Wax on....

When one is sewing there is a material that is used often but not thought about so much in modern sewing. I use it more when I am sewing with linen, pure cotton or wool thread. You don’t really need it when you are working with polyester and other acrylic fibers but when working with natural fibers it helps to keep the natural fibers together and prevents breakage while you are sewing. It is a material found in nature, can hold its chemical makeup for years and is edible.

The answer… beeswax. About 6 to 8 pounds of honey is needed to produce one pound of wax and the average bee collects less than a gram in its lifetime. It will visit between 50-100 flowers a day flying around 15 miles and the honey it produces is the only thing that we eat from insects. (Other than insects themselves.) Beeswax is water proof and isn’t just good in sewing. It can be eaten, used to seal food, clothing and just about anything else you want to make a bit more water tight. It is used to help with allergies and can be reheated and reused over and over again because it never goes bad or breaks down. It does have a melting point but even on a very hot day it won’t melt too much.

So here’s to the bees, there honey and their wax. Here’s to a cup of tea with honey and a sewing project with linen thread covered in wax.

Dress up....

Every year for the last couple of years I have made my own Halloween costume. Two years ago I was Snow White, then last year I was an Elf of Mirkwood from the Lord of the Rings. This year I left it up to my followers on Facebook. ( https://www.facebook.com/LostTraditions ) I gave them a choice between 1810-1820 or 1940s. They are two very distinctive years in fashion with very distinctive looks. Their choice was… drum roll please… 1810-1820 also called the regency era (1800-1820).

Dress ca. 1810-1815 United States Cotton, cotton thread, appliqued, embroidered. Found at the Mint Museum

So let us look at this era.

 ~         War of 1812 between the United States and England from 1812 to 1814. Though the last battle takes place in 1815.

~          Napoleon invades Russia in 1812

~          August 24, 1814 The British burn down the U.S. Capital, A Rain storm helps put it out

~          September 14, 1814 Francis Scott Key writes the Star Spangled banner

~          April 5-12, 1815 The volcano at Mt. Tambora in Indonesia erupts causing a cold winter.

~          June 18, 1815 Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo

~          July 14, 1817 Construction begins on the Erie Canal

~          Jane Austen writes notable work

Evening dress ca. 1812 From the Museum at FIT via Fripperies and Fobs.

So that is what his happening at the world so what things are housewives are doing. Well in that regard things aren’t much different from the following and past centuries. They are cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, embroidery, studying music and so much more. Of course what they are doing is totally dependent on their station. Jane Austen's own books helps give us insight as to what women were doing.

French muslin dress embroidered with metallic thread. Detail of embroidery. c1810 Met Museum

What are they wearing? Long muslin gowns often with a thing muslin overlay with fine embroidery. Abigail Adams wrote to her sister in regards to the new fashion “I could not but lament that the uncovered bosom should display, what ought to have been veiled… I wished that more had been left to the imagination and less to the Eye.”[1] Made of wool, linen but mostly made from thin cotton they were very different from the late 1700s and while other centuries had more of a gradual change, this Grecian inspired style made waves with plain skirts bordered with ruffles, flounces, puffs, pleats and embroidery.

1810ish Regency gown of tamboured India muslin, Victoria and Albert Museum

So as I do some more research a few things I am going to be looking at in regards to this era undergarments. I will need to make a shift, a Stays (corset) with a style that helped to make the “bosom” a little more eye raising. If I have time and am brave enough I may even see about knitting socks and making pantaloons. While the shift will be made of cotton muslin, the corset will be made with canvas. I will also be stepping away from the period appropriate baleen from a whale for modern steel boning. The main garment will be either of cotton with a fine satin silk overlay (or closely resembling as much as my budget will allow) or wool. On that regard I haven’t decided but hey I have two months… right? Shoes and hat, will be another thing I will need to address as I research the era.

Progress of the Toilet: the Stays, etched by James Gillray (1757-1815) published by Hannah Humphrey in 1810 (etching). These stays are greatly exaggerated most I have seen end just under the breast like today's or to just above the hips like many that are seen in prior eras. 

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[1] The DAR Museum, Martha Pullen’s Favorite Places Series. The Martha Pullen Company; Alabama, 2009. P. 70

Darn it...

So in recent weeks, ok it has been the last two months, I have been trying to track down the history of darning. Darning is the skill of repairing knitted and woven items to try to remake the damaged cloth. So far my search has been, well to put it kindly or maybe not so kindly a pin in my seat cushion. I have mentioned before but when it comes to women’s work and daily activities it is often difficult to track down not only the history but the proof of history of something. Darning is definitely no different.

