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Embroidery

Embroidery Inspiration – Shoes

I love pretty footwear from all eras, but beautifully embroidered shoes have a special place in my heart. Perhaps it’s because shoes are one of the few pieces of clothing or accessories I’ve never made, and when combined with embroidery, they seem tantalizingly unattainable. In past centuries both hand embroidery and hand-made footwear were much
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Embroidery Giveaway – Hearts and Dots Border

Valentine’s Day is coming up, so for February I’m giving away a copy of my “Hearts and Dots” floral border. This design is based on a sketch for muslin embroidery originally published in the January 1816 edition of Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics (top design, below). The flowers are made up from
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Embroidery Inspiration – Waistcoats and Doublets

This week’s embroidery inspiration is a popular one – waistcoats and doublets. Embroidered menswear seems to be a holy grail for many costumers, and it’s easy to see why. They are the height of men’s fashion, and one of the most complex and time consuming articles to reproduce. Here is a brief timeline of embroidered
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Embroidery Inspiration – White as Snow

It’s mid-January, and it seems like everyone is getting snowed in. So this week I thought I’d take a look at an assortment of snowy white embroidery. We’ve already seen a fair amount of whitework when we looked at infant clothing and aprons. You’ll also find seemingly endless numbers of white Regency gowns. I’ll be skipping
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Embroidery Inspiration – Aprons

This week’s embroidery inspiration is aprons – especially the delightfully impractical kind covered in ornate embroidery. While most aprons serve the practical purpose of keeping one’s gown clean, they can also be the perfect canvas to showcase your wealth or embroidery skills. While I generally prefer items to have a nice balance of form and
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Embroidery Inspiration – Baby New Year

In a tradition stretching back to ancient Greece, the New Year is often represented as a baby. With this in mind, I thought it would be fitting to start my series of weekly embroidery inspiration posts with images of beautifully embroidered infants’ clothing.  The majority of embroidery for infants is some form of whitework, which
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Embroidery Giveaway – “Hannah” Pocket

Time for another giveaway! This month I’m offering up a copy of the “Hannah” pocket design. This design is based on an extant example in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number T.42-1935. The machine embroidery design is digitized to be used with thicker threads like Madeira Lana Wool Blend Embroidery Thread*, 30 weight silk embroidery
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Embroidery Giveaway – Holiday Dinner Dress

The holidays have me in a giving spirit, so I’m starting a monthly giveaway of embroidery designs. First up is this 1820s Holiday Dinner Dress, based on this example at the Met. This design is meant to be used with Madeira Lana Wool Blend Embroidery Thread* or crewel wool threads for hand embroidery. The original gown is decorated
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18th c. Court Suits (and more) at the Paris Flea Market

I spent 10 glorious days in Paris this September, exploring, working on embroidery designs, and visiting museums for inspiration. One of the places I was most excited to explore was the Paris flea market. I knew from a previous visit that I might not find many treasures, but I would certainly find inspiration. Saturday night
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18th c. Hannah Pocket Embroidery Design

A new 18th c. pocket is joining the Romantic Recollections line. The Hannah pocket embroidery design is dated to 1718-20 and is named after the young lady who embroidered it, Hanna Haines. The original pocket is in the collection of the V&A Museum, and details can be found on the VADS Pockets of History page. The
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