The English Sewing Cotton Company Scrapbook

Rifle Green is an old colour. The earliest reference that I can find to this shade dates to 1824. It is associated with the Rifle brigade of the British army, formed during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. They wore green tunics instead of the usual red for camouflage, as rather than directly face the enemy it was their role to hide and pick them off individually.  Our Sylko shade D352 however dates from 1935 - the same year as King George V's jubilee celebrations (marked by the shade D349). It is one of those shades selected by the British Colour Council - see my previous blog post  https://englishsewingjournal.blogspot.com/2024/01/cotton-colours-of-1930s.html  Newspapers reported on the new shades in the second half of that year, with Rifle Green often being put together with another shade called Vagabond Green. I don't think that this latter shade made it to Sylko (though it may be the case that I just haven't seen it yet!). The colour shades either side of

 It is rare to find first hand accounts of working for an ESCC establishment, but here is one found in a book about the history of Skipton. Extract from "Looking Back at Skipton" by Margaret Lancaster published by the author in 1990. Page 89. "Mrs Dorothy Carthy records her experiences of working for the firm [Dewhursts]. In March 1939 I went to work at John Dewhurst & Co Ltd, part of the English Sewing Cotton Company in Skipton. When vacancies at local firms occurred, they often rang the Girls' High School to see if they had any girls who were interested - I went for an interview and on entering the building was greeted by a commissionaire complete with gold braid, and eventually I was informed that the job was mine. I was the shorthand typist in the Thread Office, starting work at 7.45am and finishing at 5.30pm and working on Saturday morning until mid-day, one hour for lunch and the wages were £1 per week. Fares to Skipton had to be paid out of this, but the f

 Have you ever read a Sylko label and wondered what on earth the mercerised cotton thread bit is all about? I only recently discovered that the mercerisation process was named after an actual person - John Mercer. On delving more into his life, I've found that there is much to be admired in Mr Mercer. John Mercer was born around 1791 in Great Harwood, Lancashire. He began working as a weaver at a young age, so obviously he was an ordinary boy and not from a wealthy background. But it seems that he showed great promise, as a teenager he managed to obtain an apprenticeship to a printer in Openshaw. He met with a temporary setback, when the apprenticeship was cancelled due to trade depression. He went back to the loom, but he had an enquiring mind, and he was interested in the dyeing process. He began to experiment... His early discoveries in the dyeing process led to him obtaining a job as an experimental chemist at the age of 25, and in just 8 years he was a partner at the firm. He

Hansard notes from a parliamentary debate, 11th December 1985. Representation from Matthew Parris MP (Derbyshire West) and Phillip Oppenheim MP (Amber Valley). The discussion centres around English Sewing Ltd and their plans to take a government grant to move dyeing operations from Belper to Scotland. Throughout the debate, much is made of Derbyshire workers' loyalty to English Sewing and their good work ethic. The point is made that money for job creation in Scotland would result in more government money having to be spent on redundancy payments in Derbyshire. English Sewing Ltd are therefore held up as being underhand. Parris states that having spoken to the MD of English Sewing, he remarked that the company would be moving to Scotland anyway, and were in fact considering transferring all textile operations away from the UK. This is despite receiving £300,000 in grants to modernise the Belper mill. The UK textile industry was plummeting throughout the early 1980s. Production at E

 The Stanhill Ring Spinning Company was a latecomer to the English Sewing Cotton Company, joining just after the end of World War Two in 1946. Their premises were as eye-catching and dominant as any mill - especially as ring spinning machinery was heavier than the standard looms so required very sturdy housing. So, what is ring spinning? Good question - I have read descriptions but am not much the wiser as they all assume a background knowledge that I don't have and I'm just not technically minded. I can relate that the system was perfected in the US in the mid 19th century and was brought back to Lancashire, where initial experiments had taken place in the 1820s. Although it was quicker and required less skilled workers to operate the looms, the finished product was no good if you wanted a fine yarn - a 40 count was the best you could get.  Also, because the work was less skilled the pay was lower, so there was a labour shortage as people preferred the higher wages to be got w

"Good Needlework" Magazine projects, April 1933: A traycloth, an antimaccassar, a breakfast set Luncheon mats with a blue daisy design A tea cosy with a shy lady in a crinoline motif An afternoon tea set with a gingham and tulip design A cushion cover with a flower ring design A floral workbag All projects for the domesticed lady with a penchant for flowers, the ideal housewife of the day. Imagine having the time on your hands to do all this...to have luncheon at home and afternoon tea. You might need: D285 Tea Rose D306 Gladiole Red D332 Saffron D344 Duck Egg Blue