60 Years of Hampshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

Special article put together by Dawn Dunlop for the Hampshire Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers Guild's Jubilation Exhibition. The information in this article is collated from documents from  Hampshire WSD Guild Archives.

As a member of the Hampshire Guild of just 13 months, it has been very interesting looking through the archive at photographs, and slides and minutes books from the last 60 years. It certainly seems as though the guild has been very active over the years, and successful in bringing the skills to the public.
There has been involvement in many exhibitions since its early years and this is set to continue with the Jubilation exhibition in Winchester this year. The Guild has attended many shows too including the Romsey show for many years where members demonstrate their skills, display items they have made and introduce visitors to the world of weaving, spinning and dyeing. These shows are a great way to showcase the work of the Guild and its members.
Other major events over the years have included the Art for Everyone project (A4E), Fibre Fun and community events such as the dyeing day at Hawthorn Urban Wildlife Centre on Southampton Common. Another large project was the weaving of the Altar cloth for St Swithuns which will be on display at the exhibition in August.

[caption id="attachment_2108" align="aligncenter" width="498" caption="Woven Altar cloth for St Swithuns Church (from Hampshire WSD Guild Archives)"][/caption]

Hampshire Guild has great success in sharing their knowledge and skills within the community and especially with children who seem to love having a go at these crafts. Days such as A4E, fibre fun and the weaving afternoons at Hilliers have all been successful in introducing children to the crafts. The Guilds open day in September also attracts a good turn-out of members of the public. A real success story of Hampshire Guild has been the inception of the Junior Guild (see article later in newsletter), who meet in holidays and always seem to have so much fun learning from members of the Guild. The future certainly is bright and I personally look forward to being involved with the Guild for many years to come.
Dawn Dunlop, Guild Newsletter Editor

The day it all began, 15th July 1950

Many Weavers, Spinners and Dyers resided in Hampshire and an idea was born that a Hampshire Guild should be formed. Students from the Schools of Art in Winchester and Southampton were invited to an inaugural meeting at “Sandy Shoot” Burley, the home of Mrs Eileen Richards in the New Forest on July 15th 1950. In spite of the shocking weather, 31 attended the meeting bringing samples of weaving, spinning and dyeing.
Miss Hester Viney, Hon Sec of the Dorset Guild, brought messages of goodwill and assurances of help from the Guild. After some discussion a temporary committee was formed. Mrs Hodgson Chairman, Mrs E Richards Hon Sec, H.Thurston-Dale Hon Treasurer; Miss R Allen, Miss Aylivin County Art Advisor, Col A J Harris, Miss A Hendson, Mrs Hughes and Miss O Spencer-Smith. The subscription was 5/- per annum. The first meeting was held at the Southampton College of Art where Miss R Allen was Weaving Tutor, the second was held at Winchester School of Art and these were the venues for some time. Meetings were quarterly, and gradually membership increased and in 1952, at the AGM, Miss O Spencer-Smith was elected chairman and Mrs Ray Hon Sec.
1953 being Coronation Year, the Guild decided to have a four day Exhibition and Sale at the Southern County Show on Southsea Common. This was a great venture as little money was available, however a marquee was ordered and insurance arranged. Woven articles flooded in to the Selection Committee - stoles and scarves, lengths of tweed, cushion covers, table mats, bags and rugs. Weaving and Spinning demonstrations were arranged for stated times and a rota of Stewards drawn up for the four days. A week before the Show opened, a letter was received from the Duchess of Gloucesters Lady in Waiting stating the Duke and Duchess wished to visit the Exhibition. The Royal Visitors were very interested in the Exhibits and the spinning of flax by Miss Cox. The Duchess purchased a child’s skirt and accepted a knitting bag woven by a member of the Guild. The Duke and Duchess were received by Miss O Spencer-Smith and Brigadier Lucey who had served under the Duke.

