path: root/76893-0.txt

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76893 ***





                         ARTISTIC EMBROIDERY:

                   Containing Practical Instructions

                                IN THE

                          Ornamental Branches

                                  OF

                              NEEDLEWORK,

              _WITH NEARLY TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS AND
                        EXPLANATORY DIAGRAMS_.

                                  BY

                          ELLA RODMAN CHURCH.

  [Illustration]

                      ADAMS & BISHOP, Publishers,
                          46 Beekman Street,
                               NEW YORK.




      Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by
                            ADAMS & BISHOP,
     In the office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.




                             INTRODUCTION.


There is a wide difference between artistic embroidery and mere
fancy work. Besides the manufacture of innumerable airy nothings
for fairs and other purposes, the patient following of a glaring
pattern in bright wools also comes under the latter head. There is no
individuality in this kind of work, nothing that fairly expresses the
worker; the pattern being designed by one person, the putting it on
canvas done by another, while “filling in” is frequently the task of a
third.

A piece of embroidery should have in a degree the same expression as a
painting; and there is no good reason why the needle should not be as
artistic an implement as the brush. To produce the effect of painting,
however, it is necessary to follow very much the same rules; the first
of which is that the selection of the materials, the designing of the
pattern, and the work itself should be, as far as possible, done by one
person.

It may be urged that every one is not sufficiently gifted to do this,
and particularly to draw the designs; but this part is by no means the
difficult matter that the beginner is apt to imagine it, for in art
needlework all superfluity of detail is scrupulously avoided. Various
plates and illustrations may be found that will serve as guides to the
uninitiated; and ancient patterns can often be adapted to present
needs.

There is no doubt, however, that the most artistic work will be
produced by those who have a natural gift for design and color.

It has been well said that needlework should be in every way adapted to
the material used. As the sculptor’s chisel and the painter’s brush
have each their separate function and domain, so has the needle of the
embroideress; nor should anything lying beyond its proper powers be
attempted by its means. Flowers and foliage being the decorative part
of nature, we instinctively choose them to represent in needlework. The
grand productions of ancient tapestry, containing whole histories of
wars and sieges, are never likely to be repeated in our days, in which
leisure and industry are both lacking; and we must content ourselves,
at least for the moment, with speaking of the lighter works which lie
within the ordinary compass of time and patience.

As _everything_ cannot be accomplished in the attempt to
imitate nature in this way, much should not be undertaken. For this
reason, conventional or stiff forms, with no tendency to detail, are
preferred; and this is one of the most prominent characteristics of art
decoration. Things that are constantly handled and used should not have
their ornamentation elaborated like water-color painting.

Good materials are indispensable to satisfactory results; and true
artistic work is that which not only pleases the eye, but bears the
wear and tear of time. Perishable work of this kind is not worth the
doing; but when executed according to the rules of art, it should be as
enduring as painting and as worthy of admiration and respect.

This little volume is intended to give practical information to
beginners in artistic embroidery; showing the best and easiest methods
of going about this branch of art, which is rarely made sufficiently
plain to those who have had no previous knowledge of it. Several
English works have been consulted in its preparation; and the writer
has drawn upon her own experience as well as that of practical workers.




                              CHAPTER I.

                         _WORSTED EMBROIDERY._


Embroidery has been defined as “the art of adding to the surface of
woven textures a representation of any object we wish to depict,
through the medium of the needle, threaded with the material in which
the work is to be executed.”

From the earliest times, it has been the amusement of women of leisure,
and the occupation of those whose skilful fingers must be used to bring
in returns of daily bread. In the Middle Ages, a regular work-room,
or “studio,” was set apart for this especial purpose in the dim old
castle; and there the whole paraphernalia of embroidery-frames,
materials, and implements, were always to be found. There, too, the
chatelaine sat with her maidens embroidering cushions, or book-covers,
or those wonderful pieces of historical tapestry afterward displaced by
the more mechanical arras.

    “Tapestry richly wrought
    And woven close,”

was the favorite needlework of those days; and these hangings, or
“veils,” were rendered necessary by the style of building, which
afforded many convenient chinks and loopholes for the wind. Some of
these ancient pieces of embroidery were very rich, the designs being
worked with worsted or silk of various colors, and often mixed with
gold or silver threads, on canvas, cloth, or silk.

The oldest specimen of this kind of work now in existence is the famous
tapestry of Bayeux--the work of the English Matilda and her attendants.
A piece of embroidery over two hundred and twenty feet long, although
not much more than half a yard wide, is no trifling accomplishment; and
in spite of the red, blue, green, and yellow horses, some of them with
two legs of a different color from the rest of their bodies, one cannot
but reverence this curious triumph of the needle that can claim eight
centuries of birthdays. It is entirely worked with worsted in very
little variety of coloring, as the Norman princess had few advantages
of this sort, but she has represented to the best of her ability the
invasion and conquest of England by Duke William and his followers. The
battle of Hastings is ingeniously emphasized by a bordering composed of
the bodies of the slain.

Few would have the time or the inclination for such a piece of work
in these days; and “some of our moderns are inclined to think that,
in days of old, when the chief employment of a woman’s life was
needlework, she must have had a very dull, dreary, monotonous time of
it. But when we survey ancient heirlooms, veritable works of art--the
smooth, mossy crewel-work, the frost-like point-lace, the shining
gold-threaded ecclesiastical work, or even the conventional forms of
the now despised cross-stitch--we imagine every happiness and beauty
connected with the age of chivalry, as we are conscious of a sense of
wonder akin to that felt on beholding some magnificent ancient jewels,
or plate, or pictures.”

As late as the days of the _Spectator_, it was written: “How
memorable would that matron be who should have it inscribed on her
monument that she wrought out the whole Bible in tapestry, and died in
a good old age, after having covered three hundred yards of wall in the
Mansion House”--but no such exploit is on record.

The most fashionable worsted embroidery of the present time is


                             CREWEL-WORK.

This style of work was much in vogue during the latter part of the
eighteenth century, and has recently been revived, and the _modus
operandi_ dignified by the name of the South Kensington stitch.
But people with great-grandmothers produce pieces of work done in a
similar manner; and the stitch is the same as the long stitch in silk
embroidery, only longer and more careless.

Crewel work was brought to such a state of perfection by the famous
Miss Linwood, who literally painted pictures with her needle from her
thirteenth until her seventy-eighth year, copying the old masters so
successfully that, at a little distance, the needle-worked picture
could not be distinguished from the painted one, that every one wanted
to imitate her; but few having the same gift, this branch of art fell
into disrepute.

Miss Linwood’s pictures were marvels of patience and skill. They were
embroidered on a stiff, twilled fabric called “tammy,” on which the
outline was drawn in chalk; and the entire ground was covered with
close, irregular stitches, of great fineness in the more delicate
touches. The shading was perfect, the crewels being dyed under the
artist’s own supervision; and her first needle-painting, the “Salvator
Mundi,” from Carlo Dolci, was wonderfully true to the original.

Her collection, which was exhibited for some time in London, contained
sixty-four pieces; and among them was a portrait of herself in the
bloom of youth and beauty.

The great beauty of crewel-work is its freedom from set rules; in
taking the stitches, the needle is used more like the brush in the hand
of the artist.


                           THE CREWEL STITCH

resembles the wrong side of long back-stitching more than anything
else; and is illustrated by Figures 1 and 2.

  [Illustration: _Fig. 1._]

  [Illustration: _Fig. 2._]

The needle is put in at the back of the material and brought out at 1,
put in again at 2 and brought out at 3, put in again at 4 and brought
out at 5, and so on to the end of the line. In outline-work the thread
should be kept to the left of the needle, and great care taken to bring
the needle up exactly in the line of the pattern, or a wavy, uncertain
outline will be the result, and the character of the pattern will be
lost.

This method of working is to be used when the material is put in a
frame; but when the work is done in the hand, it is best illustrated by
Figure 2. The easiest and quickest way in this case is to begin at the
bottom and work upward--putting the needle through (from the back) at
1, and back again at 2--through again at 3, and back at 4--until the
entire distance has been traversed.

It will be seen that the stitch is very simple, and that much is left
to the discretion of the worker. Care must be taken that the worsted is
not pulled too tight, nor left too loose, as the effect must be smooth
and even--with the curves clearly defined, and the points sharp and
complete.

In ordinary crewel-work, the stitch should be from three-eighths to
half an inch long, according to its position--some stitches must
necessarily be shorter--as in filling in, they must dovetail into
each other like the tiles of a roof, that no sharp line of color may
indicate the different shades. To produce the desired effect, all the
stitches should not be taken close up to the inner edge of color.
Figures 3 and 4 will give some idea of this shading.

  [Illustration: Fig. 3.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 4.]

A leaf or stalk should never be worked across, but always (and the same
rule, of course, applies to flower-petals) in the same direction as the
fibres in a natural leaf. With such leaves as brambles, and others that
will suggest themselves, one side should be a darker shade than the
other. Figure 5 shows the natural way of working a leaf.

  [Illustration: Fig. 5.]

In working the stalk of a flower, it is better to begin at the lower
end first, and work on the outline until it is crossed by a leaf or
terminates in a flower; then pass the needle to the other side, and
work back again to the lower end; then work another line of stitches
_inside_ the outline till the stalk is filled up. See Figure 6.
Leaves of one shade are done in the same way, and the veins are put in
last.

Crewel-work has many recommendations; it is easy, is done with
comparatively little labor, and yet it affords scope for the exercise
of artistic skill of the highest order. A great variety of beautiful
shades may be had, and the worsted washes beautifully, thus possessing
a decided advantage over many other styles of ornamentation. The
materials are also quite inexpensive, and taking it altogether, it
produces the best effects with the least outlay of labor and expense of
any other kind of embroidery.

Floral designs suit this style of work best; and somewhat
conventionalized models are most suitable--flowers that can be
expressed by the fewest lines in form and the fewest shades in color.
Daisy-shaped flowers are particularly suitable; and the well known
sunflower, not _too_ much conventionalized, but with the tendency
of its long petals to droop a little just indicated here and there, is
represented in Figure 7.

Simple, old-fashioned flowers are most successful in crewel-work.
Wild roses being simple, and having very distinct petals and well
marked centres, are better than the double and treble triumphs of
the florist--to which painting alone can do justice. The daffodil,
narcissus, and lily tribes, with primroses, honeysuckles, pansies,
and daisies, bloom out charmingly in crewels; and almost any clearly
defined leaf is pleasing.

Butterflies and vases may also be successfully introduced, but the
latter should be chiefly in outline.

  [Illustration: _Fig. 6._]

The experienced crewel worker may study nature for designs, and
discover unending combinations of beauty and delicate touches of
detail which give a character to the whole. In the veining of leaves
especially this is shown; and the leaf of the common scarlet poppy,
veined and unveined, in Figures 8 and 9, will show how much depends on
careful finish.

  [Illustration: Fig. 7.]

But embroidery in general should not attempt too much detail--a thorn
here and there on a rose-stem being sufficient to suggest the thorny
nature of roses, while only a few of the larger serrations of the
leaves should be retained. The bramble, when shorn of superfluous
outline, is a very desirable leaf for embroidery; and Figure 10 shows
it in its natural state, which, if worked, would be a confused mass
of nothing in particular--while in Figure 11, its shape and general
character are preserved, but all unnecessary notchings and veinings are
pruned away.

  [Illustration: Fig. 8.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 9.]

An important point in embroidery is to know what may be to advantage
left undone; and as crewel-work is entirely free from all artificial
raising, it is merely suggestive of general form.

The crewel itself is a particularly strong, twisted woollen yarn, quite
unlike zephyr and the other wools in use. The shades of color are very
soft and numerous, and blend beautifully in delicate flower-petals and
varying leaves. The work is usually done on heavy linen sheeting, as
this wears well, is easily washed, and is particularly suitable for
tidies, doilies, and many small articles.

  [Illustration: Fig. 10.]

Other materials may be used to advantage; but cloth, velvet, or silk
is not suitable for crewel-work. Serge makes a very nice foundation;
and a pair of invalid’s slippers, made lately, were worked on white
_felt_. But these were done in Canada, where many materials are
to be had which cannot be found here. Said slippers were merely to
thrust the toes in, as all the rest was sole; and this white felt
pointed piece was ornamented with strawberries in crewel-work. This
beautiful fruit is quite as effective as flowers are; and in Figure 12
the clusters may be used separately, or continued indefinitely for a
border. A very pretty footstool could be made by grouping them closely
for the top, and putting the bordering on the band. The fruit may be
either red or white as best suits the groundwork.

  [Illustration: Fig. 11.]

Velveteen makes a good background for crewel embroidery; and this is
suitable both for footstools and hangings. It is also handsome for
mantel lambrequins. But the favorite material is crash towelling--which
is so generally used for the purpose that crewels seem inseparable from
it, and the work is quite as often called “crash-work” as crewel-work.
Crash is very serviceable for tidies, toilet covers, toilet mats,
travelling bags, etc.; but it does not hang in graceful folds for
curtains and portières, and it is not worthy of being embroidered in
silks.

There is a ribbed velveteen in different shades of drab and brown,
which looks remarkably well as a foundation for crewel-work, if the
latter is done in a rich, bold design. It should be remembered, as
a general thing, that while rich materials may be used on cheap
groundwork, worsted embroidery is very unsuitable on a rich foundation.

We have attempted suggestions only in the way of patterns, as these
may be bought in great variety wherever the crewels are sold; and for
those who are unable to design from nature this will be found a great
convenience.

It is not long since all worsted work was done in mechanical patterns
on canvas; and some of this work, with stitches laid as regularly as
minute mosaics, and the shades blended as by the hand of an artist,
is still very beautiful. It is the mosaic-work of embroidery, and
bears the same relation to it that the real mosaic does to painting;
but crewel-work has the advantage of being more quickly done, and of
expressing better the individuality of the worker. How quickly, for
instance, with needle and crewels, the very essence of a May morning
may be condensed into the cluster of apple-blossoms from the laden
bough beside the window; but who could extemporize them into a pattern
of set squares on the spur of the moment?


                   ARTICLES TO BE WORKED IN CREWELS.

It is always more satisfactory in a work of this kind to find some
practical illustrations of the suggestions given; and many people like
to know exactly what to make. We shall be more explicit, therefore, in
this little volume than would be possible in one of greater pretension;
and mention articles to be made, as far as our limits will permit.

  [Illustration: Fig. 12.]

Being quickly done and effective at a distance, crewel-embroidery is
very suitable for large pieces of work, such as curtains, portières,
friezes, and so forth. Portières and friezes have a pleasant suggestion
about them of old tapestries; and the latter are really wall-valances.
One would scarcely undertake


                         AN EMBROIDERED FRIEZE

even in crewel-work, for a large apartment; but a moderate-sized room
could be adorned with this wall drapery without an unreasonable outlay
of time. Claret-colored serge, or velveteen, if in harmony with the
other coloring of the room, worked with perpendicular sunflowers or
lilies (Figure 13 is a good pattern for the latter), with a bordering
of gold-color and green at top and bottom, would be very ornamental.
The frieze could be finished with a fringe and hang loose at the lower
edge, which is prettier, or fastened at both sides, paper-fashion.

Colors and figures may be varied indefinitely--for the latter, a
standing army of storks would often be preferred. Dragons, too, are
now so generally regarded as cheerful domestic animals in the way of
adornment, that a procession of them across the walls of an apartment
on an elaborate frieze would, doubtless, add a pleasing element in
the way of decoration. But those who say, Give me beauty, or give me
nothing, in the way of ornament, will prefer designs of flowers and
leaves.


                           A DADO IN CREWELS

may be done in the same way, only that there is more of it; and being
nearer the eye, the design should be more close and elaborate. The
patterns on rich papers will be found suggestive studies; and it may be
remembered that the material for groundwork can be adapted to the purse
of the embroiderer and the other belongings of the apartment, from
velveteen at a dollar a yard to crash-towelling at ten cents.

  [Illustration: Fig. 13.]

The wide material known as jute, and just the least bit in the style
of brown straw-matting, would make a very nice dado worked in crewels,
with a darker brown picked out with gold color; and this same material
hangs in graceful folds for curtains and portières. A brown room could
be made very beautiful in this way; and quiet though it is, there is a
richness about brown that is always suggestive of gilding.


                       A WORSTED-WORKED PORTIÈRE

should be of velveteen, if this harmonizes with the other hangings of
the room, as the material has a particularly rich effect in doorways,
and artistically executed crewel-work suits it admirably. Brown
velveteen with golden sunflowers, or gray with wild roses, or dark blue
with lilies, will be found very handsome.

In working portières, it is necessary to remember that they should be
well covered with embroidery, because the light falls on all their
parts; while an embroidered border suffices for curtains, as the edges
only are likely to catch the sun’s rays.

Other hangings may be made for the open shelves of cabinets and
étagères; these should also harmonize with the general decoration of
the room in color and style, but may be richer and more elaborate than
the larger pieces of embroidery, as they will be subjected to closer
inspection.


                    CURTAINS WITH SPRAYS OF SUMAC.

These were really beautiful. The ground was a pale sage green, in
perfect keeping with the prevailing hue of the room; and the soft
bright shades of the crewels were so delicately blended, that the
effect was a perfect needle-painting of these bright-hued darlings
of the autumn. They were embroidered on the plain band of the
sage--colored material that formed the simple cornice--down the front
of the curtains, and here and there, on the body of the drapery, a
spray seemed to have dropped by accident.


                        A SWEET-PEA TABLE COVER

which emanated from the same hand, was also a thing of beauty. The
table was a round one of moderate size, and the top was tightly
covered with maroon-colored flannel. A straight band of white flannel
between two narrow strips of the maroon formed the border, and on this
white ground the sweet peas were worked in delicately-tinted crewels.
Feather-stitching, of black and bright green, marked the joining of the
white flannel to the maroon on either side. The bordering was fastened
to the table with silver-headed nails, and finished with a worsted
fringe to match the maroon flannel.

This beautiful work was all copied from natural models during hours of
summer leisure on a country piazza, and many beautiful thoughts and
memories were wrought into the bright-hued leaves and petals.


                        SCREENS IN CREWEL-WORK.

We saw a honeysuckle screen lately, that might have been beautiful,
but was not because it had altogether too sombre an air to be viewed
in the light of an ornament. The workmanship was fine, and regularly
done according to the rules of art, but as the ground was black and the
coral honeysuckle was represented in very dull reds and greens, the
effect was not enlivening. A gray ground of a silver tinge would have
been a great improvement, but dark work on a dark ground is a dismal
production.

The woodbine honeysuckle can be reproduced in crewels in very natural
colors, and we have seen some that almost diffused a June odor about
them. They were worked on very fine, soft crash, and intended for a
tidy; but a beautiful fire-screen could be made of them on a blue or
plum-colored ground.

The large folding-screens, so often in strips of coarse Berlin-wool
work, are very handsome in crewels; and climbing vines of all kinds
are particularly suited to them. A crimson ground with water-lilies
in one corner, and the wild morning-glory, with its nearly white
blossoms (that grows in damp places and therefore harmonizes with the
water-lily) trailing its beautiful length across the largest space,
while the inevitable heron, balanced, of course, on one foot, stands
sentinel among his reeds and rushes, where classic cat-tails bristle
like spears, is _vis-à-vis_ to the water-lilies on the other side,
would be found bright in coloring and handsome in effect.

But a screen that looks as if some one had come in and thrown a handful
of daisies over it may be quite as pretty, and is certainly less work.


                            CARRIAGE WRAPS

of fine crash, ornamented with crewel-work, are handsome and
serviceable for warm weather. A bordering of strawberries and leaves
near the edge, or one of periwinkle with its delicate blue flowers,
would be very pretty; and this bordering, with a large monogram in the
centre, would sufficiently ornament the article.

But endless are the uses to which this simple and charming style of
embroidery may be put; and the suggestions given maybe indefinitely
multiplied and rearranged in various forms.




                              CHAPTER II.

                       _SIMPLE IDEAS OF COLOR._


Before proceeding to silk embroidery, it may be well to consider
some simple rules of color, as the proper arrangement of color is of
far greater importance than the regular placing of stitches, and no
embroidery can be artistic without it.

An old-fashioned poet gives some good advice on this subject:

    “Choose such judicious force of shade and light,
    As suits the theme and satisfies the sight;
    Weigh part with part, and with prophetic eye
    The future power of all thy tints descry.”

Truth in rhyme was never better brought out than in the following lines:

    “Know first that light displays and shade destroys
    Refulgent Nature’s variegated dyes;
    Thus bodies near the light distinctly shine
    With rays direct, and as it fades decline.”

An eye for color is of the same nature as an ear for music--one knows
intuitively what is right; but this is by no means a very common gift;
and there are some rules to be observed, independently of the guidance
of taste, that are within the reach of all.

Thus scarlet and yellow were never intended for close companions; brown
or lilac invariably quarrel with a scarlet ground; blue and green
together, or yellow and green, are like an unpleasant taste in the
mouth; blue is perfectly amiable with _écru_ (the French name for
all the drabs and fawns); a cold green blue may be successfully paired
with lilac; drabs with a rich brown tone in them take kindly to yellow;
pink and gray are as harmonious as love-birds; scarlet affably locks
arms with slate-green and red-brown; green with maize, and also with
some shades of salmon; blue and maize were made for each other; lilac
and green, blue and claret, are also devoted couples.

One who knows says that black should never be used next a high light;
one-eighth of every object has a high light upon it, one-eighth is
darkest shadow, and six parts light, or half-tint. No objects in nature
are _positively_ blue, red, or yellow, owing to two causes: one,
that most objects reflect the sky; the other, that the atmosphere
between the eyes of the observer and the light causes the brightness
of the tints to be deadened. So that care must be taken to avoid the
immediate contact of bright colors with each other when an attempt is
made to imitate nature.

