Redwork
November 16, 2010
Redwork embroidery, popular during the Victorian era, was always stitched in Turkey Red floss. Redwork has been a passion of mine off and on for many years. As a newlywed, I fell in love with the sweet little designs—almost always flowers, animals, or children. Over the years I’ve made several Redwork quilts, and I’d like to share a few of the ones still in my possession.
The first quilt shown above was made in 1986 and often covered my son’s bed when he was little. We had such fun finding the pictures together and talking about them. One square even shows our three dogs at the time—Trapper, Woody, and Sugar—along with a few of their “favorite things.” Writing about it now makes me a little teary; so many sweet memories are stitched into that quilt. My son, now 27, still says he loves it.
Below is a quilt in progress, started years ago and still only half-quilted. One day I’ll finish it, but I have to be in the mood to quilt—you know how that is. I love the little girl holding her dollies, the crying baby, and the bird lady…too cute! In the close-up shots you can see that, after the squares are sewn together and before it’s quilted, I use a herringbone stitch along the seams. Most of the embroidery stitches are stem and outline stitch, with a little chain stitch and a few French knots sprinkled in. I always use the highest-quality 100% natural muslin, and I buy my floss in bulk—DMC #304, Turkey Red of course!
Below is a baby quilt I made and never gifted! Yet.
This bin holds years of collected Redwork embroidery patterns. Often called Penny Squares, in the 1800's a square of muslin with a little design cost one penny. Designs were wildly collectible and girls and their mothers would share and trade.BTW, this is a great travel project; a dozen squares, an embroidery hoop, a few needles and a half dozen skeins of floss and you are ready to go with a very light-weight project.
This last quilt below is vintage, not sure of the exact date. I found the finished squares at a flea market for $10 for the lot! I assembled the squares and quilted them. It's pretty delicate but did hang on our guest room wall for a time. I especially like the Little Red Riding Hood scenes, look at the one with "grandma" knitting a sock!
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| I love this square where "grandma" is at her dressing table! |
13 Comments
These are all amazing!! I love redwork embroidery, it's so fresh and pretty.
ReplyDeleteYou do beautiful work...gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasure! I love the redwork embroidery and am a little bit tempted to explore it further now. Thank you for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful quilts! Thanks for sharing them. I wonder how the designs were transferred in the old days. And have you ever had any problems washing the red and the white? The red riding hood squares are great, but I like Trapper, Woody and Sugar, too!
ReplyDeleteWow these are true works of art! Family heirlooms for sure!!
ReplyDeletei love the red and white...and my mom and i sat here with mouths hanging open at these works of art!
ReplyDeleteThese are so amazing. I especially love the winter scene with the bird on a tree.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I loved your sight. Just found it looking for patterns of Little Red Riding Hood. I would love to make some of these for my creative arts school that is getting ready to open. Where could I get the pattern or could I buy it from you? Your work is beautiful and inspiring!
ReplyDeleteHello I love red work . How can I get a copy of the pattern for the one with Grandma and the wolf.? User569278@aol.com Thank you
ReplyDeleteYour work is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteRedwork is a classic embroidery style known for its striking simplicity. Our embroidery digitising services ensure that your Redwork designs are captured with precision and elegance. Whether intricate or minimal, we convert your designs into flawless digital files ready for stitching. Let us bring your Redwork to life!
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
ReplyDeleteThis is just wonderful in every way! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!