Lady Cooper from Hursley was the Duchess’s Lady in Waiting, she was most interested in the exhibits and promised to return the next day, which she did and bought £100 worth of goods. The then Duke of Wellington was with the Duke of Gloucester and was most interested in the display of hand-woven tweeds. He asked me to put him in touch with a tweed weaver. I informed Miss O Spencer-Smith and she sent him some samples, he duly ordered tweed for three suits and wrote of his satisfaction in the material also that his tailor enjoyed making up such excellent cloth. The public were most interested in the demonstrations and Exhibits, at the end of the show the expenses were covered and a tired but happy Committee were glad the effort had been made.
Exhibitions and Sales were held at the Avenue Hall Southampton, the Romsey Show, Milner Hall Winchester, the New Forest Show and Southampton Show.
Gradually the membership declined. The School of Arts were no longer able to accommodate the Guild for meetings so a few were held at the Red Triangle Club Winchester and Portsmouth College of Art and the Winchester Centre.




[caption id="attachment_2106" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="AGM Garden picture from the archive (from Hampshire WSD Guild Archives)"][/caption]




The AGM during Miss O Spencer-Smith regime was always held in her garden at High Mead Bursledon during June. It was a pleasant social occasion, after the business was finished, and the speaker also, tea was served by Burseldon WI. Miss O Spencer-Smith allowed members to visit her workroom in the garden.
Membership gradually increased and good work was done. The Guild was fortunate having Miss A Hindson, Miss Allen and Miss Aylivin who gave good advice and the Guild had a name of good work.

Words by Margaret Ray from the Guild Archives

The Nomadic Origin of Felt

By Ane Løser
Translated by Eddie Roued-Cunliffe

Humans are not known to have traveled alone through history but have instead been accompanied by loyal animal friends standing by our side. In exchange for protection and cover they have given us warmth and sustenance. The sheep is one of these comrades who has not just given us meat, milk and cheese, but also a fur that is useful in a variety of ways. The qualities of wool itself must wait to be covered another time as it would make for a long and interesting article in itself. However, one must admit that few materials have as many abilities as wool. It is simply a fantastic material. So the sheep deserve a thank you for this.

This article will on the other hand focus on one of the oldest processes known to humans. Felting: the process of using water, heat and movement to create a tightly felted weave. We do not know where felt originated but the process is old, probably older than spinning and is likely to have originated in a time where humans were still dressed in skin.

One of the many legends about how felt came about comes from the story of Noah's Ark from the Old Testament. Noah lined the ark with wool before the flood to avoid the animals being hurt during the voyage across the seas. After the dove brought back the olive branch and all the animals were safely on solid ground again, Noah went back into the ark. In there he saw that the animals had processed the wool with their claws and hooves and the humidity of their breath, and the wool had become felted pieces of fabric that Noah could use to make clothes for his family.

The oldest discoveries, Scythians and the Pazyryk grave
The oldest traces of domestic sheep goes back to 7000 BCE (9000 years ago). There may very well have been domesticated sheep before this time but we have no archaeological finds to support this. How the felting process was actually discovered noone knows either, but it is my belief that we were taught by the sheep themselves, as their backsides are often covered with the finest felt created naturally by a combination of the sheep own body heat, urine and malted wool.

The oldest texts that mention the craft of felting are from China, but there is reason to believe that felting originated as a process in the area stretching from Western China to the Southern Russian plains in connection with the Scythian culture. Felted material protects against sun and the cold and can be used for a lot of different things such as tents, clothing, saddles and covers for horses. In these regions felt was given a magic and even a religious meaning. If for example you wanted to do something good for another person or protect them against bad luck, you would place them on a white felt rug. Another example could be making dolls of felt that protected the household and livestock against evil and brought them luck.

The Scythians are one of the first known nomadic people and around year 700 BCE the Chinese called the region where they roamed, felt-land. Herodotus (Greece c. 500 CE) describes traveling caravans as felt tents on wheels. During excavations of the prince grave of Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains from the year 300 BCE, about 2500 beautiful felt pieces were discovered. Most of these had been preserved well because of the permafrost in the area. The material consisted of tents, socks, ritual dolls, head decorations for horses, felt saddles with inlaid gold leaf and much more. From this material we see that the people who created these things in the cold maintains area were real artists that knew their craft to perfection. With abilities this advanced at this time, the technique of felting must have been around for quite a while in this region. Even today both Inner and Outer Mongolian tribes use felt tents, the so-called "Ger". "Yurt" which is the word mostly used for these tents is actually just the spot on which the "Ger" was erected. Today both the wooden frame and the felt cover is likely to be factory produced.

