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Embroidery Patterns

The pattern sheets for canvas embroidery in the collection of the Volkskundemuseum Wien (Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art) offer a glimpse into the diversity of motifs found in embroidery patterns, which have been mass-produced since the Biedermeier period. In the 19th century, there was a seemingly endless selection of figurative, floral, and ornamental patterns available on pattern paper. The embroidery patterns were used by women of the upper classes for their needlework as a leisure activity befitting their social standing in social gatherings, but also by embroiderers who had to earn their living with them.

The museum’s collection consists of approximately 200 embroidery patterns for canvas embroidery. These are individual sheets in a wide variety of formats, the majority of which are hand-colored dot patterns. The embroidery patterns mostly originate from the offerings of well-known publishers and art dealers in Vienna and Berlin. This article focuses particularly on the sheets from the first half of the 19th century.