Chapter VI: A Lesson in Stencilling 74 (3)

Measure the length you wish to make Sally Ann's skirt. Select a piece of material that will show pencil marks, such as lawn, pique, China silk, or crêpe de chine. It will not be necessary to gore the skirt, as the smocking will form a sort of yoke for the dress. A little frock smocked in blue or red will be nice enough for all occasions. Take the material and smooth all the creases out after it is cut the right length. You must allow about the same amount of material for the width of the hem as you do for ordinary skirts. Place the smocking card so that the edge of it is on a line with the top edge of the goods. The smocking must be done before the belt is put on. Through each of the perforated holes make a dot in lead pencil. After every hole has been dotted, move the card so that there is only one quarter of an inch space before commencing to dot again. In other words, place the card so the dots have the appearance of being one continuous design.

Thread a No. 6 sewing needle with a piece of red or blue cotton. Make a tiny knot at the end. Start from the topmost left-hand dot from the under side of the material. Draw the first and second dots together. Three stitches on the right side will suffice to hold them together. Between the second and third dots let the thread span the material on the wrong side without pulling it. The third and fourth dots are drawn together and then the thread spans the space between the fourth and fifth. Do you see how we are working? First a dot, then a space, a dot, then a space, until the entire line is finished.

The second row is worked exactly the same only instead of starting on the first dot of the second row, start with the second. The third row corresponds with the first and now at last we have formed a diamond.

If a little more colour is wanted than just the dot alone, pass a thread along the edge of each diamond under the dots. A suggestion which may prove helpful to you if the material has starch in it is that it is easy to crease each line of dots before starting to smock. If the material is soft the smocking should be stroked or gauged. There is a new term to learn, "gauge." It is the same as stroking in sewing. The English women have all sorts of complicated patterns in smocking, but the one that is most popular is the diamond smocking I have told you about. After you know the principle you can make the smocking as deep as you wish and then try and smock in points. (See Figure 107.)

Feather-stitching is almost as simple as smocking. It has various other names. Perhaps you know it by the name of "brier-stitch." The first and simplest form is the single feather-stitching. A thread as fine as No. 60 sewing cotton or a heavy Germantown wool can be used for it. Baby blankets or a blanket for yourself are pretty feather-stitched in wool.

Like smocking, patterns can be had for feather-stitching. But the best embroiderers never use them, as their mechanical correctness makes the work too much like machine work. I do recommend, however, a faint line drawn so as to have something on which to guide your line and gauge your stitches.

Let us thread our needle with a piece of coarse blue thread. On a little piece of muslin draw a faint pencil line across it. Commence from the upper right-hand side of the line. Take a short stitch about three sixteenths of an inch on the right of the line, slanting to the line. Let the thread come under the point of the needle in each stitch. The second stitch is taken on the left side of the line the same distance over and the same in slant (Figure 108).

Double feather-stitching is two stitches to the right, two to the left and so on till the line is finished (Figure 109). In fact you can make three, four (Figures 110 and 111), or five stitches or even more if you wish on each side. The prettiest little border can be made of feather-stitching in circles. Take a quarter or a fifty-cent piece and draw a faint line around it on the material about one inch from the edge. Move the piece till it overlaps the pencilled circle and draw another circle. Repeat as many times as necessary to go around the skirt, sleeve, or section you are decorating. A row such as this makes a pretty decoration around the sleeves and neck of a night dress or the ruffles of drawers. Marking cotton No. 20 or No. 25 should be used for feather-stitching underwear.

Infants' dresses, bibs, or petticoats of lawn or any very sheer material of cotton or linen should be worked in fine marking cotton, either Nos. 25, 30, 40, or 50.

Just a word about threads. There are several different kinds. The most popular and best known are D. M. C., Madonna, Royal Society, and Utopia. The numbers run about the same. Some teachers recommend one certain kind, but the result obtained from using any of them is almost identical.

There is a pretty little stitch that can be made with a foundation of double feather-stitching. We used to call it "seaweed-stitch" when we were youngsters. I remember I made a white cashmere coat for my doll and used the seaweed-stitch along the hem and above the opening, and on the cuffs and collar of the coat. It was embroidered in rose coloured filo silk. A row of double feather-stitching was worked in the usual way. At the end of each stitch a little Van Dyke point or V was worked. Try it yourself and see how dainty it is (Figure 112).

