Evening star., 1903-10-28
IRISH GOODS IN LONDON
FASHIONABLE WOMEN CLOTHED
IN EMERALD ISLE PRODUCTS.
One Result Of the Recent Visit of tho
King and Queen to
Erin.

From the New York Tribune.
1t is IAN Irish autumn" in England The
kings and queens visit to the emerald isle
has reacted upon fashion, and things Irish
are the rage. A large proportion of this
tailor made dresses for walking and SPORT
ing wear are built of friezes and home
spuns from Belfast and other Irish towns
Although It has been the visit of Edward
and Alexandra that has drawn general at
tention to the merits of these materials,
royalty itself has long recognized the worth
of Irish effects along these lines. Queen Al
exandra's bridal dress was trimmed with
Irish lace. and old Mrs. Bridget Markey,
who made it, had the honor OF working be-
fore Queen Victoria during the visi, OF the
latter TO Ireland in 1900
The reputation of Belfast for damasks and
colored and white linens is well known. but
In Counties Donegal, Dublin and Cork are
great factories which turn out tweeds,
serges, cheviots and fiannels. Just now.
however. IT is the true. hand-woven home
spun made by the peasantry in quaint coll
oringS that is so much in demand At
Castelar, the Countess of Lucan has organ
lied a most prosperous industry in tweeds
suited for both mems and women's wear,
and in South Derry Lady Garvagh has ini-
tiated wonderful revival Of handloom linen
weaving.
The Lacs Industry.
Yet another line which IT is expected will
Ireland IS the lace and crochet industry.
When the Irish Agricultural Organization
Society established its immense creameries
in many parts of the country it took out OF
hundreds of pairs OF feminine hands the
labor of milking and skimming and churn-
ing. Most of the women thus rendered idle
had some hereditary knowledge of lace
making and turned to IL as an alternative
source of income.
More recently crochet has offered them an
more rpmiipnrat tive field for their af-
forts. Fashion has set its seal on crochet
and. the art OF making 1t being quickly ac-
Quired, from Cork and Clones. where IL
originated, crochet making has now spread
practically over the whole country One
must be both an assiduous and a skilful
worker to earn So a week at lacema king but
an ordinary worker can make 81 80 a week
al crochet. and really proficient one more
than Sc 1t requires about three months to
learn.
Socks From Tyrone
Another direction in which enormous de-
velopments have been made is in the maxi
ing of shirts and underwear. Londonderry
is the center of this work, which employs
thousands of women. Some work in fac
tories, others do the stitching machines
in their own homes. Knitting may also bs
enumerated among the profitable feminine
occupations of Ireland The Duchess Of
Abercorn has found a market for thousands
of pairs of stockings from near Barons-
court, in County Tyrone, where. from the
time of harvesting to the spring sowing, the
cottagerS have next to no employment
From here the British army buys about
1900 pairs of socks annually, and ii places
equally large order with the Roses in
dustry of West Donegal. An old art in this
same country is that of ''spriggfng" upon
fine muslin, form of needlecraft which
has been adapted to current fashions In
daintly worked collars and handkerchiefs.
Not little of the success which is now
attending the labors of Irish textile and
needle industries lies in the adaptability OF
the worker. in her faculty for meeting the
needs of the movement This is especially
we'll shown in the lovely embroideries fiom
Viscountess Duncannon's school at Garry
hill, where the most elaborate trimmings
in ribbon work, sequns needlework are
done for court and society gowns. The
queen has repeatedly placed orders with the
Garryhill school and worn its products.
Taking advantage of the heyday of pros
perity which seems about to break for these
wares of the loom and the needle. the Irish
Industries Association is planning a mon
ster exhibition and sale. to be held at
Windsor in November. when the court Will
be in residence at the historic castle.