Please help with a vintage shawl question

12 years ago

I have a question about a shawl and I hope this is the right forum to ask about it. If I need to post my question in another forum, please let me know.

The shawl belonged to my great-grandmother who died in 1966, so I know, at a very minimum, it is at least 45 years old. I have no idea how long she owned the shawl before her death.

My question is, can anyone tell how it was made? I'd like to know if it was machine made or could it possibly be handmade? Anyone know how much older than the 1960's it might possibly be?

I tried to take photos of the details on it...hopefully someone here can tell how it was made. I would really appreciate any help with figuring this out!

{{gwi:1384554}}

Comments (8)

lindac
12 years ago
It's machine made......no way to tell how old...I'ds ay 1960 or so was a good guess.
Linda C
sunnyca_gw
12 years ago
Looks like popcorn stitch & some shells with ch 1 or ch2. It's crocheted & if there is a machine that makes them I have never heard about it. I'm no expert but have crocheted 40 years or so. Knitting machines are common but this is not knitted. It was probably made by a friend or maybe she made it herself. Worth, not much as the yarns tend to get fuzzy or pull apart a bit from use or washing. Nice remembrance of great-grandma! My mom is 89 & she made things like that when she was in her 20's with the bag to match made of cotton. That looks like it could be wool or just 4 ply acrylic yarn.
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lindac
12 years ago
Sorry....it's not crocheted...I also crochet, have done crochet for well more than 60 years....and I enlarged the picture...not hand done.
calliope
12 years ago
Since there are two differing opinions, you may want to ask over at the knitting and crochet forums.
sjarz
12 years ago
I didn't know there were crochet machines, I thought only knitting but apparently crochet machines do exist. Whew, I've learned my something for today...
I'd have to say it's machine made as well. It is so completely uniform, even an expert crocheter would have trouble duplicating that, IMHO.
I've crocheted many things in my life, I don't know that I could crochet a shawl and have every stitch so perfect.
It looks like it is still in great condition, I'd pack it away in plastic and savour it as a family memento.
Suzan J
pris
12 years ago
This looks like machine embroidery (crewel) work to me. Possibly done on a peel away backing? It would almost have to be commercially made to be that accurately stitched and shaped no matter how it was made. Beautiful piece. You might want to research how to store it to keep it safe. Some papers and plastics could be harmful for longterm storage.
dreamgoddess
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you everyone for the information. I can see I need to do some research! Other than one small hole in it near one of the ends, the shawl is in wonderful condition. I wonder if there would be any way someone could repair the hole?
lindac
12 years ago
If you can get a better close up picture of the stitch and the hole....I can tell you how to repair it......if you can find yarn the same color. is it a synthetic? Wool or cotton?
Linda C