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Wednesday 3 February 2010

Iris(h) Stitch


It is interesting that in 1808, just 10 years after this wallet was stitched, Hogarth should write that Irish stitch had long been out of fashion! But patently not in the United States. Irish stitch was construed to be a corruption of Iris Stitch, owing to its resemblance to a rainbow. Poets liken fir trees and hedges to Irish Stitch. Others saw in the stitch the resemblance to flames, though equally Flame could have its origin in Flemming. Other names in use for this stitch are Bargello - from the furniture in the Bargello Palace in Florence, Florentine Stitch, and Hungarian Point. It is such a simple stitch and the design so attractive and easy to follow, that it was stitched almost universally.

3 comments:

  1. No matter what you call it, it`s lovely to behold. This 'purse' is a beauty! Imagine paying ones bill....casually fishing this glorious thing out of your pocket....

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  2. Ooh, I would love to see this graphed in your stitching program. Reenactors would snatch it up like water in a hot desert!
    http://carolynsmith-kizer.com/

    Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Loved the wallet and wish I could have a closer look to graph the design.Thank you for the opportunity to see it .
    Olwyn
    olwynh@xtra.co.nz

    ReplyDelete