Suffragette Jewelry and Pink Pussy Hats

Mini Bead Crochet Pussy Hat Pattern

Whatever you think of them, the pink pussy hats made and worn by women as they march to uphold their rights quickly became a recognizable political symbol.  When a few of my friends joked about the fact that knitted hats are uncomfortable to wear during the summer, I got the idea of a miniature beaded pussy hat that you could wear as a pin or display on a key chain.

As I played with a way to incorporate the hat into a pin, I was struck by the fact that 100 years ago, women wore their political views on their bodies in the form of clothing and jewelry to support the movement to extend the right to vote to women.  

For those who don't know much about the struggle to vote, the idea of giving women the vote was discussed as early as 1860 in England, but there was no  real organized effort until 1897 when supporting groups were brought together in the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).  The group's genteel approach to the issue resulted in little progress, so Sylvia Pankhurst broke away in 1903 and founded the Women's Political and Social Union with her 3 daughters.  Their motto was "Deeds Not Words" and, starting in 1905, they followed through with violent actions as well as marches.  WPSU members committed acts of arson and vandalism; when imprisoned, women went on hunger strikes.  One member, Emily Davison, died after she jumped in front of  King George V's racehorse during the running of the Epsom Derby in 1913.  These are the badass women that come to mind when we think of the Suffragette movement that eventually resulted in our right to vote.

The WPSU adopted the colors of purple (dignity), white (purity), and green (hope) in 1908 and supporters wearing those colors would march behind banners with the same trio of colors as they protested their lack of voting power.  Medals incorporating the groups colors were also presented in August of 1909 to the women who had gone on a hunger strike while serving a prison sentence for acts supporting women's suffrage.  

  While other suffrage organizations in England and America adopted variations of those colors, it is the purple, white, and green that most of use associate with suffragettes today.

Fashion was actually part of the arsenal of the suffragettes, as members were cautioned by Mrs. Pankhurst that "Suffragettes must not be dowdy"  and urged to outfit themselves in an appropriate manner.  Department stores such as Derry and Toms or Selfridges even advertised clothing incorporating the movement's colors in advertisements in the paper Votes for Women and in their shop windows.

While some of the jewelry was specifically made and sold to support the suffragettes, that combination of purple, green, and white was also popular at the turn of the century, thus much of the jewelry we now classify as "suffragette" may not be.  This brooch below is an example of one that uses the same color combination, but doesn't seem to have any connection to suffragettes. (It's a snake, I had to include it).  The colors still stick in our mind, though.

So the pink pussy hat is carrying on the same tradition of women using fashion and crafts to bolster political efforts.  That's why I designed the miniature pink pussy hat and why I used it along with purple, white, and green crystals to fashion a brooch.  I am sure that you can think of other uses for the little beaded hat.

The pattern is available in my Reckless Beading Etsy shop.  At first, I was going to offer the pattern for free but that means that anyone else could take the pattern and sell it or teach a class in how to make it.  So my compromise was to charge  for the pattern and donate $2 from every pattern sale to Planned Parenthood; I actually wanted to donate the money to the Pussy Hat Project as they are organizing more marches, but they never got back to me.  Given the passage of the new healthcare bill by the House, it seems like a lot of people on both sides may need help with healthcare, so Planned Parenthood seemed to be a good alternative for those who may lose their insurance in the future.

Happy Crocheting!

UPCOMING BEADING CLASSES AT MEADOWLANDS EXPO CENTER

            
      This is a gentle reminder that the early registration to save you $10 on the fee for my classes is this Wednesday, November 13, at 5:00 pm.  I am so excited that the Innovative Beads Expo finally has a venue at the Meadowlands Exposition Center that is easily accessible by bus for New York City beaders.

