New Vision for the French Trousseau Embroidery Stamp

If you are most fortunate in life, simple things can give you inordinate pleasure. For me, one of these things is monograms; in particular, letters hand engraved on coin silver flatware or pewter or embroidered on antique linens. Imagine my excitement when a collection of vintage French trousseau embroidery stamps came to my attention. What could be done with one of these! First, let’s go back and see how we live with some of our other letters…

My small collection of antique embroidered napkins has been depleted a little to become pillow covers backed in white cotton duck fabric with crisp top stitched edges. For me, making the pillow covers was a thrilling way to enjoy these cherished pieces and keep them safe from the laundering required when used on the table.

These coin silver spoons were piled in a straw basket on the counter of a silver dealer in a large antique market. They were having a sale and there was no way I could resist these hand engraved spoons, each with a different letter or set of initials. Simply holding them and looking at the engraving is entertaining. Even better, we are ready to make ice cream or sorbet for a large group and each person could have a unique spoon. The custom of having an ice cream social began in America in the mid 1700’s and the practice continues today. We have an ice cream maker and could take some time to perfect our skills in this area or, serve ice cream from the grocery store freezer with a variety of toppings.

This was our first year to host the family Thanksgiving in our new home in the Texas Hill Country – a perfect opportunity to use the French embroidery stamp on some large heavy cotton napkins to create bespoke napkins. The large size will lend itself to being folded in the way an embroidered napkin is traditionally folded, with the letter featured.

Imagining you will want to try this, let’s go through the process together. First, use heavy paper to create a template, cutting out the shape of the stamp block so you can place the inked stamp in the square of the template on your fabric napkin and get each one printed in the same area.

Next, spread some ink out onto a flat surface using a rubber ink roller. In our studio we use the old wrought iron glass topped table that was my parents’ first dining table and the one we used for most of my childhood. This table became our first dining table and now, it is with us forever in a working capacity as this is where we ink plates for printmaking as well. 

You might use a piece of glass or plexiglass, or even a baking sheet for this purpose. The ink used for this project is Speedball Water Soluble Silk Screen Printing Ink which works well on fabric. You can even purchase several containers of color and custom mix your base. For this project we are using straight black right out of the jar. I chose this color as I wanted the napkins to have a crisp and slightly modern feel. They will also be different as the embroidery stamp will be used as a stamp and not embroidered.

When your ink is smooth as you roll over it on your flat surface, you are ready to roll it onto the raised letter. You should go over it several times to ensure the entire raised surface is evenly inked.

Carefully place the block inside the cut square of your template.

Gently press on the block.

Tap softly a few times with a rubber mallet. If you do not have a rubber mallet you might use the flat side of a meat tenderizer. There are a number of ways of tapping or pressing on the back of the block if you lack a mallet.

Carefully lift the block off the fabric so as not to smudge the ink

Looking at the completed printed napkin!

Repeat the process until you have the number of napkins you want to make. Note: You can go online and read about how to “fix” the ink print so it will not wear away as you wash the napkins. My choice was to use our household iron. Set the iron to the appropriate temperature for your fabric (in this case cotton). Iron over the design for 3 -5 minutes.

Here are some photos of our table set for the family Thanksgiving. We will use the “V” printed napkins for many more gatherings!

Creating these bespoke napkins was delightful. There were some faded areas and a smudge here and there; all the better to see the “hand of the artist”! Perhaps you will want to try making something using a French embroidery stamp -guest towels, night gown, apron, table cloth or runner…you decide!


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