The Powerhouse Swatch Book

The Powerhouse Museum has an Swatch Book online. The wonderful thing about this site is that you can magnify the images right up to examining the actual fibers of the textile.

Swatches or small samples of fabric have been collected and compiled in the form of swatchbooks for at least 300 years. The Powerhouse Museum has several volumes containing thousands of bright, unfaded samples of fashionable fabric designs, braids and laces ranging from the 1830s to the 1990s. This site contains samples from the 1890s through to the 1920s.

Swatchbooks were made and used for a variety of purposes: Fabric manufacturers, agents and merchants assembled large swatchbooks to record and promote the latest fabric designs to markets at home and abroad. The books were also prepared by pattern services who sold fabric designs by various manufacturers. With the increasing variety of fabrics available in the early 20th century fabric shops also held swatchbooks from which their customers could choose the fabric lengths they would like to order.

Some of the swatchbooks in our collection have come from textile factories where they were used by generations of printers, weavers and designers as a continuous source of inspiration. Through this site we are providing access to this rich resource for future generations of designers.

Anyone interested in the history of fabric print or textile desing will find these fascinating. Of note is the statement that the patterns on this site are in the public domain in Australia.

 

The Macclesfield Silk Museum

The Macclesfield Silk Museum looks to house an interesting collection of approximately 4000 items which includes items large and small from 26 jacquard handlooms to silk covered buttons.

The collection is described as containing silk machinery, equipment, tools, textiles and costume but the items that caught my eye is the ” pattern book archive contains approximately 1000 volumes from various Macclesfield based silk manufacturers. These date from 1804 up to the 1980s when many firms finally closed down.”

Boy would I like to have a poke around those!

 

Vintage Aprons

Carolyn Ellertson has collected aprons for over 40 years. In Up Close and Personal with Vintage Aprons Carolyn shares her collection, her memories and situates these textiles with a cultural context.

I have found no other medium which covers a broader section of the needle arts for a longer period of time, is international in scope, transcends language barriers and is as individual as the person who makes them. They are like fabric fossils which if analyzed can give many clues to their origin, period of time they existed in and materials available at the time - one of the few ways of dating them. Their fabric content, design and embellishments reflect professions, textile trends, politics, holidays, age, needle arts, special interests and even the military. Worn by caregivers, they are symbols of care and relief; by homemakers, the knowledge that your needs are being met by someone who cares; by children, anticipation of a new learning experience or the fun of a favorite hobby; and by artists who will leave something that might, quite possibly, outlive them - in some cases for centuries.

 

From Russia with Love

Costumes made for the Russian Ballet between 1909 and 1933 are part of an exhibition From Russia with Love . The exhibition was held at the National Art Gallery a couple of years ago I thoroughly enjoyed it at the time but I did not realise the site was so comprehensive. Recently I enjoyed revisiting again online. The site is well worth exploring.

 

Bowes Museum

The Bowes Museum holds a collection of European fine and decorative arts of the period 1400-1875 with an emphasis on the arts of France. Images and information about many of the objects held in the collections which you can search for easily via a search option.

My searches turned up dolls, lace, clothing, quilts, and samplers. New objects are being added weekly so this site is worth poking around in and exploring.

 

Fashion and Textile Museum

Situated in London, the Fashion and Textile Museum is dedicated to contemporary fashion and textiles. Currently it is hosting an exhibition of the work of museum founder Zandra Rhodes under the title of A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles.

 

Fashion, Jewellery and Accessories at the Victorian and Albert Museum

The Victorian and Albert Museum in London have been collecting Fashion, Jewellery and Accessories since the collection was started. The collection now has items dating back to 17th century up to examples of contemporary fashion. Currently they are highlighting knitting, hosting a particularly interesting article on the Regional Knitting in the British Isles & Ireland and of course there are knitted items from their collection

 

Museum Net

Museum Net is an online resource which assists people looking for Museums in Britain. You can search by both district and keyword. I thought this one might be handy for anyone planning a holiday over there. I wish I was! I am a real museum and collection junkie and simply must feed my habit when I travel. I am never satisfied with a quick visit, I must notebook in hand browse the whole place. Luckily I married a museum junkie so often our holidays revolve around what collection we want to see.

 

Bronze age clothing

A few weeks ago Jerry was in Copenhagen and he paid a trip to the National Museum and has recently loaded photographs of bronze age clothing that were preserved in Danish bogs. I think some of the historical costumers will be interested to see these images.

 

Exhibition of Samplers

Patterns of Childhood: Samplers 1640-1900 is an exhibition of forty samplers selected from Glasgow Museums’ collections. The site presents information about the exhibit and a slide show online.