![]() ![]() | On last week's episode of the Great British Sewing Bee I was fascinated by the silk map dress that they included in their Make Do and Mend history section. And judging by the flurry of mentions it got on twitter at the time, I'm not the only one that thought it was exquisite. If you didn't spot the dress, you can see it oniPlayer, at around 27mins. To the left is a similar example from the Imperial War Museum collection and an original Escape Map. These maps were made from first from silk and then rayon, materials which allowed them to be folded up very small, and thus be concealed more easily. The use of fabric over paper also had other advantages, such as its resilience to tearing and water damage, as well as its 'rustle free' nature. It is estimated that many thousands of British and Allied troops may have used these escape maps to evade capture and return home. More detail about the history of WW2 escape maps can be found here. |
One of the things I love to collect is souvenir textiles. I like the sense of adventure that they have associated with them and I daydream about the exotic trips that they were acquired on. One of my favourites is this 60s Souvenir Of Aden scarf. It is full of spelling mistakes and shown here upside down (whoops!) but I love the vibrancy of the colours.