China: Middle Ages and manufacture
When felting via the Scythians became known in China, the empire did not count it for much. As the material became better known and the quality improved it was carried into the emperors palace as large carpets with silk embroidery and was thus elevated from being an everyday object to something luxurious. Many hundred years later China was in the forefront of felt manufacturing and in 1262 CE employed 29,000 people in this sector, which is quite a few when you put it into perspective of the time. In China felting became even more luxurious, not just by adding embroidery to it but also by lining it with silk which strengthened the material and gave an even more beautiful result.

Felt and freedom in the Antique
In my part of the world, Europe, felt was first mentioned in literature in Homer's Illiad (which is thought to have been written around 600 BCE). Here Odysseus wears a helmet of skin covered with felt. Later in the Roman empire felt became a sign of freedom. If a Roman slave was freed he was shaved and given a special felted cap, a pilleum libertatis, that showed his new status. Pilleum means felt cap and libertatis means freedom, so the cap was simply a felted freedom cap.

The oldest known image of the felting process comes from the town of Pompeii, settled in the 7th century BCE and covered in ashes from the volcano Vesuvius in 79 CE. In this great trade center c. 15-20,000 people were engaged in the textile industry, which covered felters, weavers and fullers. Fullers are also thought to have had great influence in the town's political life.

Discoveries from Northern Europe
Northern Europe does not have many discoveries of felt objects in archaeology because of soil conditions which degrade wool quite easily. But there are some. From Hordaland in Norway we have the oldest find, two felt fragments from the 6th century CE wrapped around a couple of burned bones in a bronze urn. The most noticeable discovery is a felt mask found in one of the ships from Haithabu's harbour (Slesvig, Germany). This mask was kept so well-preserved because before it went down with the ship it had been prepared with tar. This half-mask is brown (dyed with walnut), has pointed ears and looks most of all like a bull with a hole for the nose and two holes 6 cm apart for the eyes. The distance between the eyes fit the proportions of a human which can indicate that the mask was worn by a human, maybe as a part of a ritual.

From these latest centuries not much felt has survived either. Sweden, where there has been no archaeological discovery of felt yet, has on the other hand an unbroken, very living tradition of felting (mostly in the northern regions) which we do not find further south. Even so, in Denmark a special discovery from the 19th century shows that felt is used and at that for one of the most important things in a Samsø fisherman's life. The discovery from Samsø (a Danish island) consists of a felted bag for filtering the fisherman's snaps.

References:
Damgaard, A. 1994. Filt, Kunst, Teknik, Historie. Hovedland. (ISBN: 9788777391859)

Ågren, K. 1977. Tovning: om at lave filt af uld til sokker, vanter, huer og mange andre ting. Thaning og Appel. (ISBN: 9788741360829

Østergaard, E. 2003. Som syet til Jorden. Århus Universitetsforlag: Århus (ISBN: 9788772889344)

What are you saying with that Flower?

By Ingrid Murnane

[caption id="attachment_2628" align="aligncenter" width="459" caption="Flower brooch, copyright Ingrid Murnane"][/caption]

Spring is in the offing and will be here before you know it! After the catkins and the leaf buds comes the best bit: the flowers. But did you know that by giving and recieving flowers you may be making a statement that you weren't aware of? A declaration of forbidden love, or the capturing of souls in the afterlife, to name but a couple.
Historically plants and flowers have been associated with gods and goddesses and used in rituals for healing and love potions; protection and prosperity alike. Still used in Wiccan practice, many of these correspondences also survive elsewhere: for instance flowers decorate Christian churches and at times such as Harvest Festival the fruits of the land are placed on and around the altar.

On the death of a person, many people today will send a flower basket or wreath. Traditionally floral wreaths were intended to enclose the soul of the deceased and to prevent it coming back to haunt the living. Three year old Greek children were also traditionally bedecked with flowers at the Spring Equinox to recognise their reaching childhood safely without illness taking them. In Switzerland, the customs of crowning children with the crocus flower was said to ward off evil and illness too.

