Dear Jeri and Susan Thanks for the kind comments; I can assure you I did think very carefully before contradicting Mrs Carter!! I do, however, wear evening dress, with a dress shirt, at least a couple of times a year at non-lace events, and like to wear my lace then, if possible, and a full jabot would be a bit ott. At present I wear an Elizabethan metal lace braid down the front of the shirt, pattern generally adapted from one of Gil Dye's reconstructions, which is suitable for other occasions - though I have left a dinner without the braid, having given it to someone who asked where I bought the shirt! However, it was a charity do, and a donation was made. I suppose I could have given him the pattern and a teacher's contact details.
I don't attach the lace at all permanently to the shirt, just tacking it on with invisible thread, and taking it off for separate care, so that is not an issue. I suspect the early braids were valued similarly; much better than having a garment embroidered, where reuse and laundry would be a problem. Ruffs of course grew out of decorating the top of a shift or shirt, with the draw string producing the ruffles; the separate ruff again had the advantage of being usable with other garments, and being cared for separately. Later, lace was sewn to a v narrow strip of lace, the latter being attached to the garment, so that any careless removal could be put right by replacing the narrow edging, rather than the valuable lace. The best image of this sort of jabot I could find in a short search is on a commercial site, of which I have no other knowledge: http://www.civicrobes.com/Pages/Robes/Accessories/Accesories.htm I think it shows how it is constructed, as Jeri described. No herringbone; shortening trousers is a life skill for me unfortunately (5foot 4inch/163cm tall) and I minimise the amount of herringbone I do! As Jeri says, it is a good way for anyone to embellish a blouse as well as a shirt. It needs a fine lace with no wrong side, so Honiton would not be ideal, nor some Beds. However, it would show off a fine Torchon very well, especially if it had a fairly deep fan on the headside - a good project for someone at any level who wanted to make something to wear. leonard...@yahoo.com > >Would a cravat-style jabot be appropriate for banquets at OIDFA Congresses? If yes, it seems to me that you would receive a respectable amount of attention for your efforts. > >A shirt with lace attached would need more laundering, resulting in wear-and-tear, than a jabot that can be removed and cleaned only when absolutely necessary. The smaller accessory (square with lace attached) would be easier to clean, press, and pack in a suitcase. The reason many old lace-trimmed garments have suffered damage is because people have been hurried when pressing; so hurried that the point of an iron was often thrust through a lace opening and ripped the lace. > >In fashions for women, there are blouses that feature jabots, so this is of interest to all. > >You described how the lace yardage is to be attached to a square of fabric. Can someone on Arachne recommend a resource illustrating the zig-zag means of attaching lace edging to a square of cloth? This would be nice for people with a lot of lace yardage to be assigned to a good use. I am reminded of Canadians who belong to the Five Metre Club. For those not familiar with this honor - members receive recognition for this accomplishment in the "Canadian Lacemaker Gazette". > >Jeri Ames in Maine USA >Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
