Not exactly a historical matter, but it's one of those 'if you guys don't know I don't know who does' questions.
I just acquired some lovely Italian yarn for a very very cheap price probably because it is bright orange. Bright orange is not my colour, especially since I have in mind making something I might wear to work with it. I have no issues with dying it (it's cotton, so I'm not expecting it to felt, just maybe shrink a bit). So the question is, is it better to dye the yarn now (and how on earth do you go about drying 800m of dyed yarn if so) or crochet it and dye the garment? Oh, and look I just thought of a historical question. I know crochet dates from the 18th century (I have this idea in my head that it's less than a coincidence that it shows up around the time tambour embroidery (also done with a hook) was popular). And it was very popular for lace type work in Edwardian times. But when did it start to be used for heavy or close garments in the same way as knitting (eg for bedjackets, shawls etc)? I have found a 50's era pattern for a New Look style dress crocheted out of organza ribbon (so tempted to give that a go), so I know it was at least before then. Claire _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
