Antique of the Week--Gorgeous Gown

I love Pinterest!  I found this gorgeous gown there, and traced back to the original website:  antiquedress.com .  I'll definitely be back on that site for an extended visit!  The gown is dated at 1910, and, according to the site, has been sold.  I'm guessing it's made of cotton.  It is nice how they showed it with white underneath, and also with black, so we can really see the pattern.  The more I look at this gown, the more I am amazed!  There are so many great design details in this one dress.

Front and back views

This bodice is what first drew me to the dress.  I love symmetry, which is not always a feature of Irish Crochet.  I also was really intrigued by the use of the square motifs down the front of the bodice.  These are usually seen sewn together in a row and used as a long piece of lace along a hem or perhaps put together for a collar or cuffs.  I've not seen them integrated into a garment in this way.  I love it!  The long leaf stems that extend down both sides of the bodice would be quite slimming, and are a lovely detail, speaking to my need for balance.

Bodice detail

The neckline on the dress has small flowers with dangling beads hanging from the center of each flower.  Beautiful!  And no need for a necklace.

Neckline detail

The skirt of the gown is equally as beautiful as the bodice.  It features an overall lace pattern, divided by the long leaf stems that come down from the shoulders.  There are some large flowers at the center of the skirt, below where the square motifs end.

Bottom of skirt

Hem detail

More skirt detail.  There are three-dimensional motifs throughout the dress.

Detail on skirt

I keep seeing more and more elements of IC that I would like to use in future projects.  How about a modern-day sweater with the beaded flower neckline?  Or a t-shirt style top in IC with the square motifs set down the center?   Needless to say, I love this gown!
~Kim
direct link to more photos of this gown

Modern Love--Kim's Shamrock Piece

Shamrocks from Priscilla and D'Arcy books

This little piece of Irish Crochet seemed like it would never be finished!  It started out as just the shamrock motifs.  I was planning to make a top or blouse but used No. 10 thread for the shamrocks, and thought they were a little big for what I had in mind.  The border that you see there (from a Priscilla book) was going to be a waist decoration.  It just wasn't working out so when the IC Lovers group on Ravelry had a backgrounds CAL (crochet-a-long) in October 2012, I was happy to use the shamrocks for that.  I had to make more, but once I got the layout designed, the filling in went pretty quickly.  I made the center first, with the close mesh, and then did the Clones Knots working from the center out to the edges.  I can see where I changed direction but overall I'm happy with finishing this!  I think I will make it into a pillow.

~~Kim

Clones Knots as taught by Maire Treanor

Flowers in the center border are from Duplet

Tidbit

The following excerpt is from "The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting and Needlework" by Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, and was published in 1854, in the US.  It's an interesting view of crochet in an historical context. ~~Kim

"Crochet Work proper is, in its present improved form, almost a modern invention.  It has only been introduced to any extent into this country within the last twenty years, but now it is very general, and our old-fashioned knitting work is completely thrown into the back ground by the Crochet needle.  The embroidered sheath and chased silver needle-case have disappeared even from the cherry-wood workstands of New England, and a thousand beautiful designs for chairs, cushions, toilets and wearing apparel, supply the place of the old-fashioned stocking basket with its well mended contents.  In England and Ireland, where the ladies are always industrious, Crochet work has arisen to the dignity of an art.  It is introduced into the national schools, and hundreds of poor are supported by the rich laces and pretty collars produced there.

It is quite wonderful to what perfection this art has reached in some districts of Ireland.  Every day develops new improvements and contributes some novel pattern to the world, which promises to render this class of lace making more popular than even the English point, has been, especially on this side of the Atlantic.  At the Crystal Palace this year, some specimens of Crochet collars, sleeves, and even entire dresses, were exhibited that had all the rich effect of old point lace.  Flowers, even raised in petals from the ground work, have been invented, and the most intricate patterns are given with a boldness of effect only to be found in the ancient lace we have mentioned.

Thus it is pleasant to see that what was late only a dainty accomplishment with which the gentlewoman idled away her time, promises to become a means of support to the working classes."

