vintage embroidery?

[sammi357]

Does anyone have any good links for old embroidery? ie, techniques, patterns or manufacturers?  

 

I'm mining for instructions/color charts for some vintage tablecloths and items that my mom and I are finishing.  We're cross-referencing the original color charts with new embroidery flosses, etc. A couple of them are from 1941, Tobin, Sporn, & Glaser, Inc.

 

So I'm googling away.... 

 

I hit a yard sale where they had a whole bunch of these projects, brand new, some still with the labels on them, lots of tablecloths, some with matching napkins, pillow cases, dresser scarves and things like that, and a lot of them are linen.  

 

I'm also mining for vintage crochet edgings for same. She's finished several.  

 

Most of the time, we just pick floss colors that we like. (See, who says that degree in Fine Art doesn't do you any good!?!) lol!  

 

Lots of floral designs and roses... one would be really pretty in fall colors. It would be interesting to see what the original intention was for the design.

 

Two tablecloths have grapes/vines...I'm trying to finish one that my MIL gave me...I'm not sure if she started it, or if her mom started it. 

 

I'm working on one that has morning glories all around it. 

 

Any input will be greatly appreciated!  

 

If I find any eye candy, I'll be sure to share!

 

Oh, also 'rescued' some abandoned, hand-embroidered, cross stitch quilt blocks...the white ones with an intersecting, pre-stamped design on them... oye...realized when trying to stitch the blocks together that the design isn't centered on each square, so each individual seam will have to be aligned and marked somehow before I can sew the seams.  Anyone done one of these quilt kits? 

 

Sammi in MT 

 

[quiltingjoyful51]

Many of those kit were not printed squarely to begin with. Sometimes you can block them and use heavy starch to keep them that way till quilted. We had many quilt tops to be finished that we just used the design as the back of quilt tops. We loaded the quilt upside down to follow the design.

[ffq-lar]

If you're wondering about original floss colors for these treasures, look on ebay for vintage embroidered tablecloths and scroll through. I look all the time for vintage linens and find wonderful items.

[tcasa123]

I've been cleaning out my craft room and have posted about 100 different cross stitch, embroidery, and crewel projects on Ebay. I had a bunch of vintage flosses, but those were all snatched up. I put up many vintage kits, many still unopened. When I saw how many I had squirrelled away, I had to cringe a little. There is no way I could finish all of these. Hopefully, they will go to good homes and be completed and loved.

[SYork]

I went to Lowes and had them cut me a 17 1/2 inch square of plexiglass.  I use it to square up these embroidery blocks so that they fit together and ignore the stitching lines.  They usually are not printed correctly.

[Mid-Arm Quilting]

On 8/28/2013 at 6:42 PM, sammi357 said:

Does anyone have any good links for old embroidery? ie, techniques, patterns or manufacturers?  

 

I'm mining for instructions/color charts for some vintage tablecloths and items that my mom and I are finishing.  We're cross-referencing the original color charts with new embroidery flosses, etc. A couple of them are from 1941, Tobin, Sporn, & Glaser, Inc.

 

So I'm googling away.... 

 

I hit a yard sale where they had a whole bunch of these projects, brand new, some still with the labels on them, lots of tablecloths, some with matching napkins, pillow cases, dresser scarves and things like that, and a lot of them are linen.  

 

I'm also mining for vintage crochet edgings for same. She's finished several.  

 

Most of the time, we just pick floss colors that we like. (See, who says that degree in Fine Art doesn't do you any good!?!) lol!  

 

Lots of floral designs and roses... one would be really pretty in fall colors. It would be interesting to see what the original intention was for the design.

 

Two tablecloths have grapes/vines...I'm trying to finish one that my MIL gave me...I'm not sure if she started it, or if her mom started it. 

 

I'm working on one that has morning glories all around it. 

 

Any input will be greatly appreciated!  

 

If I find any eye candy, I'll be sure to share!

 

Oh, also 'rescued' some abandoned, hand-embroidered, cross stitch quilt blocks...the white ones with an intersecting, pre-stamped design on them... oye...realized when trying to stitch the blocks together that the design isn't centered on each square, so each individual seam will have to be aligned and marked somehow before I can sew the seams.  Anyone done one of these quilt kits? 

 

Sammi in MT 

 

Consider cutting down the embroidered blocks the best you can, then cut fabrics suitable to the period, commonly called “Gracies” or “Retro” fabrics.  Add the fabric, in strips, until you can trim down to a same size block. It will look fun and vintage. The oldest pattern company for patterns is “Aunt Martha’s “, you can look online. The company is still active and they have all the vintage patterns, and a huge selection all very reasonable priced.  I tend to not put the design on my fabrics by iron because smudging can occur. I use a light source and trace the pattern on to my fabric. Look up photos of vintage embroideries and you can get a great idea for colors on your floss.  Have fun, it’s special to have these old designs!