Hundreds of rollers were made with different embossed designs. Most of the rollers are about 2-3 cm in width, with a diameter of between 1 and 2 cm. The roller was attached to a handle and then a washable ink was placed on an attached ink pad that was used to cover the raised design in ink. The inked roller was moved up and down on a piece of linen or cotton, leaving the design outlined (marking) on the cloth. The resulting pattern could then be embroidered. Often the embroidery was carried out with a white cotton, silk or linen thread, although sometimes other colours such as pale pink or blue can be found.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 22 June 2016).
GVE