Russian Artisans Use Technology to Restore a Unique Empress’s Shawl
Modern technologies in Russia are helping preserve and develop traditional crafts.
At the Orenburg Down Shawl Factory, artisans have created a replica of a unique historical piece – an antique lace shawl presented to Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna in 1894. The delicate openwork “spiderweb” was knitted by the governor’s wife, Elena Mikhailovna Yershova, to mark the empress’s marriage. It was presented in an elegant casket made by Carl Fabergé.
One hundred and thirty years later, the factory, which continues to produce distinctive down products, has recreated the legendary gossamer lace shawl using digital technologies.
A Unique Size and Pattern
The first thing that sets the imperial shawl apart is its size – 360 by 360 centimeters. The second is its distinctive pattern. The motifs and overall composition of the original shawl are strictly defined. To knit an imperial “spiderweb,” artisans must cast on 1,400 stitches on each side.
As Marina Pekhtereva, an artist-designer and pattern specialist at the Orenburg Down Shawl Factory, explained, the pattern layout now begins on a computer. Using a specialized graphics workstation, the designer defines the scheme – which stitches follow which, in what sequence, where yarn overs appear, and where the right and wrong sides of the fabric are formed. The scheme is then transmitted online to a knitting machine. The type of yarn must also be determined: an Orenburg down shawl is defined by down fibers finer than 18 microns, which is why the fabric is exceptionally thin and lightweight.
From Sketches to Digital Code
The knitting machine then reproduces the required composition according to the specified parameters. The replica was made using photographs of the original, which is now in a very fragile condition and permanently kept in a museum. The recreated shawl precisely reproduces the historic Cossack gift and has been exhibited at a local art gallery.
According to Pekhtereva, digital technologies are helping traditional crafts evolve while preserving, for centuries to come, knowledge that was once passed down orally from generation to generation or kept in fragile notebooks filled with hand-drawn patterns by craftswomen.
