Textile Treasure Finds In A Pillowcase

Yesterday I opened up the cedar chest I have to find a vintage slip that I wanted to copy the fancy hem on.   There are several pillowcases with stuff in them in the chest.  My mother used to store textiles in pillowcases -- that way they can have air but be somewhat protected from dust.  I do the same.  I peeked into a pillowcase, didn't recognize it's contents, and dropped it on the floor to go through.  There's new and old lace and fabrics falling out of it:

Now you're supposed to lay things flat or fold/roll them nicely when putting them in the pillowcase -- that isn't the case here.  Once I looked at the stuff closer I knew this was from the closet in my mother's sewing room.  After she was gone my dad wanted it cleaned hurriedly and I believe I shoved this stuff in the case meaning to go through it later.  I guess now is the time.

First thing out of it was two pairs of Victorian children's stockings:

The next several photos are of my mother's work.  A small doll dress done in heirloom style sewing:

Two smocked panels:

An incomplete piece of lace shaping for a collar:

Two insertions rows with entredeaux on their edges.  One is of rows of tucks and the other hand embroidered:

Two shadow embroideries on good sized pieces of fabric:

An unfinished smocked baby dress:

Here's a close up of the smocking.  The pale pink is beautiful against the white:

A shadow embroidered collar done on a linen handkerchief.  Mom kept a supply of old fine linen men's handkerchiefs for children's collars (men's hankies were a lot bigger than those dainty squares for women!)

An unfinished piece.  I'm not sure if it's a tiny top for a baby or a doll.

The next thing is a small pillow cover.  I know this one well -- in the early 80's it was the first time I'd heard of French Hand Sewing.  My mom went to a class at a small sewing shop.  Sarah Howard Stone was in town to teach it.  In the class the pillow cover was sewn completely by hand -- it taught all the necessary techniques of French Hand Sewing.

Here's a close up of it.  Keep in mind this was my mother's first time at this type sewing (yeah, look at those hand done pin tucks -- ridiculously good):

Another unfinished collar.  This one with satin stitched flowers:

A baby bonnet:

Close up of the feather stitching on the bonnet.  I do love feather stitching!

The next is a very old baby bonnet:

The last thing is this wisp of lace and ribbon.  It's so old and not in the best of shape that I was wondering how to show it clearly in a photograph when I looked over my shoulder at a little thing that sits on top of the chifferobe in my sewing room.

May I introduce you to Ugly Baby Head?  Nobody but me likes Ugly Baby Head.  Perhaps it's the bizarre flat stare out of his eyes.  My family calls him creepy and unnerving.  He sat in my mother's sewing room and now he sits in mine.  (The reason I took him was he's about the size of a real baby's head and perfect for trying baby hats I'm knitting on to.  -oh, and I did wash his head but it just looks like that.)

As you can see the wisp of lace is a delicate (but damaged) baby bonnet:

The lace is done in a design and the blank areas are filled in with decorative stitches including a spider web looking one

Have you ever felt old ribbon?  It's so wonderfully soft, especially compared to today's ribbon.  Probably because it's silk and most available ribbon now is polyester.

Some of these things will go back in storage -- only I'll clean them up a bit and lay them out better.  I might use the embroideries for something later.

That's what was in my pillowcase.  What do you keep in yours?