A little stitch here, A little stitch there…

Since we looked at several folders from my photo archives during Saturday's zoom lounge, I've been obsessing over this quilted suit. 

It is housed at the V&A in London. It is an early 17th century suit which is made from a silk coverlet (blanket). 

Now I'll be honest, I've never been too keen on quilting. It just isn't something that revved my engine -- until now. The technique is fascinating.

The original coverlet is "whitework" quilting, meaning that there is not patchwork involved. It is simply white silk, a linen backing (I presume...not my area of expertise), and silk wadding to fluff it up. The silk quilt batting would make it very warm to use. I suspect this suit would have been used for winter wear for that reason. 

The buttons on this suit are PRISTINE and to me, almost breathtaking in their simplicity and tidiness. 

The chenille trim also adds a thick, wintery feeling to the suit making it seem almost "cozy."

The satin used for the quilt top appears to be of a thinner, less expensive variety. This assumption is based purely on the appearance of the fabric in these photos. Heavier satin materials tend to appear more bulky and have more of the floating threads visible in photos which are close up. In contrast, the satin here appears more supple (good for quilting), as well as somewhat thinner, though that appearance could also be from age and use. 

I have been meaning to make a whitework suit for more than a decade. After we move to our new home next month, I will finally have the space to set up a quilting frame so I can actually attempt to make one! 

Do I have time for such a project? Not really. Will I do it anyway? Probably. 

That's all for now, as I have to head off to work. Thank goodness this job will be done by the end of the week. I miss posting. I miss spending my time on you all. 

Take care and, as always, HAPPY STITCHING!