Embroiderers' Guild of WA Textile Museum > Records

FILET CROCHET, TEA CLOTH

« Prev Item Next Item »

Overview

This tea cloth is beautifully worked, obviously by an expert crochet worker. The attractive design is very symmetrical. The thread joins are remarkable as there is no evidence of pulling or tightness. Note that in working triangles, on one side, the trebles are more even than the other – just the nature of the way the filet trebles are worked from side to side.

Good quality cotton octagonal shaped centre, broadest dimension 880mm. The four corners have an equilateral triangular crocheted segment, 380mm sides by 550mm base. The design consists of a wreath with a rose, buds, leaves and a bow. This was worked separately then attached. Around the whole is a scalloped filet crochet edge, 160mm deep. The design in the scallops alternates between a rose and a spray of leaves and these are connected with stems and rosebuds.

The corner of this cloth is illustrated in book, “MARY CARD’S LEGACY OF CROCHET LACE” page 24.

This was the third of Mary’s first three cloths, developed from simple and basic in 1912 to artistic and elegant in 1916. This pioneering cloth came out in the first of her magazine pages and then in the earliest two books.

‘The Rose and Rosebud’ cloth has canework in a wide horizontal band in the lace border (4 repeats). The ribbon and bow in the triangle are filled with the plainest lacets. Corner designs were usually symmetrical at this time, but this one has the whole flower flowing gracefully around to the other side.

Instructions to be found in Mary Card’s book 2 [in Guild Collection Archives] and booklet 19

and English Chart 53 of 1914, 1915, 1916

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-78-2003.1

Width

1210 mm

Height or length

1210 mm

Last modified

Wednesday, 13 August, 2025

Completeness