On Tuesday night online members were treated to a fascinating update from Ruth Battersby, Senior Curator, Costume and Textiles at Norfolk Museum Service.  As part of her PhD studies and in preparation for an exhibition to be held at the Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth in 2027, Ruth has been undertaking research on the amazing embroidered letters of Lorina Bulwer.  Lorina  was a resident in the workhouse in Great Yarmouth in the early years of the twentieth century, and while she was there she produced a number of incredible pieces of embroidery.  These are mainly outpourings of her thoughts, memories and emotions in 'stream of consciousness' style stitched texts on a double layer patchwork ground, although she did also produce a few beautiful collaged pictures as well. 

​Earlier this month online members were treated to a fascinating illustrated talk about a truly local textiles project.  Nik Ravenscroft is an experienced teacher and embroiderer, and coordinator of the making of the new ‘Bayeux-style’ narrative hanging which has been commissioned by the Friends of the Norwich Museums as part of the ‘Royal Palace Reborn’ project at Norwich Castle. Over the past few years, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, a massive project has been taking place to restore the Victorian museum in the castle keep to its original state as a twelfth century palace, complete with furnishings.  In her talk, Nik gave us a wonderful insight into the subject matter of the tapestry and the practical issues her team have had to overcome in creating this amazing artefact.

Nik explained that although we are all aware that the Bayeux tapestry is NOT a tapestry in our sense of the word, but an embroidery, the original French word ‘tapisserie’ referred to any fabric wall covering, or even wallpaper, and that for this reason she does refer to their work as a tapestry.  After stressing the importance of textiles in medieval buildings in evoking a sense of wealth and power, as well as providing warmth and comfort, she asked us to consider the part played by pieces like this in reinforcing the impression of the power held by their owners, and said that this was clear in the choice and slant of the subjects they depicted.  

​The new tapestry at the castle will tell two stories of events in the East of England following the Norman Conquest: that of Hereward the Wake’s uprising, and that of the Revolt of the Three Earls.  Both of these events were rebellions against the new Norman rulers, and both are shown as ending in William I’s victory and assertion of his authority over the East.  Nik said that although there was conflicting evidence about exactly what happened to Hereward after his surrender to William, it had been decided that in a Norman castle, it was certain that an outcome most flattering to the Norman king would have been portrayed! 

Further details of these two stories and beautiful pictures of the scenes from the tapestry linked the events described can be found on the Norwich Castle website here:
A Story in Stitch: Hereward the Wake – Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
A Story in Stitch: The Revolt of the Three Earls – Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
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​Nik then told us in detail about the evolution of the work on the tapestries.  The idea was originally conceived by Tim Pestell, Senior Curator for Archaeology at Norfolk Museums Service, and began in 2017.  It has been undertaken by a team of volunteers, some of whom had little or no previous embroidery experience, and Nik has not only led their training but has also been responsible for researching the materials and approaches to be used.  The team were anxious to keep their work as authentic and accurate as possible, and also to achieve the highest possible standards of needlework.  This has involved a great deal of reading and then practical research, and Nik’s close-up photographs of the numerous samples created in deciding how best to create the tapestry were wonderful; they showed clearly how the evolution of the work was refined by a long process of trial and error.  

​I was particularly impressed by the ways in which such a variety of effects could be created by the thoughtful use of just two basic stitches, as in the Bayeux tapestry.  Nik showed in close detail how the direction of the couching in the Bayeux stitch could be manipulated to create a sense of movement in the body of an animal, or to make a jointed arm look more natural, and this really made me want to return to the detail of the stitching of both the original Bayeux tapestry and the new Norwich work to see how such life has been brought to them.  Nik stressed that although the new tapestry will be adorning the walls in the renovated King’s chamber, numerous digital photographs have been made of it that will be available at ground level to enable visitors to get a really close look at any detail they wish to examine. 

