1950s Embroidered Cot Sheets

Over the weekend my son and I visited my brother and his family, and my sister in law dug out these beautiful cot sheets, which her mother embroidered in the early 1950s.  At the time my sister in law, her older brother and their parents were living in Egypt, which probably explains the high quality of the white cotton.

The three illustrations of the little boy at bedtime are all on one sheet.

Although the thread has worn away in places, the colours are still fresh.

The work is extremely fine.  The unbelievably tiny stitches are worked in a double strand of embroidery cotton.  This little boy with golden curls must be based on my sister in law's blond haired brother.

This sheet is stitched with the first line of a lullaby.

The letters aren't much more than a quarter of an inch high.

The tiny flowers are especially beautiful.

My sister in law has just three of these sheets.  She says her mother used to make them as presents for new babies. 

Linking up to Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday.