.  But then she mentioned circles, and I thought immediately of Teneriffe Lace.  

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Needlelace!  My work so far...

9/7/2017

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After a gap of nearly two years, I am feeling inspired to work on needlelace again!  And yet, I haven't posted anything about my past needlelace projects... let me remedy that, to give some context for what I'm doing. 

This'll be a long post, which should please any reader who is anything like me!

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    Karen Roy

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