Crochet doily

Crochet doily

When the British government called for people of the Caribbean to move to Britain to help rebuild the country after the war, those who answered the call expected access to good jobs and housing. One project member said: “we thought the streets would be paved with gold”. On arrival, the situation proved to be different. Landlords often refused to rent properties to Black tenants. As a result, on arrival from the Caribbean a lot of people found themselves living in sub-standard housing.

Women used their crochet skills to create decorative pieces for their front rooms. While the pattern can be traced back to the Victorian times, the choice of varied, bright colours, and using starch to turn the doilies into 3D sculptural pieces was unique to the Caribbean community. Together with the colourful glasses and bottles, wallpapers and fabrics, and souvenirs from family trips, these objects made the space brighter and more colourful.

1: white, circular crochet doily - decorative pattern of wool, this one looks a little like a spiders web
2: blue and green rectangular doily, made to look like the ocean