R. Ackermann’s Repository of fashions was published 1829 and has been digitized and made available as free Google ebook. For those with a tablet it is easily read or you can view it on your computer.
The book contains some really lovely fashion plates of the day which will be of great interest to anyone interested in the history of costume. They have a charm of their own that delighted me.
Also many crazy quilters print on fabric vintage images then incorporate these into their crazy quilt blocks they are the modern equivalent to cigarette silks.
On antique crazy quilts you will often find little pictures and images that were printed on silk. Cigarette silks came in cigarette packets and women used to collect them and they got used in crazy quilts. Today with the aid of computers, many quilters print images on their own fabric and use the prints in the tradition of cigarette silks. The prints produced this way are even abbreviated to the words like “silk cigie” or just “cigie”. Many of the colour pages in R. Ackermann’s Repository of Fashions could be adapted to make repro silks.
Also the book contains many interesting embroidery patterns used in that period.
I have taken a few screenshots in the hope of enticing you to look at and enjoy reading R. Ackermann’s Repository of Fashions. Many of the patterns for borders could be used to cover crazy quilt seams. Single motifs could easily be adapted to be used in the center of patches.
As you can see there are many useful resources in R. Ackermann’s Repository of Fashions, for any crazy quilter who adapts historical material to a modern use. I browsed these pages my imagination went to creating a series of Jane Austin themed crazy quilt blocks using this publication as a jumping off spot.
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I love the embroidery patterns.
And, the hat on the blue-cloaked lady, labeled “Opera Dress” . . . . I wonder how many people sitting behind her asked her to take the hat off so they could see . . . .
Thanks for sharing this, Sharon. A great book for me as a great Jane Austen fan! I love the embroidery patterns!
thanks sharon this great
A delightful book. Thank you for directing us to it, Sharon
Hi Sharon,
This looks a wonderful resoruce, is there a way of down loading it to my computer or can you only view it at the site?
Actually when I tried to view it nothing happened.
Cheers Judy
Judy on the book page on the right hand side is a cog icon – click it and you can download a pdf
hope this helps
Sharon, thank you for replying, I knew for you to say it’s free there had to be a way. I don’t know why I never thought of the small wheel before.
Have a blessed day. Margo
Sharon, these are beautiful. This site is very new to me. How do I obtain the freebies? Do I download the entire book or each individual picture? thank you for sharing something so vey lovely.
Margo
follow the link to get the book
Very interesting and such great designs for embroidery . Thanks for sharing with us, Sharon.
Barbara
Thank you for posting this, Sharon. I love crazy quilts and the history of crazy quilts & fabric.
When my dad was 14, he worked in his uncle’s hardware store and talks about the calicos that came with the flour sacks. He said that it never failed that the women would always want the one that was on the bottom of the pile. lol