|
CRAFTS
Peg makers, Avebury,
Wiltshire, c.1958
Throughout the year and regardless of weather
conditions Gypsies were always busy working at one of the crafts for which they
had become well-known.
Items such as clothes-pegs and Christmas holly wreaths
are perhaps the most recognizable, though they were also skilled at making
baskets, bee skeps and artificial flowers. Many Gypsies also produced wooden
clog sole blocks for North of England clog makers.
In
producing these crafts Gypsies made use of natural materials which they gathered
from the surrounding countryside. Willow or ash wood was used for peg making,
and alder for clog soles. Hedgerows provided holly for wreaths and brambles for
binding the straw used in basket making. From marshlands were cut the reeds and
rushes that were also used for baskets as well as bee skeps. Swansdown and
feathers were collected, and, in addition to the wooden offcuts from peg making,
were turned into carefully made, colourful artificial flowers.
[ Up ] [ Menu ]
|