unknown - Designs for Embroidery - ca. 1890 - T-Shirt

This is a pen and ink sheet of four vertical embroidery borders, each one a repeating chain of scrolls, loops and scalloped edges.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sheet is drawn in charcoal ink on cream paper, with grey ink for the lighter third strip and a small blue ink label in the corner. The narrowest strip at the left repeats a tight loop pattern with dotted centres. The second strip is the largest, with paired scrolls that meet at the top and bottom of each repeat and small round knots set between them. The third strip reproduces that scroll design in a softer grey tone, and the fourth returns to a narrow looped band. A handwritten 162 sits at the top, and the French label dessin original à broderie identifies the sheet as an original drawing for embroidery.

Meaning & Symbolism

Sheets like this were pattern models for needlework. Each strip gave an embroiderer a repeatable motif to transfer to fabric and stitch along a border or hem. The flowing, interlaced ornament reflects the late nineteenth-century taste for scrolling forms drawn from older decorative traditions. The varied line weights and the repeated grey version show how one design could be scaled or toned for different garments and textiles. The label and numbering point to a catalogue of designs that were reused across commercial French embroidery workshops and pattern houses around 1890.

Wearing the Border

A border drawing belongs on an edge, and this tee gives the strips a clear place to run. The vertical repeat can follow the line of the sleeve or the length of the front, so the pattern reads as a deliberate trim rather than a scattered print. The crew neckline frames the top of the design, and the slow repeat is easiest to appreciate when the shirt is worn and the motifs move with the body.