It's the fibre lovers paradise; the motherload; the big kahuna! At the base of Sacre Coeur, in the Montmartre district of Paris, live thousands and thousands of orphaned bolts of fabric, just waiting for the right person to give them a loving home. Always on the look out for yet another metre of fabric in need of a loving home, I did my part for the "fabric rescue program".
" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t...
Wow! Would I ever love to be back! Love the blog. 1700 pc quilt, Leah?! That is crazy ambitious! All the best with it :)
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