​I think that what has stayed with me from this talk is once again the many ways in which textile projects such as this not only reflect, but also create community.  From the start, this endeavour involved a group of people of vastly differing experience, and brought them together in a joint undertaking that clearly created a strong camaraderie amongst them.  Nik said herself that she was surprised by how quickly working together and sharing their ideas created a uniformity in their stitching that brought the whole piece together very effectively, and it is obvious that their shared hard work and sense of achievement will be something that will stay with them.  They have also made every effort to involve more members of the wider community in their work, taking the tapestry out to be seen and shared at many local events, inviting people to add a stitch or a motif, insisting that museum staff and others involved in the castle project also ‘make their mark’.  And of course, it will soon hang in the King’s Chamber in the Castle Keep, where two stories from our own local history will be seen and recalled again by many people through its medium.  What a very fitting and beautiful way to show and celebrate the way that our lives are interwoven with the past.  I for one cannot wait to see it.

The sun shone on the beautiful conservatory at Carrow House in Norwich for an extra special occasion on Saturday 29th March.  It was incredible to see over 30 magnificent and rare Victorian Shawls, the majority of them made in Norwich, worn again and paraded on the catwalk.  

This event was held as a tribute to C&TA co-founder Helen Hoyte MBE, 2023-2024.  Her family were able to attend and said 'She would have loved it!' And so did the audience.  We were thrilled and very grateful to be able to show so many shawls, all from private collections.  One member, who has traded in antique textiles for over 40 years, described some of the shawls, representing styles from the early to the late nineteenth century as 'breathtaking'. The quality of materials and workmanship highlighted the extraordinary wealth of textile skills of Norwich in the nineteenth century.​

​Theorising a New Methodology – Recording Historical Pattern Drafts 
 
In our February talk members were treated to an online presentation given by Anna Deacon, a Costume Pattern Drafter and Historian.  Anna has had a long career working in the top echelons of theatre and film as a senior pattern drafter and tailor. She describes the skills that she acquired in these industries as being those of ‘an architect for the body’.

​However more recently Anna has once more been directing her considerable experience and skill towards research focused on the construction of actual historical garments, undertaking a Master’s in Historical Costume via correspondence with the Arts University Bournemouth.  In 2023 she was the recipient of a substantial research grant from our very own C&TA in the shape of the Geoffrey Squire Memorial Bursary, and it was this that enabled her to put into practice her ideas for developing a new, practical method for using accessible modern technology for drafting paper patterns for fragile historical garments, using the extraordinarily rich collection of eighteenth century textiles in the Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum, where she is now a Research Associate.
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Anna used her own vast collection of photographs to illustrate her talk.  She had been involved in helping the museum to make thorough digital records of their beautiful collection, and it was a joy to see the detail of a large range of these garments, many of which came over to New Zealand stored in the luggage of the first European settlers.  The close up pictures really allowed us to appreciate the craftsmanship in these clothes, including complex seam constructions, elegant shaping and exquisite embroidery.  Anna then went on to give a detailed and fascinating explanation of the painstaking processes by which she has been able to create incredibly precise paper patterns based on three key garments in the collection: all of them beautiful silk brocade dresses.  

​Obviously the ability to explore and then reproduce facsimiles of these garments allows historians both to further their understanding of historical designs and techniques, and also to put on show more robust versions of costumes now often too fragile to display at all.  Anna explained that in the past such an approach has often depended heavily on paper documentary evidence, which has many limitations, and more practical, ‘hands-on’ methods using the garments themselves in ‘PAR’ - Participatory Action Research – has recently become to be seen to be preferable and to produce more accurate, insightful results.  However, of course, these garments are incredibly delicate and cannot be handled extensively or the fabric manipulated to examine construction.  Obviously, modern technology that can help to produce 3-dimensional records is now available, but often prohibitively expensive and not a practical way forward for curators lacking both funding and the access to technical expertise.

