Broderie Perse

Broderie perse (French for 'Persian embroidery') is an appliqué technique popular in 18th and 19th century America and England when imported chintz fabrics were expensive. Motifs — flowers, birds, trees — were cut from printed fabrics and appliquéd onto a plain background, sometimes embellished with embroidery. The technique allowed quilters to showcase expensive printed fabrics economically. Modern quilters use broderie perse with large-scale botanical prints, fussy-cut fabrics, and novelty prints to create pictorial quilts.