Vintage Embroidery Designs for You

1922 hot iron embroidery transfers

I love hand embroidery.  My experience in this gentle art is limited–some shadow work and a lot of French knots, but not much more.  Beautiful and satisfying as machine embroidery is, to my eye it lacks the delicacy of a  hand stitched design.

Wouldn’t you love to see the designs that the original owner selected to cut out and use?

I thought when I reached this stage of my life I would have all the time in the world to pursue this gentle art.  WRONG!!!!!

And I am glad to be wrong, happy to be so involved in the lives of my children and grandchildren, happy to tend to my family and spend time with my dear friends.

But still………maybe some day I will find some tranquil moments and sit in my garden like Jeannie B.,  stitching serenely.

Meanwhile, I thought I would share one of my treasures with those of you who enjoy those tranquil moment now or hope to do so some day in the future.

Can you tell that I love vintage needlework?  I love the actual work, as seen in handkerchiefs and garments as well as the old books with designs and instructions.  So when I found this 1922 Royal Society book of embroidery transfers in an antique shop, I was delighted.

Of course, these sweet designs are soooo Jeannie B.  Be sure to read her book with directions for the stitches.

I had hoped by now I would have figured out how to offer such files as this as .pdf downloads on the Tutorial page I managed to create.  But life got in the way.

So, once again, I am offering to send these to anyone who cannot successfully download the photos.  The scans have all been edited for clarity.

Pages showing garments and items made up with these designs are as charming as the designs themselves.

The inspiration is invaluable.

For those who digitize, this book has long since been out of copyright.  So reinterpreting the designs as machine embroidery would be allowed.

I’ve even thought about re-arranging the designs in the Fil Tire’ and Fancywork Elements collection to mimic the Royal Society style.

I hope you enjoy seeing these designs and perhaps, in a few moments of tranquility, you can stitch them out.