@maxmosscrop

Eyeless heddles. I recently went back to Gressenha

Eyeless heddles. I recently went back to Gressenhall to make a detailed inspection of a set of historic weaver’s gear with unusual clasped heddles from the Norfolk linen weaving villages of North & South Lopham. I realise heddles might be something of a niche interest, but if you want to find out more I’ve written a blog about this on my website, link in bio. Thanks to the curator @gressenhall_fw for generous help.

I’m making 9 end huckaback. The very last photo

I’m making 9 end huckaback. The very last photo is a length of this cloth made in Lopham, Norfolk, sometime before 1925, from the small collection of Lopham linen in the care of the village church warden, caught in late afternoon sunlight when I visited last year.
#lophamlinen #northlopham #linenweaving #norfolkhistort #crafthistory #handloomweaving #huckaback

Temples. My copy (above) of an old, probably 19th

Temples. My copy (above) of an old, probably 19th century, weaver’s temple (below) from Lopham in Norfolk, recently rediscovered in the collection @gressenhall_fw . The original is monogrammed “GS” and perhaps belonged to George Shaw, one of the small delegation of linen weavers who met with the Commissioner for the Parliamentary Report on the Condition of the Handloom Weavers, in the Bell public house in North Lopham on 15th February 1839. The film clip of a similar temple in use is from the wonderful “Baüernwerk im Rheinland / Bäuerliche Leinenweberei”, recording the re-enactment of traditional linen weaving in Dickenschied, Germany, 1978-1979, courtesy of LVR Landschaftsverbandes Rheinland. I haven’t yet had a chance to use this as it’s too big for the stuff I’m making right now, but I often find these old style tools have significant advantages over modern counterparts.

Beaming the dressed warp from my last post. The te

Beaming the dressed warp from my last post. The technique of dressing the warp in the chain, instead of on the loom, seems to have worked: at least it hasn’t glued itself together as I feared it might. This is also the first time I have tried beaming without the help of flanges on the beam to prevent the warp collapsing at the ends. This more traditional method involves gradually increasing the angle of the raddle, so decreasing the width of the warp as it winds on, creating a nice taper at the ends (thanks @theburroughsgarret for advice on that). I made a bracket which holds the raddle pivoted in the centre to help me do this single-handed. The proof will be in the pudding.
#handloomweaving #weavingtechnique #linenweaving

Dressing and drying a chained linen warp. The 19th

Dressing and drying a chained linen warp. The 19th century linen weavers of North & South Lopham dressed their warps with flour-paste. Percy Beales wrote about this in a manuscript article @craftsstudycentre and some of the examples of Lopham linen in the collection of Norfolk Museums are unwashed and stiff from the starch dressing. I had assumed the dressing was applied to the warp while it was on the loom, but this interrupts the weaving as it needs time to dry, at least partially, before weaving can recommence. This is hard to reconcile with evidence I found recently indicating they were weaving an impressive 7 or 8 yards a day. Perhaps they were dressing and drying their warps before mounting them in the loom, which is the possibility I’m now exploring.
Thanks to @dovetail_and_shine for sharing his experience.
#linenweaving #weavingmethods #crafthistory #handweaving #handloomweaving

Hemming ‘Queen’s Huck’ linen for hand towels

Hemming ‘Queen’s Huck’ linen for hand towels & napkins.
I recently read, amongst the papers left by Eric Pursehouse, historian and journalist, @norfolk_record_office , a note about an interview in 1961 with Eleanor Baker, née Ludbrook, aged 89, whose mother used to sew hems on towels and sheets in North Lopham for T. W. & J. Buckenham, 48 pairs at a time. Charles, Thomas and Edward Ludbrook all appear as weavers between 1876 and 1911 in the Buckenham’s putting-out ledger preserved @gressenhall_fw
According to Percy Beales: “The hemming was always done by the women of the village, usually the wives of the weavers, and they had a special way of hemming only done by them in this village, but the secret of it I have now forgotten.”
(unpublished manuscript about the Lopham Linen industry, Rita and Percy Beales Archive @craftsstudycentre )

