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| Darning Sampler |
Lea Wait is the author of the Mainely
Needlepoint series, the Shadows Antique Print mystery series and historical
novels for ages 8 and up. Living and Writing on
the Coast of Maine is her series of essays on the writer’s life. Learn more
about Lea and her books at her website.
Have
You Fixed your Winklehawks and Barn-Doors?
Yes – in the world of sewing there really are such things.
In the early nineteenth century and before, fabric was valuable. Fabrics were
either woven at home, which took time, or purchased at great cost. So when a
piece of clothing was torn, repairs were essential.
Repairs should be invisible, so the clothing could continue
to be worn. When the fabric was so worn it could no longer be repaired, it was
either unwoven (as with wool) and re-used, or, at minimum, re-purposed, into
hooked or braided rugs, quilts, or clothes for children.
Learning to mend clothing and strengthen weak fabric, was an
essential skill for young women of most classes. Either at home or in schools
for young ladies, girls were taught how to mend, or darn, fabrics of various
textures.
And if you’re wondering – “winklehawks” were L-shaped tears,
and “barn-doors” were holes. An experienced stitcher could mend tears and holes
by perfectly simulating the cloth’s weave, so the mend was invisible. (The most
difficult problems to repair were corners, where not many threads were left to
work with.)
To learn these skills, girls practiced on “darning samplers.”
An instructor would tear cloth in various ways, and the young lady’s task was
to repair each hole or tear so it could not be seen. Once this exercise was
completed to the satisfaction of the instructor, the girl might add a little
embroidery to her work, and sometimes the result was framed.
Very different from the usual samplers done to illustrate
mastery of embroidery stitches, these darning samplers, particularly done in
Holland and Great Britain, can sometimes be found at antique shows or auctions,
and are examples of the practical arts of the past.
Thread the Halls
A Mainely Needlepoint
Mystery, book 6
There’s little time for Angie Curtis and her beau, Patrick
West to linger under the mistletoe. Angie is determined that this should be a
perfect Christmas – and so is Patrick’s mother, a Hollywood actress who
envisions a Maine Christmas as a Currier & Ives print. Patrick and Angie work to set the stage
for the holiday, but no one scripts the addition of a body in a snow drift to
the holiday festivities.
Buy Links
(Click here for a free prequel to Thread the Halls.)
Lea, what a lovely book cover! Best wishes with your release!!!
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