Seeing Red… Redwork, that is!
on Saturday, July 10, 2010Redwork, also called Turkey Red, originated in the 19th century when a new, colorfast, reddish-brown dye was invented in Turkey.
The line-drawn patterns used for redwork are easy to stitch using the most basic of stitches including stem stitch, outline stitch, cross stitch, running stitch, and French knots.
The photo above shows several pieces of redwork in my collection, including a quilt with a different redwork block for each month, a tablecloth cross stitched only in red (not really redwork per se, but definitely red!) and a small hotpad.
Because larger projects are broken down into sections so they can be stitched in an embroidery hoop, Redwork is very portable – perfect for take-along summer stitching!
So you can give Redwork a try, I’m including the pattern (above) for the utensils featured on the hotpad.Transfer the design to the fabric using a fabric tracing paper.
I recommend using DMC 6-Strand Floss in color #304 or #498 that closely resemble the original “turkey red” color used Redwork’s its heyday. Or, jazz it up a bit and use DMC Color Variations in color #4200 or 4210.
Stitch the solid lines of the design in outline stitch using 3 strands of floss, and the highlight areas in running stitch using 2 strands of floss.
Stitch them on traditional flour-sack towels or make your own towels from linen for a fun, vintage accent for your kitchen!
You can find more free Redwork patterns at Redwork Info, Redwork Plus, and Grandma’s Attic.
Happy Stitching!
~Emma
Thank you DMC for recognizing that there are a lot of us who love redwork. Besides all the traditional patterns, come by my blog beetreedesigns.blogspot.com for some new contemporary ideas in redwork!! There are quite of few of us out there designing new non traditional redwork things. Betty Alderman(shoe has a whole cloth redwork quilt that is amazing), Rosalie Quinlan, Cinderberry stitches, The bobby socks site, Gail Pan, The girls from among the gum trees……..Wild Olive so many choices, I cannot even begin to name all the new redwork designers I have found.
Thanks for the message Cyndi.
I love the bluework snowmen on your site – the children’s drawings are adorable translated in thread and fabric!