THE “BOX” OF SEVENTY YEARS AGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23350, 16 November 1937, Page 17

THE “BOX” OF SEVENTY YEARS AGO

By Estelle C. M. Cook

When the girl of to-day decides upon marriage, she runs off and buys a diminutive trousseau and a not very imposing supply of linen, and there she is. But, Oh! how different were the preparations of the bride of 70 years ago! . .. The other day I saw part of the bridal linen woven by a 15-year-old girl in 1867-68. I was told that little Fredrica enjoyed making her “ box, ’ and I think she must- have, for only a great love of her task could have relieved its tedium. I was shown a moderate-sized table cloth, a quarter of the original size, which had been woven by the 15-year-old Fredrica. And although it was still being used by her daughters 70 years later, it showed not the tiniest hole. The intricate pattern of roses and swirls and geometrical figures was woven as delicately as any modern machine could do it. The industrious little Fredrica wove all her table linen, her sheets and her tea towels. She even wove the ticking for the mattresess and pillow cases; these had to be extra thick so that the feathers could not work through them. And still not content with this comprehensive list, Fredrica wove her own linen blinds! And all these things are still in constant use. Little girls were taught this fine work when they were very small, and by the time they were 15 the “box” had to be started. This is the story of Fredrica’s bridal linen. From the growing flax plants to the finished cloths it was all created on her father’s estate on the borders of Poland and Germany. Little thought Fredrica as she dreamed at her loom that her linen would be part of the dowry of one of New Zealand’s pioneer brides! In her father’s fields she watched the tiny blue-flowered flax growing to maturity. When it was ready it was cut and stripped, and then Fredrica spun and wove and bleached it. When the now snowy table cloths and sheets were woven they were a grey brown in colour, so they were laid out on the green and sprinkled with pure water to bleach. This bleaching process took a very long time, as only water was used, for chemicals which might rot the fabric were not tolerated.

When I saw that lovely handwork I rejoiced that crafts were again being given their honourable place, school children are taught to weave scarves and coarse woollens, and the grownups sometimes tackle more ambitious things. But I’m thinking that it would take most modern girls a long time to get married if they had to create a few hundred square feet of fine linen before they were allowed to plunge into wedlock.