Oh, we know they are doing it. Why? There are a few examples of what little clothing examples still exist. There is a shirt that has plenty of patches. Sure they don’t get mentioned in documents. I mean anyone who is wearing patched clothing can’t afford a painting, or is too poor in class to be of any interest to someone writing the history of civilization.  Yet with cloth is so expensive you will work hard to pay for cloth so if you can take old cloth and patch where you can it might go a bit further.

Cloth is extremely expensive up until the industrial revolution. In inventories of homes cloth can sometimes equal 1/10 the price of one home. Today we might spend $100 on a suit. Sometimes we might get something repaired if it rips or tears but more often than not we just toss it out. When cloth and clothing is expensive though we are more likely to do everything we can to repair and keep things looking either as good as we can or as useful as long as we can.

A woman darning a sock in the 1930s. from Hub images.

So what is darning? Well if you are luckily you catch the hole when it is small and if it is woven cloth you will just reweave thread or yarn over the thread worn cloth or knitted item. If you’re not as quick to find the wearing thread you might find your work a little more taxing, either patching the garment. If you have knitted piece the darn is basically a reknitted section that might take you a few moments or might take you what feels like forever.

Swiss Darning technique as seen in many magazines and book from the 1920-1960s, that helped women "keep a better house"

Though I am still looking at paintings and have emailed museums to see what they may have available the tools used are a little harder to track then darning themselves. Needles we know they had, double pointed knitting needles were widely in use at least starting in the 1300s. Sewing needles made of wood, bone and metal are available throughout the centuries. There is another tool I use as well when darning. It is called an egg. I use it to stretch the hole over. Some actually look like a leg while others look like a ball, and still others look like little wooden feet. Some do have handles while others don’t. So far I have only been able to date them to at least one painting done in Holland in 1817. As for the mention of it in the written word, I’ll let you know as soon as I find it.

Woman Darning Socks by Adrian de Lelie(Holland1755-1820)_1817 see the darning egg on her lap, scissors on the table and the sock on her hand.

However if you know anything about the history of darning or know of somewhere I might look, I would appreciate it. Meanwhile I am going to ignore the research headache brought on by the fact no one talks about everyday life. 

Worming around....

There was a television show when I was a kid about a Cat that lived in the Emperors Palace in China. There was always one episode that stuck with me. The Emperor’s wife was in her garden and noticed all the pest in there; birds, worms, bees, and fish. All of them had done something to offend her. The bird woke her from her nap, the worm fell into her tea, the bee stung her, and the fish splashed her (If I am remembering this right.) In the end she banned all these creatures. As the story progressed she learned of her mistake, the birds produced an ingredient for her favorite dish bird’s nest soup, the bee made the honey for her tea, the fish ate the bugs in her garden and the worm, yes the mighty worm made her clothing. Beyond the moral of the story that everything plays a part in the world we live in it is the worm that has my attention for this blog.

Silk moth on cacoons of silk worms. The pod is what we use for silk.

That worm is in another story, again of a royal member of the Emperor’s family. The story is that in 2,640 B.C Empress Si-ling was sitting under a mulberry tree in the palace garden with a cup of tea. A small white pod fell into the tea and as the warm tea loosed the filament it began to unwind. She realized that when spun it could be woven into fine garments. She was then made the “Goddess of Silk” and Temples were built in her honor.

Silk is still processed in this way, boiled to loosen the filaments and then torn apart and spun . A female silk moth produces between 600 and 800 eggs and can lay dormant for up to 2 years. Mulberry is their preferred food source though they do like lettuce but it does lower the quality of the silk. The source of China’s silk was a closely guarded secret as well. In fact when one of the Princess of China married an Indian prince she snuck the silk worms and mulberry seeds out in her head dress. Emperors of Rome believed that the Chinese’s just combed the silk fibers out of the ground. Eventually the secret was discovered and now it is wide spread. Some spinners even spin it for fun, including yours truly.

Me preping and spinning silk.

You can buy it in two forms, the first is the pods but then sometimes as you pull them apart you come across a little body of the worm that made it. It is best to loosen the filament while the worm is inside because then you are more likely to get one long piece of silk. If you clip the end you and dump out the animal, you can some shorter fibers and some longer but if you let the moth eat its way out now you have a lot more short fibers and not a lot of long ones which will make a thicker silk yarn.

Feeding silk worms mulberry leaves in Japan.

So there you have it silk, one of the most desired and longest spun fibers of the world. In Rome it would cost the same to buy a bolt of silk as it would to buy gold. Who knew a little worm could be so useful and expensive. 