What Anna’s research has focused on is a way of using the pattern on the fabric of the garment to help to map, very accurately, the key points of construction by close observation and careful external measurement, and by reference to many, many photographs of the garment.  Using this painstaking approach she was able to map these points of reference onto a flat acetate reproduction of the fabric design and then gradually to shape her pattern pieces until she was satisfied that they could indeed be made up to emulate the original. 
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At this point, she enlisted the help of a colleague to print a precise copy of the original fabric design onto lengths of cheaper, more robust calico.  Then began the process of experimenting with the pattern pieces and placement of the design to explore how these garments might have been cut out.  Anna made many interesting discoveries about garment construction as she was working: one fascinating point that she explained was that while we might today have expected that because fabric such as this silk brocade was so expensive, pattern cutters would have prized economy over pattern placement in their layout, and indeed they did design with minimal waste.  However it also became increasingly clear to her that they would often have favoured a more generous – and expensive - layout in order to achieve optimum placement of design elements in the centre of a bodice or to match sleeves precisely.  

​Having perfected her cutting layout Anna had then gone through the process of actually making each garment.  She was at pains to stress that this approach was NOT chiefly about creating a ‘pretty garment to wear’, but that the making process was a vital part of the research itself, designed to give her as much insight as possible into the details of the original construction.  She attempted at all times to be ‘honest’, trying to reproduce every detail precisely, including the mistakes!
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I found Anna’s explanations of the advantages of working with robust toiles of garments really interesting.  She explained the way in which finally getting a garment onto a mannikin can really help the researcher appreciate the way in which the cut of a garment enhances its hang, or to appreciate the effects of pairing a piece of clothing with contemporary undergarments and observing the different effects, getting a better idea of fit and movement.  For one of the dresses she used as a case study, she had been motivated to copy and slightly adapt an old design for a breathtakingly lovely corset to be worn underneath it.

​As a lay enthusiast who enjoys a bit of amateur (and amateurish!) dressmaking, this was a more clearly academically focused presentation than I have really delved into in the past, emphasizing the process of research more than its findings.  But as such, I found it fascinating, and it has genuinely made me reflect on the construction of my own clothes and those of my ancestors a little more – I have found myself musing over the odd dart or cunningly engineered corner over the last few days, and have been back online to study some of the breathtaking detail in the garments in the Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum collection.  And it has really emphasized for me the key role that the Costume and Textile Association plays at the truly academic end of the textile history spectrum – isn’t it vital that we do explore and learn more about the incredibly skill and artistry of our forebears before we lose that opportunity altogether?  I really admire the patience and hard work of researchers like Anna who devote so much to affording such respect to the makers of the past – and in her case, to making it a much more accessible field for the researchers who come after her by thinking practically around more effective methodologies.  And I will be first in the queue to buy the book that has emerged from her research and is now with the editors, which will be called ‘Hidden in the Archive – Heirloom Textiles’.  

If you would like to find out more about Anna’s work, and see pictures from the Auckland collection, you can find her website at annadeaconcouture.com
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If you are interested in applying to the C&TA for support for research in an area of historical textiles, you can read more about the Geoffrey Squire Memorial Bursary here.  The closing date for applications this year is 14th April 2025.
Costume and Textile Association Geoffrey Squire Memorial Bursary

It’s All in The Jeans – the Incredible Denim Art of Ian Berry

In March online subscribers were treated to an inspiring presentation by denim artist Ian Berry.  Although Ian comes originally from Huddersfield and now lives in London, his incredible hyper-realistic art work, created from surplus and cast-off denim, is still better known in mainland Europe, Australia and the US.  However members may be familiar with the denim collage animations that he created for the Clap for Our Carers campaign in 2020 during Covid, and more recently his incredible immersive soft sculpture The Secret Garden was on display at the Garden Museum in London throughout the summer of 2024.  This was originally developed for the Children's Museum of Art in New York and has travelled round the world, captivating adults and children alike, educating them about textile waste and encouraging them to think about recycling.

Ian explained his process to us, using a generously wide range of his own videos and photographs.  After a training in commercial advertising he was seeking a cheap resource from which to create his own art, and began to experiment with collaging scraps from his own worn denim jeans and those of his friends.  He has spent years developing his technique, creating images of incredible realism and detail using purely the colour shading of the denim scraps he selects and sticks down himself onto a stencil created from his own initial photographs.  Ian has created portraits of a wide range of iconic figures from the worlds of fashion, film, music, sport and politics, but has also produced stunning outdoor landscapes and more intimate indoor scenes such as a series from 2016 entitled  ‘Behind Closed Doors’, exploring the idea of fame and the intrusive publicity which can now come with that.  

