Richelieu embroidery - White openwork: the pattern outlined in buttonhole stitch and linked by bars (often with picots, like needlepoint lace) with the fabric background cut awayNightdress, ladies - (cotton) french seams Cut out work with Richelieu embroidered. Arm sleeve edges buttonholed with picots.costume, female nightwear

Kathryn Knitwear, founded by Robert Blake, manufactured high quality children’s knitwear in Melbourne from the 1940s – 1980s. Robert Blake began manufacturing children’s knitwear in his bedroom in Strathmore using a hand powered machine in the late 1940s. The operation moved to Ascot Vale and Essendon, before eventually establishing a factory in Moonee Ponds in the early 1950s. The business continued to expand, necessitating a move to a new factory in Broadmeadows. By 1962, the Broadmeadows factory was producing an average of 20,000 garments per month, which increased to 24,000 by 1964. Robert Blake’s Son, Brendan recalls that “The Kathryn brand was famous around Australia, anywhere children needed to keep warm and dress smartly. It also won a number of wool fashion awards”, including the 1969 Wool Awards, which was held by the Australian Wool Bureau and published in Women’s Weekly. The Kathryn range was designed for durability, comfort and care, without sacrificing style. They used patterning techniques that increase stretchiness, comfort and fit, as well as integrating decorative elements into the fabric to prevent them from being bulky, uncomfortable or tight. Making longevity of style a priority, Brendan Blake remembers that “there was one particular garment that was in the range for at least thirty years”. He also recalls “In the past, when women have found out that I was associated with Kathryn Knitwear, they would often relate to me the story of a garment they had purchased or received as a gift and, when their child had grown out of it, they would hand it on to another child. Several ladies have told me of purchasing garments for their daughters’ glory box, or saving a particular garment after their daughter had grown out of it. The decoration on this garment was embroidered by hand by a skilled worker at the Kathryn Knitwear factory Brendan Blake: “At the peak of their operation they employed approximately two hundred people, mainly women and girls. A family would often seek to send their daughter to work in this company because they knew they would be looked after and safe. One lady wrote to me telling me that working at the Moonee Ponds Factory prior to getting married was the happiest time of her life.” In 1963, workers at the Kathryn factory earned £13 per week, which was 8 shillings and 8 pence higher than the minimum weekly wage for female workers in the textile manufacturing industry (£12 11s 4d). By 1970, the Kathryn Knitwear brand expanded from children’s knitwear into womenswear under the brand name ‘Lady Kathryn’, and for boys and men under ‘Robert Blake’. Continuing to diversify their distribution, they also began exporting ‘Kathryn’ garments to New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and Japan. ‘Kathryn Knitwear’ was well-known for their early adoption of modern materials and techniques that had broad appeal to their customer base. This is shown in their early use of the acrylic fibre ‘Orlon’ in the 50s and 60s and ‘Superwash’ wool in the 1970s. Many of Kathryn Knitwear’s styles, particularly those that were long running staples of the brand, were available in both wool and Orlon to suit the consumer’s preference. Orlon was developed by DuPont in the 1940s and became the first commercially successful acrylic fibre in the 1950s and 1960s. The development of Orlon coincided with an increase in availability of washing machines in everyday Australian homes. The great appeal of Orlon was that while wool garments still had to be hand-washed, Orlon’s shrink-resistant nature made it machine washable and dryable. This was a very appealing prospect, especially for the seemingly unending task of cleaning active children’s clothing. Machine washable wool would not be available until the development of the ‘Superwash’ treatment by the Australian Wool Board and CSIRO in 1970. Far from the humble origins of one man in his bedroom with a hand-cranked machine; at its closure in 1980, the Broadmeadows factory of ‘Kathryn’ housed more than 100 machines, including 53 sewing machines and 45 knitting machines. Robert Blake was “a passionate advocate for wool and Australian Made” throughout his whole life. A strong thread that ties through the lifespan of Robert Blake and Kathryn Knitwear is a balance between adopting new innovations without sacrificing the core values of durability, comfort, care and style that had made the brand so well known. Their legacy forms an integral part of both Australian social and manufacturing history.Cream Children’s cardigan hand embroidered with pink flower buds with green foliage down the centre front edges. The round collar has pink picot/scalloped edge. Cardigan closes in the centre front at the base of the collar with a metal hook and hand-worked thread bar.[label stitched to back neck] Kathryn Reg’d / 100% Orlon / 22children's knitwear, knitwear, clothing, children's clothing, cardigan, manufacturing, fashion textile production, machine knitting, embroidery, embroiderer, floral embroidery, floral motif, flowers, picot, scalloped edge

