Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Vintage Embroidery Patterns


I've long been a fan of the Flickr site Hoop Love, a treasure trove of vintage embroidery motifs.  Some of the designs can also be found on Pinterest.



I found a couple of designs I liked, enlarged them to 8 x 10, and traced one onto water soluble stabilizer. 


 I've done this before, but this time I used a gel pen, which took forever to dry and which transferred ink to the needle when I stitched.  Next time I'll use a Sharpie or Pigma pen and hope for better results.  I prefer to use this method over a transfer pencil, because I feel like I get a clearer image of the design.



You can see here where I machine stitched the stabilizer to the top of a cotton dish towel.  This work goes fast: big stitches with 6 strands of floss makes for a bold design. 



Next I'll rinse the stabilizer out, wash and iron the towel.   It will add some cheer to my kitchen.

5 comments:

sophie said...

Cheer and BEAUTY. I love the designs and colors you've chosen. It's lovely and will definitely make anyone who walks into your kitchen smile.

Brenda said...

looks great and what a fun thing to be hanging in your kitchen!

margaret said...

well I would never thought f using water soluble stabliser but I will now. I usually put the design straight onto the fabric and then if I do not get the stitching right over the line of course the line shows. This picture will certainly look very pretty in the kitchen

Magpie Sue said...

I like the maid with the chickens. :- ) That would be fun to use as the focal point for some crazy quilt work.

Bits of Stitching! said...

Beautiful embroidery and choice of colors!

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