Sprigged & Spotted

Tag: how to

  • Project Log: 18th Century Handsewn Shortgown Jacket

    Project Log: 18th Century Handsewn Shortgown Jacket

    Intellectual Effort and Tedium

    I hold great respect for the good people who made it through life in the tough centuries before my birth. I want to know them better and appreciate their ways of life, and I believe they were more like us than many will admit. As a twenty-first century woman who has always cultivated many hobbies, I am continually building upon transferable skills and pouring effort into creative endeavors which might most serve a particular moment in my life. At this point, I needed an activity which required a healthy balance of intellectual effort and tedium.

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  • A Makeshift Lucet: How to make your own forked weaving tool from recycled cardboard

    A Makeshift Lucet: How to make your own forked weaving tool from recycled cardboard

    What is a Lucet?

    A lucet is a fiberwork tool usually consisting of two parallel posts joined on one end to form a “U” shape. Some have a single handle at the bottom; some have a hole in the base of the “U.” A few examples of such tools, as well as cording likely made using one, exist in museums. They are associated with Vikings and are purported to have also been used by 17th and 18th century European cultures, but the details surrounding their use remain murky.

    The history aside, they are easy to learn to use for modern crafters, and I came up with my own method for making one of these nifty items.

    What makes a lucet different than other fiberwork tools?

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  • Mindful Mending: Repairing a Vintage Cotton Apron

    Mindful Mending: Repairing a Vintage Cotton Apron

    What is it with the 1950’s and poodles?

    For some reason, poodles seem to be the decade-defining embellishment in our collective cultural memory of the post-war, pre-hippie decade. However, I have never before handled a genuine mid-century garment adorned with the famous silhouette of a well-groomed poodle.

    In a jumble of aprons my grandmother had acquired over the years, I found just such a treasure: a home-sewn cotton apron with a repeating red and blue poodle design. Closer inspection revealed the apron had sustained some minor damage in its previous life. The most obvious issue was a small L-shaped tear in center near the waistband.

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