Irish whitework: An analysis of the Pim’s Mountmellick embroidery pattern collection in Ireland

Abstract

The overarching purpose of this research was to analyze Mountmellick embroidery patterns, Irish whitework embroidery patterns, from the Pim family collection. These patterns were documented through photographs during a visit to the Mountmellick Development Association in Mountmellick, Ireland. This research sought to address the gap in scholarly research for Mountmellick embroidery, and the Pim’s collection of patterns were chosen as the data for this study. The main goal of this research was to analyze the Pim’s pattern collection to evaluate the characteristics of these historical artifacts and assess what culture or cultural values were communicated for the Irish, Quakers, or the Victorian era. Secondary goals of this investigation were to acquire a deep understanding of the Pim’s pattern collection and determine how they were representative of Mountmellick embroidery patterns. Also, another goal included the intent to disseminate the results discovered through this research to preserve this cultural form of embroidery patterns and encourage further interest in Irish needlework. Semiotics was applied as the theoretical framework for this study along with material culture methodology. Both were used to develop an instrument to collect data from the Pim’s collection of Mountmellick embroidery patterns. A couple of pilot studies were performed. The first was to test and improve the instrument. The second pilot test was completed by the two coders (the researcher and major professor) to test the finalized instrument and evaluate intercoder reliability of the pattern data on five patterns. It was determined to narrow the focus of this study down to the eight baby bibs and 22 small circular doily patterns for the purpose of this study, which constituted a total of 30 patterns. The examination of the Pim’s patterns revealed the types of motifs and patterns in these group of designs along with the elements and principles of design. It was found that the Pim’s patterns were mainly floral in nature and that the designer had painstakingly worked to illustrate realistic plant life in this detailed collection. The most popular plant forms in these patterns were various types of berries, dogroses and dogrose hips/buds, and shamrocks (e.g., clover and woodsorrel). All of the borders of the baby bib patterns contained a double combination outline/border while the most common border for the small doilies was the double-scalloped border. The existing literature for plant life in Mountmellick embroidery was corroborated through this research. A scholarly methodology was developed through this study and is applicable for other researchers in many interdisciplinary fields. Researchers can utilize this method to examine other types of patterns and physical artifacts far beyond those examined in this analysis. Historic museums, academic programs, and designers may also find this research useful. This study contributes an understanding of the Pim’s pattern collection for Mountmellick embroidery as well as Irish, Quaker, and Victorian cultures along with the application of semiotics and material culture methods for qualitative research.