Mountmellick embroidery
Encyclopedia
Mountmellick embroidery or Mountmellick work is a floral whitework embroidery
originating from the town of Mountmellick
in County Laois, Ireland in the early nineteenth century.
thread
on white cotton fabric, and predominantly floral motifs. The plants featured were those that were found around the town of Mountmellick, and included blackberries
, oak
, fern
, dog rose
s and shamrock
s.
The Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) hit the town of Mountmellick very hard. In about 1880, Mrs Millner, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (who were a strong part of the Mountmellick community) started an industrial association to help people within the town. She employed women to stitch Mountmellick embroidery for sale. Many of these items were sold from the port of Cobh
, from where many people embarked on journeys to America.
In the 1970s, Sister Teresa Margaret McCarthy of the Presentation Convent in Mountmellick learned of the embroidery, and collected together examples from around the area in order to study and learn from them. She taught herself the stitches and then began teaching others. Yvette Stanton has recreated the original knitted fringe used in historical pieces of Mountmellick embroidery.
to create beautifully textured whitework embroidery. The work features a characteristic knitted fringe. Other forms of lace
, such as crochet
or bobbin lace
are not authentic trims for Mountmellick work.
The embroidery was usually employed on items of household use such as doilies
(toilet mats), nightdress cases, brush and comb bags, bedspreads/coverlets, and tablecloths. Though the work was white, it was so sturdy that it could be easily boiled white again.
Today, Mountmellick embroidery is enjoying a resurgence of popularity around the world. A museum at the Mountmellick Development Association in Mountmellick has been opened to permanently display articles of Mountmellick embroidery for all to see. The National Museum of Ireland
(Dublin) also has some beautiful examples of the work, as does the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
outside Belfast
and the An Grianan Adult Education College at Termonfechin, County Louth.
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
originating from the town of Mountmellick
Mountmellick
Other than that its a 15th-century settlement on the narrow Owenass river with an encampment on its banks at Irishtown. Overlooking this valley with its trees and wildlife was a small church called Kilmongan which was closed by the Penal Laws in 1640...
in County Laois, Ireland in the early nineteenth century.
History
It was developed around 1825 by Johanna Carter, who taught it to a group of about 15 women and girls. It used white cottonCotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
thread
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
on white cotton fabric, and predominantly floral motifs. The plants featured were those that were found around the town of Mountmellick, and included blackberries
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
, dog rose
Dog Rose
Rosa canina is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia....
s and shamrock
Shamrock
The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish , which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover ....
s.
The Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) hit the town of Mountmellick very hard. In about 1880, Mrs Millner, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (who were a strong part of the Mountmellick community) started an industrial association to help people within the town. She employed women to stitch Mountmellick embroidery for sale. Many of these items were sold from the port of Cobh
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
, from where many people embarked on journeys to America.
In the 1970s, Sister Teresa Margaret McCarthy of the Presentation Convent in Mountmellick learned of the embroidery, and collected together examples from around the area in order to study and learn from them. She taught herself the stitches and then began teaching others. Yvette Stanton has recreated the original knitted fringe used in historical pieces of Mountmellick embroidery.
Technique and uses
Mountmellick embroidery uses predominantly knotted and padded stitchesEmbroidery stitch
In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery needle from the backside of the fabric to the front side and back to the back side. The thread stroke on the front side produced by this is also called stitch...
to create beautifully textured whitework embroidery. The work features a characteristic knitted fringe. Other forms of lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
, such as crochet
Crocheted lace
Crochet lace is an application of the art of crochet. Generally it uses finer threads and more decorative styles of stitching - often with flowing lines or scalloped edges to give interest. Variation of the size of the holes also gives a piece a "lacy' look....
or bobbin lace
Bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the...
are not authentic trims for Mountmellick work.
The embroidery was usually employed on items of household use such as doilies
Doily
A doily is an ornamental mat, originally the name of a fabric made by Doiley, a 17th-century London draper. Doily earlier meant "genteel, affordable woolens", evidently from the same source....
(toilet mats), nightdress cases, brush and comb bags, bedspreads/coverlets, and tablecloths. Though the work was white, it was so sturdy that it could be easily boiled white again.
Today, Mountmellick embroidery is enjoying a resurgence of popularity around the world. A museum at the Mountmellick Development Association in Mountmellick has been opened to permanently display articles of Mountmellick embroidery for all to see. The National Museum of Ireland
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
(Dublin) also has some beautiful examples of the work, as does the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum is situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. It comprises two separate museums, the Folk Museum and the Transport Museum...
outside Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and the An Grianan Adult Education College at Termonfechin, County Louth.
Further Reading
- Beale, Edgar, The earth between them, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1975
- Boyle, Elizabeth, The Irish flowerers, Ulster Folk Museum and Institute of Irish Studies, Queens University, Belfast, 1971
- O'Keeffe, Regina, The Quakers of Mountmellick, FAS and the Mountmellick Development Association, Mountmellick, 1974
External links
- http://www.mountmellick.net/activities/history_of_mountmellick_embroidery.htm History of Mountmellick embroidery.
- Vetty Creations Links to Mountmellick embroidery information, websites, books and embroidery supplies.
- http://jmddesigns.co.nz/ www.jmddesigns.co.nz/ Books, tutorials and designs about Mountmellick embroidery, with pictures.
- Island Ireland Information on Mountmellick embroidery, with pictures.