The appliqué is stitched in place with a very fine blanket stitch
Some of the yellow fabric has a colour-graded weave.
Looking at the back, you can see how coarse the background material is. Also, I was slightly surprised to find that all the stitching appears to have been done by machine.
I compared it with a tray cloth that I have because the yellow fabric used for the appliqué is so similar. The stitching on the tray cloth is definitely done by hand, and so much finer than the stitching on the doily, but they certainly seem to date from the same epoch.
I have been debating how to use the doily. Tempting as it is to stitch it to a background material and use it on a quilt or cushion, I think it would disintegrate too quickly. Perhaps it would be better incorporated into a plate stand. It might be time for a consultation with my husband about how best to make one.
I returned to the UK in 2006 after ten years in Hong Kong and I seem to remember seeing doilys and tray mats just like your charity shop find on sale in touristy shops and markets.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting - so it's possibly not that old at all.
DeleteWhether it is "old" or not, this is such a treasure. You might want to incorporate it into a spring time art quilt that would hang on the wall? That way the little doily would not see much use (no washing, not a lot of handling.)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. Somehow I would have to fill in the middle without making it look like some sort of weird steering wheel.
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