Barbara's story on the 'Welcome Home' tablecloths...

A ‘Welcome Home’ Tablecloth

In the early 20^th century, “fancy work” magazines often published patterns for pictorial designs in filet crochet.  This continued throughout World War 1, and some of the designs that appeared during the war had patriotic themes.  One such design, for a Dreadnought cushion cover, was shown in SK 140, in the article on the Lady’s World Fancy Work Book. 

We also have in the collection a few surviving examples of patriotic fancy work, including two identical tablecloths with borders in filet crochet.  The design has crossed French and British flags, anchors, battleships and the slogan “Welcome Home”. 

The design was published in Fancy Needlework Illustrated, probably in 1915, though the issues are not dated.  The design is called L’Entente, which suggests that it was intended to celebrate the alliance with France.  The complete design has a triangle in each corner of the tablecloth with United worked into it, but neither of the examples in the collection has that, and I imagine that the “Welcome Home” message was more appealing, especially for anyone with a family member in the forces.  There is also a matching tea-cosy design in the magazine, and there are surviving examples of that, though not in the Guild collection.  

One of our tablecloths has an accompanying note from the donor, with a photo.  The cloth was crocheted by a girl called Ethel Booth for her father, who was in the Grenadier Guards in the Boer War, and later fought in the Great War too.  Ethel Booth was born in 1897, and the cloth was used at her 90^th birthday party.  She died in 1992, aged 95, and the cloth was given by her daughter.  Unfortunately, we don’t know the donor’s name, and we don’t know whether Booth was the maker’s married name.  It would be wonderful to know more about the maker and her father, especially for the centenary of World War 1.  If anyone can supply the missing information, please get in touch with the collections team at Lee Mills.    

Barbara Smith

SlipKnot 142, March 2014.