Thanks to Debbie A who reminded me to post a note about how to make a donation to support Plimoth Plantation in general or the jacket project in particular. And thanks to Lois, who saw in a recent post that we were accepting donations and wrote to ask me how to go about it. Here’s the scoop:

Please make out your check to “Plimoth Plantation” and direct it to:

Kim Corben, Development Department

Plimoth Plantation

PO Box 1620

Plymouth, MA 02362

If you’d like to support a particular project or function, please be sure to write on your check (memo line) “embroidered jacket” (for this project – it will buy the last supplies we need and support the exhibit that will go with the jacket), “colonial wardrobe” (this would support all our work of dressing the first-person interpreters, like buying cloth and buttons and shoes), or “textile conservation fund” which is dedicated to preserving Plimoth’s three samplers (two 17th-century and one 19th-century) and any other historic textiles the museum may acquire.

Any undesignated contributions will go into the general operating fund, which is also good; that pays the electric bill, among other things.

Here’s a picture for today. Embroidery volunteer Carli brought this to show & tell last session, which started on Halloween. It is her own design. She was strongly encouraged to write up the directions, both because everyone wanted to make one and because it uses GST – click on the image to enlarge, and look for the sparkle!

May be sent to

Plimoth Plantation

c/o Kim Corben, Development

PO Box 1620

Plymouth, MA 02362

Please write on your check or enclose with your contribution a note saying:

“Restricted to Embroidered Jacket Project” or something to that effect.

And thank you so much for asking!

Cheryl asked how much we need. I will sweep together the estimates and let you know in dollars, but here’s a list of expenses.

Every time we have an embroidery session we need to buy food supplies. It is most cost effective, not to mention most delicious to have Marcia cooking for us, we spend much less than if we bought food through a restaurant, but depending on number of participants and number of days we need $200-400.

We need to buy some supplies for the lace making; pins, prickers, cards for the prickings and some other things.

We need to buy the silver and gold for the teardrop spangles.

We need to buy the gold and silver threads for the lace.

We’ll need more GST, especially the first three colors – bisse, carnation and redde.

These are just materials costs; I’ll have to look up the figures on what we allowed (in the grant application) for a hired embroideress for the vines. Plus, I’m sure I’m forgetting something….

Ah, yes, I was just reminded about buying the sequins, the little round bits that’ll be sewn onto the cloth itself. (These were and, I think, still are made by coiling a wire and smacking it sharply to flatten it, Susan. The teardrop ones, though, were punched out of a flat piece of metal, almost a metal ribbon. The historic spangles themselves told us, by the striations visible at high magnification, by the ‘burls’ on the edges of the spangle and the edge of the hole, and by the irregular spangles, the ones punched too close to the edge of the ribbon or too close to their neighbor spangle. That’s the abridged version, but more will be coming soon, and with photos.)

Tricia has promised more blogs, including instructions for the plaited braid stitch and more on the teardrop spangle quest. I have on hand a few more blogs written by Wendy on spangle history, teardrop and other shapes, and I will start with those tomorrow, hopefully.

See you then.