Embroidered with White - The 18th century fashion for Dresden lace and other whiteworked accessories By Heather Toomer, with drawings & patterns by Elspeth Reed Published by Heather Toomer Antique Lace 2008, paper cover, 180 pages Cover price 19.75 English pounds ISBN 978-0-9542730-2-6 Ordering info in separate memo, sent today -------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Lace Historians and Costumers on _l...@arachne_ (mailto:l...@arachne) , Once in a while a book comes along for which there is no equal, such as "Embroidered with White", by Heather Toomer, published in English. Many of us who could not read the German language "Dresdner Spitzen - Point de Saxe - Virtuose WeiBstickereien des 18.Jahrhunderts" by Ruth Bleckwenn (which I mentioned in a review dated July 28, 2003 ) will be thrilled to have this new book. (At _http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html_ (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html) search for "Point de Dresden", to find my earlier comments on this subject and the German language book.) In lace, we use categories as descriptors: Bobbin, Needle, Tatting, Crochet, Tambour, etc. In embroidery, there are categories as well. One of them is Whitework which applies to diverse techniques embroidered in white thread on white foundation fabric. The finished embroidered product is sometimes combined with lace. It can be a challenge to see where embroidery ends and lace begins! And because many white embroideries are called lace, there is some confusion. (Limerick, Carrickmacross, and even Tambouring are examples - all have a pre-existing foundation fabric.) In this book, very detailed captions and text are most instructive in that (by example) they instruct on how to study, analyze, and compare to needlelaces. This embroidery was often made to emulate the effect of lace, without violating sumptuary laws that forbade the wearing of lace by classes beneath royalty. Most of the costume accessories are stitched by a technique known in both the lace and embroidery communities as Dresden work or Point de Dresden. This embroidery was on a transparent even weave white fabric. Some threads in the base fabric were withdrawn and others were deflected by use of embroidery stitches that were so tight they left the visual effect of being lace. Such a wealth of information is easier to absorb in small doses. I read this book over a period of 3 weeks, at times using a magnifier to closely examine the many photos. All the photos, drawings and diagrams are very clear. This is not a how-to instruction book. Titles for instruction books today usually refer to "pulled work" or "drawn/withdrawn work", and classes are most likely offered by embroiderers' guilds. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
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