Page 5 - Emb-Floral1

Introduction

W elcome to the third volume in the Victorian Embroidery Patterns series: Fabulous

Florals, Volume 1. This collection brings you 162 beautiful floral patterns for
embroidery, ranging from amazingly realistic depictions of flowers to abstract designs
and designs arranged for cross-stitch and needlepoint.
This volume gives you a selection of marvelous grayscale illustrations of floral patterns,
showing just how these patterns would have appeared when they were first made. These
images provide fabulous details about stitching and shading, and are sure to inspire a host of
ideas for how to apply these images to today’s craft projects.
In Victorian times, these patterns would have been used for dozens of different types of
projects, from clothing to household items. Many would have been used for things we don’t
tend to have a need for today, such as “paper pockets” (an embroidered “folder” that one might
hang on the wall and use to store letters and cards), or penwipers, or tobacco pouches, or mats
for table lamps. Today, their uses are limited only by our imaginations!
These patterns come from a host of the best women’s and family magazines of the Victorian
era, including Godey’s Lady’s Book, Peterson’s Magazine, Ingalls’ Home Magazine, The
Ladies’ Home Journal, The Girl’s Own Paper (UK), Cassell’s Family Magazine (UK),
Demorest, and many others. You’ll also find patterns from Victorian craft books such as
Dillmont’s Encyclopedia of Needlework, Needle and Brush, and The Lady’s Hand Book of
Ornamental and Fancy Work. Please note that any captions or instructions are part of the
original image.
Since “scale” was rarely relevant in the original illustrations (which might be printed at any
size according to how much space was on the page), these patterns cannot be said to be “in
scale.” Rather, they can be enlarged or reduced as needed, according to the project at hand.
They are printed on one side of the page for ease of use – but to make life even easier, we’ve
set up a free download of all the patterns in this book, as originally scanned. Most of these
patterns are available at 600 dpi, making them suitable for nearly any project! Please see the
end of the book for the download link.
These and hundreds of other Victorian needlework patterns are also available in our
Victorian Embroidery Pattern Package, at victorianvoices.net/clipart/misc/embroidery.shtml
Happy stitching!

—Moira Allen, Editor
VictorianVoices.net