Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
of making elaborate
trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied
braid
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
or
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
cord,
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
, colored
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
, or
bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s for
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
or
furnishings.
Styles of passementerie include the
tassel
A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric and clothing decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.
History and use
In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to ...
,
fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords,
galloon
Galloon (sometimes spelled galon in British English) is a heavily-decorated woven or braided trim, typically made of, or featuring, gold or silver thread, which may be woven or embroidered. Galloon trim is used in the trim of military and polic ...
s,
pompon
A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material.
The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...
s,
rosettes, and
gimps
The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) is a collaborative project of volunteers who use freely available software to search for Mersenne prime numbers.
GIMPS was founded in 1996 by George Woltman, who also wrote the Prime95 client and ...
, as well as other forms. Tassels, pompons, and rosettes are ''point'' ornaments, and the others are ''linear'' ornaments.
Overview
![Recreación de taller de Pasamanería sXIX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Recreaci%C3%B3n_de_taller_de_Pasamaner%C3%ADa_sXIX.JPG)
Passementerie worked in white
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
thread is the origin of
bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually de ...
, and is an early French word for
lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
.
Today, passementerie is used with clothing, such as the gold braid on military
dress uniform
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, incl ...
s, and for decorating
couture
Couture may refer to:
People
* Couture (surname)
Places
Belgium
* Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium
Canada
* Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada
...
clothing and
wedding gown
A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Sa ...
s. It is also used in furniture trimming, such as in the
Centripetal Spring Armchair
The Centripetal Spring Chair or Armchair was a 19th-century American office chair, and one of the first modern designs for office chairs.
Designed in 1849 by the American inventor Thomas E. Warren (b. 1808), the chair was produced by the Americ ...
of 1849 and in some
lampshades
A lampshade is a fixture that envelops the electric light, lightbulb on a light fixture, lamp to Diffuser (optics), diffuse the light it emits. Lampshades can be made out of a large variety of materials like paper, glass, fabric or stone. Ofte ...
,
draperies
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...
,
fringes, and
tassels
A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric and clothing decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.
History and use
In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to ...
.
History
![Orna118-Quasten](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Orna118-Quasten.png)
In the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, tassels were originally a series of windings of thread or string around a suspending string until the desired curvature was attained. Decades later, turned wooden moulds, which were either covered in simple wrappings or much more elaborate coverings called "satinings", were used. This involved an intricate binding of bands of filament silk vertically around the mould by means of an internal "lacing" in the bore of the mould. A tassel is primarily an ornament, and was at first the casual termination of a cord to prevent unraveling with a knot. As time went on, various peoples developed variations on this.
In the 16th century, the Guild of Passementiers was created in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. In France practitioners of the art were called "passementiers", and an
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...
of seven years was required to become a master in one of the subdivisions of the guild.
The Guild documented the art of passementerie. The tassel was its primary expression, but it also included
fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords,
galloon
Galloon (sometimes spelled galon in British English) is a heavily-decorated woven or braided trim, typically made of, or featuring, gold or silver thread, which may be woven or embroidered. Galloon trim is used in the trim of military and polic ...
s,
pompon
A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material.
The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...
s,
rosettes, and
gimps
The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) is a collaborative project of volunteers who use freely available software to search for Mersenne prime numbers.
GIMPS was founded in 1996 by George Woltman, who also wrote the Prime95 client and ...
as well as others. Tassels,
pompon
A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material.
The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...
s, and rosettes are ''point'' ornaments; the others are linear ornaments. These constructions were varied and augmented with extensive ornamentations. These constructions were each assigned an idiosyncratic term by their
French practitioners.
The French widely exported their very artistic work, and at such low prices that no other nation developed a mature "trimmings" industry. Tassels and their associated forms changed style throughout the years, from the small and casual of
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
designs, through the medium sizes and more staid designs of the Empire period, and to the
Victorian Era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
with the largest and most elaborate.
In Scotland at the end of the 16th century some passementerie was made with inferior gold and silver thread which quickly tarnished. On 6 May 1593 the
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...
and his friends decided not to wear any passementerie for a year, especially "passements great or small, plain or 'a jour', bissets, lilykins, cordons, and fringes".
[''Historical Manuscripts Commission, Appendix 4th Report: Mrs. Erskine Murray'' (London, 1874), p. 527.]
Passementerie with clothing was for a long time reserved for the elites as a sign of social distinction among royalty, aristocracy, religious, and military. Since the 18th century, the use became largely obsolete with the simplification of clothing.
Periodically, historic designs return to favour with interior and fashion designers. The middle of the 20th century saw a marked decline in the production and range of these products. The latter part of the 20th century has seen a resurgence in interest partly led by the film industry's set designers and costumiers. European and American artisans specialising in hand-made products are increasing in number.
References
Further reading
*
Picken, Mary Brooks, ''The Fashion Dictionary'', Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition , 1999 Dover republication )
*Annabel Westman, ''Fringe Frog & Tassel: The Art of the Trimmings-Maker in Interior Decoration in Britain and Ireland'', Philip Wilson, London, 2019.
External links
Passementeriepage at "The Tailor's Art," Museum of the
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...
.
{{Authority control
Lace
Notions (sewing)
Sewing
Textile techniques