Shaded embroidery should be guided by the same rules that apply to
water-color painting, except that greater depth and brilliancy, and
consequently less delicacy, are the results in view. It requires much
discrimination to give a natural hue to leaves, and, at the same time,
to produce such contrasts as will give the proper relief. Portions of
each should be much lighter than others; and in the grouping, a mass
should be thrown into shadow under the bright leaves--the shadow being
composed of dark green mixed with neutral tint.

Much may be learned in the way of color by study and observation; but
to get just the right shades of even harmonious colors requires care
and skill. Thus simple red may be used with pure green; but scarlet,
which is red tinged with yellow, must have a blue green; crimson, which
is red tinged with blue, a yellow green. All colors are darker on a
light ground and lighter on a dark ground, so that tints should be
selected according to the groundwork.

Position, too, must be considered; a piece of embroidery that is
intended for a dark corner should have brighter colors and stronger
contrasts than one which is to be placed in a full light. On a white
ground very delicate tints are most suitable, while the broken grays of
crash will harmonize livid colors.

Masses of blue should be avoided, as blue is a cold color; and white
requires skilful management, as it should be shaded off delicately by
means of tints that have a large portion of white in their composition.
But all flowers of the same kind should not be worked in the same
shades of color; three white flowers, for instance, of the same species
and in one cluster, requiring eight shades of silk or worsted to
embroider them properly, should have these shades differently arranged.
For one, a greater portion of the five lightest tints would be used;
for the next, the middle shades, perhaps; in the third, the darkest
would be most prominent; all this would depend on the position of the
flowers and the skill of the embroiderer.

Many different colors in one piece of work spoil the effect, except
in particular cases; some one prevailing color should be adopted, and
the rest chosen with reference to it. Some of the most beautifully
colored work is done in one key of color: one color being taken as the
key-note, and those shades only are used that form its component parts,
or that have the original color in their composition. On gold-colored
satin, for instance, nothing looks so well as a design colored in
shades of russet and golden browns, introducing every now and then a
lighter or darker shade of the pure ground color.

In taking green for the ground color, if a yellow green, then the
highest note should be yellow; and it should be carried down through
all the brown, warm, and russet greens, which owe all their warmth to
yellow. If the ground is a blue green, colder greens must be used, of
a sage rather than a russet tint, while the key-note is struck with a
pure blue. Under this restraint, the effect, though subdued, is very
agreeable.

If a pure blue is placed near a pure yellow, the effect is glaring; but
when the blue is slightly toned with yellow and the yellow with blue,
there is quite a different result. A strong blue and a bright red,
with a yellow gleam in it, stare each other out of countenance; but a
subdued russet-green as a neighbor makes them harmonious.

Purples, and all shades inclining to blue, are difficult to dispose
satisfactorily--those with the least blue in them are preferable.
Russet is one part blue, one part yellow, and two parts red; olive, one
part blue, two parts yellow, and one part red. It is more pleasing than
slate, which has two parts blue, one part yellow, and one red.

When the ground is a _red_ plum or maroon, pure red pinks, with no
shade of blue in them, will be much more harmonious than blue; but if
the ground is a _blue_ plum, pale blue will be better than pink. The
shading of flowers is always in different shades of the same color; and
this method applied to embroidery produces the most charming results.
A pattern worked on a dark ground in a lighter shade of the same color
is always pleasing; and in a small room especially a great variety of
colors should be avoided. A crimson room should have chair or table
cover, or tidy, in _pale_ crimson mingled with a little pink of the
same tone.

Thus after a pretty conceit, one room might be called the rose-room,
being furnished with the crimson heart of that beautiful flower running
through the shades of pink suggestively in the lighter portions, and
“broidered over” with roses and buds where ornament is desirable;
another might be the sunflower-room, with its warm golden browns and
gleams of yellow, and the honest full-moon face of that plebeian
blossom astonished at being “done” in silks and crewels, and set up to
be looked at; while the morning-glory-room, in grays and blues, should
imprison all the sunshine to light up its cold colors, and afford a
congenial resting-place for its pictured blossoms.




                             CHAPTER III.

                          _SILK EMBROIDERY._


This beautiful work has been practised from the earliest times; and
the ancient Egyptians particularly excelled in it. Much of this was
done on linen--to which we shall refer afterward. The very sails of
their galleys were embroidered; and their “divers colors of needlework
on both sides” seems to mean that it was done so that the work was
the same on the wrong side as on the right--a method of working that
requires an immense amount of skill and patience, and which is now
found only among those eminently painstaking races, the Chinese,
Japanese, and Hindoos.

Silk embroidery is done on almost any material except cotton and
coarse linen; but silk and velvet seem the most suitable fabrics for
groundwork. If well done, it is handsome on anything; and as it is an
expensive kind of needlework, great care should be taken in doing it.
As a general thing it requires framing, and especially when floss-silk
is used. Frames are of various kinds; the best for large pieces of work
being the standing frame (see Figure 14), which has adjustable screws,
and can be lowered or heightened at pleasure.

The hand or lap frame (Figure 15) is more convenient in embroidering
smaller articles.

In putting work into the frame, a strip of strong tape or linen should
be stitched along the woof ends of the material--which must then be
firmly sewed with strong double thread to the webbing on the frame.
It should be made as tight and firm as possible; the strain being
increased gradually and cautiously until the tension appears to be
sufficient. The woof ends should be braced to the side pieces with
fine twine. A packing-needle threaded with twine must be drawn through
the upper right-hand corner of the tape or linen, and the end securely
tied. The twine must be sewn over the lath till the lower corner is
reached, knotted securely, and cut off; the other side must then be
done in the same manner.

When the material is larger than the frame, it may be sewed on to
the bars and rolled round one of them, with tissue paper and wadding
between to prevent the stuff from creasing; and when the part in the
frame is finished, it is rolled round the opposite bar, and so on,
until the whole is completed. The centre ring, marked 1, is a hand
frame used for small pieces of embroidery.

  [Illustration: Fig. 14.]

In working with a frame it is desirable to use both hands--one to
put the needle through from the outside, and the other to bring it
up again from beneath. This will be slow work at first; but practice
and patience will enable one to do it quite dextrously, and the great
convenience of working in this way will fully repay the trouble of
learning it. Two thimbles will be necessary, one for each hand.

  [Illustration: Fig. 15.]


                    THE STITCH FOR SILK EMBROIDERY

is the same as for crewel-work, except that it is shorter. Other
stitches are often introduced, which will be noticed in their place;
but the proper stitch for shaded embroidery, the most attractive of
this fascinating work, is to draw the needle upward from the right and
finish by putting it down to the left. The right hand should always be
above the frame, and the left beneath--making the stitches as long as
the work will admit of their being, as the brilliancy of the silk is
destroyed by crowded and short stitches.

Silk embroidery is both dainty and effective; and as the materials are
expensive, great care should be used in doing the work, that it may
not only give satisfaction at first, but prove sufficiently durable to
repay the outlay of time and money. It is best to avoid touching the
silk by drawing it through the fingers while working.

Anything like a regular embroidery stitch is to be avoided, except in
those portions of the work where it is necessary; as the most charming
effects are usually produced where there seems to have been the
greatest indifference to mechanical regularity.

When the work has been properly arranged in the frame, the first step
in artistic embroidery is to observe the position of the flowers and
leaves--taking it for granted that the outlines have been properly
traced--and if the model is of natural blossoms, so much the better. It
is particularly advisable, before beginning the embroidery, to study
the lights and shades; the edges and rounder parts, both of the leaves
and petals of flowers, as they embrace more surface, naturally receive
the light first and are worked with the palest tints.

In a group of flowers (see Figure 16) it is recommended to begin with
the smaller parts, such as the stems, buds, and leaves; and great care
should be taken to have every portion clearly outlined--although a
visible outline should be avoided in filled-in work. Again, the careful
blending of shades mentioned in crewel-work must be enforced--the
stitches being so nicely placed to produce the right effect, that their
beginning and ending are quite lost.


                 GROUP OF FLOWERS FOR SILK EMBROIDERY.

The stems of slender flowers should always be done in stalk-stitch,
as they can be made more neatly and with less trouble than in
satin-stitch. The centres are worked in French knot stitch. This is a
pretty pattern for a variety of small articles: glove-box, letter-box,
pincushion, case, etc. Or it may be enlarged for a footstool,
sofa-cushion, or chair-seat.

In working leaves, one half should be done first; and great care taken
to follow the direction of the fibres. Figure 17 shows the direction
the lines would take if we were shading the leaf in drawing. In working
a pansy the stitches should take the direction of the lines in Figure
18; and not _cross_ the petals, as in Figure 19. Figure 20 shows
the proper filling up of a thick stalk.

For narrow leaves, where one stitch will reach from the middle to the
edge, it is best to pass the thread from the edge underneath to the
middle--as this makes each stitch begin in the middle, and the under
side is nearly the same as the upper. A broad leaf or petal requires
more than one stitch between the middle and the edge; and for these,
the needle may be brought up again wherever the next stitch seems
to be wanted. But two together should not begin nor end on the same
line--except on the outside edge to preserve the outline, or in showing
the middle rib.

  [Illustration: Fig. 16.]

Unless the embroidery is very large and bold, the line formed by the
meeting of the stitches down the middle of a leaf, as in Figure 21,
will sufficiently mark the mid-rib. If in the real leaf it is very
deep and plainly defined, a very narrow space between the two lines,
tapering till the threads meet again near the point, will generally be
sufficient. See Figure 22. Lateral veins need not usually be indicated
at all; but if they are very marked, and of a different color from the
leaf itself, they may be laid on by a cord or a piece of thick silk
twist--fastening it down with small stitches in silk of the same color.
This must only be done in large and rather coarse work.

Another important point is the distinct bringing out of the different
characters of the stalks. The three examples given (Figures 23, 24
and 25) will show how the different joinings vary, and that care must
be taken to make these distinctions, as well as to finish them off
properly. It has been well said that the difference between mechanical
and artistic embroidery consists in showing judgment and finish in all
these small matters.

Other stitches used in silk embroidery, besides the one
known distinctively as embroidery-stitch, are satin-stitch,
French-knot-stitch, stalk-stitch, point-russe, herring-bone or
feather-stitch, ladder-stitch, chain-stitch, etc.

Satin-stitch is used a great deal in white embroidery, and many persons
are familiar with it who have never attempted to work in colors. It is
also called

  [Illustration: Fig. 17.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 18.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 19.]


                      FRENCH, OR FLAT EMBROIDERY.

The stitches lie smoothly in a diagonal direction close to each
other--little or no attention to light or shade being necessary. It may
be done very effectively in one color, and is then often enriched by
gold or silver cord around the edges.

It looks best worked with Mitorse silk--which is also the most durable,
as it does not fray in the wear nor so quickly lose its glossy
appearance as when done with floss or Dacca silk. This work is suitable
for articles of furniture and dress, as well as for small ornamental
work. Figure 26 is a good illustration of flat embroidery in a pretty
border pattern, which may be edged with gold thread or with silk of
another color.


                     _BORDER IN FLAT EMBROIDERY._


                           THE FRENCH KNOT.

This is very useful for the centres of such flowers as the daisy and
sunflower, and for filling up leaves in a showy manner. It is made by
bringing the thread through to the front of the work, and holding it
in the left hand, four or five inches from the work--the needle being
in the right hand; the thread is twisted two or three times around the
needle as close to the work as possible; then the point is turned down
into the material nearly, but not exactly, where the thread came up;
the needle is pulled through to the other side, and the thread drawn
carefully till the knot is firm. The thread must be drawn round the
needle close up to the work before the needle is pulled quite through,
lest the knot should hang loose and spoil the effect.

  [Illustration: Fig. 20.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 21.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 22.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 23.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 24.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 25.]


                             STALK-STITCH

Is very easily and quickly done. In veining leaves and working small
stems, it is more manageable than any other stitch; and it is formed
by making a straight stitch rather more than a sixteenth of an inch in
length--then for the next stitch, putting the needle about half-way
back into the first one and working it the same length. This is so
quickly done, that there is danger of doing it carelessly; but if
properly worked, it resembles a finely-twisted cord, and gives a very
neat finish to the embroidery.

  [Illustration: Fig. 26.]


                             POINT-RUSSE.

This is a stitch frequently mentioned in new embroidery; but the
_modus operandi_ does not seem to be so well known as that of many
others. Possibly because of its very simplicity--for Point-Russe is
merely a succession of back-stitches neatly and regularly done. It is
used for many small articles; and is a useful adjunct in more artistic
work.

  [Illustration: Fig. 27.]

The illustration in Figure 27 shows the effect, and the uses to which
it can be put. Every line of the design must be carefully followed
in working it; and very pretty borderings and ornamental figures in
long stitches are often made with it. Medallions are very pretty in
Point-Russe; and we give one in Figure 28 that is worked entirely in
this stitch, and made very effective in scarlet and gold. This is
intended for a purse, and is worked on light brown leather or kid.

Figure 30 is also very pretty, and may be worked in one or more colors.

Figure 31 is a border pattern that is very effective. The diamonds are
outlined in black and white, and the leaflets within are of green silk.
The stars are outlined in black and blue, the crossings are red, and
the dots yellow. The figure between the stars is black and yellow.

  [Illustration: Fig. 28.--MEDALLION IN POINT RUSSE.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 29.--MEDALLION IN POINT RUSSE.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 30.--BORDER IN POINT RUSSE.]


                   HERRING-BONE, OR FEATHER STITCH.

This is an old-fashioned embroidery stitch revived, which is always
effective.

In ancient times, fine pieces of linen were embroidered all over with
flower designs in outline, with here and there a portion filled in, and
the stems worked in a close herring-bone stitch to give them strength
and substance. Sometimes the whole design would be worked in this
stitch, done so closely as to have the appearance of braid.

Some of this filled-in work was done in a peculiar manner from side
to side. An oval leaf to be filled would be begun at the base with a
few satin stitches, then when a point was reached where it was wide
enough, instead of passing the thread all the way underneath to the
opposite side, about one-third of the width of the leaf is taken up in
the needle, and the next stitch is done in the same way on the opposite
side of the leaf--working from side to side until the leaf becomes too
narrow again, when it is finished with a few satin stitches.

This stitch throws all the silk to the top; and the crossing of
the threads in the middle of the leaf has a very rich and soft
effect--giving also the appearance of a vein.

Feather-stitch seems too well known to need description; and there is a
great variety of it, from the simplest “herring-bone,” to the prettiest
feather-like vine; and it has the advantage of being very easily and
quickly done.

It is merely button-hole stitch, in alternate loops and long stitches,
sewed backwards. A design may be drawn first, if needed, to make the
work regular; but with one straight pencil line as a guide, if the eye
is not very correct, almost any one who can use a needle will be able
to do feather-stitch.

This stitch is very much used in appliqué work; and it makes pretty
dividing lines in ornamenting large articles.

We lately saw a table-cover worked entirely in feather-stitch, that
had quite an Oriental appearance. The ground was black cloth; and all
colors of worsted braid, of different widths, were sewed on with this
stitch--being placed around an oblong piece in the centre, and in
strips across to the edge for the border.


                             CHAIN-STITCH.

Another well-known and simple embroidery-stitch; and more beautiful
effects may be produced with it than are known to the philosophy of the
ordinary worker.

Chain-stitch is sometimes used for filled-in embroidery; the lines of
the chain being laid very close together, and following the form of the
leaf or flower until the space is filled. It should always be commenced
on the outside, and worked to the centre.

  [Illustration: Fig. 31.--BORDER FOR FURNITURE COVERS,
  PORTIÈRES, ETC.--CHAIN STITCH EMBROIDERY.]

Some very rich kinds of Algerian and Eastern work, often embroidered
entirely with gold thread, and generally with a mixture of this with
silk, are done altogether in chain-stitch. It is often found, too,
in ancient crewel-work; and is made by holding the thread firmly over
the point of the needle, while it is drawn out, so as to form a loop.
The needle is put back again into the centre of this loop; and the
thread again passed over the point to form a second one--and so on, the
succession of loops forming the chain.

The objection to this stitch is that it has a mechanical effect,
and can be exactly imitated with the sewing-machine. The long
embroidery-stitch is much more elastic and natural-looking, and able
to accommodate itself better to varying forms. Chain-stitch is useful,
however, for outline-work, and wherever a stronger line is required
than that made by the long stitch.

Curtains, table-covers, portières, etc., are handsomely embroidered in
chain-stitch; and Figure 31 gives a very rich bordering pattern for
this purpose. Turkish embroidery is nearly always done in chain-stitch;
and covers for small tables, with a light blue or scarlet ground,
worked all over in chain-stitch arabesques with bright silks, make a
pretty “bit of color” for a shaded corner.

Another effective way of working a table-cover in chain-stitch is to
get black, red, and white cloth or flannel; the black for the centre,
the red next to the black, and the white for the border--and joining
them by lapping the edge of one a very little way over the other,
proceed to chain-stitch the whole with various colored silks.

The effect is very handsome; and the bordering may differ from the
other part by being done in loose overcast stitch over straight pieces
of zephyr, and finished with little tassels of the bright silks.

  [Illustration: Fig. 32.--ORIENTAL BORDERING.]

Figure 32 is a very pretty Oriental-looking pattern suitable for a
bordering, or it can be used in other ways. The figures placed together
are worked in chain-stitch with silk of two contrasting colors--two
shades being used in each figure. The outer row of the first is
dark-red, and the inner one bright-red. The second figure is of two
shades of green; the third of two shades of blue; and the fourth of
two shades of yellow. The knotted stitch in the centre of the ovals is
violet. The dots outside the ovals are worked in satin-stitch, and are
alternately red, yellow, violet, and blue. The stems are of black silk
in point-russe stitches. The four ovals are worked in chain-stitch with
silk of two shades of brown.


                            LADDER-STITCH.

This is sometimes quite effective in ornamental embroidery. Figures 33
and 34 give two different patterns. The material is partly cut away
in these illustrations, and in some kinds of work this is a great
improvement. Ladder-stitch makes very pretty border lines--the outer
edges being done in overcast, and the cross-stitches in point-russe.

  [Illustration: Fig. 33.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 34.]

Exquisite pieces of work have been wrought in silk embroidery from time
immemorial; and there is scarcely a material to which it may not be
applied. A fragment of old embroidery, worked more than a century ago,
is represented as a good subject for study in the way of coloring.

This fragment is about eight inches deep, intended for bordering, and
is worked on white satin. The material is ravelled out in a fringe at
the bottom; then comes a line about an eighth of an inch wide in dark
red floss--then a row of disks shaded in a dark and a light green;
above these and touching one another are two broader lines of red,
one the same color as the first, the other paler; then there is a
representation of moss worked in chenille of three shades of green--and
from this mossy ground spring roses, carnations, forget-me-nots, and
leafy sprays. This part is treated quite decoratively; and no attempt
is made to preserve the natural proportions of the flowers in relation
to each other, or to their stems and leaves.

In the sprays, one or two leaves are of peach-blossom color. Above
this row of flowers are branches in festoons; of which the stems
are olive-brown, the leaves shaded, or rather, party-colored, with
peach-blossom inclining to pink, olive-brown, and two or three shades
of green. It will be seen that nature is no more strictly adhered to in
color than in form.

Over these branches is a pattern in two shades of peach-blossom,
mingled with a very little blue. Except the moss, the embroidery is all
done in floss silk split very fine. Seen by artificial light, this
beautiful piece of work has the brilliancy of cut and polished gems;
while the general effect of color is extremely rich and sweet, and
would harmonize with almost any surroundings.

A beautiful way of treating the ground color, particularly if it be
one that seems to attract too much attention to itself, is by working
a small diaper pattern all over it in a darker shade of the same
color--this gives depth and richness to the whole. A network of dead
gold may be imitated in silk of the right shade.

Dark, brownish greens, deep, dull blues, and rich maroons, make good
grounds; but black is best for a brilliant effect. The ground must be
decidedly dark, or decidedly light--no half-way shades being allowable,
as it is far more important for the colors of the work to contrast
strongly with the ground than with each other.


                          CHINESE EMBROIDERY.

The French and Chinese excel in silk embroidery; and the painstaking
double work done in China is well known. The great care with which the
Chinese embroider preserves their materials bright and shining. These
materials are floss and twisted silks--also the bark of a tree spun
into a fine thread. Flat lines of gold also glitter among the silks,
and are used as stems and connecting links.

The drawing of these embroideries is sometimes as uncouth as that
of their paintings; but in some of their flowers (probably copied
from nature) they are often even botanically correct. The iris, for
instance, which frequently appears in their designs, is very true to
nature; and so is the time-honored stork. The iris, Figure 35, is a
good flower for embroidery; and may be made as effective in borders as
the sunflower.

The modern art of embroidery in China is thus graphically described by
a traveller:

“For 22 cash, or _tseen_, I purchased an elegant book filled with
choice subjects of the graphic art as patterns for the use of the young
needlewoman. She is assumed to be poor, and hence the little manual
is printed at about one penny of our money. It has a cover of a fair
yellow, studded with spangles of gold; and contains between two and
three hundred figures culled from the various stores of nature and art.

“In fact, the objects are so well-selected and so numerous, that they
might serve as illustrations to a small encyclopædia. One acquainted
with Chinese literature and natural history might deliver several
lectures with this book before him. The meadow, the grove, the brook,
the antiquary’s museum, and the pages of mythology, with the adornments
of the house and garden, are all laid under contribution.

