Recently I was able to acquire two old petassons/petassouns, infant lap pieces, pieces piquees, or whatever name is most familiar to you. They arrived today, and I am looking at them and thinking over what they can tell me. Although these are not the work of professionals making very grand pieces in an atelier, they are the kind of work I like best - those made at home for family, showing different levels of needlework skill.
One is very damaged, the fabric has completely worn through in the center, rather like another one I bought before. However, the stitching is very fine and it is obviously the work of an experienced needlewoman. It has other condition problems, there are rust marks, a pen mark on the back which I hope will wash out, and holes in the edging - one corner of which has been patched with another piece of old embroidered edge. It is very old, it has survived the ups and downs of more than a century, and has undoubtedly passed through many pairs of hands.
Here you can clearly see the many worn areas. The fabric has simply worn away with wear, but the piece itself is firm, well stitched and stuffed.
I will be reproducing this one, I think I will not change anything about it, its design is simple and elegant. Size: 17.75 x 20 inches, without the trim.
The second piece is different. It is stitched well, but the channels are wider, the design is not as balanced and I think it is a later piece. It too has a border of trimmed batiste, and I cannot decide whether or not it was added later. It is the same color, so perhaps it was made this way, certainly there is no tape or other finished method before the lace. The stuffing is firm, the stitching is fine, and I will also reproduce this one, although I may modify the design a little.
In the last photo you can see the difference in quality of work, the piece on the right is much finer.
And last but not least, I have made a little progress on my small petasson from Boutis Traditionnel. The stitching is complete, and I have started the stuffing. I used the Frixion pen to mark, and when I have finished stitching, I run the hairdryer over it to remove the marks. I find I am happier working on the stuffing with the marks gone, I can see the stitches better. Now I want it to be finished so I can wash it !
Recemment,j'ai trouve deux vieux petassons qui viennent d'arriver chez moi. Tous les deux sont abimes, mais pour moi dans ce cas ca sont des pieces pour apprendre et reproduire, et franchement j'aime les pieces faites a la maison par les familles. Le premier est tres fin, le travail super bien fait mais le tissu du centre est dechire au fil du temps. Le deuxieme est peut-etre plus recent que l'autre, le piquage tres bien fait mais le bourrage plus epais, et je ne suis pas sure si la broderie autour etait fait au meme temps que le boutis, malgre le fait qu'il n'y a rien d'autre pour la finition, pas de tresse, etc. Si quelqu'un a un autre avis ou bien quelques informations, n'hesitez pas a m'ecrire, je suis toujours tres heureuse d'apprendre, merci.
Monday, September 9, 2013
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4 comments:
I love your latest old,pieces. Very interesting to read and see the analysis. I look forward to watching your reproduction of these beauties
Liebe Heather,
die beiden alten Stücke gefallen mir gut, vor allem das feinere.
Deines wird ein richtiges Kunstwerk und irgendwann wird jemand davor sitzen und es genauso studieren, wie Du die beiden anderen, und Deine Arbeit bewundern.
Liebe Grüße
Angelika
Love your work.
Bonjour Heather, les pétassouns que tu as acheté sont magnifiques. Ils ont bien vécus. Ton ouvrage avance bien. Bonne continuation. Je t'embrasse. Marie
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