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| Vintage Embroidery Patterns |
| ~Spreading kitsch throughout the land, one stitch at a time!~ |
| PatternBee is a small "indie business" that just started out as a hobby. . . My love of embroidery actually began as a child when my mother gave me a small piece of cross-stitch to work on, and from that moment on I was hooked. As a teen, in the late 1960's, I was interested in embellishing my bohemian threads with embroidery and started collecting Vogart patterns at the five-and-dime store. Those stores have long since vanished and so have most of the pattern companies that originally printed embroidery transfers, but my love of embroidery has lingered. Over the years, I've collected hundreds of vintage designs, always with the desire to use them again. In 1998, the Mister and I developed a restoration/transfer process that allowed me to use the old designs more easily without cutting my collectible patterns or tracing. To help defray my production costs, I began offering the patterns to others who were also interested in vintage stitchery. Soon people were sharing their stitching stories and sending me their collectible patterns to be restored and reprinted so that they could use them again. This website is a result of all of that, and continues to grow. About the designs: Most of the designs I offer originated in the U.S. and date from the turn-of-the-century to the late sixties, and are in 'public domain'. They can be used to make a variety of vintage-style items just like grandma used to make or add interest to more contemporary items. Take a peek at the gallery to see what kinds of things our stitching friends and I have made with them. About the transfers: There is no need to trace or use transfer pencils or pens, just use a hot iron to transfer line-images to cloth. Our reprints will give many impressions! Transfer lines are gray and diminish over time, disappearing entirely after washing. About the patterns: Sizes given for motifs are approximate; rounded up to the nearest inch. Most designs have been reproduced actual size and have not been reduced or enlarged unless noted. I try and provide everything that was included with the original pattern, such as any directions, plus a new envelope printed with the original color graphic for reference, (when available) so you will have a little piece of sewing history. |
A portion of the proceeds from our website is donated annually to the following health organizations: Doctors without Borders Cystic Fibrosis Foundation National Multiple Sclerosis Society |
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| PatternBee |
Free Restoration Service! In addition to making pattern reprints, I offer a restoration service to preserve rare sewing paper and keep the old designs in circulation that otherwise might be lost.. I can restore your vintage pattern as a usable iron-on transfer. All shared originals are returned unharmed, at my expense, along with a new transfer pattern absolutely FREE. If you have a favorite pattern to share please contact me. |
| Just stamp with a hot iron! |
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