Dear Devon and Others Interested, My bed pillow has had 2 days to dry. Now, I'll try to answer where to get detailed information about Elizabethan era starching of lace, lace ruffs, and so forth. Not only in yellow, but a variety of colors. Back on December 8, 2008, I wrote a long book review -- Subject: Review: Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion 4" -- especially directed (in my mind) to our members with a strong interest in Elizabethan lace history and lace costume accessories. It was so long due to my enthusiasm, that I spent a half day cutting it back in length. It went to Arachne and to the New England Lace Guild. In the last few weeks, it has become very apparent it was not read, or the information was not digested by the people I wished to reach. If you go to the Arachne archives (someone else can tell you how), you can read it. No need to bother those uninterested, with a repeat of what was said just 4 months ago. Tamara has come closest to all the answers, as she has mentioned "Patterns of Fashion 4". The late Janet Arnold's research was completed by her friends Jenny Tiramani and Santina Levey (I KNOW you know of Santina Levey!) Janet Arnold is to costume history and analysis what Santina Levey is to lace. They were friends. For more information about this expert, Google and search "Janet Arnold". You'll find there are about 335,000 entries! Be sure to read/print from first page menu the Wikipedia entry, the Obituary entry, and the Bibliography entry. There is a lot of content that may come up in the future studies of Devon and others, and you'll have a list of research already done. About the starch: I was very careful to put in the book review: "The information about starching and setting lace ruffs answers lots of questions that lacemakers have." Book pages are double width of a normal book, so a lot more information per page. Read about the profession of Laundress on pages 14-15. It says washing, starching and ironing linens was a highly skilled, highly paid occupation in the 16th century. A map of Moorgate field (1553-9), and artwork (1615), illustrate how the shirts, smocks, ruffs, sheets and long lengths of linen were laid to dry on lawns; the larger pieces were stretched and pegged to the ground. As for ruffs, once washed in a tub in a starching house, they were "smeared and starched in the devil's liquore" and "dryed with great diligence streaked, patted and rubbed very nicely" (per Phillip Stubbes in "An Anatomie of Abuses" 1583). A very amusing 1570 engraving shows the interior of a starching house. Monkeys, dressed in clothes of the period (aping fashion), are performing all steps of the starching process. The linen had to be dried very carefully, particularly when colored, to avoid streaking. They made colored starches from wheat flour, bran, corn, and other grains, and sometimes roots (potato) and other things. Colors were white, red, blue, purple, etc. in quite pale hues. Yellow starch, very popular, was colored using saffron, which had been steeped in hot water. It gave the color of old discolored varnish on portrait canvases. Not being understood by more recent restorers of oil paintings, these portraits were cleaned too aggressively in subsequent centuries, resulting in loss of all color in ruffs depicted on portraits. Close examination reveals two monkeys sitting before the fire, holding wet, starched ruffs, moving them gently to stop the layers from sticking together as they dried. Once completely dried, a ruff was evenly dampened, then ironed and set. If it was not dried first, the wet starch stuck to the setting sticks and scorched. (Devon, you mentioned having problems with your electric iron getting sticky with starch.) The setting sticks were heated in a pan over a fire of charcoal or coals. Early sticks were made of wood or bone, but after 1573 (Per John Stow's 1632 "Annales of England") steel sticks were introduced in all sizes. A stick was used to mould/mold the sets of a ruff into shape. The ruff was placed on a specially designed round wooden stand, held steady with feet, necessary because the stick had to be pushed firmly into the folds. The stand could be pivoted as the laundress worked her way around the ruff. It was important to decide exactly how deep to adjust the sets, and keep them level. There are further descriptions of specialty tools. The origins of starching are attributed to the Low Countries (Netherlands), with history already discussed on Arachne. Wearers were advised to keep starched linens out of damp places, and to avoid rain. On page 16 are 6 pictures of a detailed ceiling fresco by Alessandro Allori in the Pitti Palace, Florence, c. 1580. It depicts various costume pieces on a drying line. On pages 126-127 are detailed instructions for starching and setting modern reproduction ruffs, with 25 b/w photos. If this period in historic costuming is of interest to you, please, at the least - print out what is said here and in the 12/8/08 memo, and put it in a binder for future reference. If it is of huge importance, consider buying the book. Otherwise, you can order it from Interlibrary Loan in most countries. Study closely. Entire book is fascinating, with illustrations not seen elsewhere. Jeri Ames in Maine Lace and Embroidery Resource Center **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make dinner for $10 or less. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000001)
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