​Ian says that his aim is ‘to make denim shine’, and I cannot be alone in my admiration for the way in which he can use the variegated fading quality of this everyday cloth to capture nuances of light and shade – he calls it the ‘fade gradient’.  It is only when looking really closely at the detail of his pictures that one comes to realise the complexity and nuance of the colour and the skill with which he selects the precise piece of cloth to create such realistic monochrome images.  This skill has been widely recognised by other artists: Ian says that all his work has come from recommendations, and he has become part of an art movement based around textiles called ‘Art Materialism’, which is well worth exploring.

​Ian spent some time talking about the social and political issues surrounding his work: he sees denim as a socially ubiquitous material of our time and values its roots in rural history as the cloth worn by the working poor.  He obviously wrestles with darker issues surrounding his art: the links between the cotton industry and the slave trade, and the fact that although good quality denim can be sustainably manufactured, so many varieties of it are environmentally damaging.  He admitted that his choice of materials originated not in a desire to create sustainable art, but from financial necessity, and is uncomfortable with what he called ‘retro-fitting’ a sustainability message to his work.  But he clearly now also understands that he can use his art to encourage debate about textile waste and the importance of recycling, and has undertaken some projects like the ‘Secret Garden’ installations to lend weight to environmental campaigning.  He also mentioned several times his growing unease about the clear links between the history of denim and the US; at a time of major shifts in the political climate of the US, he explained that he has been thinking deeply about the ethics that might be seen as being associated with his work.  

​And it was this aspect of Ian Berry that really struck me the most as we listened to him speak.  He is a friendly, funny, self-effacing man with a slightly throwaway manner, and at first glance his images may also seem instantly recognisable, casual, easy on the eye.  But as we look at them we become aware of the incredible skill and attention to detail behind their creation, and of the hours and hours of demanding physical work involved.  And listening to him, I also began to understand the deep thought and careful consideration that had gone into them.  They are well worth a longer look, and perhaps some deeper thinking, from all of us.

​The Worstead Guild of Spinners and Weavers have been kind enough to open their doors to our members on not just one, but two afternoons this month.  They have a cosy workshop at Dilham, stuffed to the brim with wonderful fibre and equipment, and on a sunny afternoon last week a small group of us were given an immensely warm welcome by their Chair Lorraine Hunter and her band of Guild members.

​The day I visited, we were handed cups of tea and coffee as we entered – 5 star treatment right from the start – and after a brief introduction to their historic Guild from Lorraine, explaining the wide range of fibre skills that they cover and the incredible outreach work that they do, we were encouraged to get involved as quickly as possible.  There was fleece to card and spin, using a range of beautiful wheels; a large upright loom to try; smaller tabletop looms to experiment with; inkle band and tablet looms, and even tiny pin looms which could be used to make textured woven squares that could then be sewn together to make larger items.  Within minutes we were all happily involved in making, gently supported and encouraged by the guild members, and a joyful atmosphere of creativity fizzed through the sunny hall for the rest of the afternoon.  

​It was a joy to meet with like-minded fabric enthusiasts and the Worstead members could not have been more generous with their time, equipment and patience.  They had set up the equipment beforehand to ensure that we as beginners could access the making from the start, and had put out a wonderful display of their own beautiful work, sketchbooks, samples and equipment.  They were kind and experienced teachers, able to explain processes very simply and clearly but also full of detailed expert knowledge that they were eager to share. They showed us their extensive library, a stock of equipment which can be loaned to members to experiment with, and their treasured historic pieces, including the imposing Great Wheel, which was used to spin from a metal quill (in the style of the Sleeping Beauty wheel with its fatal spindle!) long before the treadle wheel was invented.

