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The Plimoth Jacket Project

Dear Needlework Friend,

We are very excited to announce a new and ambitious project in historic needlework. In preparation for an upcoming exhibit, Plimoth Plantation will be recreating a silk and metal thread embroidered jacket from the early 1600s. This undertaking is noteworthy not only because of the scope of the project (we estimate between 2500-3000 hours of stitching time will be required) but also because of the unprecedented opportunity for the involvement of the entire needlework community.

First a bit about the jacket itself. From c.1590-c.1630, linen jackets embroidered with floral motifs were fashionable informal wear for the women of England's privileged class. These jackets appear in a number of portraits, and several examples of the jackets survive in museum collections. As a group, the jackets are very similar in style. They are simply constructed of linen and tailored to fit the body. The embroidery is an all-over repeating pattern of coiled stems (worked in metal threads) with leaves, flowers, fruits, insects and birds worked in colored silks and metal threads. Gold sequins or 'oes'as they were called, are sewn between the motifs. Several of the jackets are trimmed with gold metal bobbin lace; some close up the front with ribbons.

The recreated jacket, along with a Native Wampanoag turkey feather mantle, will serve as the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibit at Plimoth Plantation on the history of personal adornment. Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum of 17^th-century Plymouth Colony, is dedicated to presenting the separate and shared history of the native Wampanoag and the English colonists. This exhibit will examine each culture's tradition of personal adornment and explore the way each group viewed the other through the lens of their own assumptions about appearance. The exhibit will also encourage visitors to examine their own ideas about appropriate physical appearance.

The jacket will be embroidered and constructed entirely by hand, using 17^th-century patterns and techniques. We are conducting meticulous research and assembling materials that most closely represent the originals. The products of this process are being shared with the needlework community and the general public through a variety of means. Articles, lectures, demonstrations, television spots, and a website with a blog will communicate the results of our research, what we discover by doing, and our daily progress (look for more information on these and other plans at www.plimoth.org).

Even better than the chance to read, see and hear about the jacket, though, is the chance to actually work on it, to participate in making this plan a reality. We know from our research that highly skilled embroiderers in professional workshops produced the original jackets. Each piece was stitched by a number of different workers. It is likely that the professionals specialized in particular stitches or motifs and that therefore each element was worked by the person most accomplished in that technique. In order to emulate this working system as well as to accomplish the thousands of hours of embroidery, not to mention the finishing work, we need your help.

We have developed a simple system to coordinate those who would like to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity and to ensure that the finished piece most closely resembles an original 17^th century jacket. Each prospective stitcher must complete a sample piece (available as a kit from Plimoth Plantation, see below) and send it to Plimoth Plantation. These samples will, yes, establish skill level, but more importantly and for those whom we know have the necessary skill and experience, it will illustrate each embroiderer's unique 'hand'. With samples before us, we will be able to assemble teams of stitchers whose individual thread tension and stitch length match each other. This way we will be able to represent a team of professional workers, and we will be able to accommodate as many embroiderers as possible.

In choosing the embroidery pattern, we looked for one with a wide variety of stitches and motifs, so that we could include as many participants of different skill levels as possible. Not all the stitches require years of experience. Of course we need embroiderers with excellent skills and attention to detail, but if you don't love the detached buttonhole stitch, perhaps you would work some outlining, or sew on a few of the 2000+ gold spangles!

Embroiderers are invited to Plimoth Plantation for one or more intensive embroidery sessions. (There is also opportunity for local embroiderers to come frequently for shorter amounts of time.) We are planning a variety of classes, lectures, programs and presentations to enliven the non-stitching hours during the intensive sessions. And of course, there will be the opportunity to enjoy the company of others who also love historic needlework. Some meals will be provided, but, due to budget constraints, participants will be responsible for their own transportation and accommodations.

To order a sample stitching kit, please contact Kathy Roncarati at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8114, or kroncarati@plimoth.org.

Each kit includes the same materials which will be used for the jacket, 50 ct cream Kingston linen and Au Ver a Soie Perlee silk, in sufficient quantities to work both the sample (to be returned to Plimoth Plantation) and one complete motif (to be kept by the embroiderer).

The sample does not require a great deal of time to complete. A small area of detached buttonhole stitch and its outline, trellis stitch and its outline, detached buttonhole with free edge and its outline, spiral trellis and its outline, knot stitch, and ladder stitch in silk will enable us to create teams. The kit includes comprehensive directions for each stitch, a color copy of a worked piece for reference, and a label to identify your sample.

In addition, the kit includes instructions and materials for a souvenir butterfly adapted from the inspiration pieces for you to keep. The butterfly is stitched in red, pink, gold and black Au Ver a Soie Perlee silk on 50 ct. cream Kingston linen. It is surrounded by gold spangles and is appropriate for finishing into a scissors fob or ornament (finishing materials not included). A CD Rom of the embroidery in process will be included as well as complete directions.

Samples should be returned to Plimoth Plantation as soon as possible. Once teams are formed, information about attending either mini-stitching symposiums or individual stitching times will be sent so that dates can be reserved. Samples will be retained by Plimoth for use in matching individuals for stitching and also as examples to show the public what the embroidery is like close up.

The sample stitching kit is available for $40 plus $5 shipping and handling (international shipping costs may vary), and includes a $20 tax-deductible donation to the project which will be used to offset the materials costs.

We are also seeking donations to support the embroidered jacket project. Individuals and groups or guilds may send contributions to:

Plimoth Plantation

C/o Kim Corben

PO Box 1620

Plymouth, MA 02362

Please note that your contribution is restricted to the embroidered jacket project.

We are excited and encouraged by the enthusiasm news of this project has generated. We are looking forward to working with the embroidery community not only to accomplish this work, but also to bring the research, the finished piece, and the joy of historic needlework to the wider public.

Yours truly,

Jill M. Hall

Manager, Colonial Wardrobe & Textiles

Plimoth Plantation

Email: jhall@plimoth.org

Web:  www.plimoth.org

E-mail: linda@thesamplerguild.co.uk

Telephone/Fax: 44(0)1628-785338

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