Embroidery has always been used to express love and affection. It is a great way to personalise items so they are more meaningful to the maker and the recipient. During this month of love (and love for embroidery), we are looking at an extraordinary example of hand stitched love from the 1920s.

During WWI it became fashionable for soldiers on the front line to send delicate hand embroidered cards to loved ones back home. These were colourful pieces. Often patriotic, the designs included flags, lucky symbols and sentimental greetings.

Specific flowers were also popular elements because each conveyed a specific “hidden” meaning that was well understood during this era. Soldiers might choose forget-me-nots for true love, pansies for thoughtfulness or Lily-of-the-valley for a return to happiness. These heartfelt embroideries stood in stark contrast to the brutality of the trenches.

The cards were stitched at home by women in Belgium and France and sold to soldiers serving nearby. It created work that supported those who had been displaced or experienced financial hardship as a result of the conflict.

The designs were hand embroidered onto long strips of transparent silk fabric mostly using stem satin stitch, and French knots. Sometimes as many as 25 designs would be stitched onto the same strip. The designs were then separated and mounted onto cards in factories.

There were two styles, a flat design or a small pocket to hold a short message.

Many of these cards or “silks”, as they became known, remain treasured family heirlooms. But examples can be seen in the Imperial War Museum, London Museum and Wilson Collection, in London.

These cards are a wonderful example of how much love can be conveyed with the simple tools of needle, fabric and thread. If you would like to stitch your own heartfelt message explore our database of free patterns.