An arrangement of handwoven linens after a photogr

An arrangement of handwoven linens after a photograph of a display by Rita Beales c.1950s (2nd image) from the Rita & Percy Beales archive @craftsstudycentre
The jug holding the daffodils is by @lily.pearmain.ceramics
Rita & Percy Beales were both musicians when they married in 1917. In 1926 they moved to the Norfolk village of North Lopham where Percy’s uncle Stephen Beales had been a linen manufacturer. They bought The Limes, the house previously owned by linen manufacturer Thomas Buckenham, and it was there that they learned the crafts of spinning & weaving.
The linen behind the jug in my photo is my rendition of “Queen’s Huck”, once woven in North Lopham for Queen Victoria.

Cutting Queen’s Huck, for towels and napkins. Th

Cutting Queen’s Huck, for towels and napkins. Three months in the making.
.
#handwovenlinen #huckaback #handtowels

Weaving “Queen’s Huck” linen, last made in t

Weaving “Queen’s Huck” linen, last made in the 1890s in North Lopham, Norfolk, for Queen Victoria’s residence Osborne House. A weaver by the name of William Pain was paid £1 - 16s for weaving 120 yards of this between 28th October and 25th November 1893. The third image is from a putting-out ledger in the collection of Norfolk Museums @gressenhall_fw

Preparing for warp dressing. I recently built thes

Preparing for warp dressing. I recently built these new extensions which allow me to move the yarn beam back a few feet, thereby doubling the length of warp that I can dress in one go. (I posted an experimental version of this a few weeks ago.) I find warp dressing to be essential for weaving singles linen, but it interrupts the rhythm of weaving and the warp takes a while to dry after the starch paste has been brushed on. The more warp I can dress at once, the better. This kind of arrangement for holding the yarn beam a few feet behind its normal position seems once to have been common practice in parts of Europe, although I have found no evidence for its use in this country. The second photo shows the warp after dressing, with extra lease sticks inserted while it dries.
#linen #linenweaving #handweaving #crafthistory #handloomweaving #warpdressing

Close-ups showing structure of “Queen’s Huck” linen currently on the loom.

Two new posts about the old Lopham linen industry

Two new posts about the old Lopham linen industry on my website, link in bio.

Some of the good things @craftsstudycentre today:

Some of the good things @craftsstudycentre today:
1-3: hand spun, handwoven linen serviettes and place-mat by Rita Beales, 1950s
4-5: handwoven, handmade blouse by Elizabeth Peacock, 1930s
6-7: C18th Staffordshire teapot and woven tapestry from the fascinating exhibition “Obsolescence & Renewal” by @neilbrownsword .
(1-5 selected for OPEN by Rising Star @csmithjewellery from @newashgate gallery)

“Queen’s Huck” on the loom. This is a copy o

“Queen’s Huck” on the loom. This is a copy of linen towelling made in the Norfolk village of North Lopham, for Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s residence on the Isle of Wight, in the nineteenth century. The original (4th pic, in the collection of Norfolk Museums @gressenhall_fw) was woven square, with diagonals running roughly 45 degrees, which is what I’m aiming for too.
@englishheritage

This is an experimental mock-up of an extension on

This is an experimental mock-up of an extension on the back of the loom for warp dressing. I find warp dressing to be essential for weaving singles linen, but it interrupts the rhythm of weaving and it takes a while for the warp to dry after the starch paste has been brushed on. The more warp I can dress at once, the better. This kind of arrangement for holding the yarn beam a few feet behind its normal position seems to have been common practice in parts of Europe, as shown in the painting by Van Gogh of a linen weaver in Neunen in the Netherlands from 1883-4 and the illustration from 1724. This set-up seems to work well so I plan to make a more permanent extension that can quickly be erected and taken down. Final image is from “A Treatise concerning the Manner of Fallowing of Ground, Raising of Grass-Seeds, and Training of Lint and Hemp, for the increase and improvement of Linnen-Manufactories in Scotland, by the Honourable Society for Improving in the Knowledge of Agriculture”, sometimes shortened to “Farming in Scotland”! It was published in Edinburgh in 1724 and is attributed to William Mackintosh.