This was such a happy afternoon, with a real feeling of shared interests and community, and it took a lot of effort to tear ourselves away – several of us already planning our Google searches for looms for sale!  Our sincere thanks go to the Worstead Guild, who made us feel so welcome.  For anyone interested in learning more about spinning, weaving or dyeing, their warm community would be a wonderful place to start.  As well as frequent workshop sessions for members they also run a varied range of one-off courses during the year.  They have a super website here: Worstead Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, England
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​Or pop along to their Woolly Weekend in June to meet the members, see their work and perhaps have a go yourself!

The small but trusty band of members who joined our Crafty Chat on the 25th Feb were treated to some fascinating pictures of textile-related items from the recent Silk Road exhibition at the British Museum.  Caroline, our chair, had visited the exhibition in January and treated us to a wonderful whistle-stop tour of some of the gorgeous artefacts on display.  The exhibition covered the period from 500-1000AD, and sought to illustrate the incredible artistic links and influences that spread across the world from the Silk Road countries during this time.  Highlights included an enormous silk embroidery from China, stunning in its size and detail, and two beautiful gold and red enamel shoulder clasps from our own Sutton Hoo burial treasure.  It was so interesting to be reminded that such skill and artistry is part of our ancient history, and that for so long human beings have been connected and inspired by their love of beauty and craftsmanship.

​Discussion turned to the very modern craftsmanship of our own members, and Wendy showed us some beautiful embroidered ‘quilt as you go’ padded hexagons that she was making.  Details and examples can be found online, and she recommended a book called ‘Quilt As You Go’ by Carolyn Forster.  Anne-Marie showed us the latest in her collection of charming ‘Valentine’s Desk Quilts’ that she makes every year for her lucky husband, and Jane promised us that after being snowed under with paperwork, she would soon be returning to her experiments with Elizabethan ruffs!  As usual the conversation was lively and wide-ranging: we learnt about Caroline’s first forays into pottery, lingered over the design details of the Regency dresses in the recent BBC drama ‘Miss Austen’ (a series highly recommended for historical drama fans by our members!), and delved into the knotty technicalities of rag rug making – ‘hooky’, ‘proddy’ or ‘proggy’?  We were commenting on the social history literally woven into those rugs, and the fact that they documented family history through the textiles used to make them.  Deirdre told us about a display she had seen at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk where fabrics from a C17th rats’ nest were shown with an explanation of the incredible insight that they had provided for costume historians about clothing and textiles at the time. Perhaps we do all need to look at our scraps and rags with more respect – they may well be invaluable documentary evidence for the historians of the future!

​In passing, Deirdre also mentioned that Hemingford Grey Manor near Huntingdon, is well worth a visit.  It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain, and has some stunning gardens.  Some of us had come across Lucy M. Boston, who lived there and created the garden, as the author of the famous ‘Green Knowe’ series of books for children, based on her own house, but we also discovered that she was a prolific and influential quilter!  It gave us yet another creative rabbit hole down which to disappear one day!

​What a lovely way to pass an hour or two on a cold, wet afternoon, nattering to like-minded fashion, design and crafting fans.  There is always room in these chats for more, and they are relaxed, friendly and really inspiring.  Our next chat will take place on 1st April at 2pm – any Fools welcome!  Please do consider making yourself a cup of tea, grabbing a biscuit, and joining us.  

Those of us who had signed up for the first online event of 2025 were delighted by the fascinating insights offered into an unusual collection of men’s underwear that has recently been donated to the Fashion and Textiles Institute at Falmouth University.  Dr Shaun Cole, Associate Professor in Fashion at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, has been researching this collection  together with Falmouth’s Textiles and Dress Collection Curator, Di Downs. Using photographs of items in the collection, as well as his own
illustrative material, Dr Coles led us on a wonderful tour of the changes and developments in men’s bodywear from the 1940s to the 2010s. 

