1770s Whitework apron
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1770-1790 A whitework cotton muslin apron.
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The other corner of the apron
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The apron spread out
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Detail of the border on one side
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Two of the sprigs in the centre
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Two of the sprigs in the centre
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Two of the sprigs in the centre
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Enlarged details of the drawn-thread work in two of the border motifs
Description.
Muslin aprons were decorative and not worn for protection.
The apron has embroidery in white cotton with some drawn-thread work; the border design is mirrored along the lower edge, and there are sprigs of exotic flowers scattered over the centre.
It is 56" wide and 34½" deep; the top edge has a hem of ½" forming a channel for a drawstring, now missing, to be threaded through to tie round the waist; this probably would have been a narrow linen tape.
There is darning in several places and a tear, 7½" long, at the top near the centre, which has been carefully sewn up.
Contemporary illustrations
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Detail from The Drummond Family by Johan Joseph Zoffany, c.1769. Yale Collection of British Art.
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Dorothy Quincy (Mrs John Hancock) by John Singleton Copley, c.1772. Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
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Embroidery pattern , “New Pattern of Spriggs", published in The Lady’s Magazine, April. 1785.
