By Bryn Kelley, second year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. One of the first lessons I learned regarding wet cleaning in textile conservation is the importance of considering the fibres present. This came to the fore in my second semester object this year; a 1930s-40s dress with cotton warp and viscose rayon weft from the collection… Continue reading
by Scarlet Faro, 2nd year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. In my second year on the MPhil Textile Conservation, one of the objects I worked on was a hand-made cotton cutwork lace jabot, part of the collection at Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura. A jabot is a decorative neckwear accessory, worn to conceal the front opening… Continue reading
By Tabby Gibbs, Second Year Student, MPhil Textile Conservation An important part of the textile conservation planning process is testing, testing…and more testing! Before any decisions can be made about how to treat any object, we need to fully understand the materials and degradation products that are present. A great way of carrying out initial… Continue reading
by Lauren Van Dessel, 2nd yr student, MPhil Textile Conservation As part of the MPhil Textile Conservation programme, students complete their first year by undertaking a summer placement in a conservation lab. This summer, I was lucky enough to fulfil my placement at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF). One of the reasons… Continue reading
By Kirstin Ingram, Second year student, MPhil Textile Conservation Dyeing support fabrics can sometimes feel like witchcraft even with synthetic dyes: you mix potions together, stir at a boiling pot, and turn a piece of undyed fabric into any colour of the rainbow. However, sometimes this magic can involve a lot of trial and error… Continue reading
By Tabby Gibbs, First Year Student, MPhil Textile Conservation In the second semester, first year students are allocated two historic textiles to document and conserve. It was a really busy term and we covered so many new methods that I wanted to take the opportunity to step back and reflect on one particular technique that… Continue reading
By Tabby Gibbs, First Year Student, MPhil Textile Conservation As we are now well into the second semester, my fellow first years and I have been reflecting on the vast amount we learnt in the first term. One of the things I particularly enjoyed studying was microscopy; the ability to tell different fibres apart through… Continue reading
by Nicole Giacomantonio, recent graduate. I was very fortunate to spend the last month at the Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research to undertake the final stage of treatment on a 1920s’ gold beaded dress belonging to Glasgow Museums. The dress (E.1973.62.b) was originally purchased from Murielle’s of Sauchiehall St in Glasgow and… Continue reading
By Erinn Dunlea, first year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. Conservators must tailor each conservation treatment to the needs of the object in their care. This can be informed by the object’s nature, condition, and the context and objectives of the treatment. This past semester I undertook the conservation of a length of fabric which belongs… Continue reading
by Callie Jerman, second year student, MPhil Textile Conservation It’s strange sometimes how themes can re-occur throughout a project or course. For the current second-year students one theme of the semester was ‘pesticides’. Historic pesticide use in museums is a huge problem, as a wide variety of toxins were applied to objects, starting in the… Continue reading
