This is the last of four posts about a selection of woven linens in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, from my study visits to the V&A East Storehouse in 2026. . . In this post I share photographs and details of eight pieces of linen woven in a variety of complex point-draft … Continue reading V & A Linens, part 4: Fancy Point-Draft Patterns
This is the third of four posts about a selection of woven linens in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, from my study visits to the V&A East Storehouse in 2026. . . This post is about a two pieces of woven linen which I include together because they do not belong with … Continue reading V & A Linens, part 3: Damask Diaper & Tabby Stripes
This is the second of four posts about a selection of woven linens in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, from my study visits to the V&A East Storehouse in 2026. . Bird’s Eye This post is about five pieces of linen each woven with a different Bird’s Eye pattern. The first of … Continue reading V & A Linens, part 2: Bird’s Eye
About the extent of the linen industry in the mid nineteenth century as suggested by the exhibits in the Crystal Palace; and a clue to the origin of linen yarn used in North Lopham. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations took place in the famous Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde … Continue reading Flax & Hemp at the Great Exhibition of 1851
This is the first of four posts about a selection of woven linens in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V & A’s textile collection has been phyically inaccessible to researchers for the last few years whilst preparations were made for a move from South Kensington to the new V & A … Continue reading V & A Linens, part 1: Barley Corn
Experimental working reconstruction of linen weaving ‘gear’ from North Lopham, Norfolk, c. 1920. This post describes my project to make a working reconstruction of some clasped heddles from Lopham in Norfolk. It follows on from Handmade Clasped Heddles from Lopham in Norfolk (Part 1) in which I gave a detailed description of the original gear. … Continue reading Handmade Clasped Heddles from Lopham in Norfolk (Part 2)
. . The simple heddle is central to all handloom weaving and deserving of attention. Modern handlooms are usually fitted with mass-produced polyester or wire heddles, but the making of bespoke string heddles was once a craft in its own right, practised by both weavers and specialist heddle makers. For the last couple of years … Continue reading Heddle making