plain work

alternative plainwork

1. uncountableBasic, non-ornamental work; specifically (now (historical)) simple needlework.First known use 13th c.

   Sally was put Apprentice to a Sempstress in Duke's-Place near Aldgate, to learn Plain-Work, &c.

   1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section I

   2 more examples

   If you would fit your self to serve a Gentle woman only, (either in City or Country) you must not only learn how to dress, wash and starch very well, all manner of Tiffanies, Lawns, Points and Laces, and to mend the same, but you must learn to work all sorts of Needle work and plain work […]

   1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, page 62

   She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

   1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC

2. uncountablebusinessSmooth stonework without decoration or ornamentation.First known use 15th c.