D is for Dillmont – as in Therese De Dillmont.
Credited with a prolific amount of authorship of the old DMC publications (among other needlework books), Therese De Dillmont (an Austrian by birth) was a veritable force in the embroidery world in the latter half of the 1800’s.
If you’ve ever scoured about online for old DMC publications, you’ve likely heard of her.
I’ve highlighted her works here on Needle ‘n Thread several times in the past, so I thought we’d revisit those.
We’ll start with a free embroidery pattern that I re-created as a vector line drawing, using one of Dillmont’s public domain works, so that it would be easier for stitchers today to use.
First, some interesting facts about Therese De Dillmont, though!
Did you know she only lived to 44 yrs old? She died within a year of marrying, much to the consternation of DMC! (Not so much the death – which I’m sure was also a point of consternation – as the fact that she married and her last name changed.)
Her niece (who had the same name) took over the DMC representation, but she had to sign a contract for DMC, guaranteeing that she would not get married and would not change her name. That’s how important the name “Therese De Dillmont” was to the DMC brand!
I find that fascinating. Could you imagine signing a contract that you’d never marry, so that a company could continue to enjoy potential growth from the use of your name? I sure hope they paid her a fortune.
(Goes to show you that branding is not a particularly recent marketing ploy…)
Moving on…
About the design above, you can find the free PDF download for it here.
And if you like that free design, you might also enjoy this Dillmont Rose (#1) and this Dillmont Rose (#2).
One of my favorite little books displayed in my studio is an early French edition of Therese De Dillmont’s Encyclopedia of Ladies’ Work. You can read about this little book here.
More Online Resources
There are plenty of online resources out there of Dillmont’s work – both the OG Dillmont and her niece. In this article, you’ll find some resources you can explore, if you’re looking for more Dillmont publications available for free online. All of her works are in the public domain, so there is a wide range of them out there!
If you have time this weekend, the Dillmont rabbit hole is always worth exploring!
Have a terrific weekend!
At one of the EGA National Seminars years ago (I sure wish I could remember which one!!), they had a special showing of 4 (or 6) of Therese’s embroidered boards — some of which I think were photographed for the DMC books. It was a privilege to see these.