We decided to escape the exhausting London heatwave and went to visit Dover Castle. The temperature there was a lot more pleasant and there was plenty to see and do. One of the highlights for me was seeing a scarf that was crocheted by Queen Victoria. I was dumbstruck when I saw this scarf as it just oozes history.
Please excuse the terrible photo. The scarf was in a glass display case in a dimly lit room. The shade is really a khaki green. It is 5 feet long and 9 inches wide with a fringe at both ends. It seemed very well made to me, though I'm hardly a crochet expert!
Apparently Queen Victoria made 8 of these scarves and they were given to soldiers in the South African War. They were worn like a sash over one shoulder then across the chest and buckled at the hip. There is more information about them here.
A clever crocheter has written a pattern for her version of the scarf and it can be found here.
No scarves were injured during the writing of this blog post. There were no signs banning photography and I made sure my camera flash didn't come on. I thought I was very restrained as I managed NOT to open the case and stroke the scarf!
I've read of the scarf. Thanks for the surreptitious picture and the link.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting thing to see. Thank you for sharing. I recently saw a museum exhibit on lace-making, which I enjoyed a lot. Everything was inside glass cases so it was hard to photograph most of it.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that just so fascinating. Besides all her Queenly duties she still crocheted scarves for the soldiers. Hugs,
ReplyDeleteMeredith
Well I never! Who would have thought of Queen Victoria crocheting! xx
ReplyDeleteHow fascinating! It's really in remarkably good shape, considering its age, and that it (I suppose) went to war and back. Glad there are not blood stains! Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteWow! I had never heard of those scarves before. Thank you for sharing your photo and the link :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the soldiers knew the scarves were knit by the Queen herself! How interesting to see this handiwork and think of her sitting in her palace with a little hooky magic on her lap ;) Good for you for getting a fairly decent shot without a flash. Wendy x
ReplyDeleteYes, the soldiers knew. These scarves were treasured and eventually passed down to other family members.
DeleteVery interesting! I knew that in the past some queens did lacework, embroidery and crochet. But I did not know that Queen Victoria, particularly, crocheted.
ReplyDelete