Rich Source of Alphabets and Charts

Thanks to the folks at CRAFT magazine, I recently learned about this marvelous site, PatternMakers’ Charts, that provides, free of charge, charts from vintage needlework books.

The one that really intrigued me was the set of Cyrillic alphabets. This is the alphabet used in Russia and in some countries in Eastern Europe. Because it’s based on the Greek alphabet, you could also use these alphabets for Sorority and Fraternity items. They are from a Russian book and there are six alphabets, including two script ones.

Many alphabets from Sanjou books are also available. These French needlework books are quite popular and are listed by number. There are also reproductions of Sanjou charts for many other motifs as well. From these you could design your own charming sampler or even stitch one of theirs (I’m particularly fond of the one with the donkey and the dog (near the end of these charts).

There are also several posts with graphs from a lengthy book of Russian folk art designs, glorious in red and black (also available as a PDF). And another set of motifs and alphabets from Germany.

In the left column is a grid which has a table of many of the alphabets available. Under it are instructions for retrieving full size charts. This can be done by right clicking or by downloading them in PatternMakerPro or PCStitch format. Below the country flag widget, also on the left, is the list of labels. You can use this to find the different sources of the books.

This is an amazing resource for all of us!

About Janet M Perry

Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•