  [Illustration: Fig. 35.]

“The book is said to be for the use of the person who belongs to the
_green window_--which is an epithet for the dwelling of a poor
woman; while the _red gallery_ denotes the residence of a rich
female. The industrious poor plies her task near the green lattice,
which is made of earthenware and lets in both the light and the breath
of heaven; while the rich dame leans upon the vermeil-tinted balusters
of the gaudy veranda, and gazes carelessly at the sunbeams as they
sparkle among the flowers, or waves the soft breeze which agitates the
green roof of the Indian fig-tree.

“The title-page presents us with a venerable man in the weeds of
office, holding in his hand a scroll with this motto: ‘Heaven’s
Magistrate confers wealth.’ Over his head are bats disporting among the
clouds; the emblems, I suppose, of wakefulness--for these animals are
on the alert while men sleep.

“I once saw two girls at this work in the village of Mongha. They were
seated upon a low stool, and extended their legs across another of
twice the height of their seat. In this way, a support was provided for
the frame on which the piece to be embroidered was spread forth. Their
faces wore a sickly hue; which was owing, perhaps, to close confinement
and the unnatural position in which they were obliged to sit.

“The finest specimens of embroidery are, so far as my observation goes,
done by men, who stand while at work--a practice which these damsels
could not imitate, as their feet were small. They were poor, but too
genteel, in their parents’ idea, to do the drudgery of the humble
housewife; and so their feet were bandaged and kept from growing beyond
the limits of gentility. Their looks were not likely soon to attract
a lover; and hence they were compelled to tease the sampler from the
glistening dawn till dewy eve.”

Chinese embroidery is particularly rich and effective for screens,
with its clear outlines, its gorgeous flowers, and showy birds and
butterflies. It bears the closest scrutiny--each stitch, even the hair
lines, seems to be placed just in the right spot; and appliqué is often
brought in so successfully, that it looks as if woven in the material.
The vivid clusters of crêpe flowers are beautiful; and the judicious
introduction of gold thread here and there gives a marvellous richness
to the whole work.

Very fine floss-silk is the most common material used, and the
embroidery is done in long irregular stitches. Silk and satin are
generally used for the foundation; but whether the color is vivid blue,
bright scarlet, or pale gold, the effect seems to be equally good.

The apparent carelessness of this work is one of its great attractions;
the bold, free outlines seem easy of imitation; and a study of the
cheap Chinese and Japanese fans will be found very suggestive in the
way of design and coloring. A simple design on one of these fans has an
intensely blue sky at the upper edge--a white moon in its first quarter
at the upper right-hand corner--while at the left-hand lower one, a
small bunch of intensely pink flowers send a warm glow over the whole.
The effect is extremely pretty.

_Japanese embroidery_, although similar in style and design, seems
finer and more dainty than the Chinese; and yet it is said that their
best specimens of work are kept for home decoration. The finest of
these are the cloths used as covers for the presents given by persons
paying visits of ceremony; these cloths are not given with the presents
they cover, but are family heirlooms. Really good Japanese work is said
to be rarely seen elsewhere.

The pieces of embroidery which are done purposely for a foreign market
are often very handsome; but they do not compare with those which are
executed for their own critical eyes. White birds, usually storks, on
a black satin ground, from which they stand out so clearly that they
seem in the very act of flying, are the most common subject. Some rare
pieces are occasionally seen in which the work is exquisite; in one,
the ground will be a deep, soft blue satin, like the sky of a summer
night; while the leading colors of the embroidery are gold, pale blue,
and white.

In another piece, the ground is of scarlet moreen, of a sufficiently
bright yellow scarlet to harmonize with the gold that forms the
principal color in the embroidery. The subject is a long flight of
storks; not less than eighty of them are flying upwards in a zigzag
line--the angles of which are very carefully studied from the bottom to
the top of the picture.

Most of these storks are embroidered in white silk, the direction
of the stitches giving much of their form; they are pricked out
with black, and there is a little pale pink or pale yellow-green
in their beaks and legs. About a quarter of them are worked all in
gold--representing the birds in shadow, or seen against the light;
and these have little or no detail. Each bird is distinct, separately
drawn, and having his own expression, mode of flight, and position in
the line.

The rest of the space is filled by horizontal bars of gold of varying
widths, and groups of fan-stitches also in gold; these seem to indicate
the flat sunset clouds and the tops of the distant trees passed over by
the storks in their flight.

Both in Japanese and Chinese work, the subjects are sometimes partly
painted and partly embroidered; and the two are so happily blended,
that it is difficult, at a little distance, to see where one kind of
work stops and the other begins.

In imitating this kind of embroidery for small articles, unmeaning
kinds of lines in the way of reeds and grasses, as in Figure 36, have a
particularly characteristic look. Small fans may also be introduced to
advantage; and Figure 37 would admit of a small bird and bough at the
top on a gold-colored ground, with brown lines for sticks; while Figure
38 might have a top of pink floss or embroidery silk with black lines
at the bottom. These fans may be very much varied, and can be made
extremely ornamental. Figure 39 is a still different shape.

  [Illustration: Fig. 36.]

A full-sized fan with small ones embroidered over it would be a pretty
conceit; or to introduce them in connection with flowers, butterflies,
and other emblems of summer.

It must be borne in mind that this kind of work is never over-loaded--a
few grasses, a butterfly, and a flower, often sufficing for a
good-sized object.

  [Illustration: Fig. 37.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 38.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 39.]




                              CHAPTER IV.

                 _DESIGNING AND TRANSFERRING DESIGNS._


This is a most important part of the work, and one that is done in
various ways. Patterns can always be stamped at the various fancy-work
stores, or bought all ready for working; but the embroiderer, with
original ideas and some turn for drawing, prefers to do this herself.

Worsted patterns may often be used for outlines, as they are generally
correct in this respect, and the leaves particularly are well drawn.
But those who are able to take their models from nature will have
less stiffness in their work; and a little practice in this way will
sometimes develop powers hitherto undreamed of. Large single flowers of
all kinds are easiest to begin with; and a lily, or a wild rose, for
instance, will be found quite easy to manage.

A pencil-drawing or a water-color painting can often be accommodated
to embroidery; and a too spreading branch or cluster may be made more
compact by a little management. A spray of apple-blossoms, which is
a particularly desirable model, will frequently over-step the bounds
assigned to it in one way, and not sufficiently fill them up in
another. The best way to manage is to take a piece of paper the size of
the article to be embroidered, and divide it by lines into four equal
parts. The outline of the branch can then be sketched on it; and the
result will probably be that two of the squares are filled, one barely
touched with a leaf, and the other quite empty. More blossoms, leaves,
or twigs, can be added on one side and taken away on the other; if the
whole ground is not sufficiently covered, a butterfly, or a bird, may
be introduced to furnish a bare corner.

The suitableness of any design for the purpose to which it is to be
applied depends upon whether its position is to be a horizontal or an
upright one.

Borders of upright sprigs, intended for a horizontal position, single
or grouped, require a line or two below, which serves to keep them
together; without this support they look disjointed, and each sprig
is too independent of the others. They need not touch the line--but
one near at hand seems to keep them from falling into space. When the
sprigs are large a series of lines should he used; and for this purpose
very pretty designs are often found in Oriental china.

  [Illustration: Fig. 40.]

The combination in Figure 40 is simple enough in detail, but
very effective to edge a bordering. It is done in chain-stitch,
ladder-stitch, and point russe.

Small borders are often improved by a mere line on each side; and
the same effect is produced by sewing the bordering on material of a
different shade.

Birds and butterflies are naturally associated with flowers; they
give an air of life, and often serve to balance the inequalities of
a design. Butterflies are particularly appropriate from their great
variety both of size and coloring; and being worked like other artistic
embroidery, without any elaboration of detail, they are very easily
done.

Vases, which frequently occur in the fashionable designs, should either
be represented by some material laid on, or worked in lines only--the
outline with the pattern on it, as it would appear in a pencil drawing
without shading.

A beautiful piece of silk embroidery was worked on a ground of
bronze-green satin. There were sprays of convolvulus springing from a
vase of gray satin; the flowers were white, edged with pure blue--not
the purplish blue of the natural flower, for that would not have
harmonized so well--and yet there was nothing unnatural in the effect
of the color. The leaves were of yellow and gray greens, and the stalks
a brownish green.

Then, to give warmth and life, some sulphur butterflies hovered over
the garlands. Thus, though in the coloring of the design the component
parts only of the bronze-green ground were used, the effect was perfect.


                         TRANSFERRING DESIGNS.

Designs are traced in various ways, according to the nature and color
of the material to be embroidered.

For a light-colored ground, the best method is to trace the pattern on
tissue or other thin paper, lay the material flat upon a table, and
fix the place of the pattern upon it very exactly. Then put a piece of
carbonized blue or black paper, face downward, on the material, between
it and the paper pattern; and with a stiletto, or other hard-pointed
but not too sharp instrument (a metallic pencil or a knitting-needle
will often answer the purpose), trace over all the lines of the design,
taking care to keep the paper pattern from slipping, and that the
fingers do not press too heavily on the transferring-paper, or more
color will come off than is desirable.

An _old_ sheet of paper is more satisfactory than a new one; and
it is advisable to rub the latter gently with a cloth before using it,
to remove any unfixed coloring.

Pouncing is a more complicated process than tracing; but for
dark-colored materials it is safer.

The design must first be drawn on thick paper, and then pricked along
the lines with a pin. The paper should then be held up to the light to
see that the holes are clear, and close enough together to make the
pattern plain.

When the pattern is fixed, face upward, on the material, dust it over
with starch tied up in thin muslin so that the fine powder goes through
the holes. Flour will answer the purpose, and may be best applied about
the pattern with a soft brush.

The paper must then be taken up very carefully, lifting it straight
upward off the material so that it does not blur the little dots of
white, which ought to be in regular order underneath--marking out the
design. The lines of the pattern should be traced at once, as indicated
by the dots, with the original design before the eye, with white
tracing paint.

There is also a _blue_ powder for delicate light materials, that
might be injured by the carbonized paper.

Another method, when the nature of the design will permit it, is to cut
out the pattern in paper, place it on the material, and trace round the
edges with chalk. Then remove the paper, and go over the chalk outline
with Chinese white--renewing it where it is defective.

The richer the fabric, the more care, of course, is needed in
transferring the design; and transparent materials should have the
pattern basted underneath. Embroidery in floss is often done on black
net--for which the design should be managed in this way.




                              CHAPTER V.

                    _ARTICLES IN SILK EMBROIDERY._


There is scarcely an article for which ornament of this kind is used
that may not be decorated with silk embroidery, and it is suitable for
all materials. Curtains, portières, and table-covers are very handsome
done in outline with silk of the same color, but a lighter shade
than the ground; and whole sets of furniture have been undertaken by
ambitious workers.


                     A SCREEN OF PEACOCK FEATHERS.

This was embroidered on a foundation of pale peach-blossom silk with
split floss, and made up with a plain ebony frame, ornamented here and
there with a little dead gold.

It was an exquisite piece of work, both in design and execution; and so
wonderfully did the brilliant silks reflect the changeful hues of the
bronze-greens and browns, that it was difficult to convince visitors
that real feathers were not fastened on. The only pattern used by the
embroiderer was one tail-feather dropped by a majestic fowl almost at
her feet; and while walking with the trophy in her hand, the design of
the screen came to her and was forthwith executed.

It was a good-sized fire-place screen; and as the room was furnished in
dark-blue, it showed to great advantage.


                        A PRETTY BANNER-SCREEN.

This was fastened to the end of the mantel; and the crimson satin
foundation was covered with a small diaper pattern in maroon silk.
Thick clusters of small daisies without leaves were worked as a
bordering in embroidery-stitch; the centres in knot-stitch. In
the middle of the screen was a beautifully-designed monogram in
gold-colored silk.


                         ANOTHER BANNER-SCREEN

was attached to a gilt stand. This stood on a table and was intended
to shade the eyes from a lamp or candle. The ground was of pale green
silk, and it was beautifully embroidered with ivy-leaves of darker
shades. In the centre, there was an antique lamp done in gold thread;
and the banner was finished with a chenille fringe of green and white.
It was lined with white silk.


                        EMBROIDERED TABLE-TOP.

Figure 41 may be used for a variety of purposes. It makes a very pretty
top for a small table; and is worked in stalk-stitch, chain-stitch,
point russe, and knotted stitch, with the flowers in pink,
claret-color, and yellow, on a pale-blue ground. The sprays and leaves
are in shades of olive-green.

The table, which looks best with a pedestal of ebony, or ebonized wood,
has a border-fringe of Macramé lace.

  [Illustration: Fig. 41.]


                        WINDOW-CURTAIN BORDER.

A very handsome bordering for window-curtains was lately worked
by an artistic needlewoman; figures of dragons in gold-colored
embroidery-silk on a ground of maroon rep. The bordering was intended
for a soft gray material; and the straight cornice-band was embroidered
in the same device.


                         EMBROIDERED DRESSES.

Silk embroidery is very ornamental for dresses--although for this
purpose usually done only in one color. Ordinarily, it would be a
formidable piece of work to do it in the style of smaller articles; but
ingenuity and rapid execution sometimes go hand in hand. The heroine
of a story is represented as threading her needle with one length of
crimson silk, and with this scanty material, bringing out a crimson
rose on a silk handkerchief almost as quickly as a magician could do
it. A few deft stitches--and there it was. It was taken to pieces quite
as easily, and no trace of it remained.

But embroidery does not usually go on in this fashion; it is careful
work; and she who takes the greatest pains, as a general thing meets
with the best success.

Embroidered robes for full dress are decidedly the fashion now; and one
of black silk, or lace, embroidered with carnations, is beautiful for
a brunette--while the delicate blonde may wreathe herself with blue
convolvulus, or deeply-pink wild roses, on a white or cream-colored
ground. Every one has her favorite flower; and to wear it embroidered
on an evening dress is a graceful way of proclaiming it.


                                PANELS.

Painted panels and tiles have become almost a mania; but the needle of
the embroideress can produce quite as charming results. Painting is
more quickly done; but every one cannot paint, while many who cannot do
this can embroider exquisitely.

To keep the embroidered panel or tile fresh and bright, it should
be protected by glass; and properly treated, it will be quite as
satisfactory as painting.

The two panels for the doors of a small hanging-cabinet are very
pretty with a ground of cloth-of-gold, gold-colored satin, or silk--a
spray of wistaria worked on one--wild roses on the other. Violets and
anemones are pretty together; and on anything with four panels may be
represented the flowers or birds of the four seasons.

Silhouettes in black silk may be worked on all colored grounds for
tiles; and ingenuity can accomplish wonders in this way. The whole
procession of flowers, from the first snow-drop, or hepatica, of early
spring, to the holly and berries of Christmas, may be followed up
on tiles; the fans and umbrellas of all nations; and various other
suggestions, both practical and amusing.


                      SMALL CURTAILS OR HANGINGS

For cabinets and book-shelves may be made of various materials,
and ornamented with silk embroidery. The patterns should be more
delicate and finished, and the materials of finer quality than for
large hangings. Arabesques of chain-stitch in gold-colored silk on a
dark-blue ground of velveteen, with a pretty border pattern at top
and bottom; or a bright-colored bird on a branch, with a butterfly in
one corner, for a background; buttercups and daisies on a ground of
golden-brown, would all be effective.


                          A WREATHED PICTURE.

Something new in the way of embroidery is to border a picture in this
manner. The frames with painted corners may be imitated with the
needle, and the daisies, violets, and other flowers will be found quite
as ornamental in embroidery.

But the wreathed picture was a fine engraving of the Mater Dolorosa,
small enough to make the process practicable. It was unmounted, and
the back carefully pasted on the foundation of light-blue satin. Not a
wrinkle was visible after it was thoroughly smoothed with a soft piece
of old cambric; and after sewing a piece of narrow, gold-colored silk
braid around the edge, a wreath of Annunciation lilies was traced and
embroidered on the satin. It was so beautifully done as to look like
painting; and with a glass over the whole the illusion was complete. It
was put in a gilded Florentine frame.


                         AN EMBROIDERED ROOM.

It was very pretty to read about in a story, and not impossible
to carry out practically. The prevailing colors of the room were
pale-blue and carnation; and the curtain-lambrequins of pale-blue
were embroidered with sprays of woodbine in its autumn dress of vivid
scarlet and crimson. The mantel-hanging was in blocks like tiles, done
in the same colors; and the panels of a home-made cabinet were likewise
embroidered.

These things, with other accessions, made it a charming room; and if
one could walk bodily into just such an apartment, the effect would
doubtless be all that it was represented.


                          A FAN TABLE-COVER.

Outlined palm leaves are very pretty, and fans are no less so. The
groundwork of cloth, flannel, or satin (if a small table), has three or
five parallel strips of velvet ribbon sewn down on each side with point
russe stitches of gold-colored silk, and put far enough apart for fans
of all colors to be embroidered between them.

These are worked in long embroidery-stitch; and although less work if
merely outlined, they are so very much richer and brighter looking when
filled in as to be quite worth the trouble. The ground may be of any
color that harmonizes with the rest of the room.


                            A CHAIR-COVER.

Long embroidered strips that will cover both back and seat of the kind
of lounging-chair now so much in use are very pretty worked like the
table-cover--the groundwork of the middle strip being of gray satin or
velveteen, with the rows of fans separated by garnet-colored velvet
ribbon, and a strip of the same colored velveteen on either side of the
gray. A fringe where the covering ends at top and bottom gives it the
look of being carelessly thrown there.


                             FIRE-SCREENS.

We have just been shown two exquisite pieces of embroidery intended
for fire-screens. One represented flame-colored gladioli on a black
satin ground, and was rich beyond expression; the other was worked with
cat-tails, reeds, and some unpretending little yellow flowers on a
blue ground. The material looked like a Chinese groundwork.

The coloring of both of these needle-paintings was perfect; and as to
the stitches, it was difficult to believe that there were any--the
shades were blended as if with a brush.


                           A CHILD’S AFGHAN.

It was made of strips of pink and white cashmere; the pink
ones embroidered with daisies, the white ones with pansies, in
embroidery-silk--and it was one of the prettiest things of the kind
ever seen. It was lined with thin pink silk slightly wadded and
quilted, and bordered with a ruching of pink ribbon. The seams were
concealed by lines of feather-stitch in garnet-colored silk.

The resources of silk embroidery are inexhaustible; and all sorts of
small articles, pin-cushions, brackets, watch-stands, glove-boxes,
sachets, etc., will suggest themselves. Fans, too, are beautifully
embroidered, and divide admiration with fine painting. Ornamental
velvets for neck, wrists, and belt, are a fashionable device--and these
are embroidered with single flowers: daisies, violets, etc.




                              CHAPTER VI.

                             _PRINT-WORK._


This is a very fine kind of embroidery, and specimens of it are quite
rare. As the name implies, it is intended to imitate a picture, and is
generally used only for small subjects--the stitches being almost too
minute to be distinguished at all.

It is done on white silk or satin, which is carefully stretched in a
frame, and the design is then drawn on it. This is sketched with a
pencil, and usually worked in black silk; the various shades between
black and white may be used, but not colors--as the object is to
represent an engraving. Lead color, or pale slate, will be as suitable
as black.

A very fine needle must be used, and fine silk to correspond; and a
dotted engraving can be so well imitated in this kind of work that it
is almost impossible to tell the difference. The stitch used is known
as masking-stitch; and it is set as closely as possible without lapping
one over another.

In working a copy of an engraving, the embroiderer begins with the
darkest shades, which are done with black silk; gradually proceeding
to the lightest tints, with silks of the intermediate shades--blending
them into each other with the nicest care. To accomplish this, where it
is necessary to introduce the lighter portions, the stitches are set
wide apart and the intervals filled up by putting in the lightest tint
used.

The worker must always have the engraving before her to study the
lights and shades. Fine engravings can be copied in the same way--but
the stitches should be longer and wider apart.

This kind of needlework requires great patience and is a heavy strain
upon the eyesight; and considering the beautiful effects produced
by other methods with less outlay, it is not likely to become very
popular.




                             CHAPTER VII.

                     _SILK EMBROIDERY WITH GOLD._


Much of the ancient work used for hangings was magnificently wrought
with a mixture of gold embroidery--as much of the Indian needlework
is now done, especially in Japan and China. The royal palace of Jeddo
has a profusion of the finest tapestry, wrought by the most curious
hands, and adorned with pearls, gold, and silver, and other costly
embellishments.

The Moors of Spain have been especially celebrated for their rich
and beautiful decorative work; and with them originated the custom
of using tapestry for curtains. Mohammed forbade his followers to
imitate animals, or insects, in their ornamental work; and from this
circumstance, the term Arabesque, which represents their style of
decoration, was used to express all odd combinations of patterns from
which human and animal forms were excluded.

Gold was introduced into these arabesques with the richest possible
effect; and this style of design has never lost its popularity. It is
often mixed with other patterns in colors; but the simple richness of
an arabesque in black and gold cannot be excelled.

In the Middle Ages the most beautiful gold embroidery was called
_opus Anglicanum_; and this name clung to it whether it was done
in England or not. Much of this work was done in the convents, or
“shee-schools,” as quaint old Fuller calls them; and besides church
vestments, which will be mentioned elsewhere, very beautiful secular
robes and pieces of tapestry were wrought in silk and gold.

