Darning and Its Tales

Collaborative project between 2 Textiles students from the University of Huddersfield and volunteers at Lee Mills Knit and Crochet Archive.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

Mending a small underdress that is crocheted.

The mend is supposed to be visible in order for it to be archived correctly.

Trying out  multiple methods in order to see which is best. During the process, the conversation was recorded, discussing the importance of mending and the importance of an object having a story.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

This is a jumper belonging to one of the volunteers at the KCG, Ruth Gilbert.

It is a jumper that is very plain but she wears it a lot. Unusually, for Ruth, her jumpers always wear on the inside of her arm by her elbow. This is because she always pulls her sleeves up, meaning that this section of her sleeves always suffer.

To complete the darned section, she has used two colours, green and orange. The technique she has used is simply creating a warp and weft, weaving each yarn through the other. When she had completed the darned area, some bits were still a little thin and you could still see through them, so she added more yarn in order to create a much denser area.

This mend is a visible mend.

This was interesting because it was a story that had a practical meaning and function, but enriched the garment.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

Celia Pym

' I work with process and ways of recording activities. Now I darn and am looking for holes in people’s clothes and the stories that accompany them; repairing these holes and returning the mended garments. It is a way to briefly make contact with strangers. I am interested in the spaces the body occupies, the tenderness of touch and the ways in which we go about day to day life.'

Another artist who uses mending as her practice, but also records what she does and why she does it.

http://transitionandinfluence.com/gallery/celiapym.html#sweater

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

•Timo Kahlen, (2011). Audio Dust [interactive video]. http://www.staubrauschen.de/audiodust/

This is a video of my own interaction with the online programme.

It was really fun because you were in control of the sound that was generated through your interaction.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

•Adriana Paice, (2012). Fragments, [video], https://vimeo.com/23469069

I love how the spoken word is used alongside the art. It has a totally different effect than just sound or music. It allows personality to be shown.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

Darning Equipment

We have done some darning before, but we have never come across the specialised equipment that is used to complete the process properly. Luckily, we are in the right place to explore the different varieties.

  This was an interesting article because it was a case for all of your darning materials as well as forming the 'Mushroom' that you would use to stretch the piece of knit over in order to make it easier to darn.

One of the things that stick out at the archive, is just how well looked after every item was (and still is). A lot of the pieces are still in their original packaging.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

3rd visit with the Knitting and Crochet Guild to the Colne Valley Museum, Golcar

We didn't spend too long at the Colne Valley Museum as most of it had been done before we got there. But it looked amazing! Samples of knitted lace were placed in cabinets; lace bunting hung from the ceiling; lace wedding dresses stood in the corners and finally, our lace pattern collage. Our job was to arrange the patterns on the wall to create a collage. This was where they were going to be selling patterns from.

Who knew it was so hard to arrange pieces of paper?! We kept making sure that our edges were straight so we didn't have any wonky areas that would ruin the whole affect. And then we had to create a colour balance so that one side wasn't too heavy with grey, whilst the other heavy with yellow. We were all glad there was four of us working on it. Overall, we were quite pleased with how it looked. We ended up making it into a diagonal diamond shape because we were running out of patterns to fill in the gaps.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

2nd visit to the Knitting and Crochet Guild at Lee Mills

On our second visit, we spent more time pattern sorting, as the exhibition was on the following Tuesday. More boxes arrived, this time we were sorting the patterns as well as removing any patterns that were Lace patterns as this is what was needed to go into the exhibition. It was amazing! The volume of patterns is extensive, and the variety is incredible. We found so many things that we wanted to take away and knit ourselves, and for me personally, it was the more outrageous the outfit, the more i wanted it. What made this trip really special, was that as we were sorting, separating and lusting after patterns, the volunteers and members were also telling us stories around some of the patterns, whether it be a personal story or the fact they have the knitted garment in the archive. A lot of them were also really keen to answer any questions that you had regarding a pattern, whether it be a simple 'how is this done?', or 'Why is it called that?'. They really are a font of all knowledge.

The whole point of going (other than to look at the amazing knitted and crocheted pieces) was to put together a research topic that we can explore through looking at the archive. With this in mind, i wanted to focus on the stories that come in with the garments or patterns because this immediately makes me more interested in an item because there is a piece of history behind it, and it makes it more relatable, because you can empathise with it.

The ladies at the archive were more than happy to help. When they get an item donated to them, very often it comes with a letter attached to it. It can either be a personal story relating directly to the person who donated it, or it is an impartial letter, explaining where the item came from and why they don't want it. I find every letter interesting because you get to learn a bit more about it's past and understand it more (and if i'm honest, fall in love with it). It could be the most hideous jumper you have ever seen, but attach a beautiful letter to it, explaining that somebody's infirm Grandmother made it for them, and you will love it a little bit more than you did before.

[kcg-theory-project-blog]

1st visit to the Knitting and Crochet Guild at Lee Mills

On our arrival, we were introduced to the group and joined in with the meeting that was taking place. Under discussion was an exhibition they were putting together for Colne Valley Museum to showcase their amazing collection of lace items.

It was really interesting because i was able to see how an event like this is organised. It was obvious that everyone had a role to play and tasks to carry out. It was an informal setting and as people were discussing what they had already done, or voiced any questions, everyone was encouraged to respond and be involved in the conversation. Voicing any opinions or areas of concern. It was great because you could really see the dynamics of the group and they were all considering each others' opinions and not skipping over anyone.

Once the meeting had adjourned, we were drafted in to help with pattern sorting. This is the kind of thing i love! We were looking through a load of knitting patterns that were from Paton that had been donated to the archive from a large knitting company from their own archive. They were in the process of being sorted because they had all been mixed together, but this was the last batch left to do. We were sorting using the pattern number (number 2459 etc.) They had already been sorted into the appropriate thousand (2400), we just had to order them within this category. I ended up doing it visually because there were multiples of the same copy which allowed you to see if the photography was the same (it made the process much quicker).