Legacy

darn it: stoplap iron-on patches

Shortlisted for the International Rijksmuseum Rijksstudio Award 2017

Recycled metal tin with 10 linen iron-on patches, featuring digitally printed details of historic Dutch “stoplappen” (darning samplers) of the 17th and 18th century.

I inherited my mother’s sewing box. It has a section that neatly catalogued the cards of “stopwol” (darning wool) my mom would purchase at the village textiles shop. She would mend our socks, the way she was taught when she was a young girl. With the damaged sock area stretched over her left fist, she craftily filled in the holes with a weave.

The Rijksmuseum textiles are rarely on display, and certainly do not get the attention of the Old Masters. Too often traditional women’s work remains underappreciated. I was amazed to find many incredibly intricate repair samplers in the collection. The skill and labor that was put into these samplers deserves to be celebrated and seen, in, as well as outside the museum. Some of the mends read as the most luxurious embroidery. 

Not many of us have the skill, time, or attention span to make these beautiful repairs. Still, we all like to be able to extend the life of a favorite piece of clothing. By simply ironing on one of these patches, the damaged or worn can still be useful, and even more beautiful than it was before.