On Jan 15, 2008, at 1:04, Adele Shaak wrote:
I have heard of this before; that the linen didn't "yellow" on its own, it was deliberately treated in some manner so that it became bright yellow. I don't know how long the colour lasted - linen is notoriously difficult to dye,
Nowhere near as difficult as silk, which cannot tolerate very high temperatures necessary for some dyes to "take" properly. Linen can be boiled and no harm done...
The story I heard was that the only woman who knew the recipe grew rich from it and then murdered somebody and was hanged and her secret died with her, but that seems too melodramatic to be true.
It's almost impossible not to wonder whether the woman of your story was Mrs Turner, herself (of Jane Partridge's story), since, according to Jane:
He [Planche] goes on to say that it was apparently the case of a Mrs Turner who went to the gallows for her part in a poisoning, wearing a yellow ruff, which resulted in that particular fashion falling from favour - Mrs Turner had been the one to introduce it from France in the first place.
If she had been the person who knew the secret of making lace yellow, it wouldn't have been surprising that she'd wear it on her last day; other than the murder, it would have been her claim to fame.
It would also dovetail with your:
[...] the novelty of yellow linenwork made the process extremely popular, but the fad ended quickly
If a single person introduced the fashion and was then executed, the fashion would have died both because there was no longer anyone around who knew the secret, and because of the "ick factor" -- who'd want to wear something that the murderess made popular?
Thanks. Like I said, I've never heard of yellow lace before but these two -- possibly entwining -- stories are fascinating...
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