The richest tapestry was in pieces like large flags or banners; and
was a prominent decoration on all occasions of festivity or rejoicing.
Ornamental needlework of all kinds was hung from the windows, or
balconies, in those streets through which a pageant, or festal
procession, was to pass--just as flags are suspended now; and as the
houses were then built with the upper stories far overhanging the lower
ones, these draperies frequently hung in rich folds to the ground. When
a street was thus adorned through its whole length, and partly roofed
by the floating streamers and banners above, it must have had somewhat
the appearance of a suite of magnificent saloons.

The art of embroidering with gold and silver is very ancient, and these
costly materials were often woven into fabrics as well; but the pure
metal was then used, beaten into thin plates, and then cut into narrow
slips, which were rounded with a hammer and filed to make threads or
wire.

The method is exactly described in Exodus xxxix. 3, as practised by
the Israelites: “And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut
it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the
scarlet, and in the fine linen with cunning work.”

Old embroidered robes are mentioned made entirely of these gold threads
without any linen or woolen ground. Pieces of embroidery worked with
gold were called “orphreys,” from the mediæval _aurifrigium_ or
_aurifrasium_; and mention is made, in the reign of Edward III.,
of two vests of green velvet embroidered with gold, one of which was
decorated with sea-sirens bearing a shield with the arms of England
and Hainault. Also of a robe of velvet worked with gold; and an outer
garment wrought with pelicans, images, and tabernacles of gold.

An ancient Persian carpet was of silk and cloth of gold sixty cubits
square. It was intended to represent a garden; and the figures were of
gold embroidery, with the colors heightened by precious stones; the
ruby, the sapphire, the beryl, the topaz, and the pearl, being arranged
with great skill to represent, in beautiful mosaic, trees, fruit and
flowers, rivulets, fountains, and shrubs of every description.

These specimens, however, are things of the past.


                              MODERN WORK

of this kind is generally used in large and bold designs, where much
display and extreme brilliancy are desired.

In these days, instead of the pure metal, silver, or copper wire, gilt
is used. Silver threads are covered either with the pure metal, or with
plated copper. The Chinese very cunningly use slips of gilt paper which
they twist upon silk threads, and with which they manage to produce
very beautiful effects.


                            MATERIALS USED.

Cord, braid, thread, bullion, spangles, beads, passing, etc., are all
used in gold embroidery, and in embroidery with gold and silk.

Of these, “passing,” as it is termed, is the finest material of the
kind. It is a smooth thread of an even size, and resembles a thin,
metallic wire--differing from gold cord in the closeness with which the
flattened wire is spirally twisted round the silk, and in being formed
of only one thread.

It is used in the same way as silk, the stitch being generally
satin-stitch; and the needle should be an ordinary needle with a large
eye, and coarse enough to prevent the fretting of the gold as it is
passed backwards and forwards through the work.

Beautiful embroidery is wrought by the Turks with “passing” on Morocco.


                              GOLD CORD.

This is a twist of two or more threads, which are wound around with
the flattened wires in a contrary direction to that of “passing”--two,
three, or four threads being used for needlework.

Cord is often employed for edging braid-work, or flat embroidery--also
for working braiding-patterns. It is also used with beautiful effect as
a ground for small, ornamental articles. Fine silk of the same color
is best for sewing it on; and great care must be taken, in doing this,
not to chip the metal surface, or the silk will show beneath and give
the work a broken appearance. The needle should be held as horizontally
as possible, and passed between the interstices of the cord--slightly
catching up a thread or two of the material it is intended to ornament.


                              GOLD BRAID.

This is a kind of plaited lace, made of three or more threads. There
are various qualities and makes, suited to different purposes, and
great judgment is required in their selection. When it is to be used on
velvet, a round, full, close make should be chosen.

It may be bought of various widths; and as a general thing, the less
gold there is about it, the cheaper it is, and the more liable to
tarnish. Mosaic, or copper-gilt, is the least expensive, and also the
least durable.


                               BULLION.

This is a very rich and effective material--being made of a fine wire
so exquisitely twisted, that it forms a smooth, round, elastic tube,
which may be cut with scissors into the necessary lengths.

There are three kinds of bullion: rough, smooth, and checked--all of
which are frequently used together in the same piece of work. When a
large letter, for instance, is to be embroidered in bullion, after it
is traced, the surface is raised with cotton, and the bullion cut into
pieces of the proper size; then three stitches might be made with the
smooth, two with the rough, and two with the checked; then, again, two
with the rough and three with the smooth; this would form a kind of
pattern, and add very much to the richness of the letter.

Short pieces of bullion can be introduced into patterns worked with
gold thread to great advantage--two or three of them in the cup of
a flower, and in various other ways. To fasten them on properly,
take the stitch (the needle being threaded with gold-colored silk)
lengthwise of the bullion, through the twist--this causes it to lie
flat on the foundation.

Stars of every form may be made in this way: they are extremely
brilliant. The centres of flowers are often formed of bullion; in that
case, however, the stitch does not pass through the twist its full
length, but is shorter--so that the middle of the bullion is depressed,
and the extremities elevated; or the stitch may be passed through both
ends of the piece of bullion, and being drawn rather tight, a slight
prominence, or expansion, will be given to the middle. Either method
has a beautiful effect.


                               SPANGLES.

These are small pieces of silver or other metal, gilt or plated--cut
into various forms, though usually round--and with a hole in the centre
through which the silk is passed that fastens them to the work.

It is not easy to secure them properly, and at the same time to conceal
the means by which it is done. The only way to accomplish it is to
bring the silk from the under side and pass it through the small hole
in the centre of the spangle; the needle is next to be passed through a
very small piece of bullion, and then put back through the hole again.
This does away with the unsightly appearance of a thread across the
spangle, and makes it more secure.

Spangles were once extensively used in decorative work, to give it
richness and glitter; but now they are chiefly used to ornament fringes
and tassels, and other Masonic paraphernalia. Their value depends
on their brilliancy and color, and the amount of gold used in their
gilding.

Spangled fans are very showy; and black satin or black tulle is a good
foundation for showing them to advantage.


                             GOLD THREAD.

This belongs more particularly, perhaps, to “the art of sewing in golde
and silke;” and “a robe of Indian silk thickly wrought with flowers of
gold” was certainly a gorgeous object. Another robe was adorned with
roses of gold wrought with marvellous skill, and bordered with pearls
and precious stones of exceeding value.

Various materials are used as foundations for embroidery in gold
thread: crape, India muslin, or some kind of silk, being usually
preferred as giving the best effect, and displaying the rich devices to
the greatest advantage.

The thread used should be fine and even in texture; a little care in
this matter will make the work comparatively easy. Satin-stitch is
the one generally used; and if the material to be embroidered is
transparent, the pattern is laid _under_ the foundation, and the
outline traced in white thread.

In working a slender flower-stalk, the running thread of white should
be omitted; gold thread should be run in, and then slightly sewed over
with another thread of gold; this will give a spiral appearance, which
is very beautiful.

In using silk with gold thread, it is best to use silk of one color--a
variety of colors tending to destroy the harmony of contrast. Green
and gold have always been close friends, and silk of a bright green
mingled with the gold thread has a very rich effect. Gray and gold,
black and gold, and many other combinations might be mentioned; but a
green branch or sprigs embroidered in silk, with flowers formed of gold
thread and bullion, is as pretty a one as can be made.

In working crests, however, or coats-of-arms, in which gold thread
is much used, the heraldic arrangement of metals and colors must be
faithfully followed. In such cases, the silk must be of as many colors
as in the arms when properly emblazoned; and great care must be taken
in working devices in imitation of arms, never to place a metal upon a
metal, or a color upon a color.

In some very rich Indian work lately seen, the ground was of gold
thread worked in spirals--the rich colors of embroidery silks laid on
this made it perfectly dazzling.

India muslins are sometimes worked with a gilt or plated sheet of very
thin metal cut into strips, or any shape wanted, with scissors. Tinsel
is an imitation of it, and it comes in various colors.

Gold beads and gold and silver fringes are more or less used. These all
vary greatly in size and quality, and are valuable according to the
amount of gold used in their manufacture.

Silver thread, cord, or braid, is more likely to tarnish than gold,
and is not so rich-looking. There is, besides, embroidery silk of a
decidedly silver white, which produces almost the effect of silver
thread or cord.




                             CHAPTER VIII.

                _EMBROIDERED BOOKS AND OTHER ARTICLES._

          “And often did she look
    On that which in her hand she bore,
    In velvet bound and broidered o’er--
    Her breviary book.”
                               MARMION.


When books were regarded as precious treasures, and the purchase of a
single volume involved as much outlay as a rare painting, before the
art of printing became established, the caskets that held such valuable
possessions were deemed worthy of much labor and expense.

Rare old carved ivory, gold and silver plates, and precious stones,
were often used on book-covers; and the most ancient existing specimen
of this gorgeous style of book-making is written in silver and gold
letters on a purple ground. Rich and curious devices were often wrought
with the needle on the velvet, or brocade, which last became more
exclusively the fashionable material for binding.

The new passion for books which was at its height in Queen Elizabeth’s
day made the ornamentation of book-covers a favorite employment of the
high-born dames of England. A book of rhetoric of that time has been
preserved as much for the sake of the outside as for its contents. The
cover is of crimson satin, on which is embroidered a coat-of-arms: a
lion rampant in gold thread on a blue field, with a transverse badge in
scarlet silk, the minor ornaments all wrought in fine gold thread.


                         A MAROON-VELVET BOOK.

Another old book is bound in rich maroon velvet, with the royal arms,
the garter and motto embroidered in blue; on a ground of crimson, the
_fleur-de-lys_, leopards, and letters of the motto are worked in
gold thread. A coronet, or crown of gold, is inwrought with pearls; at
the corners are roses in red silk and gold; the cover is finished with
a narrow border in burnished gold thread.

  [Illustration: Fig. 42.--BORDER FOR COVER OF BIBLE,
  PRAYER-BOOK, ETC.]


                         A QUEEN’S NEEDLEWORK.

A book of prayers copied out by Queen Elizabeth before she ascended
the throne is covered with canvas wrought all over, in a kind of
tent-stitch, with rich crimson silk and silver thread intermixed.
Elizabeth’s own needle worked the ornaments, consisting of the letters
“H. K.,” intertwined in the middle--a smaller “K” above and below--and
roses in the corners--all very much raised, and worked in blue silk and
silver.


                          PETRARCH’S SONNETS.

An edition of Petrarch’s Sonnets, printed at Venice in 1544, is still
in beautiful preservation. The back is of dark crimson velvet; and on
each side is worked a large royal coat-of-arms in silk and gold highly
raised. The book belonged to Edward VI.


                          ANOTHER ROYAL BOOK

has a cover of crimson silk with a Prince’s feather worked in gold
thread in the centre. The three feathers are bound together with large
pearls and wreathed with leaves and flowers. Round the edge of the
cover there is a broader wreath; and corner-sprigs in gold thread are
thickly interspersed with spangles and gold leaves.

These elegant volumes,

   “In velvet bound and broidered o’er,”

are to be seen in the British Museum; and although the day is past for
adorning book-covers in so showy a fashion, these articles may be more
modestly ornamented with very good effect.

Kid, or leather, makes a very suitable cover for a Bible or
Prayer-Book. Two shades of brown may be used for the border pattern in
Figure 42--the figures in the lighter shade to be worked around with
gold thread, either in chain-stitch or in stalk-stitch. Silk may be
substituted for the gold thread.

A ground of gray kid, with the figures in black edged with gold, would
be equally suitable. On one side of the cover, a small cross to match
the border--and on the other, the owner’s monogram would make an
appropriate finish for either book.

The rich design in Figure 43 is on a foundation of black velvet, to
which white faille is applied around the cross.

The figures of the design being outlined, the lines are run on the
edges with maize-colored silk--going back and forth, and overcasting
them with gold bullion. The passion-flowers, wheat, leaves, and
ornaments of the cross, are worked in satin-stitch with gold thread.
For the stems and vines, gold cord is sewed on with gold-colored silk.


                         A BOOK OF ENGRAVINGS

would be very ornamental with an embroidered cover. Crimson or
maroon-colored velveteen, brown kid, or gray canvas, could be
handsomely worked with silk and gold thread. Borderings of catalogues
and circulars might be copied to advantage--some of these being very
rich: black, with gold bars and dots, pink, crimson, or blue.

  [Illustration: Fig. 43.--COVER FOR PRAYER-BOOK.]

Heraldic devices, rich monograms, dainty corners, all look well in this
kind of work; and a bordering of gold acorns, or clover leaves, on a
brown or olive ground, is always handsome.


                           SCRAP-BOOK COVERS

may be made as attractive as the contents, according to the style
of the illustrations. Russia duck is a very good foundation; and if
the contents are of a comic nature, a Chinese or Japanese figure, or
dragon, or either uncanny beast or bird, may be outlined and made very
rich and showy with embroidery in the proper colors mixed with gold
thread or braid.

Pongee, too, may be nicely embroidered; and is very pretty for thin
books tied with a ribbon at the back. In this way, the contents can be
changed at pleasure.


                             ALBUM COVERS

should be more delicate, and worked on velvet, or silk. Figure 44 makes
a very pretty corner for this purpose; and Figure 45 is very effective
on a small book. The stars might be done in gold thread, the centre in
point-russe with black silk--the diamonds in satin-stitch of a lighter
or darker shade of the same color as the foundation.

  [Illustration: Fig. 44.--CORNER OF BORDER IN SATIN STITCH
  EMBROIDERY FOR ALBUM COVERS, PORTFOLIOS, ETC.]

Portfolios may be embroidered in the same way; and whether for writing
materials or for engravings, they can be made very ornamental.


                             LETTER-CASE.

A very rich and handsome letter-case is represented in Figures 46 and
47: Figure 46 showing it when completed, and Figure 47 displaying the
principal part of the embroidery.

  [Illustration: Fig. 45.]

The most suitable ground for the rich gold embroidery is velvet-brown
crimson, or blue; but it may be made very handsomely in kid or morocco.
The larger part of the case is eleven inches long, and eight inches
wide; on the upper part of this book, there is a pattern in gold
soutache, and the word LETTERS or LETTRES embroidered in gold bullion;
beneath this, there is a pattern worked with white satin beads, edged
round with fine white chenille--the scroll pattern is embroidered in
gold.

  [Illustration: Fig. 46.]

The second part is placed over the lower part of the first, and forms
the pocket which holds the letters. The central flower is formed with
eleven oval beads, edged with white chenille; another white bead is
placed in the centre, and edged with gold. The other flowers are also
composed of white satin beads edged with gold.


                       GOLD AND SILK EMBROIDERY.

  [Illustration: Fig. 47.]

This rich pattern is intended for a cushion, or chair-cover. It is
particularly handsome on a ground of blue velvet, or satin; and the
large flowers, leaves, and stems, are all outlined with gold thread
sewed on with fine yellow silk. The stamens are worked in satinstitch
with yellow silk, and the veins in point-russe with blue silk.

  [Illustration: Fig. 48.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 49.]

The forget-me-nots are done in satin-stitch with blue silk, and the
centres in knotted-stitch with gold thread. The veins and stems are
done in stalk-stitch, and the sprays and vines in point-russe with blue
silk.

The work is finished on the outer edge with a thick cord of blue silk
and gold thread.

Figure 49 is intended for a cigar-case; but if widened, it would make a
very pretty book or portfolio cover.

The material should be light-brown Russia leather; the wheat-sheaf is
embroidered in satin-stitch with dark-brown silk---the stem and light
outlines in stalk-stitch with gold thread. The bordering is of gold
cord, with a network of dark-brown silk, and stitched with black at all
the crossings and centres.

  [Illustration: Fig. 50.

                       MONOGRAM IN GOLD THREAD.]

This very pretty monogram is worked with gold thread; the leaves and
flowers may be done with silk if preferred.




                              CHAPTER IX.

                    _APPLIED WORK WITH EMBROIDERY._


Appliqué, as it is usually called, is the most simple kind of
decorative needlework, being nothing more than a pattern cut out of
one material and transferred on another. It must, of course, like
all fancy-work, be neatly done, with no rough edges or mis-matching
figures, and embroidery of some kind is used as a finish; but the same
amount of skill and practice is not required as in other artistic work.

When properly done, it is very rich and effective; and it recommends
itself by the charming results produced with comparatively little
labor. The materials may be of almost any kind; but it is necessary
that the ornamental part should harmonize with the foundation. One
would not think, for instance, of applying velvet on cotton, or
linen--while on satin, it makes the richest kind of applied work.

Appliqué may be fine or coarse according to the purpose for which it is
intended; if fine, it is safer to put it in a frame before beginning
the work. If the groundwork is velvet, satin, or silk, holland should
be stretched in a frame, and the design drawn upon it and upon the
velvet or other material; they should then be pasted together, and cut
out with a sharp pair of scissors. Cloth and commoner materials do
not require this “backing,” as it is called; but may be cut after the
pattern is traced, and pasted directly on the groundwork.

The gum, or paste, used for this purpose should be as thick and dry as
possible, for fear of its coming through and staining the material; and
before pasting on cloth or velvet, it will be well to lay the pieces
down where they are to be fastened, and view them from various points
to see that the pile always goes the same way--or a different shade of
color will be the result.

When the material is particularly delicate, isinglass is used instead
of paste; and the piece applied should be very carefully smoothed
before it is left to dry--as a curved or cross-cut piece is apt to get
out of its proper curves or to stretch too much.

With a complicated design, the pattern should be traced on the
material, and the duplicate parts numbered that they may fit perfectly
together. One way of fastening the edges down is to button-hole them
with a lighter or darker shade of silk than the material applied. The
veins of leaves are defined by long stitches, also of a lighter or
darker shade.

In the commoner kinds of appliqué, cloth, for instance, on duck, or
Turkish towelling, or on cloth of another color, basting will generally
answer the purpose of keeping the pattern securely in its place.

Magnificent work is done in appliqué; curtains of gold-colored satin
with garnet velvet leaves--the edges defined with a white cord, in
which a little blue was mingled; cushions of Moorish arabesques,
scarlet velvet on white satin--the velvet edged with gold braid;
mantel-lambrequins of brown velvet figures on a groundwork of
dead-gold; these suggest endless variations, which a little taste and
some eye for color may make beautiful in the extreme.

  [Illustration: Fig. 51.--BORDER IN APPLIQUÉ.]

Ivy leaves are especially satisfactory in this kind of work; and so is
any large, clearly-defined figure. The accompanying illustration will
be found useful for a bordering. The leaves and flowers are made of
crimson cloth--the stems and veinings of black embroidery silk. This
would be very effective on a gray ground; but any color both of cloth
and silk may be used. It would be particularly pretty for a basket or a
table-cover.

Our next illustration is


                       A LAMBREQUIN IN APPLIQUÉ.

Beautiful combinations may be made with white, scarlet, and blue
cloth, embroidered with black, gold-colored, and maroon silks, in
feather-stitch and point-russe--which are the principal stitches used
in this kind of work. For small lambrequins, to decorate baskets and
brackets, such combinations are very effective; and the illustration
shows a particularly pretty one.

  [Illustration: Fig. 52.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 53.]

The upper part of the lambrequin is of white cloth cut in points,
and pinked in a small pointed pattern; the under part, of which the
points are larger and pinked in scallops, is of garnet color. On
the white points are star-like flowers with buds of blue cloth; and
on the claret-colored ones, the same in pink cloth--ornamented with
point-russe stitches of silk to match. The middle of each flower is
a round piece of yellow cloth fastened with point-russe stitches of
red silk. The stems and sprays are done in stalk, chain, and feather
stitches of light green silk.

  [Illustration: Fig. 54.]

The dark points have, near the pinking, a line of twisted button-hole
stitches in maize-colored silk--and the light points have a similar
line of red silk. Both are also ornamented with steel beads.

A handsome tobacco pouch may be made from the illustrations, which
represent the two patterns used--each side being duplicated.

Four such pieces are cut out of crimson or scarlet cloth, and worked
in appliqué. In the first one, the chain-stitch border (not the outer
edge) is worked with green silk. The knot from which the different
articles are suspended is done with black silk; the cigar-case is of
yellow cloth; the cigars worked in satin-stitch with brown silk. The
case has two bands of chain-stitch in blue silk, and is edged all round
with button-hole stitch in the same color. The pipes are of white
cloth shaded with long stitches of gray silk, and edged with yellow.
The upper part of the pouch is of blue cloth, with a white silk edging
and yellow dots; the under part of brown cloth, with black edging and
a pattern worked in chain-stitch with white; the three tassels are
embroidered with black and yellow silk.

In the second pattern, the outer border is yellow, the knots black;
the small pattern at the top is of blue cloth edged with yellow; the
pipes of white cloth edged with blue and shaded with gray. The bundle
of cigars is of brown cloth shaded with black stitches, and fastened on
with double rows of chain-stitch in yellow silk. The cigar-case is of
light green cloth edged with white; the Grecian pattern and dots are
embroidered over it with white silk also.

To make the pouch up, join the four pieces together by seams--which are
concealed by gold braid; cut out also and join four similar pieces of
white kid for the lining; fasten this to the outside at the top only.
Sew small brass rings around the top, and run a double piece of crimson
silk cord through them. Put silk tassels of various colors at the
bottom of the pouch and at each of its four corners.

Appropriate devices for needlebooks, work-baskets, toilet-boxes, etc.,
may be made from these suggestions; and there is no reason why the
small articles in daily use should not be as complete and artistic in
their way as more pretentious undertakings. Many who cannot attempt
large pieces of work will appreciate these small patterns.

Figure 55 gives a quarter of a very handsome lamp-mat in application
and embroidery.

The foundation is a square piece of olive-green cloth, on which is
applied a rim of pale-blue cloth two inches wide. The edge is bordered
with a thread of dark-blue and light-brown double zephyr worsted, which
is overcast on the foundation with fawn-colored silk floss.

Having transferred the outlines of the design to the rim and to the
olive-green cloth foundation, as shown in the illustration, work the
buds in the centre of the foundation with pale pink and light yellow
bourette worsted--and the calyxes with réséda worsted, in two shades,
in diagonal button-hole stitch; the loops of which meet in the middle
of each leaf, forming the vein. The vines are worked in herring-bone
stitch with old gold-colored filling silk. Chain stitches of similar
silk define the stems.

On the blue cloth, the flowers are worked with pink and yellow bourette
worsted in two shades; and the leaves and calyxes with olive and réséda
worsted, in several shades, in diagonal button-hole stitch. The vines
and stems are worked in chain-stitch with yellowish-brown filling
silk in three shades. The calyxes are defined with satin-stitches of
light-yellow filling silk, which are edged with chain-stitches of
dark-yellow silk.

  [Illustration: Fig. 55.--DESIGN FOR LAMP
  MATS.--APPLICATION EMBROIDERY.]

The rim is embroidered in point-russe with light-brown double zephyr
worsted in the manner shown in the illustration. For the trimming on
the outer edge of the mat, overcast a thread of yellow-brown and a
thread of light yellow double zephyr worsted in double rows with dark
and light yellow silk floss on the foundation in scallops--fill the
interval with knotted stitches of pale pink worsted, and border the
scallops alternately with a long and a short button-hole stitch of
old-gold-colored filling silk. Trim the pinked edge of the foundation
with tassels of worsted in the colors of the embroidery.

  [Illustration: Fig. 56.--APPLICATION BORDER.]

These pretty borders may also be used as strips for afghans and
chair-covers.

For Figure 56, a strip of blue cloth an inch and a quarter wide is
placed on a foundation of écru linen; and through the middle is run a
white braid with horizontal stitches of green, vertical stitches of
yellow-brown, and cross-stitches of pink worsted. The blue strip is
bordered on both sides with dark-green worsted braid, sewed on with
a cross-stitch of light-green worsted, which is wound with maroon
worsted. Diagonal stitches of light and dark red worsted, crossed with
horizontal stitches of dark-blue worsted, border the braid on the
outside.

The border in Figure 57 is made also of écru linen, on which
claret-colored braid three-quarters of an inch wide is basted. On the
latter, dark-green braid a quarter of an inch wide is fastened with a
cross seam of white split filling silk, caught down with black. The
crossed stitches on the inner edge of the maroon braid are in blue and
gold--the point-russe stitches beyond in scarlet and black.

In the middle of the border, apply round pieces of white cloth with
point-russe stitches of green silk; and connect them with vertical
stitches of maroon, which are fastened on the foundation at the middle
with cross stitches of the same color.


                  KEY-BAG IN APPLIQUÉ AND EMBROIDERY.

Both sides of this handsome key-bag are given in Figures 58 and 59. It
is made of gray kid and lined with gray silk.

On one side is embroidered a key formed of poppies, with their leaves
and stems and at the top of the key is perched an owl. The poppies are
worked with five shades of blue-green silk; the plumage of the owl with
four shades of brown silk--the shades all blending almost imperceptibly
together. The owl’s eyes are worked in scarlet and white silk.

The other side of the bag has appliqué figures of steel-colored silk
in the form of a Gothic lock. They may be edged either with gold cord
or with fine gray silk cord. The screens are done in satin-stitch with
silver-gray silk.

After lining each side, the two parts of the bag are joined with
a border of gray ribbon, continued around the whole as in the
illustrations. It is stitched on with fine gray silk. The bag is
fastened with a steel button and a silk loop.

  [Illustration: Fig 57.--APPLICATION BORDER.]

Figures 60 and 61 are rich border patterns suitable for table-covers,
mats, and brackets. The embroidery is in button-hole, point-russe
stitches and knots; the veinings of the leaves in Figure 60 in
stalk-stitch and long embroidery stitch. The colors can be arranged to
suit the taste of the worker.


                          SILK APPLIQUÉ WORK.

This is principally used for flowers and leaves; and when care is taken
in shading, the effect is almost if not quite equal to embroidery.

The pansy is one of the easiest flowers to imitate in this way--the two
upper petals being made of purple silk, and the lower ones of violet,
or yellow; with the edges button-holed round, and a few long stitches
put in by way of veining.

  [Illustration: Fig. 58.]

Rose petals may he beautifully done by selecting silk of the prevailing
hue of the petal, and shading with fine embroidery or split filling
silk. Stalks and tendrils, and leaf-veinings are worked with embroidery
silk.

  [Illustration: Fig. 59.]

A cluster of apple-blossoms is very pretty in this kind of work; and
may be done on a ground of pale-blue, gray, or olive. Satin or velvet
would make a very handsome foundation. So delicate a piece of work
should be done with great care; and besides the edging in button-hole
and the long stitches in embroidery-silk, delicate shading is done with
filling silk.

The main steins and tendrils are worked in stalk-stitch with green
and brown embroidery-silk; where the stems join flower or bud,
and for other little finishing touches, satin-stitch is used. The
centres of the blossoms are of yellow silk in knot-stitch and common
embroidery-stitch.

  [Illustration: Fig. 60.--BORDER IN APPLIQUÉ.]

Silk is sometimes applied on lace with good effect; and the finest
specimen known of this work is the beautiful shawl made for the
Empress Eugénie, and for some time past on exhibition at Stewart’s.
Seen through its glass-case, it is a marvel of coloring and truth to
nature; the roses almost perfume the air, and the graceful droop of the
wisteria in the centre is perfect. This piece of art-needlework fully
deserves its name, and is valued at $100,000; but it is a question if
all that weary labor with those minute pieces of silk (so joined on
the under side that the points of meeting can be seen only through a
magnifying-glass), to say nothing of the cobweb-lace foundation (also
hand-made), could possibly be remunerated with money.


                            CRETONNE-WORK.

The subject of appliqué could not be exhausted without some reference
to this popular branch of it--which, when new, was considered the most
bewitching fancy-work ever invented.

The most desirable flowers and figures for cretonne-work are to be
found in the fine, soft, French cretonne; and the most tiresome part of
the work is that which has to be done first--the careful cutting out
of these figures with a sharp pair of scissors. They are then to be
gummed, or fastened with a few stitches done with fine cotton on the
foundation. Much basting is not desirable, as it pulls the material and
frays the applied work.

Black satin is a very effective foundation for cretonne-work, as it
throws out all the bright and delicate colors; and farmer’s-satin
answers very nicely. Soft gray and blue silesia are often very
satisfactory for this purpose; and a work-basket, made by the writer,
of gray silesia, with pink rosebuds and leaves in cretonne-work on each
panel, and lined with blue silesia, quite exceeded her expectations.

  [Illustration: Fig. 61.--BORDER IN APPLIQUÉ.]

Workers differ about the best methods of doing cretonne application;
some suggesting for the edge a loose button-hole of rather fine silk,
on the plea that this prevents raggedness and answers the purpose of
making the work subservient to the application. But the most approved
method is to treat the cretonne merely as a design and a guide to
color--covering the flowers and leaves almost entirely with split floss
and embroidery silk. A thick outline in satin stitch secures the edges;
and the leaves besides being veined are frequently ornamented with
small French knots, or short back-stitches. Flower-centres are done in
French knots.

Chairs and mantels may be handsomely ornamented by a rich stripe
of cretonne-work in pink or red roses on a black satin ground; and
table-cover borderings may be made in the same way, and attached to
the main body. Sofa-cushions, foot-rests, portfolios, and many other
things, may be decorated in the same way.

The simpler kinds of appliqué-work have been made very common by
the immense number of animals, insects, and figures, such as were
never seen in earth, air, or sea, exposed for sale in all the fancy
shops, and offering easy inducements to amateurs to fasten them in
almost any way upon whatever material their fancy might dictate. The
Turkish-towelling fever raged throughout the length and breadth of
the land; and although a little of this work, when well done, is very
effective, especially in a cottage parlor, it has been carried to such
an excess and much of it so bunglingly done, that there is a very
general pushing of it aside for something newer.

Dragons and Chinamen, the most popular figures for this kind of
work, were never known to infest Turkey; and whatever else we are
in fancy-work, it is desirable to be harmonious. Rich arabesques in
colored cloth of the true Oriental hues, edged with black to give them
greater brilliancy on the pale brown groundwork, would be far more in
character; and the inevitable ruche of scarlet braid should be toned
down to a more quiet red, or whatever color is most suitable as the
key-note.

We may be artistic even with Turkish-towelling and cloth application;
but unless we _are_ this, let us not be ornamental.


                      CRAPE PICTURES IN APPLIQUÉ.

Among the newest materials for application-work, are those preposterous
representations on a ground of crinkly material known as Chinese
pictures. These are of various sizes, and are found now in most of the
fancy stores; and although they usually defy all the rules of reason
and of color, they are, nevertheless, highly ornamental.

One of these works of art is before us now, divided into four
compartments by bands of bright yellow, and tending generally to
ornithology on original principles. Two skies are pink, one green, and
one yellow; surrounded by the pink sky, a small bird of the sparrow
order, with notoriously short legs and unwebbed feet, is walking at
ease on some lead-colored water, while a small forest of foliage
springs apparently from his back; under the yellow sky, a maize-colored
bird on an inky bough opens his mouth evidently at a mulberry a few
feet below him. Nemesis is upon him, however, in the shape of a
silkworm that is attempting to climb his back. The best that can be
said of the mulberries is that they are deeply, darkly, unmistakably
purple; and we know them for mulberries because they _are_ purple,
and because the green leaf cannot be intended for anything else.

The other divisions are perfectly harmonious; and as an art-study, this
“bit of color” would not be recommended. Skilfully applied, however,
and “touched up” with embroidery, it would be found very ornamental.

Many of these pictures have Chinese or Japanese figures on them; and
the confused coloring is best brought out by a frame-work of black
velvet ribbon. They make pretty tidies sewn on gray Java canvas, with a
bordering of black velvet from two to three inches wide embroidered in
feather-stitch--and beyond that an equal width of the canvas worked in
a sort of mosaic pattern in point-russe with floss-silks--then a fringe
of the canvas, with the different colored silks mixed in, about two
inches deep.

Lace is often used as a trimming for these tidies, but it is very
unsuitable. Long embroidery stitches of silk, as in cretonne-work,
improve these pictures very much; and many of them are so
brightly-colored in themselves, that they are as decorative as Chinese
fans. They may be used for a variety of purposes; and appliquéd on
black velveteen, make handsome hangings for mantels.


                            LINEN APPLIQUÉ.

Handsome embroidery is sometimes done by working the design on linen,
and then applying it to richer materials. The embroidery, when
finished, is “backed” by paper before taking it from the frame, to give
it firmness; when quite dry, it is taken out and cut carefully round
the figures with a sharp pair of scissors, leaving about a sixteenth of
an inch as a margin. It must then be laid on the material and tacked
down, if the latter is loose--if it is framed, the piece of embroidery
should be fastened on it by small pins thrust perpendicularly through
it. It must then be more fully secured by sewing it over in small
stitches.

The linen edge is covered by a gold or silver cord, fastened down with
fine silk matching the cord in color. It is well to paint the back of
the embroidery with paste, that the ends of silk may be secured.

A great deal of Eastern embroidery has the look of applied work--being
done in the long embroidery-stitch in regular lines from east to west,
or _across_ the shape to be filled, instead of from north to
south; no attempt being made to follow the natural lines of the leaf or
flower.

This style has a rich effect in purely conventional forms, but is not
suitable for floral designs; a line of black or gold around the figures
is nearly always used. We saw some Cretan work lately, that was several
hundred years old, done in this way with silk and a sort of flat gold
thread on coarse linen; and the effect was very gorgeous.




                              CHAPTER X.

                       _EMBROIDERY IN CHENILLE._


At one time chenille work was all the fashion. Its beautiful, velvety
appearance, and the soft brightness of its colors, made it very
effective; but it was an expensive material, and would only bear the
most delicate usage.

Silk hand-screens were frequently embroidered with chenille; and in
some old-fashioned mansions, such an article of the shape of Figure 62
may be found even now.

  [Illustration: Fig. 62.--HAND-SCREEN IN CHENILLE.]

To do a “piece” in chenille was quite a necessary part of a young
lady’s education; and these pieces were treated like Miss Linwood’s
paintings in crewels. They usually represented landscapes; and
handsomely framed, and protected by a glass, were hung in a place of
honor, as a sort of certificate that the worker was entitled to be
pronounced finished.

A performance of this kind that is now cherished as an heirloom, the
work of somebody’s great-grandmother, consumed a hundred dollars’ worth
of chenille. It is a mourning-piece: a tomb and two weeping figures in
the foreground, the country church, and grave-yard. It is very smooth,
beautiful work, and has the effect of a painting.

Chenille is still used in a measure for small, ornamental articles;
and no material represents moss so well. It is suitable both for flat
and raised embroidery; and it may be worked on a variety of materials;
but those with smooth surfaces are best suited to its velvet-like
appearance.

A needle with a round eye is the proper kind for embroidering with
chenille, and this should be large enough not to fray the thread. As it
is an expensive material, it should be used economically; and all waste
at the back of the work should be avoided by bringing the needle close
up to the last stitch and not crossing it on the underside. It is easy
to measure or guess the length of the needleful required for working
each particular part, and to cut it as short as possible, to prevent
the using of the same position again, and also to draw a very small
piece through the eye of the needle.

The necessity of making knots may be avoided by working a small stitch
or two in the part intended to be covered.

In shaded embroidery, the stitches should not be matted too closely
together, as this destroys the velvety appearance of the chenille. It
should be more closely shaded than silk embroidery; at least six shades
should be used in flowers and leaves.

In flat embroidery, the stitches should be regular, but not closer
than to allow the chenille to lie roundly on the surface. It is always
pretty edged or mixed with gold.




                              CHAPTER XI.

                      _SILK EMBROIDERY ON LINEN._


Egyptian embroidery was done on linen or cotton, the threads of the
material being almost or entirely pulled out one way, and the remainder
embroidered with bright-colored silk. The effect was very rich and
showy; but the peculiar art of doing it has been lost.

Some specimens of Egyptian embroidery in the time of the Pharaohs, now
in the Louvre, are described as follows: one has narrow red stripes on
a broad yellow stripe, wrought with a pattern in needlework; another
piece is on blue, and worked all over in white embroidery, in a kind of
netting-pattern, the meshes of which outline irregular cubic shapes.

Silk embroidery on linen is an old fashion revived; and it was used
particularly on coverlets and curtains in the form of outline work.
This was often done in one color only; and in a bold, set pattern, it
was very effective. A more flowing or branching design, well enclosed
in lines and borders, looks equally well, with the worker’s name or
monogram, and the date added.

These coverlets and curtains were sometimes made of Bolton sheeting,
rather as a foundation than a ground--being nearly covered with an
appliqué pattern of flowers and leaves in cloth, and the stems worked
in crewel or silk. The small vacant spaces were often filled with a
very simple diaper.

Strong linen makes the best ground for outline work; and a pattern
in silk is more durable as well as pleasanter to work. It must be
remembered, though, that in silk embroidery for articles that are to be
washed, great care must be taken that the embroidery does not fade into
one pale, undistinguishable hue.

To prevent this, the silks should first be unwound, cut into pieces of
a suitable length, and thrown into boiling water. If, after boiling
for several minutes, they retain their color when dried, they may be
“warranted not to fade.” It is recommended to boil but one shade at a
time--using fresh water for each one.

Many useful and pretty things may be made of embroidered linen; and
it is particularly pleasant for summer use. Tea-table cloths look
well with ends embroidered towel-fashion, or bordered all round--
outline-work being more suitable for this purpose than filled-in
embroidery, as it will bear washing better.

Embroidered linen makes very nice tidies; and original designs, or
figures from Japanese fans, will often transform these conveniences
into works of art. White linen decorated with blue only is very pretty
when the other furnishings are blue.

Bedroom hangings are very pleasing in this linen outline-work--also
pieces to hang above washstands and borders for brackets.


                      EMBROIDERED FRUIT DOYLEYS.

These may be made very dainty and charming--suggesting (not filling in)
the most perfect little pictures. The skill of the worker should bring
out the idea clearly without the aid of detail.

A few descriptions lately met with will furnish illustrations of this
kind of work.

A set of very small doyleys, about six inches square, had the edges
ravelled out in fringe nearly an inch deep--the border serged with
fine thread to keep the flowing strands in place. Half an inch from
this, and half an inch in width, were a number of threads drawn out
all around, giving the appearance of an insertion. The cross threads
were then drawn backwards and forwards over each other, four strands
at a time, and stayed with one row of thread, like the old-fashioned
herring-bone--forming a cross at each corner.

In the centre of each doyley was embroidered with Japanese silk a
cup and saucer, a teapot, a pitcher, etc., in graceful forms, and
soft, shaded colors--all according to the design and taste of the
embroiderer. They were scarcely more than outlines--the impression
given being more of quiet artistic beauty than of the object
represented.

On another little doyley is sketched a slender Indian jar; beside it,
a bed of reeds, or water-grasses, seems to sway and rustle in summer
airs--so pliant are the stems, so free the groupings. As if just risen
from this cool quietude, a flight of birds soars upwards and away.

The jar is wrought in gold-color, red, blue, and soft drab. A few bars,
ovals, dots, and lines indicate the rich decoration. The reeds which,
of course, are not shaded, are done in brown and a dull green. The
rising birds are dark blue. It hardly need be said that both reeds and
birds are conventionalized--the reeds being the slenderest shadows, and
the birds mere converging lines.

Directions for this kind of work are given as follows:

Select close, even linen, of the kind used for sheeting, and a yard and
a half in width, and be careful to see that it has no uneven threads;
half a yard and one inch, the latter to allow for shrinkage and uneven
ends, is sufficient for one dozen doyleys. Have it washed in strong,
boiling-hot suds, well rinsed, and then boiled in clear water to
remove the starch and render it pliable; rinse from clear cold water,
and put it to dry without any addition of bluing.

When dry, cut off the selvedge; and pull a thread at top and bottom
that it may be cut perfectly straight. Do not attempt to cut any part
of the work without first pulling a thread as a guide, for it is
impossible to have it perfectly regular either by creasing it or by
following an unpulled thread.

Divide the linen into two pieces, each of which will be a quarter of
a yard in width, by a yard and a half in length. Each of these pieces
is to be cut into six--giving twelve pieces, each nine inches square.
Ravel them all around until you have a fringe seven-eighths of an inch
in depth; it is better to make a faint pencil-mark on each of the four
sides before commencing, that the fringe may be perfectly even. With
No. 100 unwaxed cotton and a fine needle, whip them around--taking up
four or five threads on the needle at once, and having the stitches
as even and regular as possible; do not use knots, but run the cotton
along at beginning and end--commencing with a thread long enough for
the whole side, and avoid catching the fringe in the work.

Place the doyley straight before you, and with a rather coarse needle
mark a point seven-eighths of an inch from both the upper and left-hand
sides--then mark a point half an inch below this one, and parallel with
the left-hand side of the doyley; with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors
cut the linen from point to point.

Turn the linen around so that the left-hand side shall be the upper
one, and the lower at the left hand; cut a slit in this corner
corresponding to the other, and continue until each corner has been
cut. It would be better to practice the cutting on a piece of paper
first; and when you find the cutting at each corner is at right angles
with the one below it, the work is right. With the needle-point pull a
thread loose at the top and bottom of the slit cut, drawing it along
until you come within three-eighths of an inch of the slit cut in the
other corner. Cut the linen from thread to thread, and repeat at the
other three corners. When finished, there will be eight cuts in the
doyley--the two on each side parallel to each other.

With No. 80 unwaxed cotton, button-hole around each one as neatly as
possible; then pull out all the threads on each side that were made
free by the cutting. These threads are now to be herring-boned, using
a fine needle and the same cotton; this is done by commencing at one
end of the threads, and taking up four threads on the needle, draw the
cotton through them, bringing it up at right angles to the work; take
another stitch in the same place, only catching the body of the linen
slightly with the needle and cotton.

Repeat this until you come to the other end--when, turning the doyley
upside down, commence taking up the threads again on the needle, only
taking two threads from each cluster of the row before; this makes a
sort of ladder-work in the border, much prettier than if the threads
were taken in corresponding clusters.

When they have all been herring-boned, the fascinating work of
decoration begins. For silk, letter D button-hole twist is the most
satisfactory in all colors, except shades of red and green. There are
four shades of blue: navy that is almost black, a navy that is bright,
a bright sky blue, and a very delicate one; brown of two shades;
gold-color, lemon, and two shades of sage-green. Bright red shading on
scarlet, and entirely free from a Solferino tint, deep and bright rose
peach blossom, and a turquoise-blue are best when on quills.

Having boiled and dried the silk, it will be found in using it that it
is three-stranded; but it must be separated and only one strand used
in working. This should be carefully moistened when it becomes flossy
and uneven. Green is the most difficult color to manage; and it is
only the old-fashioned apple-green found in skeins that will be at all
satisfactory.

The designs should be drawn on the doyleys with a sharp
lead-pencil--being careful not to soil the work by wrong outlines and
erasing. If the latter is necessary, it is better to wash out the marks
with warm water and soap than to use any other method; and then begin
outlining again.

A set done in fans, of different shapes and decoration, are as pretty
as one could desire. If it is impossible to draw from one lying before
you; cut a pattern in pasteboard and outline with the pencil. The
different periodicals occasionally give beautiful styles of fans; and
the cheap Japanese fans are very suggestive in the way of color and
figure.

