These designs are from a 1923 Standard Designer Needlework Catalog, and the originals in the book are tiny — about an inch high. Fortunately, the printing is pretty good, so I scanned them at very high resolution and was then able to clean them up. The catalog has lots more patterns, including some really cute…
This is Butterick 10202, and I don’t know what year it was published, but it’s pretty darn old. I love anthropomorphic animals, but inanimate objects are even better. My favorites in this group are the brush family, the senior silverware, the plate parade, and the clothespins. I really need to stitch some of these on towels or an…
I hope you’re not too bored with these patterns. I’ve become a little obsessed with all the beautiful designs I’ve found in vintage newspapers. The images below are basket motifs from 1910 – 1915 (okay…one is more like a ribbon, but still . . . pretty cute). I love the last one — it’s buttercups.
Less than two weeks until Spring! Seattle has been unusually sunny for the past several days, and the cherry trees are blooming like crazy. It reminded me of these old cherry designs, so as soon as I got home I cleaned up the images to share. Maybe those of you who are stuck indoors with snow storms might like to stitch…
Something quilty coming soon — I promise. Until then, here are some sweet initials designed by Sarah Hale Hunter, and published in the Portsmouth Daily Times in the early 1900s. Below the alphabets are six designs meant for use with initials. Additional designs and one more set of initials can be found in an earlier post. Click images to enlarge.
My second favorite article to embroider, after quilts, is pillowcases. Although I’ve stitched lots of them for gifts, I have never made any for myself, and I hope to correct that situation soon. For each set I always use two different designs, and a similar color palette. If I tried to make two matching pillowcases,…
These designs are from the early 1900s newspapers. The first pattern was meant for a pincushion, while the second is for a small lingerie pillow. I have kept the resolution fairly high, just in case you want to make something larger. Click images to enlarge.
Three of these 1908 patterns (the angular ones designed by Grace B. Cross) remind me of Ruby Short McKim’s 1930s Quaddy patterns, although I wonder if, by 1930, anyone would have thought it appropriate to suggest a cock fighting motif for children’s clothing. A preference for bibs, like that for olives, is an acquired taste. I…
These sweet little motifs are from newspapers dated 1909-1911. You probably won’t want to stitch them for their original intended uses (lingerie bags, handkerchiefs & corset covers), but wouldn’t they be perfect for a yoke on a baby’s dress, an apron pocket, or a little pillow. I especially love the “baby” motif which is so unusual….
Newspaper patterns from the early 1900s were usually designed to be stitched on linens and garments that nobody uses anymore, but I still love finding and restoring these old patterns. The designs themselves are beautiful, and I feel they can look modern in the right setting. Sometimes I’ll stitch a whole pattern, but when I…
Mickie asked about other individual RSM patterns, so here is a newspaper design from 1926. Although I love these butterflies, I can’t imagine wanting to stitch them in all white, or even with “spots of color” as suggested below. I would probably stitch the whole butterfly in jewel tones. Nothing is more nearly a universal…
You are probably familiar with the wonderful series quilts published by Ruby Short McKim and McKim Studios. Perhaps less familiar are the individual patterns which were published weekly in various newspapers. Here’s a cute embroidery pattern that caught my eye, because that’s an awfully big turkey he’s wrangling. Here’s a design for a gift…
This newspaper pattern was designed by Eleanor Norris and published in 1912 on the women’s page entitled “Work and Play for the Idle Hour.” It reminds me of the dresses my sisters and I wore when we were babies. They were made in the Philippines out of lovely pastel cottons using techniques we would now call heirloom sewing, but…
Yesterday I posted Housewifely Wisdom pages with appliqué designs, but today it’s all about embroidery. First, a basket design for a bedspread, but I like the alternate idea of using these designs for the covers on porch chairs. Next is an apron that is supposed to work up quickly, but I would probably substitute colorful…
Newspapers in the 1920s were huge, with many having weekend editions over 100 pages. In addition to the usual news, sports and editorials, there were also whole sections devoted to fiction, activities and stories for children, and women’s interests. My favorites, of course, are the old needlework patterns, which sometimes took up a whole page. The Housewifely…