Colonial Patterns, Inc.®

Colonial Patterns® represents nearly a century of American needlework tradition, rooted in a simple but powerful idea: making handcraft accessible, meaningful, and shared across generations.

The story begins in the 1930s in Kansas City, when Jack and Clara Tillotson founded what would become The Colonial Company during the Great Depression. At a time when resources were scarce, they made it possible for families to continue creating by offering affordable paper patterns—designs that could be stitched at home, one careful stitch at a time. From those early beginnings, a beloved name emerged: Aunt Martha, a symbol of warmth, practicality, and timeless domestic creativity.

Over the decades, Colonial Patterns® built an extraordinary library of designs inspired by antique quilts, county fair entries, reader submissions, and professional artists. These patterns appeared in catalogs, booklets, and the much-loved Work Basket magazine, which combined needlework patterns with household wisdom and everyday ingenuity. What started as a cottage industry grew into a trusted name in American needlecraft.

Today, Colonial Patterns® continues that legacy as a family-owned business still based in Kansas City, Missouri. Best known for the classic Aunt Martha’s® iron-on embroidery transfers, the company also embraces modern creativity through Stitcher’s Revolution®, a newer line designed to make embroidery approachable, fun, and inviting for today’s stitchers.

Whether your style leans vintage or contemporary, Colonial Patterns® offers designs that connect generations—projects meant to be stitched, used, shared, and remembered. Each pattern carries forward a tradition of creativity, resilience, and the quiet joy found in handmade work.