Drying for winter.

When I was a little girl, my mom and I spent a lot of time in the garden. Now I don’t know if I ever actually helped her but I like to hope that I did. One of the tasks that I remember was drying herbs. Along the back of our little plot in the side lot of our driveway was a ridiculous amount of oregano. It always seemed to expand every year. I remember our neighbors taking some, I remember some being taken out to be given to the women’s club plant sale and yet it never seemed to grow smaller. I love the way that it smelled and it was the only herb my mother kept. It was what made my mother’s spaghetti sauce so amazing and when I home I would always take one of the jars of the dried herb to where I was living. I still remember eating spaghetti at college and thinking, not enough oregano. When I moved into my home and started working on my garden, oregano and black berries where my two major requests that I could bring to transplant.

Now the oregano is planted in the side garden by my drive way. I plan to move it into the back yard eventually but for now that is where my little bit of my childhood sits. We all have that thing that we remember that is weird to anyone else but makes perfect sense to you. Now where I work I have been opened to beyond oregano. I know about growing basil, keeping thyme, sage, and herbs that most don’t think you can eat like rose and calendula petals. Now all these things are available in the summer and fall to eat fresh so how do we have them for the winter. Well one you can buy them in the store or you can dry them yourself. In fact most herbs are pretty low maintenance plants once you get them going so they are pretty and easy for even the brownest of thumbs.

The first thing to do is cut them. You can separate them now and lay them flat in a single layer on a clean surface or you can hang them upside down and dry them. For things without stocks like rose petals, younger plants of sage and loose cuttings of what other plants I am working with I take a piece of wax paper and put it onto a cookie sheet and place the herbs on top of it. Once dry put into a clean and dry glass container with a clear label on it.

Drying oregano and sage 

The other option is to hang them. This works great with oregano, thyme, older plants of sage, marjoram, and calendula.  You can leave the ends with the herbs on them or you can pull a few of the ends off leaving a good solid stock. Tie a rope around the ends in a great clump and hang in a dry but warm place. My mom used to hang them on hangers then in the mornings stick them outside bringing them back in that night. At work I hang them over my fire place. At home they are currently drying on my pot rack over my island. You will want to tighten the rope around them from time to time because as they dry they do shrink and will fall out of the rope. Once they dry clean them off the stalk and stick them in a glass jar with a good lid.

My neighbor uses brown paper bags to dry her herbs. If you have a lot to dry you can also place them in a mesh laundry basket (available at the dollar store) and hang in a dry and warm location. Don't want to dry them, freeze Them in a ice cube tray with a bit of olive oil. 

Once again something easy to do at home and oh so tasty. 

Knitting needles

A few years ago I met my parents in New York. I had taken the train to New Jersey and after getting all turned around and my Dad rescuing me from Hackensack, NJ, we were enjoying a nice evening outside the camper. The plan was that after our weekend exploring NY, we would drive together to my aunt's, where I was living in W.V. Since this was the plan my mom brought somethings of mine that were still in NH. Amongst the things was a silver and red tube.

Inside the silver and red tube was a small collection of knitting tools that I had never seen before. It had been my Great Grandmother’s, who was an avid knitter. They would go on vacation to Maine and she would knit one sock on the way up and the match on the way down. When she got older she made every one of us Great Grandkid’s a pair of mittens. They were the warmest and best mittens in the world. I have yet to find a store bought brand (that aren’t leather) mittens that live up to the warmth, and dryness of those mittens. When they started to feel wet that was the sign for us all to go inside.

Grandma's knitting needles

Now this tube was a treasure trove, a history of knitting in one little package. There were plastic, metal, pin, circular, and double pointed almost an entire histories worth of samples of knitting in one little tube. You see the earliest form of knitting is done on double pointed needles in the round. All paintings done of knitting show this method. At first there was no name for the art, early mentions of it call it knotting, interwoven, mesh and net. It isn’t until 1527 in Paris that a capknitters’ guild under the patronage of St. Fiacra (An Irish man but mistaken as a Scott by the French at that time) actually makes it known that in deed there are knitters guilds.[1] Double pointed needles are how these hats would have been made by the Guild. Same for any sweaters, mittens and socks made, they were all knit in the round, on double pointed needles.

A. double pointed B+C Pin needles D.Early circulars

Double pointed needles would be the main way to knit anything until 1842 when it is noted that “a knob was sometimes put on the end of a needle.”[2] This was to prevent the yarn from being pushed off when you were working but for some project like scarfs, and sweaters that are pieced together, this is useful. In the Dictionary of needle work in 1882 the pin needle is mentioned. Soon enough the pin need the most recognized knitting needle of our time takes its place among knitters.

