Ms Bos

I clearly remember the first time I learn to do sprang. Along with my colleagues from the museum I attended a workshop given by Ms Bos an elderly lady that had great experience with the sprangtechnique. (this is back in 1996) Years later a good friend asked me to help archive some sprangwork that had been given to her during the years, a job still not finished. This collection of modern sprangwork included some work by Ms Bos. I visited her at home in Haren and saw so many beautifull things. At that time Ms Bos was way in her 80's and couldn't do any sprang herself anymore but she kept her best work in het apartment. Ronald and I could take pictures and everything. I had never seen such variaty in sprangwork and saw projects in a size I had not seen before, to me it was inspiring. A number of the picture that we made during that visite we placed on this page in the hope that it will give you a broader view of the multitude of different possibilities this technique has to offer.

(For the true fans; try not to druel, it's very bad for your keyboard.)

A tablecloth. The wefttreads of this tablecloth have carefully been removed from the cloth, leaving the warptreads. It is with these warptreads that Ms Bos then started braiding in sprang. These warptreads were very thin and the endresult is very delicate.

And thats how Ms Bos made different beams that each have been braided in there own patern.

Here seen from up-close. It shows how the warptreads are twisted around each other.

While Ms Bos gave us a short tour around the house, my eyes fell on this blouse. It had the same effects in the sleeves and collar as I had just seen in the tablecloth. She had beautifully decorated this linnen blouse by using sprang on the warpthreads after removing the wefttreads.

Here a detail of the blouse's sleeve.

A cute little red spencer in wich I thought I recognized the basic design of my own sweater. But on further inspection this was not the case. Because if there is a split on the front, why is there NO split in the back?

I still haven't solved this riddle. Maybe you know how it's done? Eitherway, it is a darn cute little spencer!

The first sprang mittens I ever saw were also made by Ms Bos. A simple object, a mitten but I found them and the way they were constructed facinating. I so want to make my own pair of mittens but so far I haven't tried yet. But it is definitively a project for the future. Here the pictures of the mittens and matching shawl.

pair of mittens

The thumb

The decrease of threads near the wrist.

Matching shawl

This ia another patch I studdied very well in order to figure out how it was made. This riddle I have figured out, so I know how to make this patern that we call the 'fichbone' patern.

A number of beautifull tapestries adorned the walls of Ms Bos's house including this green one. Several weaving techniques were combined with sprang to create it. Just like with the tablecloth and blouse she removed the wefttreads and then braided the warptreads.

This very open sprang with lots of tention on the treads decorated the livingroomwall. The light coming through the window made a beautifull shadow patern that changes constantly. A wonderfull object to have hanging on your wall.

Most of these highly decorative pieces were quite complicated in structure like the one on this picture that has parts of the sprang crossing over or under other parts, splitting up and later reconnecting.

Here some smaller pictures of different objects made by ms Bos that I thought were worth showing on this page.

Yellow vest

Matching pouch

Matching mitten

And the shawl

White wollen sweater

Blue hat

Theepot cover with stripes

Theepotcover with diagonal patern

Big bag with sprang braiding on the outside

Detail of the bag

Very 70-ies

Lamp-shade

Round sprang

Little patch with hole patern

Dubbelsidedprang

Replica tabaccopouch (18-19th century)