The Christmas present projects are going fairly well now. I am hand quilting the Cross-Stitched Tulips quilt top, and adding more organisms to the Charley Harper water drop quilt. It’s actually beginning to look doable after all.
These pillowcases with the beautiful crocheted edging were purchased on Ebay. The crochet design is so unusual with its geometric look, that I thought I would try more stylized embroidery designs, rather than my normal florals. Both of these patterns appear on one page of the 1886 J. F. Ingalls catalog, a resource I have used several times for pillowcase patterns. The original scans were uploaded by John Governale, but a cleaned up copy is available in Luann’s (Embroiderist) Flickr set.
The embroidered rick-rack was sort of an afterthought. Because of the hemstitching, I had to place the design higher than usual, which left a fairly large blank area that I felt needed to be filled in with something. I tried several smallish Ingalls borders, but nothing looked quite right. Finally I remembered this peachy-colored rick-rack trim I removed from a vintage feedsack tablecloth before making it into an apron for the bridal shower. If I didn’t have that tiny hoarding tendency, I might have thrown away that used rick-rack.
The embroidery design you chose compliments the crochet edge gorgeously! Great idea to use ric rac too. It brings out the reds in the design. Your hand stitches are so beautiful and smooth!
Oh how pretty! I love the designs you chose and the ric-rac is perfect here.
That Charley Harper quilt is amazing to me. It’s really special.
Beautiful! The designs are just wonderful with the crochet edge.
Thanks for the link for these gorgeous designs.
Martha, the designs are so perfect with the crochet! Really stunning!
Great eye, Martha! Very art deco looking to me – the designs compliment each other so well.
Your work is beautiful and love the blog. These designs are very interesting, floral in a craftsman sort of style to my eye!
GORGEOUS! Too pretty to sleep on, I would want to look at them all night 😀 Love these art deco designs! The rick rack is a fantastic touch!!!