Physical description

A long sleeved jacket of white with a pattern of chevrons along the lower edge, the front edges, the centre back and the inner and outer sleeve, made up of knit, purl and moss stitches. The waist is shaped with gores made by decreases. The back and front are knit in one piece, dividing at the sleeves and knit together at the shoulders. The sleeves are made from stitches from the main body and picked up from the front and back and knit to the wrist. The front edges are bound with a 6mm wide strip of linen.

Place of Origin

England (made)

Date

18th century (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Hand knit with two-ply white cotton yarn.

Dimensions

Length: 68.2 cm overall, flat, Width: 125 cm overall, flat, Circumference: 83.5 cm chest

Historical context note

Probably an item of underwear and could have been worn by a man or a woman. Its decorative pattern is identical to that of a baby's jacket, T.30-1932, and may have formed part of a layette to be worn by a pregnant or nursing woman

Descriptive line

A jacket knitted in white cotton, 18th century, English for an adult

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Hinchcliffe, Frances (ed.), Knit One, Purl One : Historic and Contemporary Knitting from the V&A's Collection. V&A, London, 1985
Historical Fashion in Detail The 17th and 18th Centuries

Labels and date

1. JACKET
Hand-knitted two-ply cotton
English, 17th century

This jacket was knitted in one piece in the round and was then slit down the front and the raw edges hemmed. It is knitted in stocking stitch with bands of geometric patterning in plain and purl, and the false seam lines are knitted in.

Given by Mr. Eric Bullivant
T.61-1939 [1985]

Materials

Cotton; Yarn; Linen; Thread; Linen

Techniques

Knitting; Sewing

Categories

Fashion; Clothing; Informal wear; Europeana Fashion Project

Collection

Textiles and Fashion Collection