A good way and something new for decoration is the feather-stitchery used like festoons on the hems. The way this is done is to take a compass and make a circle about two and a half inches in diameter. Cut it out in heavy paper or thin cardboard. Baste the hem in place and then trace one-third of the circle. Repeat in like manner till the hem has the appearance of large scallops. Along the lines work the single or double feather-stitching in No. 20 marking cotton through the two thicknesses of the material. Pull out the basting threads from the hem and then carefully cut away the material within each scallop on the wrong side of the hem. In other words, the upper part of the under hem is cut close to the stitching. Cut right down to the feather-stitching.

Only thin materials are pretty worked like this, as the doubled material gives a milk-white appearance, while the upper or single parts are transparent. A lazy-daisy stitch worked in the centre of each scallop adds further beauty to a feather-stitched hem such as has been just described. The lazy-daisy has been aptly called because it requires a stitch to connect each petal to the material.

Another name for this lazy-daisy stitch is the "bird's-eye" stitch (Figure 113). It is used to represent clovers, daisies, or leaves. The stitch is made, if for a daisy, from a common centre. Bring your needle up from the centre of the daisy and take a stitch the length of the petal. Let the thread come from the left under the point of the needle. Pull the needle through the material on the right side. A short stitch at the end of the petal catches it down to the material. The needle is now brought back to the centre and the next petal made in the same manner. Any size daisy can be made like this from the quarter to a two-inch size. Remember that the larger your daisy is the more petals it should have. As fine thread should be used for the little flowers and the heaviest silk or lustre for the big ones, it is a wise plan to faintly mark in pencil the daisy. One line will be sufficient for each petal. If you do this, you can then be sure that each petal will be the same length as the last.

A charming little yoke can be made of groups of fine tucks and rows of the daisies.

XI

COUCHING, SHADOW WORK AND TURKISH STITCH HOW TO STAMP DESIGNS

The more one does of fancy work the more fascinating it becomes. Every new piece presents an opportunity for new stitches and colours.

We have talked a lot in the first chapters of this book as to the different implements necessary for sewing and by now I am sure you have a well-equipped sewing box or basket. Now it will be necessary to add considerably to your work box for embroidery.

The crewel needle which I mentioned in the ninth chapter is the most important implement. Get a pack of assorted Nos. from 5 to 10. They will answer every purpose unless you need a large tapestry needle for couching. The most unfortunate thing about a crewel needle is that the eye has the bad habit of breaking. This is caused from the steel being so fine at the top that vigorous working snaps it off very quickly.

A tapestry needle is like a large crewel needle, only it is much stronger and the eye is very large.

A stiletto of ivory, bone, or steel should also be in your box. An orange stick can be substituted for a stiletto in case of emergency.

A small pair of scissors, too, should be included to cut the ends of silks or pare away the material after buttonholing or making an eyelet.

I have kept the most important till the last. That is the embroidery hoop or rings. Really you would be surprised to see how many different kinds there are in this world. First there are the black celluloid ones that have their good points, but they do not stretch over the material. Then there are the common wooden ones that have sharp edges that catch and fray the silk on every turn. There are some wooden ones that have a felt lining and whose edges are an improvement on the cheaper kind, but they also do not stretch over thick fabrics. The kinds that have a spring and may be adjusted to any size desired have their advantage, but the spring catches the silk also and of course that will never do for fine work. The simplest, best, and cheapest kind is the pair that is made at home. Get two pairs of the cheapest rings, even if their edges are rough. One pair should be small enough to set inside of the other. They vary from the smallest to the largest circular kind, each one setting inside of the other. Select two pairs that come next in size to each other. The most convenient size and ones that can be used for all kinds of work are the six inch. Take the larger hoop of each pair for your work. Now cut a piece of canton flannel in half-inch strips, or if mother has the coloured selvage left from a piece of flannelette, get that. The largest hoops should be wound over and over like the hoops they use in schools for fancy drills. The other hoop should be padded before winding it. To pad, lay strips two or three thicknesses deep around the hoop and then wind thickly like the other hoop. Hoops like these never leave marks on the material, as often happens with the celluloid or wooden hoops. Another point is that the sheerest material, such as chiffon, can be used in them, while if a heavy burlap or crash is embroidered over them a little of the winding strips can be removed for the time being.

There are other things you might find handy for your box, but it is no use getting them till you have occasion to use them.

Now we are ready to make use of some of the things just described. The tapestry needle will be brought into use for our next stitch, which will be couching.

It is a beautiful old stitch that is often used as an outline. It can be made as a heavy thick cord, or yet again it need only be the size of a fine string. The expression is often used, "Couch a cord on." Cord is used instead of threads and lustre on pieces where only the effect is wanted.