Outline them in bright blue, with an inner line of pink; navy with
light blue; sage green with pink; or any other colors that contrast
or harmonize; make the stick and ribs of bamboo color, or gold. An
open fan is beautiful outlined in gold, sticks and all; with sprays
of star-shaped flowers done in red, stems in gray, and leaves in
green. These flowers, etc., are only outlined, not done in the solid
satin-stitch, and should be as delicate as possible.

The stitch called Kensington is used; and is the one familiar to all
embroiderers, in both flannel and muslin, as stem-stitch. The needle is
kept with the point toward the worker; and you are constantly working
from you.

Very quaint and pretty designs can be taken from Japanese print-plates,
tea-trays, and cabinets. Two fans, one-fourth open, the one in the
middle, the other at one corner, are very effective; but when an open
fan is used, one is sufficient for a doyley.

A spider’s web, hanging from a branch just coming over one side of
the doyley, is extremely pretty. Outline the stems in gray, leaves
in green, and the web in light-blue--making it out perfectly round,
but longer one way than another; have some of the rays to project a
little, others caught on the branches--and from one of the lower ones a
spider dangling, while in the rib a stitch or two of black makes a good
representation of his prey. Give a little color in one of the lower
corners by a few rushes--one or two of which should have a few red
tassels.

An apple-bough with a leaf of green here and there; tiny flowers of
red and pink, some of which have drifted off before a gentle wind,
make beautiful designs; but when one’s eyes are open to them, it is
astonishing how many ideas are gathered here and there that would
otherwise be lost. A walk among one’s flowers, a border in a magazine
or art-journal, will give suggestions in some form or other.

The cold marble of one’s dressing-table or bureau loses its cheerless
aspect by the color one of these covers gives it. A piece of linen a
yard and a half long and three-eighths in width, should be fringed an
inch and a half at front and back, with a much deeper one at the ends.
Work a border an inch deep, a quarter of a yard from the herring-bone
at each end, and meeting the herring-bone at the sides.

Use red, bright gold, and light blue, with a touch here and there of
navy blue. A spray of wistaria at one end, and apple-blossoms at the
other, are very pretty. Tray-covers should be from a yard square to
seven-eighths one way, and a yard the other. Fringe and herring-bone
them, decorating only the corners, as the centre is so covered that
decoration would be lost.

These very explicit directions have been taken almost entire from a
late periodical; and will be found so full and satisfactory, that
almost any needlewoman, on reading them, might successfully attempt
this pretty work.




                             CHAPTER XII.

                            _HOLBEIN WORK._


This is a simple and truly artistic kind of needlework, chaste and
elegant in design and correct in style; its beauty depending not upon
strong contrasts or striking patterns, but on its exquisite finish and
neatness.

Holbein work is a kind of linen decoration with colored threads; and
was highly popular several centuries ago. Lingerie table-linen, towels,
and bed-linen, were thus adorned in a charming and tasteful manner; and
as instruction in this branch of needlework, of which so few remnants
remain, is chiefly given through the master works of the younger
Holbein, it has been named from him.

This great painter has reproduced the embroidery with wonderful
fidelity, showing plainly its charming peculiarity of being alike on
both sides. It differs in this respect from all other embroidery,
except that of some Oriental nations, and has literally no wrong side
to show, and requires, therefore, no lining to conceal defects. “Divers
colors of needlework _on both sides_,” is the oldest kind of ornamental
needlework of which there is any mention.

To accomplish this work on both sides is by no means difficult, as
might at first be supposed; and many articles for which no other kind
of embroidery would be appropriate may be very tastefully ornamented
with Holbein work. The effect is that of colored lines on a white
ground after the fashion of a pen-drawing--the design being equally
distinct on both sides.

The foundation for this embroidery is usually white linen Java canvas,
which washes better, and is of smoother and firmer texture than cotton
canvas. If linen canvas cannot be obtained, the ordinary cotton canvas,
or colored Java canvas, may be used instead.

A piece of canvas, a canvas needle with a dull point, red Turkish
cotton No. 30, or else several threads of colored or black silk
(somewhat coarser than ordinary sewing-silk), are all that is required
for Holbein work.

No knot should be made, to look ugly on the under side, in the
beginning; and to avoid this, insert the needle between the double
layer of the threads of the canvas, so that the working thread is
concealed on both sides; let the end of the thread project a little,
so that it may be held in the hand, pass the needle around one of the
four threads forming a square (with the ordinary cotton canvas, only
_half_ of a thread should be caught), carry it back the same way
it was inserted (see Figure 63), and draw the stitch tight--at the same
time holding fast the projecting thread.

  [Illustration: Fig. 63.]

The single thread on which the working thread is fastened is drawn in
between the double threads of the canvas in tightening the stitch, so
that the latter is not visible on either side. The manner of doing this
is shown in Figure 64.

Then work the second stitch (see Figure 64) similarly to the first; but
underneath the nearest threads running in an opposite direction, draw
the stitch tight, so that it is concealed; and then repeat the first
stitch once more completely, in order to fasten the thread securely.
After working these three stitches, the thread should be quite firm;
and the fastening should scarcely be visible.

Cut off the projecting end of thread close to the canvas, and begin the
embroidery. To work a straight line, as in Figure 65, make a horizontal
stitch of two squares of the canvas, pass over two squares, work
another horizontal stitch on the following two squares--and continue
the first row in this way, always taking up two squares for one stitch,
as shown by Figure 66. This is called running stitch.

  [Illustration: Fig. 64.]

When the line has been worked of the length desired, for instance,
ten stitches, there will be five running stitches and five intervals
on each side; and the stitches on one side will always come on the
intervals of the other side. In order to close the line, and fill all
intervals, work, going back, just as in the first row (see Figure 67),
which completes the line, and brings the working thread back to the
point where the work was begun. This point is always indicated by * in
the illustrations.

  [Illustration: Fig. 65.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 66.]

Work this straight line, consisting of _ten_ stitches, from right
to left in the order of the figures given in Figure 67. Only the upper
stitches are counted and numbered; but, as a matter of course, the
other side of the work is to present the same appearance as the side
on which it is done. The regularity of the work will be increased
if, in working straight lines, the needle is always, in the second
row, inserted underneath, and drawn out above the threads in the first
row; in this way the threads of both rows are regularly intertwined,
and the stitches are slightly slanting, as plainly shown in the last
illustration.

  [Illustration: Fig. 67.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 68.]

A diagonal line, as in Figure 68, is worked similarly to the straight
line, except that instead of crossing two squares in a straight
direction, they are taken up diagonally, as in ordinary cross-stitch.
The first stitch, therefore, exactly resembles half of a cross-stitch;
and between the first and second stitches, an interval of the same
number of threads remains, which forms half of a cross-stitch on the
other side. The line _a_, Figure 69, shows the first row of a
diagonal line of five stitches; and the line _b_ shows this line
finished by the second row.

  [Illustration: Fig. 69.]

For the zigzag line in Figure 70, take a diagonal stitch upward over
two squares of the canvas, pass over two squares, and insert the needle
downward diagonally in the opposite direction; take another diagonal
stitch upward; and continue in this manner, as shown by _a_ in
Figure 71. In the first row, all the stitches on both sides appear
slanting to the left. In working the second row, going back, fill all
the intervals, as indicated by the figures on the line _b_ in
Figure 71.

  [Illustration: Fig. 70.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 71.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 72.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 73.]

For the Greek line in Figure 72, take a vertical stitch downward over
two squares, pass over two squares in a horizontal direction, take a
second vertical stitch upward over two squares, so that the stitches
always inclose four squares. In this design, all vertical stitches come
on the upper side (and all horizontal stitches, consequently, on the
under side) in the first row, as shown by _a_ in Figure 73; while
in filling the intervals in the second row the order is reversed, and
all horizontal lines come on the upper side, and the vertical lines on
the under side. The line _b_, in Figure 73, shows the Greek line
in course of work, and indicates by figures the order in which the
stitches should be taken.

  [Illustration: Fig. 74.]

For the stair line in Figure 74, work a horizontal stitch from right to
left on two squares, pass the needle straight down under two squares,
and draw it out; repeat this three times, and then work three stitches
upward again. In this design all the horizontal stitches come on the
upper side, and all vertical stitches on the under side in the first
row, which is shown by _a_ in Figure 75; while _b_ shows the
lines finished by the second row, and indicates the order of stitches
by figures.

The thread, which is always carried back to the point where the work
is begun, should be sewn in firmly, as described for the beginning, so
that the fastening cannot be detected, and then cut off close to the
canvas.

  [Illustration: Fig. 75.]

These simple designs being mastered, the learner is now prepared for
more ambitious efforts; and the lines are frequently divided into
branches richly ornamented, that form complicated patterns, and require
some study to make both sides of the work alike.

The patterns now consist no longer of simple lines, but of long lines
with short ones branching off from them, which may be called main lines
and branches.

The design in Figure 76 consists of a main line with upright branches,
which is worked in rounds going back and forth, and is thus completed
in two rows; no stitch should be omitted on either side, nor should any
stitch appear double; and the working thread should always return to
the point where the work was begun.

Figure 77 shows the manner of working the first row of this design, the
needle indicating how to take the last upright stitch. Begin the line
from *, so that an interval always remains between every two stitches,
and work to the point where the line branches off. These branches are
worked separately, and are completed in two rows; so that in working
the second row of the main line no attention need be paid to them.

  [Illustration: Fig. 76.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 77.]

Figure 78 shows the same design finished by the second round; the order
of stitches is indicated by figures.

The same rules apply to design 79--which shows a main line with
stair-line branches meeting the main line always at two points. In this
case, too, the branches are always finished separately before working
the main line beyond the point from which the stair-branches proceed.

  [Illustration: Fig. 78.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 79.]

Figure 80 shows the first row of this design; the first branch being
finished, and the second in course of execution.

  [Illustration: Fig. 80.]

Figure 81 shows the design finished by the second round, the figures
indicating how to take the stitches. The fact that the branches
intersect the main line at two points does not affect the work in the
least.

  [Illustration: Fig. 81.]

Sometimes the branches of the main lines are again furnished with
smaller branches, as shown by the forked design in Figure 82.

  [Illustration: Fig. 82.]

In this case, the smaller branches are also worked separately from the
point from which they proceed; but the middle line is worked similarly
to a main line; working first one row with intervals, next forming the
smaller branches or prongs, and then, going back, filling the intervals
of the middle line, and returning to the main line.

Figure 83 shows the first row of this design and one of the branches
just begun; Figure 84 shows the design finished, and the order of
stitches indicated by figures. From time to time, it will be well to
glance on the under side and see that the design appears precisely
the same as on the right side, which will always be the case when the
stitches are worked exactly in the order given in the illustrations.

  [Illustration: Fig. 83.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 84.]

Frequently the smaller lines branch off from the main line in opposite
directions, as shown by Figure 85. In this design the forked figure
appears on one side, and the stair-line on the other side--both meeting
at one point of the main line.

With such patterns, begin with the main line and work to the point
where the branches begin--always working these separately. It is
immaterial which of the two branches is worked first; but they should
both be finished in the first row, so that, in the second row, only the
intervals in the main line need be filled. As a general rule, it is
well to complete as much of the pattern as possible in the first row.

  [Illustration: Fig. 85.]

As Figure 85 is formed by a combination of figures similar to those
shown in Figures 65 and 66, it will only be necessary to refer to the
description of those figures to enable the worker to execute this
design with ease.

  [Illustration: Fig. 86.]

Tree figures, shown in illustration 86, are worked so that the trunk
forms the main line, and all the small lines the branches; but the main
line should be worked to the point without the branches, the latter
being formed in the second row going back. Thus the trunk, forming the
middle line, will serve as a guide for placing the branches. Figure 87
shows the manner of working such a figure, the stitches being indicated
as usual by numbers.

  [Illustration: Fig. 87.]

Each individual design requires separate sewing in of the thread; all
connected lines, on the contrary, are worked without interruption. The
working thread should always be taken as long as possible; and when it
is used up, it should either be carefully sewed in, as described in
the beginning, or it should be fastened to the new thread by means of
a weaver’s knot. This knot has the advantage of being made small and
strong at the same time.

  [Illustration: Fig. 88.]

Sufficient instructions have now been given to enable the beginner
to do a very creditable piece of Holbein work; and Figure 88 is a
particularly easy pattern for a towel-border that may be done in red or
blue cotton or silk.

  [Illustration: Fig. 89.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 90.]

The towel may be made of heavy linen sheeting; or a bordering of linen
embroidered in this way may be applied to either end of a damask towel
with a line of feather-stitch. Sufficient material should be allowed
for a deep, tied fringe.

This pattern will also be found pretty for a bureau or dressing-table
cover, as well as a variety of other articles.

  [Illustration: Fig. 91.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 92.]

Figures 89 and 90 are very effective both for towels and covers.

Holbein work is frequently mixed with cross-stitch and satin-stitch,
which give it a richer effect; and for elaborate designs, this is a
great improvement. Figures 91, 92, and 93, show very handsome towels
embroidered in this way.

These towels are made of a piece of linen sixty-eight inches long
and seventeen inches wide, embroidered in cross-stitch and Holbein
work with blue or red cotton. The towels are trimmed besides with an
open-work design and knotted fringe, and are hemmed narrow on the sides
with a cross seam of the colored cotton.

  [Illustration: Fig. 93.]

To make a towel, work eight inches from the bottom a rich design in
Holbein embroidery, and edge it on both sides with a narrow border in
cross-stitch embroidery. Each cross-stitch is worked over two threads
in height, and the same in width. Above this border, at a distance of
an inch, ornament the towel in a design worked in cross-stitch over
canvas with colored cotton.

After finishing the embroidery, draw out the threads of the canvas,
and between the borders execute an open-work design. For this, draw
out always four threads of the linen lengthwise and crosswise, letting
the same number of threads stand, and overcast them diagonally, first
in one direction, and then, crossing the same square in the opposite
direction; and finish the edge of the borders adjoining the open-work
design with button-hole stitches.

Underneath the narrow border, draw out the crosswise threads of the
linen, and knot the lengthwise threads to form fringe, as shown in the
illustrations.

  [Illustration: Fig. 94.--EMBROIDERED BURLAPS PORTIÈRE.]

Handsome portières and curtains may be made of burlaps ornamented with
Holbein and other embroidery.

For the design in Figure 94, draw out eight threads, each two inches
and a half and five inches and three-quarters from the outer edge;
cross every eight of the threads left standing, and run them with
gold soutache. Between these open-work patterns work the border (see
Figure 94) in satin-stitch with light and dark red filling silk; and in
Holbein work with light and dark olive-green filling silk.

The open-work pattern is edged with point-russe stitches of dark brown
and fawn-colored silk, and cross-stitches of dark red silk.




                             CHAPTER XIII.

                     _CHURCH EMBROIDERY.--PART I._


The general rules for artistic needlework apply equally well to church
embroidery, which is, nevertheless, a distinctive art. In ancient times
its magnificence was unparalleled--the workers feeling privileged
in working for God’s service, and anxious to spare neither time nor
expense on their labor.

This branch of decorative needlework has “narrower limitations,
stricter laws of fitness, bonds of symbolism, rules of color, and
traditions of style; but a student of art needlework will not find
these stricter laws prevent church work from being beautiful and
harmonious; indeed, they will be aids rather than hindrances; while
the knowledge already acquired of general principles of color and
design will be a safeguard against placing vulgar, crude, or tasteless
combinations where, in many eyes, they would be not only ugly, but
irreverent.”

It has been well said that, in this kind of work, unity of design
and harmony of color take a new and deeper meaning; and honesty of
workmanship becomes a duty; while a new reason for conventionalism is
seen when we remember that we ourselves, when in God’s house, lay aside
an ordinary and natural demand.

The descriptions of the richly-embroidered ecclesiastical vestments:
robes, sandals, girdles, tunics, vests, palls, altar-cloths, and veils
or hangings of various kinds, that were common in churches in the
Middle Ages, would almost surpass belief if the minuteness with which
they are enumerated in some ancient authors did not attest the fact.

The cost of many of these articles was enormous, for pearls and
precious stones were literally interwoven with the needlework, and
an almost incredible amount of time and labor was bestowed on them.
Several years would frequently be spent on one garment; and some
magnificent ninth century vestments are described, which Pope Paschal
presented to different churches.

One of these was an altar-cloth of Tyrian purple, having in the
middle a picture of golden emblems, with the faces of several martyrs
surrounding the Saviour. The cross was wrought in gold, and had round
it a border of olive-leaves most beautifully worked. Another had golden
emblems, and was ornamented with pearls.

This same pope had a robe worked with gold and gems, with the history
of the Ten Virgins with lighted torches beautifully related. He had
another of Byzantine scarlet with a worked border of olive-leaves. He
had also a robe of woven gold, worn over a cassock of scarlet silk; and
another of amber hue embroidered with peacocks in all the brilliant and
mysterious shades of their plumage.

Modern church needlework is much more simple and less expensive, and
with an ordinary amount of skill and patience and attention to rules
and details, almost any embroiderer can accomplish very satisfactory
results.

Coarse, prepared linen or muslin, made very stiff, is first stretched
in a frame, and the material to be embroidered carefully tacked or
pinned on it. This makes a firm ground for working, and gives body
to the article to be embroidered. The silk or calico lining is to be
placed on the other side of the muslin.

A well-made frame is another important point; and four-piece frames,
or frames without stands, formed of two bars with webbing to which the
material is sewn, and two laths or stretchers, with holes to receive
the pegs, will be found most suitable for this kind of work. They are
fastened with screws, and the sizes generally needed range from 20
inches to 6 feet 4 inches.

Figure 95 represents one of these four-piece frames, in which a piece
of linen is stretched, and upon it the central figure of an altar
frontal in progress of work. It is better not to stretch the frame more
than 20 inches at a time, as it is very fatiguing, for a continuance,
to take a longer reach than 10 inches from each side bar of the frame.

Great care must be taken not to rub over the material while working;
and for this purpose a cambric handkerchief, or an equivalent of soft
paper, should be laid upon it. The needlework should always be covered
with a soft clean cloth whenever it is left, no matter for how short a
space of time.


                          IMPLEMENTS NEEDED.

The implements used for church embroidery are needles, pins, stiletto,
scissors, thimbles, and the _piercer_ for manipulating gold. This
latter article is as necessary as the scissors in regulating bullion
and other materials, as it is rounded and pointed at one end like a
small stiletto, and wider and flat-sided at the other.

Round-eyed sharps, from 7 to 2, are the needles most likely to be
required for every kind of silk; the first principally for sewing-silk,
the others for crochet and other coarse silks. The best rule for size
is to be able to thread a needle instantly, and to draw the needle
backwards and forwards through the eye, without the least friction.
An experienced worker will choose a needle very large in proportion to
the thread it is to hold in preference to a smaller one.

  [Illustration: Fig. 95.--FOUR-PIECE FRAME.]

The stiletto is used in many ways, a steel one being the best. The ends
of stiff cords should be put through holes made by this instrument; and
occasions for its use are constantly arising.

Short pins are needed for transferring designs, instead of basting; and
in appliqué work, every part of it is carefully arranged by pinning
before the process of sewing begins. Cardboard patterns, too, for
modern embroidery, are kept in place by this means.

Two thimbles are needed, as the use of both hands is particularly
necessary in this kind of work. Thimbles worn a little smooth are
preferable, as the roughness of a new thimble catches the silk.

Sharp, strong _nail scissors_ will be found most serviceable, and
they should be as large in the bows as possible to secure the thumb and
finger from hurt in cutting out cardboard designs and textile materials
for appliqué.


                               STITCHES.

The stitches used in ancient ecclesiastical embroidery are found on
examination to be quite simple, yet capable of producing the most
beautiful effects.

In using gold thread, for instance, it was seldom pulled _through_
the foundation, but couched: laid on the surface and sewed down, two or
three threads at a time, by stitches taken either somewhat irregularly,
or with such method as to produce by a series of them a perfect
diapered pattern of color on a gold ground. Figure 96 is an example of
what is known as plain couching.

  [Illustration: Fig. 96.--PLAIN COUCHING.]

Gold-colored embroidery silk has an almost equally rich effect by
making three or four parallel lines with it, and working the cross
stitches in the contrasting color.

Wavy couching is as easy as plain, the undulated first line regulating
the position of the others to any extent.

Diaper couching is another variety often used in old church embroidery
for representing pavements, and frequently for backgrounds to emblems,
and figures of saints.

Diamond couching is very pretty, and useful for holding down silk, as
well as passing, in the ornamentation of large fleur-de-lis, or other
conventional forms. The illustration (see Figure 100) is a diamond
of four stitches each way. The size of the diamond depends upon the
dimensions of the space to be covered.

  [Illustration: Fig. 97.--WAVY COUCHING.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 98.--DIAGONAL COUCHING.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 99.--DIAPER COUCHING.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 100.--DIAMOND COUCHING.]

The line and cross diaper will be found desirable for covering large
spaces with a diapering of needlework. It also makes a very pretty
border to enclose a plain ground in which a cross or other design is
worked. This pattern is most effective when done with lines of passing
caught down at their intersections by a cross of crimson or other
bright-colored silk. The dots in the centre may be made either with
gold beads or French knots.

  [Illustration: Fig. 101.--LINE AND CROSS DIAPER.]

Various other combinations will suggest themselves in couching; which
is one of the most charming and useful methods in the whole range of
embroidery.


                            BASKET-STITCH.