Here is more info on the classes:

  

Beginning Wire Crochet Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 10:30 am-1:30 pm Learn to crochet with wire by making this fun flower and the charming birds nest earrings. Students will learn which sizes of wire are best for crochet, tricks for working with wire, the chain stitch, single crochet, how to add beads to your work, and how to crochet flat shapes and in the round. Crochet experience helpful but not necessary. Class Fee: $60. Pre-register and save $10 Kit fee: $30 Kit includes: practice wire, 28 gauge colored wire, 24 gauge colored wire, seed beads, Swarovski pearls, long Magatama  beads, ear wires, 2 crochet hooks Students to bring: scissors, bead mat, diagonal wire cutters, nylon-jaw pliers, chain-nose or round-nose pliers (optional), task light (optional). Turkish Delight Bracelet Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 2:00 pm-4:45 pm Using a bead crochet stitch that I learned in Turkey, this sparkly bracelet is for the beader who wants to go beyond the standard tubular bead crochet and work with loops of beads. Students will learn how to string beads in a pattern and crochet the Turkish Loops stitch in the round. Once the bead crochet is done, students will make a button and loop closure and embellish the loop with peyote stitch or needle-woven flowers and leaves. Bead crochet experience is helpful. Class Fee: $60. Pre-register and save $10. Kit fee: $35 Kit Includes: over 150 4mm, Czech, fire-polished beads, 11° Japanese seed beads, assorted beads for closure loop, 2 bead caps, 1 button, 1 spool braided nylon cord, Fireline, steel crochet hook, and beading needles. Students to bring: scissors, bead mat, task light (optional), magnifiers (optional) if you have trouble working with small beads. Fancy Pants November 17, 2013 from 11:30 am-1:30 pm Start from the very beginning and learn to crochet beads with a chain stitch to make this sparkly necklace that combines pretty nylon cord with a variety of larger beads. Students will learn how to string beads in a pattern, crochet the basic slip knot and chain stitch, crochet with beads, braid 3 strands together, fasten a clasp, and make dangles. No crochet experience needed. Class Fee: $60. Pre-register and save $10. Kit fee: $30 Kit contains: nylon cord, size 6̊ seed beads, Magatama drops, 6 mm stardust beads, 4 mm stardust beads, 6 mm beads, 8 mm beads, vintage Czech beads, bead caps, clasp, jump rings, crochet hook, and needle. Students to bring: scissors, bead mat, pliers for opening  jump rings, task light (optional). To reach the show by public transportation: take the New Jersey Transit Bus # 20 from Port Authority bus station in NYC going towards Harmon Meadow to the stop on Plaza Drive right across from the Expo Center.  Buses leave 1-2 times an hour, depending on the time, and the trip takes about 17 minutes.  The full fare is around $4, lower for senior citizens.   For more information about the show and class registration, please visit Innovative Beads Expo.  For driving directions to the expo center or a map of the complex, visit Meadowlands Exposition Center Hope to see you there.

MORE FUN WITH WIRE CROCHET

 Yikes, it has been a while since I posted anything.  I was busy exploring wire crochet because I was supposed to do a demonstration for our bead society but F.I.T. was doing construction in our meeting room and the demonstrations got moved to the Fall.  So I will share my latest experiements now.

The first was a tangerine wire crochet flower pin done with 28 guage wire.  I wanted to fill in the center hole and just happened to have some of the lovely green spikes from York Beads.  I used one 7 X 17 mm bead for the center and sprinkled the smaller 5x8 mm spikes among some green and gold Chinese crystals.  I even managed to incorporate some of the mini spikes in the stem.

Wire crochet flower with spikes

 

 

Here's a closeup shot.

My other experiment was wire crochet stars with bugle beads and Chinese crystal.  I made these two into earrings but could see a bunch of these motifs as a bracelet or necklace.

Now I am busy getting organized for Bead and Button because I leave on Monday for 5 days of fun, classes, and shopping.  Before I conclude, though, I have to show off my new shoes.  I needed a sensible,comfortable pair of walking shoes for B&B and this is what I fell in love with.

 

My new shoes

 

Well, they are comfortable and I hope they bring a smile to your face as they do to mine.  I will see some of you in Milwaukee and will give everyone else a report when I return.

RESTORATION OF AN ICONIC STAGE COSTUME

Sargent portrait of Ellen Terry

Ellen Terry wearing the costume for her role as Lady Macbeth

Many of us theater people have seen the 1889 John Singer Sargent portrait of Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth and admired that beautiful gown of crocheted fabric embroidered with 1,000 beetle wings that she wore for the role.