​Dr Cole, who has written widely on menswear and gay fashion, was able to use his detailed knowledge to highlight important turning points in the history of men’s underwear, including the all-important patenting of jockey shorts with a double layer front panel by Coopers in the USA in 1935.  When these new-fangled garments were put on sale by Coopers in Chicago they were viewed by some with suspicion, particularly because Chicago was facing its coldest winter ever!  But the first batch of 600 pairs sold out almost immediately – they were an instant hit, and Coopers never looked back, particularly after patenting their famous ‘Y-Front’ adaptation in 1942!

​Another sea-change occurred in 1982 with the introduction of the famous branded waistband white Calvin Klein shorts.  These were very like jockeys but with a reduced rise and tighter fit, and their introduction was coupled with a new style of advertising, this time focusing on the physical attractiveness of the models in their underwear rather than its practicality and  comfort, with smouldering media and sports stars photographed from low angles which emphasized their – ahem – masculinity.  Suddenly, underwear was overtly sexy, becoming a real fashion item and an important part of most fashion houses’ collections.
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Dr Cole used some wonderful historical advertising material to illustrate his talk, and was able to show how men’s swimwear developed alongside underwear, both reflecting not only technological developments in fabrics and construction methods that enabled the creation of more comfortable, closer-fitting garments, but also changing social attitudes. 

It was this linking of the fashion trends in underwear with social history which I found particularly fascinating.  For example, it was the first time that I heard the suggestion that the Aids epidemic in the late 20th century could have been a contributing factor to the returning popularity of looser boxer shorts for men; Dr Cole acknowledged that there was undoubtedly some cross-over from rising interest in sports wear and the longer, looser shorts favoured by stars such as Michael Jordan, but also pointed out that the reaction against Aids caused people to favour less figure-hugging garments and move towards a less explicitly sexualised male silhouette.
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Towards the end of his talk Dr Cole discussed the ways in which new breathable fabrics and the technology that enables manufacturers to produce seamless, structured circular knits, has led to more emphasis both on healthy bodywear and the ability to use underwear to sculpt the torso more effectively.  Certainly more liberal attitudes have seen the introduction of humour into mainstream advertising, as evidenced by snooker player Willie Thorne’s range of briefs called ‘Big Willie’, boasting models such as ‘Mr Maximum’!  But he also noted that although men, like women, do now use ‘foundation wear’ to enhance their physical shape, he felt that we were still a long way away from there being a standard underpants crotch sizing scale for men!
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This was a really informative, interesting talk, delivered with gentle humour, tact and a real ability to link the technical aspects of fashion with the social context in which they developed.  It gave rise to some detailed and thoughtful discussion afterwards, and certainly made us all want to read Shaun Cole’s book ‘The Story of Men’s Underwear’ and also to see some of the swimwear garments from the collection which are due to make a guest appearance in Amber Butchart’s new exhibition ‘Splash – A Century of Swimming and Style’ at The Design Museum, Kensington, London,
opening on 28 March 2025. 

Jenny Fletcher

​Shaun Cole's book 'The Story of Men's Underwear is available here: The Story of Men's Underwear: Cole, Shaun: 9781646993673: Amazon.com: Books

 

​For thousands of years men and women have joined together pieces of fabric and decorated them with stitches.  Joy Evitt’s fascinating talk explored the many inventive tools and implements they have used through the ages.
 
Not only was her talk full of fascinating facts, examples and stories, Joy also brought along an extraordinary collection of original sewing tools and paraphernalia.  There were fifteenth century pins dredged up by mudlarks from the banks of the River Thames, decorative needle cases, pin cushions, scissors and ingenious novelty tape measures.  

​The Victorians particularly coveted beautiful sewing boxes full of bone handled button hooks and bobbins for the home sewer and dressmaker.

Outlaws – Renegades of Fashion
 
At the January Crafty Chat Shobha Edgell shared some pictures from her visit to the Renegades of Fashion exhibition at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum.  This is a celebration of the most extravagant dress in 80s London, centring around the legendary nightclub, Taboo, opened by designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery in 1985.
 
Original outfits lent by former club-goers illustrated how it became a magnet for fashionistas and designers.  The clothes are radical, vibrant and extraordinary, and demonstrate how creative and influential their creators were.  Take a look at some of them here.