Beeton's Book of Needlework: 154. Sandwich Case Pt. 4

Hullo everyone! Sorry to have been gone so long and not updating on this project. I actually delivered a baby boy last month and have been on mommy duty since :-) And now that we have finally settled down with our new routine, I can go back to my Monday posts here on Feeling Stitchy.

For those who are just seeing this now and would want to make one, you can check out and get the patterns from: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Back to our little sandwich case. We got the embroidery and beadwork done:

Next up, I transfered the design unto the fabric. I used a picnic table cloth that I found for cheap as the lining fabric since I could not find any oil cloth here. You don't have to transfer the design onto the lining, just baste them together like so:

Then next I started on the scallop stitches using two threads. 

Then I cut them out to prepare for the button-hole stitch. (Sorry for the change in lighting, these were taken at night):

I used two threads of black for the button-hole stitch. There's grey threads sticking thru on the top part, so it might have been better to use three threads. But I already find it thick as it is so I will continue using two.

And this is where I am at after a month and half and a one baby later :-) I will post the finished Sandwich case on the Embroidery pool on Flickr this week and next Monday tackle a new project!

P.S. Yes, the embroidery is not centered, it happened when I transferred the design :-( Something I really have to watch out for in the future. I am comforting myself by saying, "That's its charm." 

Beeton's Book of Needlework: 154. Sandwich Case Pt. 3

Hullo! The chain-stitching is all done and I have started on the Overcast Stitch. It's my first time to do this stitch to tell you honestly, and as you can see, the lower part of my B came out a little wonky. Oopps.  Otherwise, it was fairly easy and pretty quick to do once the momentum got started.

I ended up using 4 strands for the laid threads and 3 strands for the threads that go over it. Black was the color suggested by Mrs. Beeton, and right she was as it does look lovely with the red, grey and ofcourse the steel beads! The beads are anchored down with 3 strands of black as well.

All in all, it is progressing smoothly and thank you for all your kind comments! Next up will be to finish it all neatly (I HOPE!) with some scallops and get this Sandwich Case all done and ready for use.

Download the PDF.

I hope these instructions can be understood! I will show the assembly on Part 4 so hopefully I can let this pattern make sense. For those who want to make this Sandwich Case, please visit: Part 1 and Part 2 and kindly read the comments as there are so many great inputs from our lovely readers (specially with regards to the "kid" material!). 

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!

Beeton's Book of Needlework: 154. Sandwich Case Pt. 2

Happy Monday everyone, hope you all had a restful weekend. We are now on Part 2 of the Mrs. Beeton Sandwich Case. As much as I love happy, candy colors, it is best that I stick as close to the colors described in the book to better see Mrs. Beeton's vision.

The original materials stated were: Strip of grey kid; strip of oil silk; 1 skein black silk; 1 skein red purse silk; 1 hank steel beads; steel button.

Now I am not sure what kind of fabric "kid" could be, unless it really could be from that of a ruminant?  I tried to search it, but to no luck, so do let us know if you find the answer to this. Oil silk is apparently silk painted with oil to make it waterproof, pretty much like our oilcloth of present day I would presume. (UPDATE: Thank you to Lemon Tree Tami and Jacinta for the explanation of "kid" fabric as can be read in the comments section. Much appreciated!)

So keeping those colors in mind and the stitches as stated in Part 1, I went ahead and worked on the design unto a more common grey linen fabric. And since I have no access to luxurious silk skeins, I am working the stitches in 3-strands of polyester sewing machine threads (this is purely a personal preference as I love working with these threads instead of embroidery floss).

Here are the scrolls being worked in red chain stitches:

Next Monday we will tackle the Overcast Stitch, embroidering steel beads and giving a pattern for those tedious side scallops :-)

Till next time, wishing you all a stitchy week ahead!

Beeton's Book of Needlework: 154. Sandwich Case Pt.1

Hullo! My name is Lia from SummerdayStudio blog and I am so excited and happy to be blogging for Feeling Stitchy this year. Best of all, I get to share with all of you my love for Public Domain Embroidery books and all the little projects and patterns that they have to offer.

This week I am sharing with you a cute little project from Beeton's Book of Needlework. It is a sandwich case, which the book describes as "...very useful on the occasion of a journey or picnic, as it can be carried in the pocket without any inconvenience."

For the edges, it is suggested that the Scallop Stitch be used.

It is important to note that in assembling the final piece, the scallops on both sides are joined together and then worked in a scalloped button-hole stitch, like so:

The book states that the words "Bon appetit" are worked over in Overcast Stitch with black purse silk and steel beads (for a better sample, check out Stitch School's Overcast Stitch):

The scroll pattern is worked in Chain Stitch with red silk.

Since most of the patterns and projects found in public domain books are small and not to scale, and oftentimes hard to decipher, I have taken the liberty to vectorize them to the best of my ability, eyesight and judgement. My only hope is that I can give justice to these lovely little marvels and that you may find something you would enjoy to embroider one of these days.

Download the PDF.

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and enjoy meeting more new bloggers for the site.  I will be back next week with my work in progress for Part 2 of this entry :-) Feel free to post your photos in the Embroidery group in Flickr should you also be so inclined to make yourselves a nifty lil' sandwich case too :-) 

Thank you again to Floresita, Feeling Stitchy and all the wonderful readers of this blog for the lovely welcome!