I'm coming late to this topic. I have several pairs of pillowcases made by my mother's aunt, probably late 1920s-40s. Three sets have designs based on rick-rack, all are crocheted. Only one set has white rick-rack; the other two are pink and blue respectively. Last year at a vintage clothing sale, I saw an early 1950s pattern for a short-sleeved blouse made entirely of rick-rack in straight lines - they went all around the body and were connected only at the tips of the rick to the rack above and below it. I bought another blouse pattern - late 1930s-early 40s - where the rick-rack was used like Battenberg lace, in swirls with the loopy stitches in between. The pattern is way too small for me but it was such a lovely piece that I thought at the time, yeah, sure, I'll rework that pattern and make it up some day. LynnD
On 10/21/05, Lavolta Press <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The Victorians liked "fancy braids" to make tape laces, and lacy > crocheted, knitted, and tatted constructions. That's the sort of thing > rickrack and its variants (in terms of the depth and pointiness of the > "waves") seem to have been made for originally. > > I have seen a few original garments dating from circa 1880 to circa 1910 > with areas of rackrack lace (yokes, cuffs, whole bodices, wide hem > trims) that did not include any fancy stitches, but which merely had > rickrack sewn in patterns, held with ordinary (hand) whipstitches at the > points. I have an 1880s dress with rickrack wide cuffs and I think some > other sections somewhere in my collection, but I can't find it. The > rickrack was coiled into small circular medallions, and then the > medallions were sewn together. I've also seen it sewn together in > straight designs. It's really quite effective. People who expect > rickrack to be just a few rows machine sewed on a child's dress don't > recognize the rickrack in rickrack work for what it is. > > There are obvious geometric possibilities for small square medallions, > straight horizontal or vertical rows, square medallions, and so on. I'd > like to find some original Victorian and Edwardian patterns though. I > mail ordered a 1910s rickrack pattern booklet from a used bookseller > yesterday but I don't know what's in it yet. > > BTW, all the examples I've seen so far were white and were on "lingerie" > type dresses or wrappers. > > Fran > Lavolta Press > http://www.lavoltapress.com > > Carolyn Kayta Barrows wrote: > > > > >> I don't remember it in either my facsimile of Mrs. Beeton, or Therese > >> de Dillmont. > > > > > > Wave braid crocheted together is really big in the 1880s, after Mrs. > > Beeton's and M. Dillmont's time. Start looking for it then. > > > > > > CarolynKayta Barrows > > dollmaker, fibre artist, textillian > > www.FunStuft.com <http://www.FunStuft.com> > > > > //// \\\ > > ////-@@\\\ > > (((( 7 ))) > > ((( <> )))) > > ) (((((( > > /----\ /---\)) > > > > _______________________________________________ > > h-costume mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > > > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
