Delaines

as the fabrics ( Mousseline de laine) were called in England and America, were popular for clothing and decorating.
In 1836, Jose Hofer of Mulhouse, France began weaving a combination fabric using a strong cotton warp and a very fine wool weft. It was possible to print designs on this 'blend' using the steam style of printing. This involved fixing the mordant ( hanging the mordant-printed fabric in a warm, moist room for several days) to the fabric before dyeing.

Two more designs from my antique sample book.

Mousseline de laine

A very fine French woolen dress fabric, know as muslin of wool, was woven in the Alsace region of France in the early 1830s. Within a few years, several companies in Mulhouse were using the Perrotine printing machine on this luxurious fabric.

This example is from one of my 1863 fabric sample books.




I started my Apparel and Textiles class at Montana State University last Thursday. It is a required class for Family and Consumer Science, teaching option, majors. I also have 3 architecture students in the class. I was reading a section in  a text book...about the famous saying..'All fashions end in excess'. The point was that once a style reaches an extreme it is nearing the end of its cycle and people will be looking for a different look....a new fashion. The example given relates to architecture!

'When 18th century hoop skirts expanded to more than 8 feet in width'.....the image in my mind was a Civil War Era hoop skirt. I had made the mistake I cautioned my students about on Thursday....the 18th century really means the 1700s!! Then I remembered those wide skirts shown in pictures of Versailles.

These garments were so wide it was difficult to maneuver through doorways. The solution was to design doors wider than the skirts....thus the 'French door' which is popular still day.

Celebrating a 65th Birthday!

I think looking at textiles and quilts is a wonderful way to celebrate any birthday! My friend, Peg Juckett and I traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to the International Quilt Study Center to see 'Elegant Geometry'.

We spent most of Thursday examining the fabric prints in each hexagon! We were captivated.

I did much of my graduate work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (it transferred nicely into the History Program at Montana State University) but had not been back to see the International Quilt Study Center. It is an amazing facility. I highly recommend a visit. Friday was spent viewing Chintz Center Panel quilts in the Collection. I am working on a new project. It is an octagon appliqued in the center of another mosaic patchwork quilt. The fabrics used in the hexagons were as wonderful as the chintz center panel.

Saturday we were at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha to see a Currier and Ives Print Exhibit. I am always intrigued with that romanticized view of the West. Peg and I did also manage to fit in a 'few' Nebraska quilt shops!

Dinner Saturday night was at the very elegant Grey Plume in Omaha. To mark my 65th birthday, the menu was signed by the entire kitchen staff, including the chef, Clayton Chapman.

Now I am back in Bozeman, ready to begin teaching on Thursday and inspired to start work on my next Dargate fabric line.

Delaines 1863

I have 2 Delaines sample books. The one I am using today is dated 1863 and most of the designs are large scale. The fabric to the left is 11" X 17". A Delaine is a cotton warp with a wool weft and usually saturated colorations.

This sample is 12" X 13" and a beautiful green!

These are 9" X 11".

Dressgoods or Furnishing fabrics?



















We celebrated my 65th birthday New Years Eve...since I will be at the International Quilt Study Center's Mosaic Exhibit with my friend Peg Juckett for my birthday on January 7. Ron had a very large heavy wrapped package for me.....an 11 quart hammered copper jam pan.....WOW. This has been on the top of my list since I took a wonderful jam making class early this fall (See Sept 18th post). So....we left immediately on a fruit run and I have spent the last 3 days working on an 'everyday marmalade'....lemon and pink grapefruit. The jam pan was the right tool for the job and the color, texture and taste of the marmalade is superb.

Happy Holiday

Two grandsons...4 and 6 years old..what fun!

Silhouettes in fabric design

Last week I talked about 100 years of changing silhouettes in fashion. Today...100 years in textile design. The silhouette of a 'fern' to the left from the c. 1830 Dargate book (French) is a discharged chrome orange.

This silhouette of a flower and once again a 'ferny' branch is from my Turn of the 20th Century day book (American). The delicate lavender and sage coloration is from pigment. The actual date it was printed is Sept 13, 1900.

These samples are from an American company...Spring 1939.
The simple red,white and blue colors are classic for the War Years  for America (1941-45).


Notice the change in delicacy and coloration of the silhouettes over 100 years

Etienne de Silhouette

A silhouette is a likeness cut from dark material and mounted on a light background..or the opposite.The term originated with Etienne de Silhouette, the French finance minster during a period of financial austerity brought on by the Seven Years War (1756-1763).  Due to his severe economic policies, his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply. A profile cut from black paper is an inexpensive portrait.

Silhouette is a term often used to describe a fashion. I am currently working on a lesson plan for my students about the fashion cycle. Today the beginning/ending of a 'fashion' is about 18-24 months. I want them to also be aware of the 'long view'...say 100 years (1810-1910). The female fashion silhouette (basically 3 shapes:bell, bouffant and straight) has changed from

Empire style with stays (Napoleon was trying to create a French empire)

to the bell shape of American Civil War dresses supported by hoops

by the late century...it was a bouffant style with bustle 

Each of these styles had distinctive undergarments.The Flapper discarded all corseting and returned to the straight silhouette.