Handwoven linen washed in conker soap. In the aut

Handwoven linen washed in conker soap. In the autumn I posted about a theory that horse chestnuts were once used in Norfolk to bleach linen. I was sceptical. Some of you commented that soap can be made from conkers, which made me wonder. I recently got round to testing this out: the sample on top is washed in soap made from crushed conkers, the lower sample in normal liquid soap. Horse chestnuts do seem to make an effective soap, but so far I haven’t see any additional bleaching effect.
#horsechestnuts #linen #bleachinglinen

I found these photos of the old weaving shed at Th

I found these photos of the old weaving shed at The Limes, North Lopham, in the Journal of the Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society from 1975. The Limes was once the family home of Thomas Buckenham, manufacturer of the finest linen in England during the 19th century. The weaving shed housed Jacquard looms and warping equipment. The house was bought in 1926 by Percy & Rita Beales who used the old barn as a craft shop in the 1930s. The 4th photo is from Rita & Percy Beales archive @craftsstudycentre . The barn was later used for rearing turkeys.
Photos from: “A Norfolk Linen Centre / ‘The Limes’, North Lopham”. I.M. Manning. Photos by P. Tolley.
Journal of the Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society, Vol 1 No 9. July 1975.
#industrialarcheology #norfolkhistory #crafthistory
#lophamlinen #linenweaving

Describing linen: “It is a symbol of firmness, i

Describing linen: “It is a symbol of firmness, incorruption and of the clearest splendour. It is made of nothing mortal and becomes brighter and more resembling light the more it is cleansed by washing.” Philo of Alexandria.

From the Quartely News of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers No. 20- May, 1937. Collected in the Rita & Percy Beales Archive at the @craftsstudycentre University of the Creative Arts, Farnham.

Pirn winding. I made this winder a few years ago,

Pirn winding. I made this winder a few years ago, with an old sewing machine motor and a drill chuck. One day I might make a nice 19th century style hand winder with a big wheel, but in the meantime this works perfectly well. It makes a difference which way the yarn comes off the spool and winds onto the pirn. Whenever yarn comes off the end of a package, as it does from a pirn in an end-feed shuttle, it acquires twist. This can either add to, or subtract from, the twist already given to the yarn when it was spun. I prefer less twist in my weft, to make it more pliant and turn better at the selvedges.

This linen towel is copied from an example in the

This linen towel is copied from an example in the collection of Norfolk Museums @gressenhall_fw, woven in North Lopham c. 1900. It came as a nice surprise to see how it puckers up after washing. The 2nd & 3rd photos show my cloth loom-state (bottom), washed (middle) and ironed (top).

“Ancient looms and time-honoured plans”. The h

“Ancient looms and time-honoured plans”. The handloom linen industry of North & South Lopham has been one of my main sources of research and inspiration in recent years. It was already seen as an anachronism in 1894 when this newspaper article was written, describing the industry as “a link with the far-away past… which brings us in touch with the Flemish craftsmen of the twelfth century, with their ancient looms and time-honoured plans.” (Full article on my blog: Hand Loom Weaving (1894)). The industry survived against all the odds until the early 20th century through the loyalty of a few discerning customers, including the Royal Household. A copy of the article was saved by Rita & Percy Beales and is now amongst their papers @craftsstudycentre University for the Creative Arts, Farnham.

Handmade heddles working nicely. I’m making “Q

Handmade heddles working nicely. I’m making “Queen’s Huck”, last woven in Norfolk around 1900.

Cutting handwoven linen for bath towels. This loom

Cutting handwoven linen for bath towels. This loom-state linen is quite stiff from the flour paste that I apply as a warp dressing, and smells pleasantly of roast dinners from the beef dripping that went on next. It is a copy of towelling made in Norfolk (where they preferred mutton, I believe) until the early 20th century, examples of which are kept @gressenhall_fw and Norfolk Museums Service.

