Antimacassars

An antimacassar is a piece of crochet work (although tatting pieces and embroidered cloth were also used) that is placed over the backs or arms of chairs and sofas to protect the upholstery from dirt and dust, but most especially, hair oil men used during the Victorian period called macassar oil. This oil would often stain the fabric of chairs and sofas when men sat in them, so women began making these items to protect their furnishings and called them “antimacassars”. But they were not only practical, antimacassars were also decorative and helped make parlors and sitting rooms beautiful.