Redwork patterns: a quilt block, a kitchen towel and a nursery

Redwork is outline embroidery in one red thread on white cloth, popular since the late nineteenth century. A transfer pattern is a line drawing you trace onto the cloth and stitch over. These nine cover a quilt block, a kitchen tea towel and a nursery. Each comes as a clean outline, a red backstitch line, or a bold outline. Type a different subject and the same outline style carries it.

• a quilt block
• a tea towel
• a child's nursery cloth
• a card or sampler

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to trace the pattern first?

Yes. These are transfer patterns: trace them onto the fabric, then stitch over the lines.

Why is the backstitch style red?

Redwork is traditionally stitched in red, and the backstitch style shows the stitch line in red.

Which outline is easiest to trace?

The bold outline, with a thicker even line and fewer inner details.

About toile

This page is a showcase and a starting point: nine samples already rendered, three readings of the pack crossed with three styles, each shown at the size and ratio it was made for. Take any of them further on the wall with a few words, or ask for all nine again under your own direction; a sign-in keeps what you make, and it is free while Toile is new. The recipe behind each sample — the subject, the style, the palette, the framing — travels with the image rather than staying private to the render: it is in the alt text of every sample and in the page's own structured data, so a search engine reads the same handles a person would.