This is another very effective device, and is particularly ingenious.
It is used principally for straight borders, or for the raised parts of
a conventional crown, a large monogram, or for any pattern of a formal
outline where a plaited and interlaced effect is the aim.

To work a border in basket-stitch, any even number of rows of twine,
from four upwards, must first be sewn firmly down upon the framed
foundation; and over this the gold is to be carried two threads at a
time. The worker begins by taking two threads of passing and stitching
them down, first over _one_ row of twine, then over _two_ rows, and
over two again, till the single row at the opposite side is reached.

Any number of threads may be carried across in this way before altering
the arrangement of sewing down, according to the width decided upon
for the divisions of the plait. Say that six threads, or three layers
of passing, have been turned backwards and forwards, and caught down
precisely alike; the gold is then to be sewn over _two_ lines of twine,
_each_ time, from side to side of the border, for _three_ layers more;
and so _alternated_ to any extent.

Medium purse silk is best for sewing down the gold; and a close, firm
twine, like whipcord, should be used for the lines. The thickness of
the twine must be governed by the size of the figure or space that the
basket-work is intended to cover.

The border should he finished on each side by a gold or silk cord, or
an edging of some kind to hide the looped ends of the passing, which
are not pulled through, but turned backwards and forwards as evenly as
possible.


                              FLOSS-SILK.

For large leaves, spaces in scrolls, draperies of figures, or
foregrounds, long loose lines of colored floss, secured at intervals
by single threads of passing laid across, produce a very good effect.
Below is the simple _long-stitch_, upon which principle all
floss-silk embroidery is wrought. It is the petal of a flower worked in
two distinct shades of blue, and edged with amber crochet-silk sewed
down with white. The light shade is to be used first--beginning from
the outer edge of the centre of the petal, and working first to one
side and then to the other. Then the dark shade is to be worked in like
manner _downwards_.

  [Illustration: Fig. 102.--LONG-STITCH.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 103.--SCROLL WITH PASSING.]

Figure 103 shows a scroll in _twist-stitch_ enriched by passing.
The twisted effect is produced by working stitches of an even length
one behind the other on an even line. The passing is couched after the
silk scroll is worked.




                             CHAPTER XIV.

                    _CHURCH EMBROIDERY.--PART II._


Altar-covers have often been made in a style of great magnificence, and
are the most costly articles of church embroidery. It is not necessary
in a small work like this to give one entire, especially as many modern
Gothic churches have richly-carved stone or wooden altars for which
only a super-frontal of needlework is required.

  [Illustration: Fig. 104.--SUPER-FRONTAL IN FLEUR-DE-LIS.]

The fleur-de-lis pattern in Figure 104 is both simple and effective;
and wrought in white and gold would be in good taste on either a green
or crimson ground.

The embroidery is done in couching--the fleur-de-lis and the curved
stems in gold twist-silk, sewed down with orange. The bands of the
fleur-de-lis and the trefoils between in white twist-silk, sewed down
with gold color. The white to be edged with white cord, the gold color
with gold cord.

The fringe is gold color mixed with the color of the ground.

A conventionalized rose is given in Figure 105, full size, to be used
in the bordering of a super-frontal.

  [Illustration: Fig. 105.--ROSE FOR SUPER-FRONTAL.]

It is edged with gold cord and worked in two shades of pale pink
floss, long embroidery-stitch. The central ring is of bright green silk
the diamonds it encloses gold-color couched on a pale green ground;
the rays, deep rose-color, in long stitches. The outer lines are long,
loose stitches in gold thread.

The leaves are in two shades of olive green floss in long
embroidery-stitch; the stem, scroll, and finish are in two shades of
olive brown, edged with gold thread. This part may be done in couching.

The roses may be in divisions separated by gold-colored lace, or
alternated with annunciation lilies.

  [Illustration: Fig. 106.--READING-DESK WITH HANGING.]


                       PULPIT, OR DESK HANGINGS.

These are often needed where no altar covering is used; and are much
simpler in construction. Figure 106 shows a reading-desk draped; Figure
107 gives a suitable design for the centre; and Figure 108 a very
pretty bordering.

The cross and lettering of the central figure are to be done in gold
thread, or gold-colored silk, and edged with black. On a white or
crimson ground this would be very effective; and it has the advantage
of harmonizing with any ground color. It may also be done in appliqué,
instead of embroidery.

The border pattern may also be done in gold, or in a mixture of gold
and white.

  [Illustration: Fig. 107.--MONOGRAM FOR DESK HANGING.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 108.--BORDER FOR DESK HANGING.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 109.--BORDER IN APPLIQUÉ AND
  EMBROIDERY.]

Figure 109 gives a rich pattern in full size for the border of an
ante-pendium, or desk-hanging. It is embroidered on white silk rep with
silver and gold thread; and sewn on over a black velvet, rep, or cloth
centre. The dark patterns are worked in appliqué with black velvet; the
two other shades in gold and silver brocade.

The embroidery is done in satin-stitch with gold and silver braid, silk
and cord of the same material.

The border can be worked upon the material for the centre if it is not
intended to contrast with it. The pattern can also be worked entirely
in silk with satin-stitch.


                         CHURCH BOOK MARKERS.

These are comparatively easy of execution, although to be done
according to the same rules which govern other church needlework. They
are made of plain rich ribbon, varying in width from one to three
inches, in the five ecclesiastical colors of crimson, blue, green,
white, and violet.

Nothing elaborate in the way of embroidery should be attempted on such
small articles. A Latin cross on one end, and a simple monogram on the
other, are always suitable. Or words such as “Creed” and “Collect,”
as suited to particular parts of the service, may be worked at the
separate ends, in plain Old English letters, surmounted by a Greek
cross.

The length of the marker depends upon the size of the book for which it
is required. A yard, not including fringe, is the ordinary length. This
makes a double marker, as it can be divided in the middle by a barrel
or register, to fall over two pages of the book.

A very good contrivance for this purpose is a piece of ivory, of the
width of the back of the book, pierced with holes, through which pieces
of silk braid, from which the ribbon is suspended, may be inserted and
tied. The pieces of ribbon may measure less than half a yard, as the
suspender, which should be of stout silk braid the color of the ribbon,
is two or three inches long.

An ordinary book-marker may be properly made from the following
directions:

The width of the ribbon is two and a half inches; the length, one yard,
after it is finished. To ensure this, a yard and a quarter of ribbon is
procured, and a piece of fine linen tightly framed. Upon this, the end
of the ribbon, to the depth of ten inches, is to be smoothly tacked at
the extreme edges by fine cotton. Along the bottom edge, and across the
top of the ten-inch length, the ribbon must also be tacked.

Five inches from the end of the ribbon, the design, traced and cut out
in cardboard, is to be fixed with small pins and then sewed down, and
embroidered in gold, silver, or purse-silk, according to circumstances.
This being done, the work should be covered from dust, and the other
end of the ribbon (if the framed linen is large enough to receive both)
tacked down and treated precisely similar, only the pattern must be
worked on the contrary side of the ribbon, or, as a double marker, it
will not hang right when in the book.

When the embroidery is finished, the linen should be cut from the
frame, and then from the back of the ribbon close to the work.

To make up the marker, the plain end below the embroidery is to be
turned back four and a half inches over the wrong side, leaving half an
inch of plain ribbon _below_ the design on the right side.

The two edges of the ribbon, to the depth of four and a half inches,
are now to be sewn together by the neatest stitches of fine silk the
exact shade of the ribbon. The raw edge of the turned up end is to be
hemmed across, above the design, by stitches so fine as to be invisible
on the right side; and the book-marker, which should now appear as neat
on one side as the other, will be ready for the fringe.

A soft-twist silk fringe two inches deep is best, if the embroidery is
done in silk. If in gold, a gold fringe is more suitable. Twice the
length of the two ends, and three inches over for turnings, is the
proper measurement. The fringe should be sewed along one side of the
marker singly, and then turned and sewed along the other, so that both
sides may be perfectly neat and alike.

  [Illustration: Fig. 110.--DESIGN FOR ALMS-BASIN MAT.]

Figure 110 is a simple and chaste design for a circular mat of velvet
to fit the bottom of an alms-dish and deaden the jingling sound of coin
upon the bare surface of metal.

The mat should be of velvet, lined with silk, and trimmed with a fringe
of gold or silk, as best suits the embroidery, not over an inch deep.

Small articles like these, of suitable materials and careful
workmanship, are often most acceptable offerings from those whose
limited time or means will not justify their undertaking larger pieces
of church work.

A sermon-case is a very useful present for a clergyman, and may be
embroidered quite simply, or elaborately, according to the taste and
means of the worker. As the same rules and designs will apply to this
as to the other articles described, it will be sufficient to give
directions for making up the case when worked.

Sermon-cases are made in two ways, either stiff and flat like a
book-cover, or firm and soft for rolling.

For the book-cover kind, two sheets of stout cardboard must be cut to
the exact size, and joined at the back by a narrow strip of calico
pasted along each side. Over this foundation thin lining muslin must be
smoothly stitched inside and out; after which the velvet may be tacked
evenly on by stitches drawn over the inside edge. A full half inch of
velvet should be turned over to make the edges secure.

The silk lining is then to be adjusted and sewed to the velvet with
neat stitches, every one of which, if rightly taken, will tend to
tighten the material over the mounting-board.

As a finish, a well-made cord of gold or silk, or a mixture of both, is
to be sewn all around the case. This cord, which must be about half an
inch in circumference, should effectually conceal the stitches uniting
the edges of the velvet and silk. A piece of elastic, a quarter of an
inch wide, is to be sewed, top and bottom, on the inside of the back,
for the sermon to be passed through.

The size of the case must be governed by the size of the sermon-paper
used by the clergyman for whom it is intended. Ten inches by eight is a
good size for quarto paper.

By using parchment instead of cardboard, and kid or morocco in place of
lining muslin, the sermon-case may be made to roll.


                         DESIGNS ON CARDBOARD.

The use of cardboard designs in church embroidery is a mechanical
method of working, but it is also quite an effective one. It is
metallic-looking, however, and should not be used in imitations of
ancient work. For monograms, letters of texts, and geometrical figures
which require clear, sharp outlines, the firm edges of a cardboard
foundation will be particularly serviceable.

Embroidery designs to be worked over cardboard must first be traced on
thin paper, and then transferred to the cardboard by one of two ways:
that of placing the drawing on the cardboard, with black transfer
paper between, and tracing it carefully with an ivory stiletto or hard
pencil; or by pricking, pouncing, and drawing, as directed for other
patterns.

A clear outline of the design having been made on the cardboard, it
should be cut out accurately with sharp scissors. In this cutting
out, strips of the cardboard, called _stays_, must be left here
and there to keep together such parts of the design as would separate
or fall away, if the entire outline were cut around; and these stays
must not be cut off until the edges of the cardboard pattern are firmly
secured on the framed material by close stitches of cotton.

After the stays are removed, if the design is to be raised, one row of
even twine should be sewed down along the centre of the figure; it is
then to be worked over with the silk. This one row of twine will give
to the work the bright sharp effect of gold in relief. _More_ than
one row would spoil it.

The thickness of the twine must be regulated by the size of the figure
to be raised. To raise the embroidery at all is quite a matter of
taste, as excellent specimens of work are constantly done over the card
alone.

For gold, or gold-color silk embroidery, the upper side of the card
foundation should be painted yellow. This can be done by a wash of
common gamboge or yellow ochre. The best cardboard for this purpose is
that known as thin mounting board.


                       CHURCH-WORK IN APPLIQUÉ.

This may properly be used for almost any material; and a great deal of
church decoration is done entirely by this method.

For letterings or labels, appliqué is particularly appropriate; and
the description of a crimson cloth ground labelled with gold-colored
letters will explain the method of doing it.

Stout gray holland a few inches longer than the label is first to be
framed and the piece of crimson cloth pasted on it. When this is dry,
and while in the frame, the outlines of the label and letters are to be
pounced and drawn upon it in Chinese white with a camel’s hair brush.

In another frame, a piece of gold-colored cloth is to be prepared on
brown holland; and upon this the whole of the letters, or as many as
possible, are to be pounced and drawn in India ink. Over the outlines
of the letters, a black cord must be closely sewed; and when the
frameful is completed in this manner, the holland is to be pasted all
over at the back to secure the stitches and make the letters firm.

When quite dry, the holland with the letters may be taken from the
frame. They are then to be cut out with sharp nail scissors--leaving
the sixteenth of an inch of cloth beyond the black cord everywhere,
and laid in their places on the crimson cloth, fixed with pins, and
finally sewed down through the black cord by stout _waxed_ silk
in stitches an eighth of an inch apart. The small edge of gold-colored
cloth beyond the cord should not be interfered with; it will rather
improve the effect of the letters on the crimson ground.

A black cord must also be closely sewed along the outline of the label,
and beyond it a gold silk cord the color of the letters. This done, and
the work strengthened at the back by paste, the label may be taken from
the frame. It should then be cleanly cut to within an eighth of an inch
of its outline all around, when it will present a perfect piece of work
of its kind, and will be in a condition to transfer or mount to its
final position.

  [Illustration: Fig. 111.--PATTERN FOR LINEN ALTAR-CLOTH.]

The “fair linen cloth” is laid on the thicker covering at the top, and
falls over the table in front to the depth of the worked border, unless
there is an embroidered super-frontal beneath, which it would conceal.

It is made of lawn or the finest linen, and bordered with an
appropriate design in chain-stitch--which may be worked either with
white or colored cotton. This cloth should be long enough either to
cover the two sides of the altar; or it may be made only to turn down,
as at the front, to the width of the border; which, in every case
should be continued along the two ends from the front of the cloth.

The pattern in Figure 111 may be used for white or colored cottons, or
for a mixture of both. Crimson and blue are the most suitable colors
for embroidering altar-linen. The worked border should rest upon a
plain hem an inch deep.




                              CHAPTER XV.

                          _LINEN LACE-WORK._


Much of this is very ancient, and it is often so beautiful that it
comes properly under the head of art-needlework.


                             POINT-CONTÉ,

Best known by its modern name of Guipure d’Art, is almost the only kind
of ancient work which, in its modern revival, has retained some degree
of beauty.

Ancient guipure was made of thin vellum covered with gold, silver, or
silk thread; and the word guipure derives its name from the silk when
thus twisted round vellum being called by that name. Cotton afterward
replaced the vellum, and several modern laces are known as guipure; but
the name is not correct, and is appropriate only to that kind of lace
where one thread is twisted round another thread or substance, as in
the ancient Guipure d’Art.

This is effected by netting a foundation, and darning a pattern over it
with the same linen thread; so that the high-sounding point-conté is
simply darned netting. But beautiful effects are produced with it, and
it has a look of old church lace.

The groundwork should be netted with linen thread in the shape of a
square; and the thread may be coarse or fine according to the purpose
for which it is intended. The netting is begun with two stitches, and
one is added at the end of every row, until there is one more stitch
than is needed for the number of holes. Thus if a square of twenty-six
holes is required, increase until there are twenty-seven stitches; then
decrease one at the end of every row until only two stitches are left.
The last two are knotted together without forming a fresh stitch.

Great care should be taken to have the netting true and even, so that
it will stretch properly in the little frame used for the work.

Each corner of the netting should be fastened to the corresponding
corner of the frame; and the lacing should be made as tight as
possible, as it is much easier to work on than when loose.

The working of the most elaborate patterns in Guipure d’Art depends
entirely upon a mastery of the stitches, of which there is quite a
variety. Those in most common use are POINT D’ESPRIT, POINT DE TOILE,
POINT DE FESTON, POINT DE REPRISE, POINT DE BRUXELLES, and WHEELS AND
STARS.

  [Illustration: Fig. 112.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 113.]

POINT D’ESPRIT is a succession of small loops. Beginning in the lower
right hand corner of the framed foundation, a row of loops should be
worked of the length required; then the frame should be turned, and
loops worked on the opposite half of each square, intersecting the
first loops in the centre of each intervening bar of netting. The
illustration will make the work quite plain. This stitch is worked
with finer thread than that used in the foundation, No. 10, perhaps, on
a netting of No. 6.

POINT DE TOILE, or LINEN STITCH, is merely plain and regular darning
over and under each cross thread, making the foundation a closer piece
of network. There must be the same number of stitches in each square
both ways, to keep the foundation perfectly even; and although the
illustration has only four squares within each of the larger ones, it
is often made fine enough to contain six or eight.

POINT DE FESTON is done in overcast stitches. At each stitch the frame
is turned; the stitches are taken across the square, and increase in
length at the top of the square.

  [Illustration: Fig. 114.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 115.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 116.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 117.]

POINT DE REPRISE, or DARNING, is begun by stretching two or three
threads over one, two, or more squares. The threads are then darned
over and under; and the last stitch, while passing through, is arranged
with the needle to form the next. This is one of the easiest stitches
to learn; and it is always worked with _coarser_ thread than the
foundation.

POINT DE BRUXELLES is merely a kind of loose button-hole stitch, and is
principally used for filling up squares. It will also form leaves when
the number of stitches is lessened in each row until they finish off in
a point.

WHEELS are begun in the centre. Four threads are taken across, as shown
in the first illustration; the thread is twisted in returning to the
starting point, and the wheel formed by passing thread under and over
the netting and the crossing threads. It is fastened off at the back of
the wheel.

  [Illustration: Fig. 118.--WHEEL BEGUN.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 119.]

The next design is a square wheel. It is worked in the same way as
the preceding, with the addition of loops in POINT D’ESPRIT, through
which and under and over the cross-twisted threads four or five rows of
thread are passed.

  [Illustration: Fig. 120.--SQUARE WHEEL.]

STARS are of various forms, as shown in figures.

The first one is worked in POINT DE FESTON around a single square hole,
which is filled in by a small wheel, or rosette.

The second is worked alternately in POINT DE FESTON and POINT DE
BRUXELLES around a centre crossed by POINT D’ESPRIT threads.

Figure 123 is more elaborate. Begin at the place marked _a_ (Figure
124), twist the thread three times round the nearest thread of the
netting, draw it on to the knot, _b_; repeat this three times,
following the order of the letters; twist the working thread also
between the threads, as seen in the illustration, and fasten it
underneath the knot, _a_; for the wheel, fasten on the cotton afresh,
and work the rest of the pattern in POINT DE REPRISE.

  [Illustration: Fig. 121.--STAR.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 122.]

The small square is worked on a foundation which is netted over a mesh
2 1-10 inches round; this foundation has seven stitches each way. The
embroidery is in DARNING-STITCH, POINT D’ESPRIT, and WHEELS. The outer
edge is button-holed. Larger squares can be made in the same way, with
a few added rows in length and breadth. These pieces are easily joined
together with a few stitches.

  [Illustration: Fig. 123.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 124.]

A quarter of a large square is given on page 121. The outer border is
done in POINT D’ESPRIT; next to this there is a border in
linen stitch. In each corner there is a large star, which is worked in
raised darning-stitch, and fastened to the netting at each point; there
is a wheel edged with button-hole stitch in the centre of the star. The
pattern for the centre of the square--only a quarter of which is shown
in the illustration--consists of four branches forming small triangles
in Point de Bruxelles, four open-work stars or wheels worked over four
holes of the netting, and a four-branched centre of Point de Feston
with a wheel in the middle.

  [Illustration: Fig. 125.--SMALL SQUARE.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 126.--QUARTER OF A SQUARE IN GUIPURE
  D’ART.]

Fig. 127 is a pretty square that has the advantage of being very
quickly worked. The border and groundwork are done in Point d’Esprit,
the centre star in Point de Reprise, the pattern in Point de Toile.
The four holes in the centres of the darned squares are filled in with
wheels.

Small squares are very pretty for cuffs, handkerchiefs, or cravat ends.
They are worked with very fine cotton in the same manner as the larger
ones, beginning on two stitches in one corner. The different stitches
in the two patterns given will be recognized as Point de Feston, Point
de Reprise, Point de Toile, and Point d’Esprit.

  [Illustration: Fig. 127.--SQUARE FOR ANTIMACASSAR.]

The handsome square (Fig. 130), is worked in Point d’Esprit, with an
outline edging of Point de Reprise. This part may also be done in close
button-hole stitch. The groundwork is in Point de Toile, with Point de
Reprise worked on it. It is very effective, and large and small squares
may easily be multiplied by different combinations.

  [Illustration: Fig. 128.--SQUARE IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 129.--SQUARE IN GUIPURE D’ART.]



                      ROSETTES, INSERTIONS, ETC.

The first Rosette is worked in Point de Toile and small wheels. The
central wheel is larger, and is ornamented with a round of overcast.

  [Illustration: Fig. 130.--SQUARE IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 131.--ROSETTE IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 132.--ROSETTE IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

The star-shaped one has a knitted groundwork, which is made by casting
on six stitches, joining the stitches in a circle, and knitting in the
first round two stitches in every stitch. For the next eight rounds,
two stitches in every increased stitch; in all the other stitches,
one stitch. The last, or tenth round, is worked without increasing.
The rosette is then darned in darning-stitch, linen-stitch, and Point
d’Esprit. The edge is worked in button-hole stitch, three button-hole
stitches to every selvedge stitch.

  [Illustration: Fig. 133.--INSERTION IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 134.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 135.]

The netted foundation of the inserting pattern is six holes wide. Begin
the netting at one corner with two stitches; work five rows, at the end
of each of which increase one stitch; continue to work the strip with
the same number of stitches--alternately decreasing one at the end of
one row, and _in_creasing one at the end of the next. To decrease,
net two stitches together; to increase, net two in one hole. When the
strip is long enough, finish it by decreasing in the same proportion as
the increasing at the beginning.

