Antique Netting Collar/Jabot

Hi readers!  I recently dove into my sewing ‘collection”, and pulled out some long-stashed stuff that was purchased just because it was so pretty and so old — a treasure to fashion history afficionados; at the very least, something interesting.

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I wonder who was the wearer of this jabot, or should it be called a detachable collar?  Did the owner wear it often or did she let it languish alone (considering the netting survived this long)?  The seller said it was from the 1920s, but could it be earlier? I’d like to believe the seller, and I’m calling it an antique in the title because it is 100 years old — ok, almost 100.

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It’s made from cotton netting, with embroidery running along the front and around the neck. I love embroidery on netting.  As I stare at it, the scallops down the front tell me that it may be made with a length of ready made netting lace.  What do you think?  The front snaps are tiny; and the neckline measures just 13 inches all around. This is where I thought that the piece may have belonged to a child. Or…. women in the 1920s must have had very thin necks; or….it may have belonged to a very small, skinny lady.

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Note the wavy wire stay at the sides of the neck; cool trick to make those flimsy lace and netting stand-up collars stay up. Also note the “entreduex” at the seams;  “entredeux” is a trim with holes.

It wasn’t too discolored but I think I might have scorched it a bit, while trying to iron it out. My bad.  But I want to preserve it, so I’ll put this question to you: should it be framed for display?  Is dunking in laundry bleach a good idea?  Is it really from the 20s?  If it can be authenticated, I may as well donate it to a museum, although I’m not sure they would accept anything that was not pristine.

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See below to see a bonus I found in the same bag, forgotten all these years. A silk handkerchief with exquisite embroidery. I’m amazed at the hemstitching!!  Since this is a silk handkerchief, I’m assuming it wasn’t ever used for wiping away tears or a nose; maybe just for adornment and flirting.

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I have a few more “vintage” things which I’ll share with you in other posts, and see what you think of them, and what I should do with them.

For my snowbound readers, spring is just around the corner. Stay warm!

Samina

 

8 thoughts on “Antique Netting Collar/Jabot”

  1. I wouldn’t bleach the jabot unless nothing else works and then only very weak solution. Try a soak in Oxyclean. Love the wavy wire stays! I, too, have lots of vintage pretties.
    Kathy

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  2. I don’t think I would use bleach on that exquisite netting piece. If you check quilting shopa, they have special gentle cleaners for antique quilts and textiles. I once had to mend and remove “mouse stains” from an antique quilt. I used one of the products for cleaning vintage quilts and then, following the advice of the quilt shop owner, placed a white sheet on my lawn, in full sun, and placed the quilt on it. There is something about the action of the sun on the lawn (even sheet covered) that brought about beautiful removal of all the mouse stains and took away the basic grunge from not being protected for over 50 years. Good luck. It is an exquisite piece. The hankie is lovely also. I have a vintage, embroidered silk one from France, bought in a bag of hankies at a second-hand shop in Maine. What treasures.

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    1. Thank you for the suggestions, and introducing me to the term “mouse stains” – I’m almost afraid to google that term! Lol!

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      1. I was trying to be polite for what it actually was. Mouse stains will suffice – yellow blobs all over the quilt. Ick.

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  3. Oh my! Such beautiful treasures! If the netting collar had been my Grandmother’s, I know she never would have worn it. :o( She “saved” those things for “special”, but special never came and she never used them. I embroidered her pillow cases and after she died I found them in her saved for special closet. My Granddaughters use them now!
    I would frame your treasures if I were you. I’m going to do that with 2 hankies from both of my Grandmothers and give it to my Granddaughter. The 4 of us share the same first name, and one hankie has our initial. :o)

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    1. OMG. How lovely that four family of 3 generations share a name. People did hang on to things without using them in the old days. They were pack rats — which is a good thing for those of us who seek out a connection to the past in “things”. Pack rats rule!!

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