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| Overlay patterns were popular throughout the late 19th
and early 20th century and were included as supplements in many magazines.
They consist of a single over-sized sheet upon which is printed the pattern
pieces for between 10 and 30 items. These can range from clothing
to household items and needlepoint designs. Each pattern piece
is printed with its own particular line (dotted, twisted, dashed, etc.).
To use these patterns the pieces would first have to be transferred to
paper individually using a tracing wheel. Since the overlay sheets
were usually printed on both sides it was impossible to transfer every
pattern before the sheet was in tatters.
Below you will find an image of a tracing wheel and instructions for copying the patterns. One side of a complete overlay pattern is also reproduced using the Flash exporter for Adobe Illustrator. This image is very large and may take time to download. Once it has opened, you can zoom in by right clicking. |