Narrowing slightly at each end. Many small rings with many picots on each. Cream colour.tatting, collar

Narrowing slightly at each end. Many small rings with many picots on each. Dark cream colour.tatting, collar

Pair of white circular tape-lace (Battenberg) mats with scalloped and picot edges. The centre is of a fine octagonal muslin.lace, embroidery, needlelace

Purchased by Valda Arrowsmith on behalf of the Society.Crochet sandwich tray doyley in white cotton. Centenary of Victoria 1834 - 1934 crochet in pattern, fillet type crochet with picot edge.handcrafts, crocheting or crochet work, manchester, table linen

Hardanger mat stitched in white cotton perle on very pale green evenweave linen, using kloster blocks, buttonhole edge, picots, eyelets and satin stitch motifs.embroidery, hardanger, australia, 20thc

Tape lace tea cosy cover with linen centre. An interesting feature is the picots round the edge. The design suggests shamrocks and is possibly Irish. Cotton tape, Cotton threadslace, tape lace, 1920-40, ireland

Possibly worn by Mrs Myrtle Uebergang. Part of the Uebergang Collection.White cotton camisole with crocheted front and back yoke. The yoke has a floral design with crocheted lace border edging and capped sleeves. The square neckline is decorated with picot crochet lace.textiles, uebergang, allansford, tooram park, camisole, female costume accessories, handcrafts, needlework

This photograph is from the Max Harris Collection held by the Ballaraat Mechanics' Institute. Please contact BMI for all print and usage inquiries.ballarat, picot, widmer, float, sturt st, 1950's

Purchased by donor circa 1990Fine white thread. Central row of bell-shaped flowers, within the curves of gold metallic thread trail. Edged with a row of small gimped circles. Picots on outer edge. Finished with a plait and tassel at one end. bobbin lace, buckinghamshire, bucks point, bookmark

The photograph shows Ballarat No. 42 (Gardens via Drummond St), westbound in Bridge St. Tram has a briquettes roof advert. In the background are a butcher shop and Picot & Widmer, Chemist's shop. Not known who took the photograph or the date - c1970Yields information about tram services in Bridge St c1970.Black and white photograph on plain papertramcars, trams, tram 42, bridge st, ballarat tramway

The sample of crochet lace is an example of a handmade item that would have been used to edge material to create a doily for use around the home.The item is significant socially to show the use of textile crafts, such as handmade crocheted lace, to decorate regular domestic objects.A ring of handmade crochet lace consisting of ten motifs joined in a circle. Mercerised white crochet thread has been used to crochet each motif in an open lace pattern using picot edging to give a floral effect.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, lace, handmade lace, crocheted lace, decorative edging, decorative lace edging, domestic object, crocheted edging

Clothing. A length-364 cms long of beautiful cream coloured silk satin ribbon, 4.5 cms wide, and finished with a picot hem stitched edge on each side. Possibly used as a vehicle decoration on the wedding vehicle of Aileen and John.costume, female, length of silk ribbon

Purchased by donor circa 1990Fine white thread. Three rows of diamonds, outlined with silver metallic thread. Outer rows, Cloth Stitch with a central hole. Central row, Honeycomb filling stitch. Picots on outer edge. Finished with a plait and tassel at one end. bobbin lace, buckinghamshire, bucks point, bookmark

Heraldry in white richelieu work. The Arms of Francis I of France and his wife La Reine Claude (Swan and Arrow) 1494-1547 Stitches used are buttonhole, satin stitch, seeding, four sided. Picots and spider webs, some needle weaving.embroidery, heraldry, late 19th century, france, cutwork

Heraldry in white richelieu work. The Arms of Louis XII King of France and his wife Anne of Brittany 1462-1575, 1476-1514. Stitches used are buttonhole, satin stitch, seeding, four sided. Picots and spider webs, some needle weaving.Border panel 1. - Franco1~7embroidery, heraldry, late 19th century, france, cutwork