Some flower rituals are still carried out today. In many hospitals, red and white flowers are never mixed within the same vase in case of a death on the ward. Equally, today's brides might have a sprig of orange blossom in their bouquets in hopes for a marriage with children, but the former favourites rosemary and myrtle have fallen out of favour. In an interesting twist, the wallflower, now the term for someone so shy that they don't want to join in, previously was a symbol of a knight's faithfulness when away at war. And really, did you know that chicory can make you invisible?!

According to British pre-Victorian tradition, there was a flower for each month of the year, but the language of flowers really developed during the highly conservative period of the Victorian era. The Victorians were strongly restricted by the rules of etiquette when it was considered totally inappropriate to express feelings of love or affection. The language of flowers evolved when a meaning was assigned to specific flower by which means a lover could send flowers which conveyed a hidden romantic message. Some of the most popular flowers used were as follows, although the full list extends to around a hundred!

Bluebells meant faithfulness, buttercups radiance, camellias showed loveliness, the crocus meant happiness. A white carnation denoted purity of affection, but a red one meant the full, fiery passion of love! Daffodils could mean both shyness and diffidence, whereas dahlias or red, white or yellow showed a potential suitor a rebuff, dismissal or real distaste, respectively. To delay a meeting, Victorians sent a daisy, but for a goodbye, only a Michaelmas daisy would do. For remembrance whilst apart there was, of course, the forget-me-not, but watch out if you were sent a foxglove because this meant that your love thought you shallow. A gardenia showed sweetness and an iris ardour. Honeysuckle could be sent as a confirmation of betrothal, or lavender as a refusal of such (probably resulting in you getting sent some gladioli back as a sign of pain and upset.) Traditionally lilies were the sign of purity, but a tiger lily showed passion and the magnolia, strength. A morning glory flower denoted affection, but nothing more. A red poppy asked a suitor to be patient and to exercise moderation and a white poppy meant indecision. As today, the red rose meant 'I love you with all my heart', but the white rose showed a refusal of the affection and a yellow rose that the affection was misplaced. A sunflower was sent when a lady thought her gentleman was being too showy with his affections, whereas sweet peas approved of his tenderness. Lastly tulips were sent when a clear message was needed: red for a declaration of love, but yellow for refusal.

Combinations of flowers and plants could send a very particular message, which could be as specific as the time of day. A combination of ivy and buttercup denoted that a lady wished to tell her suitor 'I will meet you tomorrow, but cannot see you before ten.' There must have been a lot to learn in order to make sure the message was read correctly!

Growing or buying flowers is all very well, but we're crafty people here. Why not knit your own brooch with its hidden meaning? Whether you'd like to be showing your strength, or making a statement of ardour with an iris, there is a pattern out there for you.

Here are some good links for making your own daffodils, camellias, lilies, gardenias and morning glories.

For a more generic flower, that you could alter to fit your needs, this pattern is good.

If you really get into knitting and crocheting your own flowers, there are some great books available.

Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers and Knitted Flowers by Susie Johns are good ones to start with as they both have a wide range of flower types to make.

And if they aren't quite what you want, why not experiment with freeform knitting and crochet to make the shapes that you would like instead. Just watch out for the message that you might be sending!

The images in this post are copyright of Ingrid Murnane. If you wish to use the images please request permission from Ingrid.

References

Arcarti, Krystina. 1997. Language of Flowers: a beginners guide. Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN: 978-0340697818)

Fanshawe, Simon. 2005. The Done Thing. Century. (ISBN: 978-1844138739)

Greenaway, Kate. 2003. The Language of Flowers. Dover Publications Inc. (ISBN: 978-0486273723)

