Broderie Anglaise

[Bawheed]

Have you ever heard of it/know what it is?

My mum said to me the other day, 'I don't know what I've done with the broderie anglaise, I can't find it anywhere'. When I asked her what she was talking about she looked at me like a I had 2 heads and can't believe I don't know what it is (I do now thanks to Google).

I'm 37 and have never heard of it in my life! Am I the only one?

I knew what it was. Isn’t it just common knowledge?

Zara do it in bucketloads every summer, it’s delightful.

I have a cute summer blouse by Zara that is made of what my dear mum used to pronounce ‘brodie anglee’ -Literally broderie Anglais just means ‘english embroidery’ - and is that very pretty cut work usually white on white embroidery in floral patterns.

There was a fashion in the mid 1970s to buy a shallow length of Broderie Anglais fabric and sew it on the inside of the hem of your skirt, so it looked like a scalloped cotton petticoat sticking out the bottom of your skirt/dress. How bizarre was that!

Just googled seersucker and came across this strange suit. Such a bargain.

There was a fashion in the mid 1970s to buy a shallow length of Broderie Anglais fabric and sew it on the inside of the hem of your skirt, so it looked like a scalloped cotton petticoat sticking out the bottom of your skirt/dress. How bizarre was that!

When I was in primary school in the early 80's, the first form teacher had a skirt like this. I wanted one just like it when I grew up!

@Bloodybridget

Oh yes, when I was about 14, late 60s, I asked my DM to make me a full length broderie anglaise nightdress (romantically minded, me). Poor woman said faintly that it would be very expensive . . she did make it and I wore it for years and years.

Oh that's lovely!

I love broderie anglaise and creme anglaise. 😅

I've a few broderie anglaise dresses. Super dry did a lovely one last summer. I bought two in different colours.

@LouLou789

There was a fashion in the mid 1970s to buy a shallow length of Broderie Anglais fabric and sew it on the inside of the hem of your skirt, so it looked like a scalloped cotton petticoat sticking out the bottom of your skirt/dress. How bizarre was that!

I did that, early 80s. It was a red tartan frilly shirt dress, but like a nighty really. I was about 13 abs didticntly uncool.

Yes it was huge in the dressmaking world last year after one of the sewing bee contestants made a beautiful mustard yellow BA dress.

For ages afterwards all the British majority Facebook sewing groups were alive with people wanting to create something similar.

@TheYearOfSmallThings

My communion dress was made of broderie anglaise - hand sewn by my DM! She also customised the valance of my bed with a broderie anglaise frill.

I think it's called "eyelet" in the US.

My communion dress too! Purchased though, not hand made. Your DM sounds very talented 😊

Love it!

I would assume you dont read any type of books whatsoever or follow fashion if you dont know what broderie anglais is. I love it and have a gorgeous dress from asos. Dd says I look like Amanda seyfriend in mamma mia when I wear it so thats good enough for me.

Like a pp my mum mispronounced it and I learnt brodryonglay as one word for the whole of my childhood.
Had it as hems and a dress. Looks like this:

@MrsBerthaRochester

I would assume you dont read any type of books whatsoever or follow fashion if you dont know what broderie anglais is. I love it and have a gorgeous dress from asos. Dd says I look like Amanda seyfriend in mamma mia when I wear it so thats good enough for me.

That's the problem with making judgements/assumptions without adequate knowledge, it means you're only right around 50% of the time.

The part you are correct about in this instance is that I indeed do not follow fashion. It's never been an interest of mine. I like what I like.

I love broderie anglaise. It’s a fabric with holes and embroidery on that slightly resembles lace.

It can come in fabric ( so wide lengths stored on rolls that can be used to make garments etc) or as trim (so long thin strips similar or lace that can be used as decorative embellishment on clothes or cushions etc). So I’d have thought she’s lost either a piece of fabric or some trim and was asking for your help looking for it.

A lot of the terminology round fabrics , haberdashery and dressmaking has been lost with the rise of photographs in media. Names and descriptive terms used to be used in publications and common parlance a lot more.

Very seventies! Childhood memories.
Along with clothing edged in ric-rack.
Anyone remember that? A homemade dress wasn't complete without sleeves or a bodice edged in ric-rack

Rick-rack or smocking with embroidered flowers to make the bodice of a dress stretchy and pretty.

I liked flowers more than wiggly lines. Never had anything broderie anglaise though, as I expect that was more expensive/came from Marks and Spencers rather than woolworths.

I now have a broderie anglaise duvet set.

English embroidery has been very popular for the last 9/ 10 years?
But growing up in the 90s it was considered very old fashioned.
Wasn’t it Laura Ashley who made them very popular in the 70s ? All those romantic Edwardian, prairie dresses?

@MrsBerthaRochester

I would assume you dont read any type of books whatsoever or follow fashion if you dont know what broderie anglais is. I love it and have a gorgeous dress from asos. Dd says I look like Amanda seyfriend in mamma mia when I wear it so thats good enough for me.

Wow. Insulting replies were not what the op asked for.

Yea it's like embroidered lace. I think of it as a white top you wear in the summer and like on summer dresses little girls wear

@intwrferingma

Very seventies! Childhood memories. Along with clothing edged in ric-rack. Anyone remember that? A homemade dress wasn't complete without sleeves or a bodice edged in ric-rack

Yes Rick rack

Remember it well

@TheYearOfSmallThings

There was a fashion in the mid 1970s to buy a shallow length of Broderie Anglais fabric and sew it on the inside of the hem of your skirt, so it looked like a scalloped cotton petticoat sticking out the bottom of your skirt/dress. How bizarre was that!

When I was in primary school in the early 80's, the first form teacher had a skirt like this. I wanted one just like it when I grew up!

Yes this was 80s fashion too, around 1983 with long skirts and leg warmers

The gypsy skirt trend of the early 2000s contained a lot of broderie anglaise.

Well, I wouldn't assume everyone knew what Broderie Anglaise was or didn't read if they don't . I was a child in the 70s/80s and while I was very familiar with all the fashions, children didn't really go around saying I love your Broderie Anglaise/smocked/rick rack [whatever]. The most technical I got was 'cord' or 'ra-ra'. I first heard the term when I bought a gypsy top in the 2000s and my mum said "it's broderie anglaise".