French antique bed sheets

Starting in the 1600s, the central government controlled the textile industry in France. Government agents decided who could produce textiles and what they could produce.
Bed sheets were manufactured in many regions and in varying styles. The most common bed sheet was woven on narrow looms, so in order to make a sheet that was wide enough to cover a two-person bed, these sheets have a hand-stitched center seam that joined two fabric widths.
Many families took their bedding to the local blanchisserie to be laundered.  In order to avoid mix-ups or loss, each person embroidered an identifying mark or initials on the sheets.  Many people simply embroidered tiny red letters or numbers on the hem, but others took the time to embroider monograms.
This 19th century sheet has a red cross-stitch letter "M" for identification. The laundry marks were always in red thread.

 

 

This image shows an example of a simple laundry identification mark on the hem (this is actually on a nightgown, but is the same mark that would have been on the bedding.)

This sheet close-up pictured below shows the center seam, which was always sewn edge-to-edge. This sheet was embroidered for decoration, rather than for simple identification, so it is done in white.

 

Napoleon III silk embroidery on velvet

Sewing was a necessity in homes around the world until after mid-20th century. During the 19th century and earlier, women in France always had a sewing or needlework project close at hand to pick up whenever they were sitting or resting.
Everything was hand-stitched - from clothing to bed linens to draperies and of course, decorative items. Aside from the necessary sewing required for the home, fine embroidery and other decorative hand-stitching was highly valued and some of the workmanship is astonishing.
For this post, I am showing some photos of the silk embroidery on a pair of velvet valances from the Napoleon III era that I had the pleasure of owning briefly a couple of years ago.

French Arts and Crafts embroideries

As the Arts and Crafts movement gained in popularity at the end of the 19th century, the 'natural' look became a theme in home decor and found expression in many decorative hand-made objects. The crafts were usually done by women and included pottery, needlework, painting and more. French homemakers, who were skilled at needlework favored pieces made of natural linen which were then hand-embroidered. The charming motifs were also 'natural', i.e. plants, flowers and fruits. These linen pieces took many forms, including bags, knitting bags, letter and lingerie holders, pillows, valances, umbrella covers - the list was only limited by the imagination of the creator. Many women subscribed to stitchery magazines and used the ideas and patterns offered on the pages.
The first picture below shows a bouquet of mistletoe. The mistletoe was embroidered on a hand-made linen valance that would have been hung across the top of a doorway.

The second is a lined 'envelope' for storing silk stockings or fine lingerie. The motif, oddly enough, is also mistletoe, but this piece was bought in a different region of France several months after the valance above.

The linen holder hung from the loop at the top. Its purpose was to held letters or correspondence which would have been slid in from the side.

The last photo shows a small drawstrong handbag. Be sure to note the fancy scalloped top edge and the variegated drawstring that matches the colors of the embroidered motif.

Wedding in white

In France, in days gone by, young women and their families carefully stitched the dozens of delicate pieces that made up a wedding trousseau. The trousseau would have included an array of bedding, intricately embroidered linens and nightwear as well as day dresses and articles of intimate apparel. Empress Josephine's trousseau included 500 lace-trimmed chemises!
The pictures below are of a 19th century embroidered and appliquéd white coverlet that would have been part of a wedding trousseau.