Chosen by Young Curator Alumni and volunteer, Freya. Freya says: “I chose these items from the museum’s collection because they reflect my passion for crochet as a hobby and its resurging popularity amongst my generation.
Choosing this object made me contemplate how the practise of crochet was viewed throughout history. Through independent research, I learned that crochet was highly stigmatised by high society elites during the 19th and 20th centuries, who dismissed crochet as a lower-class counterfeit to lacemaking (lace being seen as a status symbol) due to its much quicker process to create compared to lacemaking.
What drew me to this crochet tablemat (dated from the early 20th century) was the intricate detail of each visible stitch pattern, particularly the stitches seen in each individual triangle. The thought that someone in the 19th century handmade this tablemat, using similar crochet tools and stitch patterns that I use here in the present day reminds me of the flowing nature of embroidery practises throughout history.
I was also intrigued by the elaborate detail of this antimacassar. The antimacassar held in the museum’s handling collection is made from Pure Irish Linen. Whilst Irish Linen had always been a profitable business, production accelerated during the Great Famine (1845-52) as the Irish needed a source of income that didn’t rely on the land. “
Antimacassars were used throughout the 19th and early 20th century to prevent the fabric of chairs and sofas from being stained by Macassar Oil. Macassar Oil (a popular hair tonic with 19th century men) frequently transferred from men’s heads to the fabric of furniture. Versions of antimacassars (e.g. disposable paper or fabric covers) are still used on the headrests of trains, buses, and airplanes to keep seats clean.
This and many other interesting objects can be viewed in Bishop’s Stortford Museum in South Mill Arts.
