"Needlework is an art so indissolubly connected with the comfort and convenience of mankind at large that it is impossible to suppose any stage of society in which it has not existed." ~the Countess of Wilton, author of “The Art of Needlework”
In my mind, needlework and other crafts like knitting, crocheting, and cross-stitching represent domestic folk knowledge in pure form. In our day, I would say that the connection between such arts and "the comfort and convenience of mankind" has, in fact, dissolved. However, they have been an important part of life in many cultures and periods of history, and these traditions do remain with us today.
As a reader of Jane Austen's novels, I have been impressed by the many domestic skills that women of the Regency time period were expected to master. So I decided to investigate needlework in the context of that era. I found a great website devoted to the crafts of that time period. As implied by the quote from Countess Wilton, needlework was a big deal back then! Women embroidered not only house decorations but also all types of clothing, for women, children, and even men.
Girls learned the skills needed for crafts like needlework from their mothers or governesses. It was a typical situation of folk knowledge being passed on from generation to generation in a rather informal way. What I think is really interesting, though, is that this process of learning a skill was often combined with the obtaining of more formal education - a young girl might stitch a sampler with the alphabet on it, for example.
Girls and women of this period spent A LOT of time developing these skills. I have done only a little knitting and crochet here and there, but just with that I have learned that each person develops unique techniques. In fact, this past summer when I crocheted a purse for my little sister, a friend took a look at it and said, "I have never seen anyone crochet like that before!" I would venture to guess that these Regency women who spent so much more time honing their crafts would also have developed their own personal touch and perhaps even have passed their unique techniques on to other generations.
I've always admired women who possess enough skills and stamina to take a tiny needle and knit it through the stitches of clothing. It is very true that knowledge of needlework, the ART of needlework, has been confined to women for many centuries. I do not know very many men who are able to sow or knit, and quite honestly I do not know very many women who are able to do so as well. When the feminist movement was introduced (not for the first time, but perhaps the most prevalent time) in the 1970s, many women might have seen needlework as a sexist activity that confined them in a home, and in many ways they were probably justified in thinking so. As the years progressed, many women gained certain skills that their mothers and grandmothers nver would have acquired. For example, many women were probably frowned upon in the early 1900s if they knew how to throw a baseball. And even during the feminist movement, women were probably also frowned upon if they knew as much as a mechanic or a surgeon. It's a wonderful thing that women now have (and yes, are still getting) equal rights. They have gained so much. However, what have they lost? How many women (probably outside of BYU) know how to cook? How many women (probably also outside of BYU) know how to take care of a newborn? How many women (I really love girls at BYU) know how to knit or sow or do neddlework. Although some women might think that these quilities are undesirable because they can be, in many viewpoints, sexist, I think they are quite admirable.
ReplyDeleteHow times have changed! I think it is very interesting that the Countess of Wilton was so convinced that there wouldn't ever be a society without the art of needlework present. As women were able to participate in a wider variety of activities, I would suppose the art of needlework has dwindled as time has been spent in learning the new knowledge that was then allowed. I do appreciate people who still continue arts like knitting and needlework as a hobby, though. My grandmother loves to knit (she's one of those people who has to have her needles taken away at the airports) and I really enjoy the things that she makes for me. It makes me wish I would have taken the time to learn how to do those things. I also think it is interesting how Alicia mentioned that girls learned things such as their alphabet through needlework. I would also like to add that they learned some moral values from needlework as well. I have seen an old needlework piece that read, "Actions speak louder than words." I'm pretty sure that, after spending hours embroidering those words onto a cloth, one would have a hard time forgetting them.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you brought up the alphabet - hanging in my home we have a cloth my Grandmother worked on when she was younger that has several versions (cursive, freehand, etc.) of the alphabet knitted on it, along with the patterns and pictures. Of course, my Grandmother isn't nearly old enough for that to have been the only way she learned letters, but she still did it, I think, as a sort of tribute to the people who had before.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very intriguing how not only knitting itself can be considered a folk knowledge, but it also helped to teach in an informal or less formal way. Like Jenna said, it's harder to forget things that you spend a great deal of time on. Knitting or needlework in general combines several of what people today think of as ways of learning - visual, from seeing the lessons, tactile, from being able to touch the fabric and the thread, and even kinetic, from the motion of your hands stitching them. Using more than one way at a time helps the lessons become more deeply ingrained, in my opinion. Maybe we should all take up needlework to study nowadays too :)
Thanks for your post Alicia, I agree with you Marc that many skills required for everyday home life have been lost among women as the years have progressed, but they have also gained some very valuable skills such as the ones you mentioned. I think the important thing is women hold on to those valuable skills they require to raise a family as well as have equal opportunity to explore skills that were once restricted from them. The most important thing we can do on this earth is raise a family with a gospel influence. I think for this reason it is still important for women (and men to an extent...) to know the basic skills required to raise a family, such as cooking, taking care of a newborn, but maybe not sowing and knitting, unless that's your thing.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this post, I was thinking about just why it is that traditions are even lost at all. What are the reasons why? I feel like today things such as knitting and needle work just aren't a part of society. It seems to be that changes in technology seem to put an end to hobbies such as the ones mentioned. If that is so, is the cost worth it? Do we lose too much as we progress with technology and other mediums of knowledge. I don't really have answers to those questions, but that was just basically me thinking out loud.
ReplyDeleteSome good themes have come out here in the post and responses: gender issues, the kind of tactile, kinetic learning that happens with handiwork, and the puzzling issue about how traditions are lost. I hope some of these themes get picked up on in future posts.
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