The other day I was asked about broderie perse, so I thought I’d write a post in case others of you are wondering about it, too.  So here you go …

Broderie Perse is a method of applying a fabric, originally the colorful Chintz type fabrics of Europe, onto a background by hand sewing. This was done in order to randomly decorate it or establish a pictorial scene on the background.

The efforts were turned into coverlets or quilts and became most popular in the 17th Century and possibly earlier in some cases with Indian Broderie Perse findings. The Chintz fabrics were used due to the firm outlines of the figures woven into the fabric, the images were not usually blended into the next image, and there was clear space around where the picture could be cut out, as if it were in a coloring book with a line around the outside.  Read the rest of this entry »