Most recently is the invention of the circular needle. Now it isn’t exactly circular rather it is a double pointed needle with a flexible piece in the center of it. Some have tips that can be interchanged. The earliest were made of steel like cable. They make knitting socks easy and you aren’t afraid to lose your needle but if poorly made they come apart easy and your yarn can get caught on the joint between where the needle and cable meet.

One can never have too many knitting needles of all shapes and sizes.

Other tools include starting top left: cable needle, stitch markers, stitch holders, neeedles, and crochet hooks,

Every needle is useful, they come in all shapes and sizes and give us warm mittens and sweaters. So here is to an old fashion tool, for an art that is making a comeback.

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[1] Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. Interweave Press; C.O. 1989. P.1

[2] Rutt, p. 16.

Looking Back

I was recently going through things on pintrest and came across a Meme. It simply said Bush and Clinton are running for President, Jurassic Park is number 1 and Terminator comes out next month what year is it? I couldn’t help but laugh, and then I thought, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E comes out next month and Star Wars comes out in December and the number of remakes, reboots and comic movies and T.V. shows that have come out in the last few years  are staggering. We have rebooted the Odd Couple, a number of T.V. stations have dedicated their time to old television shows from ME TV to TV Land. We are stepping back in time in such proving that nostalgia can pay.

I mean my blog lives on nostalgia, and the past. For a culture that is constantly moving ahead, we are always looking behind. I think in some ways it is a good thing though (not that I am biased or anything). There are some times when looking behind can save us. I have used new sewing machines, I don’t think they can hold a candle to my very old but very good Singers. I have had to bring my ‘90s Rose in for repairs 3 times and I need to do it again but have brought my ’69 easy touch in for one and a cleaning and my ’51 301 in for none. My cars are over 15 years old, I have had less problems then some of my friends who have newer cars, though when I have problems with my truck, we have big problems. (Love you Dad.)

I surround myself with my past. I do it for a living. I can tell you how to dry herbs but I can’t tell you what baseball team is playing tonight. I know about the most random fact of almost any period of history but ask me what new movie is playing I have no idea. The thing I can’t help but notice is when we do look behind. The 1950s and 60s were about looking ahead, movies about the future, sprinkled in with some nostalgia were in every theater. Now though it seems more nostalgia and less future. Why, the world is changing. The 50s saw the end of the Second World War, a baby boom and a new way of living. Everything was on the up.

Today it seems to be at a stalemate, there are days were things aren’t getting better but they aren’t getting worse. In many ways it cost the same to rent as it does to buy and many people can’t afford either. You keep your head down, hoping to get from day to day. Living in a world that is ever changing, talks of an apocalypse seem to be on everyone’s mind and yet at the same time we see that glimmer of hope on the horizon.

So bring on the nostalgia, and bring on the past, let us learn from it, use it to our advantage and make our world better. It’s only 2015 we have a long way to go.   

Mending Jeans

So I was doing my laundry and noticed that my jeans were starting to wear through and would probably tear in front of people and do a big reveal for all to see the next time I wore them in public. Now most never realize when their clothes are doing that or when they do they toss them out but a good pair of jeans can easily run you $20 bucks and when those jeans make you feel good your even more wary to part with them . So here I am with a worn out pair of blue jeans, choosing to go with the $2.00 and a little time option.

Yep that is right. With a little time, a sewing machine and some heavy duty thread you can repair those jeans. Now for this job you will need

·         A sewing machine that can do a zig zag stitch

·         Regular thread (I am using Dual Duty 100% Polyester black)

·         Denim thread (I am using Dual Duty Plus Denim thread 68% Polyester and 32% cotton)

·         Your worn jeans

·         Scissors

End result and the settings on my machine

Alright lets begin

1.      

     Take the regular thread and place it on the bobbin. This will be the underside of the stitching.

2.      Thread your denim thread through the machine. This is what will be seen on the outside.

3.      Set your machine to the highest stitch per inch but the widest your zig zag will go. So on mine that is 20 for the stitch and five for the zig zag. I also put my foot onto fine, it gives me a little more control over the moving of the jeans

4.      Place your jeans in the machine and start stitching, moving back and forth over the hole. Try to keep your fabric taunt as you move it because it can get pulled together a bit as you sew. You can still wear them after but it might feel a little strange at first.

5.      When done cut the threads and knot them on the inside. Clean up any stray threads.

6.      Wear them out in public and no one will notice that you just saved yourself an easy 20 bucks.

See with a little time and a little thread old and worn can become new again.