A Tale of Knitting

By Helene Agerskov Madsen


Knitting is probably the single most well-known craft technique today. Furthermore, knitting has received an immense renewal of interest over the last years with numerous knitting books being published and the establishment of knitting groups, societies and guilds. Nevertheless, it would probably be useful first to agree on what is meant by knitting: it can be defined as needlework created by interlacing a single thread in a series of connected loops using two or more straight eyeless needles. Other techniques of a similar nature are sprang, knotless netting (i.e. nalbinding) and crocheting. Likely predecessors of the needles known today are knitting frames and the earliest needles are known to have a notch in one end and a point in the other. Just like the knitting needles still in use today in the Balkans and South America and very much like our modern crochet needles.
Speaking of knitting versus crochet, an amusing Finnish country proverb is supposed to say: “He who wears knitted mittens has an unskilled wife”. This is from a time when both techniques were in use but knitting was obviously looked down upon, because the alternative, knotless netting (i.e. nalebinding) was more time consuming and demanded greater nimbleness of the left-hand fingers. But let us not dwell more on this rivalry as it bears too close similarity to the rivalry between knitting and crochet (though the enlightened reader will appreciate each technique for its specific qualities in different situations).
Continuing with the tale of knitting needles, the introduction of four or five needles instead of only two occurred around the 13th century.

Textile preservation
When studying the history of knitting, focus has often been on preserved artifacts kept in museum collections. There has been some great discussions as to which techniques were used to produce the individual artifacts and which relic can be described as the earliest example of knitting. The final product of knitting and knotless netting (i.e. nalbinding) is very similar when preservation over centuries is taken into account, and distinction between the two techniques often requires microscopic examination. Also a word of caution – textiles deteriorate at a scarily fast speed, and textiles more than a couple of centuries old are small wonders just for being preserved.

The introduction of knitting
Knitting was possibly performed in the Middle East as early as the first century CE and one theory of the spread to Europe is that the Arabs learned to knit after conquering Egypt. Later they brought it with them when conquering Spain in the 8th century. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the technique began to spread and gain popularity in Northern Europe. In France we have a great number of hats that were knitted in the 14th century. It is also from France we have documentation of the earliest establishment of a knitter’s guild in Paris in 1366. The growing popularity and demand for knitted garments occurred in the 14th-15th centuries and numerous guilds were formed in Western and Central Europe. In the Middle Ages a guild was a powerful union of craftsmen of a particular trade, established to improve the quality of the profession. The system had a structured apprentice system and was exclusively male.
Influenced by Spanish trend, knitted stockings became highly fashionable in Northern Europe in the 16th century. The upper parts of society had previously worn stockings made of woven textile but now fashion dictated tight fitting, knitted silk stockings to show of the legs. It was only later the lower parts of society copied the trendy stockings, but in wool.

Monastic knitting
Knitting also became popular in the monastic world and liturgical gloves knitted of wool or silk with gold or silver embroidery are often amoung preserved textiles from the Middle Ages. Nuns from the abundant monasteries across Europe knitted these gloves. Knitting also made an imprint on artists of the time and several paintings from the 14th century depict a knitting Virgin Mary. She is often knitting with several needles and this implies that this technique was quite well known and understood by both artists and patrons.
Much later in history knitting became industrialised, but that is another story.

Knitting from a gender perspective
Historically knitting can be seen to follow two separated paths: one for private use and one for the commercial market. Nevertheless,  the paths are sometimes interconnected when for example knitted garments are sold as a side income.
As previously mentioned the knitting guilds were strictly male and men as a gender came to dominate the market for knitted garments. A practice carried through to the industrialisation when knitting machines arrived on the scene. However, in private both men and women seem to have practiced the technique until quite recently, when it became an almost exclusively female activity. Today a knitting man is something of a rare sight, but until the beginning of the last century it was considered a normal and very practical skill carried out by both men and women. Knitting was something you could do in many situations, even when walking or herding animals. In this fashion you also gained maximum benefit of your waking hours – so you might think of this and bring out your needles next time your waiting for a train. And you might want to poke your man as well.

Literature
Nielsen, Ann Møller. 1985. Pregle, Binde og Lænke: Gammel Dansk Strikketradition. (ISBN: 87-981522-0-3).

Nielsen, Ann Møller. 1988. Alverdens Strikning: Historie og Teknik. Ariadne. (ISBN: 87-981522-1-1)

Turnau, Irena. 1991. History of Knitting before Mass Production. AKCENT: Warszawa. (ISBN: 83-900213-2-3 )