Handmade Tales: Women and Domestic Crafts

When I discovered The Women's Library currently had an exhibition on about crafts, I knew I had to visit. As the daughter of a woman who never sits down without taking up some form of needlework, I've always been keen on being creative myself although so far I've only really mastered knitting.

Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed by this exhibition. This was partly my own fault as I had expected there to be more handmade objects on display, when in fact the emphasis was on books, magazines and other printed items which is understandable really given it was in a library.

A more fundamental problem, though, was I felt that they had used too broad a definition of women's 'domestic crafts'. The exhibition encompassed everything from patchwork, crochet and dress-making (the types of craft I had expected to see) to activities which many might consider chores rather than crafts such as cooking and some which are not necessarily undertaken primarily by women such as gardening and DIY.

The problem with having such a broad definition is that inevitably nothing could be covered in very much depth and it also made any omissions even more glaring. As someone had pointed out on the comments board, there was nothing on macramé - that 70s craft I remember from my childhood but which doesn't seem to have made a comeback recently in the way so many other crafts have. Which brings me to the final reason I was a little disappointed - there was not really any mention of the huge 21st century resurgence in the popularity of crafts such as knitting, crochet and dressmaking as evidenced by groups such as Stitch London and workshop venues such as The Make Lounge.

Having said all that, there was much that I enjoyed in the exhibition. There were a few pieces of beautiful handmade clothing on display including a Pearly Queen dress (1925) with every pearl sewn on by hand and a beautiful patchwork silk coat (1948) which a mother had made for her daughter as a dressing gown but which was so lovely she wore it as an evening coat. Contemporary artifacts on display included a pair of hand knitted slippers and a sampler someone had embroidered to photograph for use as the birth announcement for her daughter. There were also a small selection of old sewing machines and a range of other craft tools of all types from a garden fork to a Pyrex rolling pin.

Overall, I would say this is worth visiting if you're in the area and you're interested in crafts but you'll have to catch it soon as it finishes on 20 April. If you're keen to see handmade objects after that then the V&A is probably your best bet. I do plan to keep an eye on what's on at the Women's Library though as they run some interesting sounding events, many of which are free, including an Alternative Jack the Ripper Walk.