A few weeks ago, the website Heritage Crafts came across my socials and I found myself absolutely fascinated by the Red List of extinct and endangered crafts. Cricket balls, for example, are no longer made in this country, which I think is very sad. And the making of cricket bats is on the endangered list. My husband tells me that is because good cricket bats are made by hand, preferably from English willow.
You will be pleased to hear, I hope, that almost all the crafts associated with this shop, knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning fall into the list of currently viable crafts. The website has the caveat that ‘currently viable’ does not mean that all risk to the crafts has gone, although I think we can breathe a little bit easily on behalf of knitting and crochet. Interestingly, the making of spinning wheels is endangered, but perhaps that is because Ashford, a New Zealand company, has cornered the market in spinning wheels and modern spinning wheels are quite different to the one pictured below – often rather glamorously streamlined and designed so that you can use both feet to treadle the wheel. Many of the spinners I know use electric wheels for speed and a consistently fine thread.
Fair Isle knitting is currently viable too. Shetland Lace Knitting, on the other hand, is endangered. Even more incentive to get on with the Shetland Lace Shawl I have been meaning to knit for years now. These two types of knitting, along with Gansey knitting also fall into the category of culturally distinctive crafts, for obvious reasons. Interestingly, Gansey Knitting is also a viable craft. I am impressed by this as I know people who have put a lot of effort into bringing Gansey Knitting back from the edge. Mandy and I are plotting (for sometime in the future) creating a Gansey design, but it will be hard work! We stock Jamieson & Smith Shetland wool here, a yarn which is perfect for both Fair Isle and Shetland Lace Knitting, and they have even added a 5ply to their range, for the Gansey knitters. The photo below is of a gorgeous lace shawl knitted by one of my customers in Jamieson’s 2ply Lace – such an amazing piece of work.
Tatting is still viable, although I cannot think of anyone I know who does tatting now. Mandy says she did it years ago. Apparently it is something developed from knotting, either from an activity practised by aristocratic women from the 15th century onwards, or perhaps from the creation of fishermens’ nets. I recall a reference in one of Georgette Heyer’s novels (Venetia I think) to a nurse who has miles of tatting in her workbasket, but that is the limit of my knowledge. However lace-making with bobbins is also on the endangered list. I am not surprised by this – lace making is very fiddly and I should imagine that it takes a lot of skill. I associate it with the North of France and Normandy, where it is still a highly respected craft. I recall amazingly elaborate lace curtains hanging in the front windows of houses in Dieppe and the villages around.
Nalbinding, the creation of a textile using yarn and a single needle is also on the endangered list. According to Heritage Crafts, Nalbinding is mainly associated with areas that have had Viking cultural influence, in particular East Anglia and the North of England. There are two people in the UK doing nalbinding professionally and betweeen 11 and 20 doing it as a side business. The textile it creates is very similar to a knitted fabric and there are examples of Roman and Egyptian socks in various museums that were created using this technique.
The Red List also has a list of resurgent crafts – where there is an upswing of interest – not necessarily enough to stop the craft being endangered, but a positive sign. Here, to my delight, is listed Flax, Hemp and Nettle processing. I wonder if this is to do with the ongoing search for sustainable textiles that are not cotton. And, perhaps, it is also due to the excellent film The Nettle Dress which I strongly recommend to anyone who has not yet seen it. I watched the processing of flax with great interest when I attended Apple Day at Gressenhall Museum of Rural Life a couple of years ago, and it is something which has been added to my list of Things I Would Like to Learn to Do When I Have the Time, along with weaving and that Shetland Lace Shawl.
As I looked through the whole list of endangered crafts I realised that it is entirely understandable why so many things are on there. Even if you do archery, it is unusual to fletch an arrow these days with feathers, unless, perhaps you are a re-enactor of historical events. Not many people play lutes, or wear armour. Still, I have an huge admiration for all those people who try to keep these things alive and it gives me a slightly warm feeling to know that we are playing our part here in the shop.