  [Illustration: Fig. 136.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 137.]

The pattern is worked in Point de Feston and star-wheel; the border is
of Point d’Esprit. The strip is finished on each side with a row of
button-hole stitches.

The four patterns given above will be found very useful for filling up
small squares, or for varying the groundwork of Point d’Esprit.

Figure 134 is a succession of Point-de Feston stitches, which half fill
each square of the netting. This pattern, to look well, must be worked
very evenly.

Figure 135 is a kind of double Point d’Esprit.

Figure 136 is a twisted thread taken _across_ each square, and
resembles lace stitches.

Figure 137 is a succession of small, close wheels, mingled with Point
d’Esprit. This makes a very effective grounding.

  [Illustration: Fig. 138.--FLOWER IN GUIPURE D’ART.]

This flower, which can be used for many purposes, is worked in Point de
Reprise, and may be done either with linen thread or with purse silk in
colors.

The pretty corners for cushions, handkerchiefs, etc., are worked in
Point d’Esprit, Linen, and Darning-stitch; and the netted foundation
is done by casting on two stitches, and working in rows backwards and
forwards--increasing one stitch at the end of every row.

The corner border requires a strip of netting nine squares wide, cut
out in Vandykes on one side, and worked round in button-hole stitch.
The embroidery is done in Darning-stitch, Point d’Esprit, Linen-stitch,
bars, and wheels. It is edged with button-hole stitch on the outside,
on which is worked a row of crochet-purl.

For this, work one double in every button-hole stitch; after every
other stitch draw out the loop on the needle about one-tenth of an
inch; take out the needle and leave the loop as a purl; take up one
loop in the last double stitch, and cast it off with the next double
stitch.

Besides being used for tidies, cushions, etc., this border makes very
pretty inserting.

But we must leave the fascinating subject of _Guipure d’Art_, and
turn our attention to one or two other kinds of Linen Lace-Work.


                             POINT COUPÉ,

Or Cut-work, improperly called Greek lace, is made on a foundation of
linen, of which some of the threads are cut away and the others worked
over, making regular square spaces.

A clearly defined ground plan is thus produced, and the pattern,
however rich and varied, is subdued and confined by guiding lines,
and may be made to form stars, circles, crosses, or cobwebs, of a
geometrical character.

  [Illustration: Fig. 139.]

  [Illustration: Fig. 140.--CORNER BORDERS.]

This kind of work is very durable, and has all the respectability of
age. Old specimens of it are frequently seen, and the seventeenth
century painters were very partial to it, using it for the turned-up
cuffs of the vandyke dress, and to edge the falling collars. The finer
kinds of it are very laborious, and one beautiful variety wrought on
thin linen fabrics is known as Spanish nun-work.

Point Coupé is very effective in furniture decoration, and for this
purpose it can scarcely be too coarse. Brown packing-cloth makes a good
foundation; worked with brown thread in a suitable pattern, simple
enough to be clearly defined by the thick threads, it will make a
beautiful border. A Macramé fringe, made of the same thread as that
used for the work, will form a pretty finish, if the knotted pattern
is simple and unobtrusive, as it should not divide attention with the
border, to which it is only an appendage.

Cut-work is particularly suitable for the ends of a white linen
altar-cloth, worked on stout linen with a thick, soft, white linen
thread, and in a very rich pattern. The lace should be firmly finished
off with a flat hem of the linen all round, making it complete
in itself. A fringe of linen thread is a suitable finish to the
Point-Coupé.

After the cover, of finer linen, has been washed and gotten up without
starch, the cut-work borders should be sewn on the ends with an open
stitch, which may be easily cut when the cloth becomes soiled; which
will occur much oftener than with the borders.

Afternoon tea-cloths, cake-covers, etc., may be very prettily
ornamented with this linen work. When intended for a border, it should
be finished with close button-holing to make it strong.

For a tea-cloth, holland or crash makes a good foundation; and a
suitable pattern for this purpose is made by drawing out nine threads
each way, and stitching all around the square spaces--taking up three
threads with every stitch. In the openings thus made, wheels, stars, or
other figures, are worked.

  [Illustration: Fig. 141.--CORNER BORDER IN GUIPURE D’ART.]


                              POINT-TIRÉ,

Or drawn-work, is also suited to decorative purposes; it is very simple
and easy of execution--being very effective in proportion to the labor
spent upon it. It is an Italian invention, and is very ornamental for
the ends of table-cloths, toilet-cloths, tidies, or towels--the last
especially being its original use.

Point-tiré is made in the material of the cloth itself; some of the
threads being drawn out, and the remainder worked into patterns more or
less elaborate. A hem-stitch like that used for pocket-handkerchiefs
is useful in this work; it may be done singly along a row of drawn
threads, or for a broader line on both sides the row--either taking up
the same threads as those taken on the other side, so making little
bars, or taking half the threads from each of two of the opposite
stitches, and thus forming a zigzag.

  [Illustration: Fig. 142.--COVER FOR A SMALL TRAY.]

Other patterns may be made by passing a thick linen thread along the
centre of a row of threads from which the weft has been drawn, and
either twisting them over each other or knotting them into groups.
It adds to the beauty of an article to embroider the spaces of plain
linen between the rows of drawn work, either with silk, or with red or
blue embroidery cotton, mixing a little of whichever is used with the
fringe. The patterns should be very simple: line patterns, dots, stars,
etc.

Figure 142 is a good specimen of embroidered drawn-work.

The materials used for this cover are white linen and coarse white
embroidery cotton. The linen must not be very fine, and it should be of
rather loose texture.

When cut to the desired size the first thing to be done is to ravel
out the threads for the purpose of forming the fringe, which should be
about an inch deep. It should at first be ravelled on only three sides:
the selvedge and the two cross sides--the other selvedge side being
left until the work is nearly finished.

For the work, draw out twenty-seven threads close together; then leave
a space, and draw out twenty-seven more in the same manner. The space
from which the threads are drawn is worked in a kind of open-stitch
with coarse embroidery cotton. Twelve threads are taken up with the
needle, and fixed by a back-stitch. Six threads are dropped; and then
again twelve are taken up in the same way as before--thus forming the
chain pattern shown in the illustration.

From the middle of the opaque stripe a single thread is drawn, and
worked in common hem-stitch; and on each side, narrow stripes in
satin-stitch form a sort of herring-bone pattern.

The work consists entirely of a series of opaque and open stripes. When
the requisite number of stripes is complete, the fringe may be ravelled
out on the fourth side, and the cover is finished.

This work washes well; but it should not be starched or ironed. The
proper way of doing it up is to pin or baste it flat and tight while
wet, upon a board, or the floor, and let it dry.


                      IMITATION OF ANTIQUE LACE.

A very rich kind of work founded upon old lace is done by drawing
patterns on linen and overcasting or button-holing the outlines. The
ground between is then cut away, and the patterns enriched with bars,
cords, and raised work.

This kind of linen embroidery may be made very beautiful and lace-like;
the exquisite patterns of Venetian, rose, raised, or bone point, can
easily be reproduced in it, although, while preserving the peculiar
beauty of their forms and proportions, they should, to adapt them to
this work, be considerably enlarged and their details much simplified.
Unless these rules are carefully followed, the linen-work will appear
only a coarse and unsuccessful imitation of the original lace.

This work is sometimes outlined with gold thread, which has an
exceedingly rich and beautiful effect; and with a lining of amber, or
golden-brown satin, a handsome and unique covering may be made for a
variety of articles.




                          TABLE OF CONTENTS.


                    CHAPTER I.--WORSTED EMBROIDERY.

                                                                  PAGE.

    Crewel Work                                                       6
    The Crewel Stitch                                                 7
    Articles to be Worked in Crewels                                 12
    An Embroidered Frieze                                            12
    A Dado in Crewels                                                12
    A Worsted-Worked Portière                                        13
    Curtains with Sprays of Sumac                                    14
    A Sweet-Pea Table Cover                                          14
    Screens in Crewel-Work                                           14
    Carriage Wraps                                                   15


                 CHAPTER II.--SIMPLE IDEAS OF COLORS.


                    CHAPTER III.--SILK EMBROIDERY.

    The Stitch for Silk Embroidery                                   20
    Group of Flowers for Silk Embroidery                             21
    French, or Flat Embroidery                                       23
    The French Knot                                                  24
    Stalk-Stitch                                                     24
    Point Russe                                                      25
    Herring-Bone, or Feather Stitch                                  27
    Chain-Stitch                                                     28
    Ladder-Stitch                                                    31
    Chinese Embroidery                                               32


           CHAPTER IV.--DESIGNING AND TRANSFERRING DESIGNS.

    Transferring Designs                                             40


               CHAPTER V.--ARTICLES IN SILK EMBROIDERY.

    A Screen of Peacock Feathers                                     42
    A Pretty Banner-Screen                                           42
    Another    „      „                                              42
    Embroidered Table-Top                                            43
    Window-Curtain Border                                            43
    Embroidered Dresses                                              43
    Panels                                                           44
    Small Curtains or Hangings                                       44
    A Wreathed Picture                                               44
    An Embroidered Room                                              45
    A Fan Table-Cover                                                45
    A Chair-Cover                                                    45
    Fire-Screens                                                     45
    A Child’s Afghan                                                 46


                       CHAPTER VI.--PRINT-WORK.


               CHAPTER VII.--SILK EMBROIDERY WITH GOLD.

    Modern Work                                                      49
    Materials Used                                                   49
    Gold Cord                                                        50
    Gold Braid                                                       50
    Bullion                                                          50
    Spangles                                                         51
    Gold Thread                                                      51


         CHAPTER VIII.--EMBROIDERED BOOKS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

    A Maroon-velvet Book                                             53
    A Queen’s Needlework                                             53
    Petrarch’s Sonnets                                               55
    Another Royal Book                                               55
    A Book of Engravings                                             55
    Scrap-Book Covers                                                57
    Album Covers                                                     57
    Letter-Case                                                      58
    Gold and Silk Embroidery                                         60


              CHAPTER IX.--APPLIED WORK WITH EMBROIDERY.

    A Lambrequin in Appliqué                                         65
    Key-Bag in Appliqué and Embroidery                               71
    Silk Appliqué Work                                               72
    Cretonne Work                                                    75
    Crape Pictures in Appliqué                                       77
    Linen Appliqué                                                   78


                  CHAPTER X.--EMBROIDERY IN CHENILLE.


                CHAPTER XI.--SILK EMBROIDERY ON LINEN.

    Embroidered Fruit Doyleys                                        82


                             CHAPTER XII.

    Holbein Work                                                     86


              CHAPTER XIII.--CHURCH EMBROIDERY.--PART I.

    Implements needed                                               101
    Stitches                                                        103
    Basket-Stitch                                                   105
    Floss Silk                                                      106


              CHAPTER XIV.--CHURCH EMBROIDERY.--PART II.

    Pulpit, or Desk Hangings                                        109
    Church Book-Markers                                             111
    Designs on Cardboard                                            113
    Church-Work in Appliqué                                         114


                     CHAPTER XV.--LINEN LACE WORK.

    Point-Conté                                                     116
    Rosettes, Insertions, etc.                                      122
    Point-Coupé                                                     126
    Point-Tiré                                                      127
    Imitation of Antique Lace                                       129




                          ORNAMENTAL DESIGNS
                                  FOR
               FRET-WORK, SCROLL SAWING, FANCY CARVING,
                                  AND
                           HOME DECORATIONS.


Fret Sawing has become an art of such wonderful popularity that the
interest in it has been shared by both amateurs and professionals to an
astonishing extent. Hundreds are earning large sums of pocket-money by
cutting these beautiful household ornaments, and selling among friends
or acquaintances, or at the art stores.

Ladies and the Young Folks find in it a fascinating recreation, and are
making dozens of fancy articles at small cost, to decorate their homes
in a charming manner, or to give as Holiday Presents to friends. The
following books contain mechanical designs of full size for immediate
use, and are invaluable alike to amateurs, ladies, young folks,
mechanics, architects, and all of professional skill:

PART 1. contains full size designs for Picture Frames. Small Brackets,
Book Racks, Fancy Letters and Figures, Ornaments, Wall Pockets, etc.
(Has patterns worth at usual prices over $8.) Price 75 cents, post-paid
by mail.

PART 2. is devoted exclusively to designs of Brackets of medium to
large size, all entirely new, and of the most tasteful detail and
execution. (Contains over 50 plans, worth at least $15.) Price, $1.00,
by mail, post-paid.

PART 3. is devoted to Fancy Work, Ladies’ Work Baskets, Easels,
Crosses, Match Boxes, Pen Racks, Paper Cutters, Calendar Frames,
Thermometer Stands, Watch Pockets, Fruit Baskets, Table Platters, etc.
Nearly 100 designs, many of them really exquisite. Price $1.00.

PART 4.--=FRET SAWYER’S ANNUAL, 1876.= Contains 84 patterns of
Crosses. Shrine Frame, Photograph Holder, Stereoscopic View Rack,
Card Receivers, Borders, Cake Baskets, etc. This is a very cheap and
tasteful book of designs. If sold singly would be worth $2.50. Price of
book, 50 cents, post-paid by mail.

PART 5.--=SILHOUETTES FOR SCROLL SAWING AND INLAID WORK.= Contains over
100 exquisite designs of Silhouettes and Fancy Scroll Work, containing
patterns of Animals, Birds, Children, Horses, Dogs, Crosses, Scenes
of Poetry and Sentiment, Women, Soldiers, Deer, Flowers, Mottoes,
and Fancy Ornaments, all ready to saw out, and most beautiful for
inlaid work. They open a new field in this favorite work, and these
are the best designs yet published in the United States. They are
remarkably handsome, many very comical, and some perfectly superb.
The page of CROSSES is alone worth the price of the book. This book
also contains many exquisite designs for painting on wood, Furniture,
and Pottery--also for Mechanical Ornaments, and Fancy Work of all
descriptions. Price 60 cents.

PART 6.--=FRET SAWYER’S ANNUAL, 1877.= Published Oct., 1877. This
is composed of new patterns, designed expressly for this season,
and will be found specially adapted to amateurs or others who have
hitherto purchased only the cheap and single patterns of more common
and less pleasing designs. The price of this book is so cheap that it
will be easily afforded by every one, even the poorest. Contains 29
new patterns, worth at sheet prices fully $1.50. New Picture Frames,
Easels, Visiting Card Case, Bracket, Doll’s Carriage, Mirror Frame,
Fancy Match Box, etc. Price 30 cents by mail, post-paid.

PART 7.--=NEW DESIGNS FOR 1877 and 1878.= This is the latest and most
artistic volume of the series; will be found by experienced Scroll
Sawyers the best collection yet published. Contains 62 patterns, worth
over $3.00--New Easels, Work Baskets, Wall Pocket, Motto “Welcome,”
Photograph Frames, Wheelbarrows, Crosses, Match Box, Glove Box, Savings
Bank, Standard Match Safe, etc. Price 60 cents, post-paid by mail.

PART 8.--=FRET SAWYER’S ANNUAL FOR 1880.= Published Jan. 1, 1880.
Fret Sawing has increased so much within the last few years, that the
manufacturers of fret saws have thought it worth their while to bring
their saws as near perfection as possible. Not only does this spirit
animate the manufacturer, but it stirs with equal force the publisher
of patterns, so that each new issue of designs is made better, if
possible, than the last. We claim that this last volume of our issue
eclipses, for originality of design and beauty of ornamentation, any
previously issued. It contains patterns for a complete set of articles
that no room should be without, all done in the Eastlake style, and no
two articles alike. This book contains over 40 patterns. Price $1.00,
post-paid, by mail.


                  Address ADAMS & BISHOP, Publishers,

                                           46 Beekman Street, New York.




                         HOUSEHOLD ELEGANCIES.

   _The most beautiful Ladies’ Book ever published. Get it for your
         Work Basket or Parlor. A Beautiful Gift to Friends._

              BY HENRY T. WILLIAMS AND MRS. C. S. JONES.

                 VOL. 2.--WILLIAMS’ HOUSEHOLD SERIES.

     A splendid new book on Household Art, devoted to a multitude
             of topics, interesting to ladies everywhere.


                               CONTENTS.

   Chap. 1.--Transparencies on Glass for Windows, Lamps, Halls,
               etc.--Diaphanie, Vitremanie. 18 Engravings.

   Chap. 2.--Fancy Work with Leaves, Flowers, and Grasses--Phantom
               Leaves, Autumn Leaves and Mosses. 23 Engravings.

   Chap. 3.--Spray Work or Spatter Work. 23 Engravings.

   Chap. 4.--Brackets, Shelves, Mantels, etc. 27 Engravings.

   Chap. 5.--Picture Frames. 17 Engravings.

   Chap. 6.--Fancy Leather Work. 29 Engravings.

   Chap. 7.--Wall Pockets. 18 Engravings.

   Chap. 8.--Work Boxes and Baskets. 17 Engravings.

   Chap. 9.--Wax Flowers, Fruit, etc. 21 Engravings.

   Chap. 10.--Indian Painting in imitation of Ebony and Ivory. 14
                Engravings.

   Chap. 11.--Cone, Spruce, and Seed Work. 35 Engravings.

   Chap. 12.--Miscellaneous Fancy Work. 46 Engravings.

     Hundreds of exquisite illustrations decorate the pages, which
        are full to overflowing with hints and devices to every
          lady how to ornament her home cheaply, tastefully,
           and delightfully, with fancy articles of her own
               construction. By far the most popular and
               elegant gift book of the year--300 pages.
                 Price, $1.50. Sent post-paid by mail.


                 _Address ADAMS & BISHOP, Publishers_,

           P. O. Box 2456.      46 Beekman Street, New York.




                      PRETTIEST HOUSEHOLD JOURNAL

                           IN UNITED STATES.

                 _Gem of Beauty! Ladies! Young Folks!
                       Just the Paper for You!_

                SEND 25 CENTS FOR TRIAL TRIP 3 MONTHS.

                      The Ladies’ Floral Cabinet

                    _AND PICTORIAL HOME COMPANION_.

      Devoted to Household Elegancies, Housekeeping, Art, Music,
          Home Pets, Ladies’ Fancy Work, Society, Amusements,
            Flowers, Window Gardening, Cottages, etc. _The
            Prettiest Ladies’ Paper in America, Beautifully
           Illustrated. A perfect Gem._ Full of good sense,
                 and invaluable to every lady for its
                 refinement, elegance, and rare value.

    Price, $1.30 per year, including beautiful Chromo.
    Price, 35 cents, three months, including beautiful Chromo.
    Price, 15 cents, three months, on trial. Specimen copy, 10c.
    None Free.

          _Agents Wanted. Get up a Club. Premium List Free._


                      ADAMS & BISHOP, PUBLISHERS,
                     46 BEEKMAN STREET, NEW YORK.

   N. B.--Please state where you saw this notice.




                           WINDOW GARDENING

                         BY HENRY T. WILLIAMS.

             Richly Illustrated with Exquisite Engravings.

       An Elegant Book, with 250 Fine Engravings and 300 Pages,

              Containing a Descriptive List of all Plants
                     Suitable for Window Culture.


A ready and invaluable aid to all who wish to adorn their houses in
the easiest and most successful manner with plants, or vines, or
flowers. Instructions are given as to the best selection of plants
for Baskets or Ferneries and Wardian Cases. Several chapters are
devoted to Hanging Baskets, Climbing Vines, Smilax, and the Ivy, for
decorative purposes. Bulbs for House Culture are fully described; also
ornamental Plants for Dinner Table Decoration. Other topics are well
considered, such as Balcony Gardens, House Top Gardening, Watering
Plants, Home Conservatories, Fountains, Vases, Flower Stands, Soil,
Air, Temperature, Propagation, Floral Boxes, the Aquarium, Rustic
Conveniences for Household Ornament, and directions in detail for the
general management of in-door plants for the entire year, throughout
the winter, spring, summer, and fall. The volume is profusely
illustrated with choice engravings, and pains have been taken to make
it one of the most attractive books ever issued from the American
Press. For sale, or supplied by bookstores everywhere, or sent
post-paid by mail on receipt of price.

                             PRICE, $1.50.




                 Every Woman Her Own Flower Gardener.

               By DAISY EYEBRIGHT (Mrs. S. O. JOHNSON).


A delightful little volume, written by a lady fond of flowers, as a
special help and assistance to others interested in out-door flower
gardening. Simple directions are given, how to lay out and plant
Flower Borders, Ribbon Beds, and arrange ornamental plants. Among the
topics treated are Geraniums, Fuchsias, Bulbs, Ornamental Flowering
Shrubs, Everlasting Flowers, Ornamental Grasses, Coleus, Pæonies,
Shade Trees, Garden Vegetables, Old Fashioned Flowers, Annual Flowers,
Perennials, Ornamental Vines, Lawns, Insects, Manures, Watering Soils.
When and How to Plant Dahlias, Lilies, Gladiolus, Verbenas, Cannas,
Balsams, Portulaccas, and nearly all the popular varieties of flowers
and shrubs. The book contains 148 pages, is charmingly written by one
deeply in love with the subject, who appreciates the tastes of ladies,
and aims to do good with agreeable, kindly advice on home gardening.
For sale, or supplied by Bookstores everywhere.

Price, in handsome Pamphlet Covers, 50 cents; bound in Cloth, $1;
post-paid by mail.


                 _Address ADAMS & BISHOP, Publishers_,
           P. O. Box 2456.      46 Beekman Street, New York.


Transcriber’s Notes:

1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.

2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.

3. Italics are shown as _xxx_.

4. Bold print is shown as =xxx=.






*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76893 ***