Stitching with hair

[Nicola]

Hi Everyone
I know that this is a strange question, but has anyone sitched with hair? I know that it is a tradition for unmarried women who are sewing a bridal gown to stitch in a hair for good luck and that people used to embroider hairs into their work, (and I am sure that most of my work has lots of cat hair in it too!), but I am not sure about an embroidery with hair.

The reason behind this is that I've just had my hair cut and now have a thick 12" pony tail - I was thinking about making a hair piece, but the colour looked so nice, that it got me thinking about embroidery!
Thanks
Nicola

[Melisa B]

In victorian times women would collect hair and braid it and shape them into birds and flower arrangements and place them in a shadow box. There was two on the antique road uk show recently and here in Saskatoon at the western developement museum there is another. They are really neat. who would think that human hair has such a variety of colours. some would say that is gross but I think this type of thing is neat. experiment see what you can come up with.
Melisa

[Romilly]

I saw one of these last week at a local museum in NorthCarolina... they are astounding!!!
I also know that the Victorians did some absolutely amazing embroidery in hair -- usually as mourning pieces. They saved the hair that they brushed out of their hairbrushes to do it.

Hmmm. apparently it's a chinese tradition, too: http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/16Traditions1552.html

A site about the victorian: http://www.hairworksociety.org/

[sharonb]

There are a few artists who stitch with hair. The main one I thought of was Anne Wilson.
You might like to read this interview with Anne Wilson an artist who stitches with hair - there are also images to look at too
http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2007/11/art-space-talk-anne-wilson.html

here is her website
http://www.annewilsonartist.com/

and here is the wikipedia entry on her
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Wilson_(artist)

hope you find these interesting

[Kirsten]

I once saw a cross-stitched piece in the internet, can't remember where it was. It was beautiful.
I tried it too but got goose flesh from doing it. Even when you put the right end in the needle there is still this small tail that goes in the different direction.

[Lynne Madeley]

There is a beautifully embroidered picture of a dog, I think it was a spaniel, in the Victoria and Albert museum in London. When I was studying the embroideries in there some decades ago I often used to go look at it. The label said it was sewn using the actual dog's hair. I have a spaniel and have to say that it would have involved using a lot of hairs beause they are not very long. I also have a mourning brooch which pivots in the centre. It has hairs woven into a pattern on one side and a photo, presumably of the owner of the hair, on the other. I have short hair but my husband has a full head of thick long grey wavy hair...well he does until he goes to sleep tonight anyway!
I will be waiting for you to post a photo of your hair embroidery!
Lynne

[Carol-Anne]

I've seen a sampler embroidered with hair. The information plaque said that it the embroiderer was a prisoner who used a strip of fabric from her underskirt for the ground and her own hair for thread.

[Pian Bates]

Hi,
I know of a girl in Sweden who does lovely necklaces, braces and brosches of hair. She also knits and croches with hair. She has embroidered with hair too and made som pictures.
Her name is Nina Sparr and she lives in Dalicarlia in Sweden. Try her mailaddress: [e-mail]. If you can not get into contact with her I would be glad to help you.

Good Luck

Pian Bates in Sweden