Embroidery design

The design at the top of the page is for an embroidered border for a cuff. The second design is possibly a design for an embroidered collar. They both feature floral and leaf motifs. The designs were probably traced by Sarah Bland (1810-1905) about 1836-1854 from a commercially available pattern from a magazine such as <u>The Lady's Newspaper</u>.

These designs are in an album which includes Bland's collection of her own botanically accurate designs, simplified patterns from accurate botanical observation, patterns traced from magazines, commercial, printed Berlin wool work patterns, gifts of patterns, including commercial ones from friends and relatives. The designs include those for petit-point, bead-work, decoration for dresses, collars and cuffs, aprons, slippers, tablecloths and covers, cushions, bags, penwipers, initial letters, alphabets etc. In Bland's case, the gift of designs demonstrates connections between relatives of merchant and banking families and is of historical significance in bonding such families.