Little pieces of history, part two

Here's another post featuring various items that my mother passed on to me during a recent trip out.

This next piece is a large, rectangular tablecloth. I don't know the exact dimensions, but it would easily cover a table large enough to seat six.



This piece was actually stitched by my cousin and godmother; the woman who inspired me to become a crafter with her gorgeous embroidered gifts I still treasure.

The piece is done with cotton embroidery floss on cotton or cotton blend cloth. The scalloped edge intrigues me. Usually, I see edges like this done in buttonhole stitch, with the design stitched inside the outer edge of the fabric, then the excess cut away, in the same matter as cutwork embroidery. The edging is not buttonhole stitch, however. It's looks like satin stitch worked around the edge. I can't see and won't be moving the threads around to look, but the outer curve of the scallops feel like they have been padded. That would certainly keep the edge stronger. What I can't tell is if the embroidered edge was stitched before or after the scalloped edge was cut. I will have to ask my cousin about it.






The middle of the cloth is framed with this stitched rectangle. The straight lines are done in a small, dense chain stitch. The two vertically placed motifs of this photo are at the centre of the rectangle's sides.

Unfortunately, from the flattened look of the embroidery, I think this has been ironed from the front instead of pressed from the back. Will have to fix that when I clean it.






Here's a detail of the motif. The stems are done in stem stitch with straight stitch leaves. For the flowers, the stamens are done in back stitch and French knots, with the petals and middles done in satin stitch.

I really love this piece! It's now the largest of my embroidered tablecloths, and I look forward to using it. :-)