To couch with a number of silk or lustre threads select a No. 2 tapestry needle. Cut the skein of silk so that you will have the longest length of thread possible. Thread your needle with all the strands in the skein, if the eye will carry them. Make a stiletto hole in the cloth on the line of the design. Bring the tapestry needle through to the back (Figure 114).

A crewel needle is threaded with a single strand of silk, the same shade or lighter or darker if you desire. Fasten the silk ends down neatly on the back of the material with the single thread and bring it up one quarter of an inch from the hole and span the cluster of silk threads. The threads are caught down in this manner at quarter-inch intervals. When the end of the line is reached, the cluster of threads is again taken through to the back of the material.

Couching is a stitch that you will hear more about in later chapters.

The Turkish or Ismet stitch is another name for cat-stitching or herring-boning. See Figure 98. The stitch is taken vertically instead of horizontally, as in cat-stitch. Turkish stitch gets its name from the embroideries from Turkey (Figure 115). It seems to be the favourite stitch of the Turkish ladies.

Have you ever noticed how many pieces of Turkish embroidery are worked on coarse unbleached muslin or tan linen? The colours are generally bright green, blue, coral pink, chestnut brown, purple and then outlined in black or gold thread.

Shadow work, is not that a funny name for embroidery? But you can understand why it is called that when you see a piece worked. It gives the appearance of a design under the cloth, as all the stitches are taken from the wrong side of the material. The design is drawn or stamped on the wrong side. Lawn is usually selected for the background of shadow work because of its transparency. A heavy cotton such as No. 16 or No. 20 marking cotton or D. fine lustre is necessary.

Daisies or chrysanthemums are most popular for shadow work on account of the smoothness on their edges. Not that it is impossible to work an indented edge, but it is more difficult.

To work the shadow stitch, place your work over your embroidery hoop with the design side up. Start to work a petal from the heart of the flower. Do not use a knot. The stitch is like cat-stitching (see Figure 98). First you take a stitch on one side of the petal, then you pass over to the other side. Be sure you take the same length stitch every time. The stems are worked in outline stitch. Shadow work from the right side looks like back-stitching (Figure 116). It is used on aprons, shirtwaists, or bureau scarfs where a good effect is wanted with very little work.

There are two ways of working the leaves of daisies or chrysanthemums in shadow work: First, and the best in my opinion, is to start and work from the top of the leaf to where the midrib commences in the design. Now work from the midrib to the outer edge on the right side of the leaf. The left-hand side is yet to be filled in. Start from the base of the leaf and instead, however, of putting the needle through the material by the midrib catch one thread upon the midrib and then take a stitch on the left-side edge of the leaf, up to where the midrib ends.

The other way of working a leaf is to outline the midrib first. Then start from the base of the leaf and work across the entire leaf. The former way is the better, because there is not such a wide stretch of thread on the wrong side as in the latter method.

Batiste, organdy, and lawn are the usual materials used in America for shadow work, but in England, where more substantial materials are generally liked, tea cloths of linen in shadow stitch are often seen. Tiger lilies are good for any large piece.

The effect of shadow work on linen is as if a padded design was placed on the material.

White is the nicest for working shadow stitch on waists, especially as colour is apt to cheapen the effect.

Remember that a design drawn out in pencil soils the cottons or silks and necessitates the article being washed before it is used. You can buy patterns for embroidery so cheap and in such excellent taste that it pays one in the end to use them instead of drawing on the material. There is the perforated design that can be had from five cents up. It is the oldest and in some ways the most expensive pattern. The perforated paper is laid, with the rough side up, over the material on the ironing table or any other flat surface. An especially prepared powder that embroidery shops sell for stamping designs is the best to use. A pouncet is several layers of felt rolled together, or a piece of wood covered with felt. Rub the pouncet in the powder. See that the pattern is weighted down so that it will not slip while you are working on it. Rub the powder in with a circular movement. Lift the weights from the lower edge of the paper, and gently raising the pattern see that the design is well on before removing the pattern. A hot iron will be necessary now to set the powder. Every time you use the iron just clamp it down on the design. Wipe it off on an old piece of cloth before you press it again on another section of the design. Each time the iron touches the powder, part of it adheres to the iron and the design would be spoiled if the iron was used again before wiping it. After the design has been set, the iron can be used freely over the whole work.