Thread Heaven at Lacis

I made a little trip up to Berkeley (California) last week and stopped in at Lacis for some shopping and inspiriation.   I browsed through many hooks, just getting one old standby--the Boye steel number 12.  I seem to use and lose this one more than most!  Of course, there were many types of white and ecru threads, including egyptian cotton and one hundred percent linen.  I just thought I'd share the colorful shelves of Lizbeth threads with you.  So many colors!  This is a view of about half the aisle, and there is another aisle on the other side with DMC and other types of thread.  I bought some Lizbeth in burnt orange, in number 10 and number 40.  I really exercised some self control here!!!
~~Kim

Colorful, wonderful thread at Lacis, in Berkely

Modern Love--Mirto's Skirt

Mirto's skirt, modeled by her daughter

Last month I walked into Stitches West (a fiber convention with classes and shopping here in the US), and right away I saw a woman wearing an amazing, colorful, crocheted skirt.  It was made in the Russian style of Irish Crochet and I stopped and complimented her on her skirt.  After I walked away, I thought, "hmmm, she looked familiar" so I went back and asked if we knew each other.  We did!  It was Mirto.  We had met in 2011 at Maire Treanor's Irish Crochet Workshop at Lacis!  It turned out we were both taking Myra Wood's awesome class on creative crochet shawls.  We spent the day together and promised to meet again.  She is very kind to share her process and photos with us here on the blog!

As a template, Mirto used a skirt that was flattering to her figure.  She started with the waist band sizing.  She wanted it to hang just below the waist.  She used a repetitive rhythmic design that she improvised as she went along.  She pinned her motifs right side up, and used Garden 5 Nazli Gelin yarn, Crystal Palace Panda Silk, and Araucania Lonco in reds.

She wanted to keep the motifs in a repetitive pattern until she got below the hips.  Her design at the waist of repeating small motifs is a very flattering design and creates interest without distracting from the pattern below at the hemline.

Mirto created nine gores (sections of the skirt).  In each section she placed a leaf pattern with a long stem leading to the hem.  She wiggled the stems, which she created with the Romanian cord method, so they had pleasing contours.  She placed her motifs in between the stems.  Mirto says it took her 4 hours to connect all the motifs of the first gore.  The subsequent gores ended up taking about 2 hours each to join.

Creating the sections and placing the lower motifs.

The skirt in progress, placed over the slip with which it is to be worn.

After she finished the body of the skirt, she added a bit more to the waist line, tapering it in a little, and adding a thin elastic cord.  I love how the hemline is irregular, following the contours of the motifs.

The finished skirt.  Amazing!

Modeled again by her lovely daughter!

Mirto writes, "It probably took me about a month to do. I set myself up for a deadline to show it at the 2012 Reno CGOA/TKOA fashion show-and nearly didn't make it!!"

Mirto, thank you again for sharing your beautiful skirt with us!  Do any of you have any projects you would like to share?  Please email me if you do!

~~Kim

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Better late than never to wish you all a happy day!
~Kim

Retro-Vintage Irish Crochet Wedding Dress

 So many of us have items of crochet or other antique linens passed down from our grandmothers, but do you have anything like this? 

Naimh on her wedding day.

Niamh Colfer is a Crochet Crafter and Designer based on the Hook Peninsula in south east Ireland. Her grandmother, Eileen O’Leary, taught her to crochet form the age of seven.You can find more information on her business “Hook Crochet” at: www.hookcrochet.com.  Thank you, Naimh, for sharing your story with us! ~~Kim

Naimh writes:

On September 21st 2012, I got married :) and I wore my grandmother’s wedding dress, which she wore for her wedding in September of 1959. It is a ballet length long sleeved dress of white Irish crochet. The circular skirt is trimmed with sprays of Irish crocheted roses and leaves falling from the waist to hemline. The bodice is trimmed with sprays of Irish crochet and the waist is encircled by roses. The unique touch about this lies in the fact that the entire outfit (and two bridesmaids dresses) were crocheted and made up by my great grandmother who completed this labour of love in just four months. The "Model Housekeeping" magazine at the time described it as "One of the prettiest weddings this summer".

To complement the dress, I crocheted an exquisite headpiece, a purse, compact mirror cover, shoe accessories and ring cushion, as well as the bridesmaids’ headpieces, the groomsmen buttonhole flowers and of course, the groom’s buttonhole flower. The table centres were bottles painted gold and covered with crochet lace motifs which I made and collected over the past couple of years.

Sadly, my Grandmother passed away in October 2011. For her funeral, as a tribute, I crocheted a lace flower for everyone in the family to wear on their lapel.

Dress detail.

Eileen O'Leary in her dress

Naimh's ring bearer pillow

Naimh's IC accented shoes