It turns out that the gown suffered much damage during its 120-year history of wear and display at the Ellen Terry Memorial Museum.  Happily after fundraising efforts of 110,000 Great British pounds by the National Trust for repair and reinstallation and more than 700 hours of work by specialist Zenzie Tinker and team, the restored dress went  back on display in 2011.

When Ellen Terry starred alongside Henry Irving in Macbeth in 1888, there was not a wide choice of fabrics available in England.  Alice Comyns-Carr, the costume designer, could not find the colours she wanted to achieve her effects. She wanted one dress to ‘look as much like soft chain armour as I could, and yet have something that would give the appearance of the scales of a serpent. ’(Mrs. J. Comyns Carr’s 'Reminiscences'. London: Hutchinson, 1926). The famed dressmaker Mrs Nettleship found a twist of soft green silk and blue tinsel in Bohemia and this was crocheted to achieve the chain mail effect.

 

The dress hung beautifully but: ‘we did not think that it was brilliant enough, so it was sewn all over with real green beetle wings, and a narrow border in Celtic designs, worked out in rubies and diamonds, hemmed all the edges. To this was added a cloak of shot velvet in heather tones, upon which great griffins were embroidered in flame-coloured tinsel. The wimple, or veil, was held in place by a circlet of rubines, and two long plaits twisted with gold hung to her knees.’

Here is some of the damage to the costume:

Adding net to support the crocheted fabric.

  

Damage to the skirt

 The dress arrived at the Brighton studio of specialist textile conservator Zenzie Tinker with a box of tattered pieces. It appears that the dress had become an amalgamation of two similar costumes--our wardrobe friends can relate to that-- and Ms. Tinker and staff had to remove the later additions, repair the crochet fabric, and reunite the pieces of the original dress to restore the original Victorian look of the costume.  The additional costume might have been a duplicate or a costume for the understudy.





Unpicking the dress




The museum curators at Smallhythe Place had collected the original beetle wings as they fell off the dress over the decades. At least 100 broken beetle wings were repaired by gluing Japanese tissue paper dyed green on to the back of the wing.  The wings were then be stitched back into place; missing wings were replaced with beetle wings donated by an antiques dealer in nearby Tenterden.

 

           Above: original beetle wings waiting to be reattached.




 

Stitching on the beetle wings

 

The restored dress back on display

 The copyright for the images from the conservation process is held by  Zenzie Tinker with permission of Smallhythe Place and the National Trust.  For more on the conservation process or Ellen Terry, here are a few links:

Zenzie Tinker
 Archeology of a Dress
Victoria and Albert Museum
 The Guardian

BEAD SHOW AND CLASSES IN NEW YORK CITY

The Innovative Beads Expo (or as someone misread it last night the Innovative Bead Sexpo, which would bring in a whole other crowd) is back in Manhattan on May 4, 5, and 6.  We have an exciting group of classes including 3 bead crochet sessions taught by yours truly.

Friday afternoon's class (May 4, 1:30-4:30) will be The Side by Side necklace.  This is a good class for someone who wants an introduction to crocheting with beads because we use larger beads and fiber. 

On Saturday morning (May 5, 10:30-1:30), I will teach the Turkish Delight Bracelet.  This is an intermediate- level bead crochet project based on a stitch that I learned in Turkey.  It uses smaller beads and crochet thread to create a sparkly bracelet with an eye-catching closure.  The closures are done with needle and  thread.




Sunday morning's class (May 6, 10:30-1:30) will be an introduction to Tubular Bead Crochet.  Students will make a bead crochet tube and turn it into a pendant with a bit of simple wire work.  Crochet experience is helpful but not required.



Students who register before 5:00pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 will save $10 on the class price.  For more information and registration form, please visit Innovative Beads Expo.

Along with my classes, Marti Brown will be offering wire work and Viking knit classes, Meg Fillmore will be teaching a stringing class and an earring class, and Pat Reisner will be offering 3 fun, needle weaving classes.  Hope to see you there.