Most people if asked to name an old sewing machine would automatically name Singer. Yet it was the Willcox and Gibbs chainstitch machine, such as this one, that dominated the market until the late nineteenth century. These very elegant machines, advertised as the Silent Automatic, were cheap to buy and run. The lack of a […]
Have you ever wondered what your ancestors from different branches of the family tree might say to one another – how they might get along – if they were to meet and have a cup of tea together? In Not a tourist (2017), Carol Macgregor imagines how her Aboriginal great-grandmother, Annie, and her Scottish grandmother, […]
Machine sewn and finished by hand, this silk blouse was expertly made. But its maker will forever remain anonymous, since it was made in a time of slow stitching and slow fashion, when clothes were made with great care and usually had no labels identifying makers. Nor were any records kept about who wore the […]
This day dress and petticoat were owned and worn by Mrs Ann Chellew nee Milburn (1872-1948) when a young woman around the turn of the twentieth century. Ann was the daughter of Janet Miller and James Milburn, who migrated to Australia from Scotland and England. Arriving with her family (in 1852) Janet was a baby, […]
Parents of newborn babies today know that zipper onesies are very practical, especially those in bold colours and printed patterns that hide the inevitable spills and stains. But spare a thought for previous generations, when it was expected that babies be dressed in multiple fancy garments like those in this layette set, which were traditionally […]
In the 1930s Gwen Wiley of Berry patiently cut out the silk fabric, sewed the seams and chain-stitched and embroidered these handkerchief sachets. And it may not have been an accident that she made them in blue. Gwendoline ‘Gwen’ Wiley (1914-1991) was the third daughter of John and Pearl Wiley. She gained her intermediate certificate […]
What was thirteen-year-old Irish girl Ann Boyd thinking about as she stood on the deck of the emigrant ship Australia on 8 June 1853, as it sailed into Sydney Harbour and approached Dawes Point to lower its anchor? Accompanied by her parents Mary and Adam, and her eight siblings, Mary might have been impressed by […]
In the 1870s, when Berry schoolgirl Helena Kinneally stitched the buttonholes, fancy borders and darning to create this needlework sampler, she probably didn’t know how useful those skills would later be, when she became the mother of ten children. Helena Kinneally (c. 1868-1904) was born in Victoria about 1868. She was the daughter of William […]
You see some of them get up there now and they’ve got holes in their jeans! Argh. —Zeta Burns For this yodelling cowgirl, it’s no secret that looking her best on stage is almost as important as sounding good. Zeta recalls a teacher’s advice to, “Always dress the part, always dress nicely. Even if you get […]
Imagine her excitement as Narelle Kemp, a young girl from the mining town of West Wallsend carefully unwrapped this Vulcan Toy Model Featherweight sewing machine in the 1950s. It was a gift that brought her much enjoyment, and one that also had an important purpose. On this miniature version of the classic Singer sewing machine, […]
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