Yorkshire crafts and craftspeople
The David Morgan Rees collection
at Sheffield Hallam University

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Extract from a Journal article by David

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Fabric work

Handloom weaver
Knitter
Lacemaker
Quilter

Handloom weaver

Hand loom weaving has moved from being an integral part of the Yorkshire woollen industry to an activity which is pursued by dedicated amateurs as a pastime. Keith and Margaret Brier were survivors of the earlier domestic way of working. They worked from their home in Upperthong which was a typical setting for the cottage industry of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when whole families spun, wove and still farmed.

Hand loom weaver Margaret Brier of Upperthong near Holmfirth at work on a tappit hand loom weaving a sample length of woollen cloth.
Warping frame Keith Brier preparing the warp on a warping frame for his hand loom.

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Knitter

Woollen garments for sailors and fishermen came to replace sealskin clothing as seals became harder to obtain around the coast of Britain. The style and terminology for these knitted garments seems to have originated in the Channel Islands. "Ganseys" or "guernseys" were customarily made from thick heavy dark blue wool, jerseys from lighter, thinner yarns and a wider variety of colours.

Gansey knitter Mrs Ethel Richardson of Old Whitby, a fisherman's wife, using the traditional four needles to knit a "gansey"

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Lacemaker

Essentially a cottage industry to provide a little extra money for families, lacemaking has always been at the mercy of either fashion or competition from the Continent or from machines.

Lacemaker Mrs Florence Longman of Wombleton near Helmsley making a 'pillow' lace.
Pillow lace Close-up of the lace pattern as it develops on the 'pillow' with threads of linen yarn running from the bobbins to the pins holding the stitches in place. The complexity of the pattern is decided by the number of bobbins.

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Quilter

Plain quilts consisting of sheets of whole cloth sandwiching an inner layer of wadding, with the decoration being provided by the stitching were popular in the Swaledale area of Yorkshire. It is thought to be a much earlier craft than the patchwork style which only emerged as more fanciful designs of woven textiles became more widely available.

Patchwork quilt Miss Annie Pickard of Kirkbymoorside with her patchwork quilt containing over three thousand hexagonal patches of different print material, made on a wooden frame in her front parlour.

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