So I began a dresser scarf.
One end is completely finished.
The other end not so much.
Now I have to find the right embroidery floss to finish this project. It is J & P Coats floss. This was way before DMC was even an embroidery floss company. Needless to say the numbers on my one bit of floss are no longer used....apparently they started a new numbering system. I must have antique floss!
So I shall be looking for floss to finish this project that is about 40 years old. I can match some of the colors quite well to DMC floss but I used a shades of red only made by J & P Coats, the floss is variegated goes from pink to red.
I will have to look around a bit to see what I can find.
Does anyone even use dresser scarfs anymore? I used to use them...I would switch them out every month. The dirty ones would be washed...sprinkled and put inside a plastic bag to condition before spraying them with starch and ironing them smooth. Then folding them just right creasing the fold with an iron and putting them in the drawer that was specially reserved for dresser scarfs and doilies.
I have quite a collection of old dresser scarfs. So if I cannot find the right floss I will probably toss it.
In other news I finally got the naked Christmas tree upstairs put properly away. However the Nativity Set is still out. I inventoried the deep freeze and the fridge freezer...now we know exactly what we have...our trouble is that when we take something out of the freezer we don't always take it off the list.
Far Side
I did embroidery like that years ago. I wish you luck trying to find the exact color red. I haven't seen or used a dresser scarf in ages. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to embroider dresser scarves just like those. They were well worn with use and for a while I tried to use them after they were passed on to me but they were too delicate. I do have one that I put out for Christmas that a friend picked up in Vienna at a holiday market. It's exquisite. Yours is also very pretty. Good luck with finding the floss to finish it. I am in the same boat with the wedding sampler I am working on. I started it so long ago that the floss is brittle and the colors are not matching when I go to replace it. I've played yarn chicken quite often but I've never played floss chicken. It's equally unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteYes, here at my mother's (she is 92) there's a dresser drawer in my bedroom full of love dresser scarves that she and my grandmother embroidered. They are used on all the dressers in the house. The older I get the more I appreciate them especially since I don't embroider myself. Staying here at the old Homestead is like stepping back in time, everything is old!
ReplyDeleteI have a whole box full of antique floss that is wrapped around wooden spools! They all belonged to my Grandmother. I just have to figure out what to do with it all.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother did beautiful embroidery work, and I have many dresser scarfs, pillowcases that she did, I also embroidery, mostly dish towels and pillowcases. I looked through my floss some which is from my Mother's, I have a J&B coats might be what you are looking for, it is #190. I could stop by some time if you would like, and check it out.
ReplyDeleteyes that would be great!
DeleteThanks Phyllis! The floss is perfect!
DeleteI am impressed that you are getting to your old, old projects. I have some like that. Don't know if I will ever get to them. You give me hope. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have a box of embroidery projects my mother "started". I think all the thread is with them. My fingers just can't do the fancy hand stuff anymore. Hopefully a granddaughter is interested since my daughters are not.
ReplyDeleteI used to embroider, once did a unicorn on the back of a biker's denim jacket and a draft horse on the back of a shirt. My fingers don't let me do that kind of craft any more.
ReplyDeleteI have a variety of dresser scarves that I use occasionally. Most were embroidered by my Mom years ago. It's nice to have a bit of her work out from time to time.
ReplyDeleteLet me check I have some floss that old and I remember using the varietgated pink and red in my time.
ReplyDeleteThanks my neighbor had some!
DeleteSend me the floss color----there is a very strong possibly I can get it for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda My neighbor Phyllis had some!
DeleteOh, my a dresser scarf does bring back memories. I used to use them years ago until I got tired of washing and ironing them. But don't get rid of the side you finished, use it to decorate a throw pillow....
ReplyDeleteI use dresser scarves and doilies all over the house. Some were made by my Mom but most were made by me. I love embroidery but haven't done it much for years. I hope you are able to find the floss, it would be a shame to toss that one.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
I have a table runner on my dresser top, because my television sits on it and I don't want it to scratch the surface. I do recall dresser scarves when I was a child mostly at my aunt's home. Enjoy your project!
ReplyDeleteif the other end is totally unfinished I might make the colors different and then finish it... go contrast!!
ReplyDeleteYour needlework always amazes me, I do indeed use dresser scarfs, and have quit a few that I purchased from thrift stores, when I look at them I always think about the hands that made them, I hope you find the thread you are looking for.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Sue
I have some dresser scarves that my grandmother completely crocheted or crocheted around depending. Not embroidered, though. Yes, I still use them on a tall dresser and couple of bookcases. They're special. I hope you find matching embroidery thread.
ReplyDeleteMy late mother-in-law did a ton of embroidery and I have a bag full of it. I have actually been looking on Pinterest to see what I can do with it other than just keep it in the bag! There is lots of different and interesting ideas, including making a quilt which I have never done before and may try!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that your neighbor had the color floss you needed! My grandmother and my mother had scarves like that all around the house when I was young. I make quilted runners for chests and buffets. I like quilting and that is a much faster project than a bed quilt! I hope you will show us this scarf when you have completed it.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that several followers had the very old embroidery thread you need!
ReplyDeleteI see from the comments that those who use dresser scarves and those who don't are about the same. At any given time I have half a dozen or more put around the various rooms. Most have embroidery ( that I can't take credit for).
I had a great aunt who did stuff like that
ReplyDeleteI love that dresser scarf....at least the half done part....it's so pretty with all the flowery stitches. I hope you'll be able to complete it! And you guys are so organized, listing everything in your freezers. That's a great idea! Hope you have a great rest of your weekend!
ReplyDeleteI use dresser scarves. Mine are all like mini quilts. I frequently knock over my drink in the night so I like something absorbent enough to soak up the slop LOL. I have a 1/4 finished embroidery table cloth I had intended to put on the head table when my youngest daughter got married. 14 years have passed and so has the marriage but the cloth languishes in the cedar chest.
ReplyDeleteWhat a project - happy that neighbor Phyllis was able to help you out! I was going to say, if you didn't find the floss (don't throw it away but take it to your seamstress neighbor and have her make a doily out of it) :) Be sure to show us when you have that chain stitch perfected.
ReplyDeleteI have something almost exactly like that. A couple years ago I was visiting my sister and she pulled out a dresser scarf, half done, that I had started as a kid, perhaps more than 50 years ago. She was going to frame it and use it as art. I told her I'd finish it. I found out I can't see well enough to thread a needle and I don't remember the stitches. I haven't finished it yet. Maybe I should let her just frame it as is. :)
ReplyDeleteI still use a dresser scarf on one dresser, but that’s it. I like ironing it as i enjoy ironing and I don’t have much to iron anymore. I like the thick chain stitch of the red flowers on the one you are finishing.
ReplyDeleteThe cabin I bought on Lake Pokegama had dresser scarves. When I sold it I did keep the scarves just because.
ReplyDeleteI used to use scarves some but haven't in years. My mom always used them...and she always put a towel or something on top of the fridge, too. This one you have started is beautiful.
ReplyDelete