Sheet, pillow case and carving napkin, linen, probably hand woven by Janet Primrose Monteath, Clackmannonshire, Scotland, 1860-1870
This small collection of handwoven domestic linen articles - a sheet, pillow case and carving napkin - were woven in the Alloa region of Clackmannanshire in Scotland, probably in the 1860s or 1870s. They were brought to Australia in 1920 in her trousseau by the donor's mother Janet Rolland Stirling, who was born in Alloa.
Although Stirling family tradition indicates that the linen textiles were handwoven by the donor's great great great grandmother Janet Primrose in about 1800, it seems more likely that they were woven by her grand-daughter Janet Primrose Monteath. The carving napkin was used by her husband Alexander Brown Sitrling who would apparently refuse to begin carving for their family of eight boys until his wife had tied the napkin around his neck.
The linen weaving industry in Scotland formed the basis of community life, and mention is made as early as 1491. The wool and linen industries in Scotland were supported, from the early part of the 18th century, by bounties and premiums paid out by the Board of Trustees for Fisheries and Manufactures who provided incentives for production, training for intending craftsmen and women in specialised continental methods, and encouragement towards mechanisation. From 1750 onwards the effects of the Industrial Revolution were felt in Scotland and, by 1784, machines for spinning flax fibres into linen were already in use. The art of hand weaving survived however among skilled women.
The sheet and pillow case are both handwoven in plain weave, while the carving napkin is handwoven in damask weave with the field in a diaper pattern and the border probably in the Monk's Belt pattern. Domestic textiles such as sheets, pillow cases and napkins have been made of linen for centuries as linen withstands scrubbing and washing in hot water and can be bleached by spreading in the sun.
Linen cloth is made from flax, a strong and durable bast fibre that resists rotting in damp climates. With a longer staple than cotton, flax is one of the few fibres that has a greater breaking strength wet than dry. The traditional preparation of flax fibres from the plant is a long and complicated process. Ripe flax was pulled up by the roots and laid out to dry in the sun for a few days, being turned two or three times a day until thoroughly cured. The stalks were then drawn through a coarse comb, with teeth of wood or wire fastened in a plank, to remove the seeds; it was then tied in bundles and spread on the ground and kept wet for several days. Once the hard, woody stem had rotted, the leaves would fall off when shaken and they would be dried again in bundles. The flax was then beaten and pounded (swingling and striking), before being pulled through a 'hatchel'. The fine residual filaments were then spun into threads and washed, rinsed and bleached several times before being ready for the loom.
All three of these handwoven, linen textiles - the sheet, the pillow case and carving napkin - have been passed down through the families of Primrose, Monteath and Stirling since at least the mid 1800s, and possibly earlier.
Janet Primrose, born 17 November 1786, was the weaver according to Stirling family history, although this is questioned by the donor John Stirling. Janet Primrose Monteath, born 6 August 1846 and married Alexander Brown Stirling 9 June 1871. She was the grand-daughter of Janet Primrose and is conservatively identified here as the weaver, in part because of the machine-stitched hems on the sheet and pillow case. Janet Rolland Stirling, born 29 March 1900 and married William Lorne Stirling 16 June 1920: the donor's mother and Janet Primrose's great great grand-daughter. William John Stirling, the donor.
According to family history the linen items were woven in Alloa (or thereabouts) in Clackmannonshire, Scotland, by Janet Primrose - great great great grandmother of the donor - in about 1800. However, as both the sheet and pillow case are machine stitched, it seems more likely that they were woven by her grand-daughter Janet Primrose Monteath in the mid to late 1800s. The carving napkin, according to a note written by the donor's mother and dated 1988, was said to have belonged to Janet Primrose Monteath's husband Alexander Brown Stirling; he would refuse to begin carving the meat for their family of eight boys until his wife had tied the napkin around his neck.
The linen textiles were brought to Australia by the donor's mother Janet Rolland Stirling in her troussseau in 1910. A family photograph shows the wedding of Janet Rolland Stirling to William Lorne Stirling in 1920. The donor's sister Primrose Catherine Ann Campbell owns a second sheet and pillow case which she's willing to donate to the Museum to keep the set together.