Textiles. Oval in shape, with a scalloped edge trimmed with a fine picot edged braid. The floral ''needle weaving'' embroidery comprises two petalled flowers, with raised bulliow stitch embroidered centres. Leaves and buds on either side of the flowers are also fine examples of needle weaving. Eight tiny buds complete the centrepiece.textiles, domestic, needle weaving embroidered doyley

Clothing. A square of very fine linen, 12 cms diameter, surrounded by a one cm edging of drawn threadwork, and 9.5 cm of fine crochet. Crochet has circular shaped motifs, some very lacy and open, with a band of more closely worked pattern on either side of the open motifs. A looped pattern with picot finish edges the handkerchief.costume accessories, female, linen handkerchief with crochet edge.

The Fashion & Design collection of Kew Historical Society includes examples of textiles dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the textiles, were used as items of clothing, others as items of household decoration, or simply as travel souvenirs. These textiles were created both domestically and internationally. Predictably with the growth of an ethnically and culturally more diverse community in Kew after the Second World War, textiles, clothing and objects in the collection inevitably reflected this diversity. Cream crocheted bodice with pearl buttons. A net band has been attached at the waistline to facilitate the garment being tucked in. There are some machine made elements hand tacked on but the garment is mainly hand made. Most of the garment is diamond mesh with picot. The yoke is crotchet mesh with applied daisy motifs. Large daffodils and daisy motifs are applied to the main body of the garmentlace, women's clothing

Received anonymously by a teacher of the Lace Guild of Australia, Victorian Branch. Karolina Jeffers of Vermont. Donor told Karolina that the lace had belonged to her aunt. The aunt had worked in a dressmakers in Flinders Lane in the 1930s where she acquired the lace. Donor was in her 80s when she gave the lace to Karokina.1. Small white round piece of Irish crochet. Donegal. A three leaf clover in centre of piece with close pattern around it with sixteen three looped picots on edge. This piece is attached to a blue felt covered board. 2. Small cream piece of needle lace. Ten looped circles around edge with close worked centre piece. This piece is also attached to blue felt covered board.'Irish Crochet Donegal' Puerto Lumbretas Spainhandcrafts, crocheting or crochet work, lacemaking

These oral histories were collected at a Talking Shop Community Day, March 2019, where the community was invited to come and share their memories on local shops and businesses. This edited piece was created for International Womens Day and features the voices of Heather Horrocks (speaking about the haberdashery business Picot and Widmer and the controversial McDonald's established on Bakery Hill in the 1970s), Shirley Whitefield (speaking about Ballarat tram and shop memories and playing local football in the 1960s), and Isabel Gribble (recalling visits to local shops and hotels). These snippets capture some of the varied and spirited lives of Ballarat women.Audio file. Edited from oral histories collected at Talking Shop exhibition Community Day March 2019, featuring the voices of Heather Horrocks, Shirley Whitefield, and Isabel Gribbleoral history, international womens day, heather horrocks, shop, haberdashery, business picot, widmer, mcdonald's, bakery hill,1970s, shirley whitefield, trams, football,1960s, isabel gribble, hotels, ballarat, women

Clothing. Guipure lace and spotted tulle bolero with sleeves. The 8cm cuffs of the sleeves are also guipure lace. The lace is of a floral design with tiny looped picots separating the floral motifs. Sleeves are of spotted tulle (.7 cm spots). The back of the bolero is shallow - just 26 cm deep, while the front dips to two peaks in the centre front.From shoulder to lower edge is 44 cms. No fasteners are evident. Armhole seam is bound with tulle.costume, female, cream tucked net collar and jabot

9059.1 Victorian handmade needle run lace collar 9059.2 Lace collar with two press studs 9059.3 9059.4 9059.5 Light blue crocheted silk collar and cuffs. c1920s. 9059.6 Cream silk crocheted collar 9059.7 Hand crocheted Picot collar, c.1930s 9059.8 Cream silk crocheted collar, 1920s to 1930s 9059.9 French needle run lace collar 9059.10 Black silk faille collar, c. 1920s