This vintage flower embroidery design was intended to be used to embroider the borders of cloaks, perlisses, sacques, etc. It was suggested to use this embroidery pattern on merino wool, fine cashmere, or flannel and to complete the design with silk which would have put the wearer in the height of fashion in 1852.
This vintage bleeding heard flower embroidery design is fairly large which might limit how you could use it but I think it would make for a bit of drama on a piece – it provides both coverage of a large area but leaves a great deal of white space as well.
In my mind, these sorts of embroidery designs often look more interesting if you use different weights of thread, perhaps a fine shiny silk or floss for the flowers and a more matte colored thread for the leaves, stems and pistils of each flower.
If you know how to embroider French Knots, I would think the pistels and stamens would come out great if you used a long stitch combined with a French knot. The stitch is made by coming up at one end and then making the French knot away from the point where you came up, much like the picture is showing. Whenever I make the stitch, it seems to come out a bit curved by the knot but I think in the case of embroidered flowers, the less perfectly straight lines, the better.
Another option would be to use a tight satin or long and short stitches to cover the leaves and then use a contrasting thread to embroider the veins of the leaves over the fill work.
I just love these vintage flower embroidery designs, there’s just so many different ways that you can use them!
Thank you. Enjoyable site!