Did you have a guess?
A couple of days ago I posted a larger view of this close up, asking if anyone knew what it was. I had a few guesses in the email and more on facebook. If you guessed 'knotwork', you were correct! This is an example of knotwork done in straw, and was used to trim a bergere, or flat hat.
Knotting was a favorite pastime in the 17th c & 18th c...all a Ladye need was a length of fiber, and her knotting shuttle. The knotting shuttle looks very much like a tatting shuttle, just with open ends.
The fiber was wound round the shuttle, as shown in the 18th c painting above, and then a series of knots were tied in the material....so in the end, one had lengths of knotted silk, linen, straw....that could be used in trims and fringes, and also couched onto items for decorations.
This is a wonderfully quaint flat hat, it is unique in the fact that it is stitched leghorn straw, with a thick layer of gesso painted/pressed over the entire outer surface~ I have never seen this treatment before in this type of hat. In addition to the knotted straw fringes, there is a band of stitched straw rosettes and flowers, pressed paper leaves, and beautiful feather flowers, shown above. Red and green feathers have been tied round fluffy wool centers with silk.
Here one can appreciate how thick the gesso layer is, as it has cracked in several areas
Hope you enjoyed a peek at this wonderful hat~ I'll be back maybe tomorrow with another fun something....Happy Monday!
1 comment:
Wonderful Hat!
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