Page 381 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

374 History and Science of Knots

With the improved transport and communications, the grand tour of Eu-
rope became the objective of everyone who had the means. Souvenirs were
an important part of the returning traveller's luggage, and the cottage laces
flourished in consequence. C19th novels inform us of the sols laces of Portugal,
or the nurse sitting by a bedside tatting with an ebony shuttle. (L.M. Alcott
and Susan Coolidge, respectively.) Tourist souvenirs included tatting shuttles
of white wood with the local beauty spots transferred under the varnish, or
boxed sets of crochet hook and hairpin in a decorated box labelled `Souvenir
de-'; so informing us that the people who worked at these were amongst the
leisured classes. Similarly, we learn from novels that knitting, even elaborate
lace trims or christening robes, was confined to `the housekeeper' and netting
to the governess. (The Brontes and Mrs Gaskell.) However , lace was becoming
a lost craft, and even those women who repaired lace for a living were a dying
breed: mechanisation had come to stay.
There were several sorts of machines making lace, with the industry based
in the Nottingham area. The style particularly associated with Nottingham is
filet design; tablecloths, curtains, mats and even calendars were made in this
technique, and proved overwhelmingly successful as novelties. In Switzerland,
a chemical form of imitation guipure lace was produced: a sheet of acetate had
a design traced upon it, this was embroidered closely in cotton thread and the
work then dipped in a bath of acetone which dissolved the base, leaving a stiff
lace fabric. This form of imitation lace is still in production, and the trimmings
so made are surprisingly durable. It was also in Switzerland that the caterpillar
lace experiments were carried out: a design was painted on a varnished wooden
board using a `paint' of succulent leaves pounded into a paste. The board was
then propped up against a wall and caterpillars placed along the base; as
they climbed up the board eating the paste, they left trails of cocoon-silk
which interlaced to form a sturdy mesh. This method of manufacture proved
unsuccessful commercially for there were problems of quality control. (The
caterpillars would persist in turning into butterflies!)
In the last quarter of the century there was a revival of interest in hand-
iwork. Strongly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite ideas of John Ruskin and
William Morris, the Arts and Crafts movement caused people to re-learn the
non-mechanical skills such as pottery, spinning and weaving. Ruskin himself
was interested in the production of linen as a cottage industry, and set up a
co-operative in the Lake District. Out of this co-op there developed a group
of needlewomen who learned to make Reticella/Punto in aria lace using the
homespun linen as foundation. With typical Victorian non-correlation of facts
and skills, this was first described as `Greek' lace, but later it became known
as Ruskin lace in honour of the man who helped to bring prosperity to the
Lakes.
Tatting in this era developed from a series of knots into rings with pi-