Thanks everyone who came to the open studio over t

Thanks everyone who came to the open studio over the weekend, old friends & new, for your interest & support. I still have a few linen towels & napkins, including these “Right M and O Huggaback” hand-towels, from an eighteenth century draught. DM if interested.
#handwoven #huckaback #linen

Cattern cakes, because today is Old St. Catherine’s Day, once celebrated by spinners, weavers and lacemakers. According to the East Anglian Daily Times from 1894 “the sixth of December was their “Catherine” day, an annual feast to commemorate the good Queen Catherine… they drank to their patron saint, and boisterously quaffed to the health and prosperity of their own happy selves.”
By a very happy coincidence, this evening is also the opening of our open studio, so please come and help me scoff some cattern cakes, 6-9pm, Coldharbour Studios, 26-34 Southwell Road, London SE5 9PG

Queen’s Huck, first few inches on the loom, last

Queen’s Huck, first few inches on the loom, last woven over a century ago in North Lopham, Norfolk. So called because it was made for Queen Victoria’s household on the Isle of Wight. The weaver William Pain was paid £1 - 16s for weaving 120 yards of this in November 1893. Come and see how it’s made at the open studio this weekend. @camberwellartsfestival
Last image is from a ‘putting out’ ledger in the collection of Norfolk Museums @gressenhall_fw

Sleying the reed. I’m hoping to have this up and

Sleying the reed. I’m hoping to have this up and running before the open studio this weekend.
The technique of using a pair of lease sticks to aid the selection of threads is from John Tovey (1965) “The Technique of Weaving”: “To make selection of the warp ends easier when a complicated threading or a large number of shafts or a high sett is being used, the shafts can be raised by hand and two cross sticks put into the plain weave (or the nearest to plain weave that is possible), in front of the shafts. Selection from this cross is easier than selection from between the heddles.”
#handweaving #weavingtechnique #techniqueofweaving #sleyingthereed @camberwellartsfestival

Limited edition linen huckaback towels, handmade i

Limited edition linen huckaback towels, handmade in Camberwell, for the open studio this weekend.
Friday 6th 6-9pm
Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th 11am -6pm
Coldharbour Studios 26-34 Southwell Road London SE5 9PG @camberwellartsfestival
#handwoven #linen #huckaback

Friday 6th December 6-9pm Saturday 7th & Sunday 8t

Friday 6th December 6-9pm
Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th 11-6pm
Coldharbour Studios
26 Southwell Road
London SE5 9PG
Part of @camberwellartsfestival

Heddle making again. These are for a patterned huc

Heddle making again. These are for a patterned huckaback once made in North Lopham for Queen Victoria. It has a fairly intricate threading with a 3 inch repeat and a different distribution of heddles on each of the 6 shafts. Single knots on the eyes this time, for aficionados. I hope to have this on the loom for our open studio on 6th (evening) and 7th & 8th December.🤞
Thanks to @theburroughsgarret for showing the way on knitted heddles.
#heddles #linenweaving #handloomweaving #historictextiles #queenvictoria

This bobbin winder is now in the Museum of Norfolk

This bobbin winder is now in the Museum of Norfolk Life @gressenhall_fw where I spent the day on Monday, but it used to live at the Limes, the house in North Lopham owned by linen manufacturer Thomas Buckenham. The second photo shows it being used by Ellen Bale (are they feathers in her hat?) who inherited the house and business in 1905. The man in the flat cap standing behind her is the weaver Albert Tyler. I believe Ellen Bale gave the winder to the City of Norwich in 1923.
Many thanks to staff from Norfolk Museums Service and Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse for helping with my visit.
#NorthLopham #handloomweavers #handloomweaving #linenweaving #crafthistory #craft #bobbinwinder #norfolkhistory

Please join me on the evening of Friday 6th Decemb

Please join me on the evening of Friday 6th December 6-9pm or during the day on Saturday 7th or Sunday 8th December 11-6pm, at Studio 14, Coldharbour Studios, 26 Southwell Road, London SE5 9PG.

Part of @camberwellartsfestival Winter Festival. You can also visit the studios of fellow artists and makers @coldharbourstudios and @clockworkstudiosse5 next door.

I hope to have some Cattern Cakes to mark the occasion of Old St. Catherine’s Day on 6th December, once celebrated as a feast day by the linen weavers of Norfolk.

5 minute walk from Loughborough Junction Rail Station; Buses 35, 45, 345 from Brixton or Camberwell.

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