There is another method of stamping with a perforated pattern, and that is placing the smooth side of the design face upward and using a blue paste that comes in cake form. The pouncet is dipped in kerosene or naptha and then rubbed on the paste. Apply to the paper as directed for the powder. This method requires no iron, but care must be taken not to get the pouncet too wet or the design will run.

A third method for stamping is one that requires to be rubbed with the back of a spoon. The fourth and newest method of stamping is by the transfer designs. The patterns are in different colours. Place the transfers with the bright or raised surface next to your material and press with a heated iron. Some patterns require a very hot iron, while for others a moderately heated iron suffices.

You can make a perforated pattern yourself by drawing a design on a piece of paper and using a sewing machine to perforate along the lines.

XII

BUTTONHOLING AND WALLACHIAN EMBROIDERY

Embroidery buttonholing is a little different from the buttonhole stitch used in sewing. It is a stitch that is most used to finish the edges of centre pieces, scarfs, and, in fact, any article where embroidery is wanted to finish the work. You know that it is possible to use a fancy stitch, such as the Turkish stitch described in the last chapter, but in that case the material will have to be turned back and hemmed. The twill or purl of buttonholing, as the little ridge on the edge is called, serves as a resistance for the material from fraying out.

The buttonhole stitch is the most popular in embroidery. It is the foundation for many other stitches. Feather-stitching is really an open form of this stitch.

As a usual thing it is necessary to pad before working buttonholing. It raises the work and makes it much more durable as an edge. The padding can be done in either running-stitch or chain-stitching.

Let us take for our first example the straight buttonholing. It is the simplest form. Cover the space between the lines with coarse, running stitches. Let the background be medium weight linen. The padding thread should be No. 16 or No. 20 marking cotton, or two strands of white darning cotton makes an excellent padding. The stitches can be fully one quarter of an inch in length. Take up a single thread of the background so that the padding will be all on the top of the material. This keeps the work well raised on the right side and perfectly flat on the wrong side. An extra row or two toward the outer edge of buttonholing raises the edge prettily. Chain-stitching is a more rapid way of padding, but should only be used for coarse work. Remember that the wider the buttonholing the more padding will be necessary.

The padding should be worked over your embroidery hoops, keeping the work as near to your fingers as possible. The actual buttonholing gets a rounder effect if done over the finger, though it is possible, of course, to do it over the hoops.

Again, no knots in buttonholing. Thread your needle with No. 25 marking cotton. Make three little running stitches and one back-stitch to insure firmness in the starting. Let your thread come up slightly under the lower line of the buttonholing. With your left thumb holding the thread down to the material draw your thread to the right, take a stitch over the padding, bringing the needle out slightly below the lower line. The thread should fall under the point of the needle in each stitch.

The next thing we learn in buttonholing is a scallop. The deeper the scallop the more difficult it is to make a good corner and to keep the slant of the stitches right. When you buy a stamped piece of embroidery, select a pattern that has a shallow scallop and one where the points are not too sharp. In working a scallop the stitches should slant vertically in the direct centre, slanting the other stitches toward this point (Figure 117).

The object in carrying the needle slightly beyond the stamped line is that all the stamping may be well covered. A stitch that is taken directly through the line shows the stamping.

The diagrams (Figures 117 and 118) show how to work a simple scallop and one with a sharp scallop. A good deal has been written about the cutting of scallops, but the safest and wisest is to wash the piece before cutting out the scallops. A pair of small embroidery scissors should be used to cut the material away close to the twill of the buttonholing. If a scallop is cut before it is washed it frays so much that the edge has an untidy look.

Some women work a row of machine stitching close to the lower edge before padding it, as a preventive from fraying, while others insist on cutting the material to allow a hem on the wrong side only. Try the first way and see if you are not successful. Another point to bear in mind in buttonholing is that the stitches should be taken very close to each other. If a piece of buttonholing is well done it is hard to distinguish one stitch from the other, and yet they must not be made one on top of the other or the buttonholing will be rough.

Wallachian work gets its name from a little community in Pennsylvania. It is a German word and is nothing more than coarse buttonholing. It is especially appropriate on heavy waists, centre pieces, pillow tops or work bags. A finer form of it looks well on sheer waists. The rings or circles are worked from a centre like the spokes in a cart wheel (Figure 119).

The leaves or petals of a Wallachian figure are worked on the slant, and here is the difference from ordinary buttonholing and the distinctive feature of Wallachian embroidery. Usually the petals have an indented top and a line running through the centre. Begin at the lower right-hand section and take a short stitch on the line as for outlining. The next stitch is taken close to this from the midrib to the outer right-hand edge. The stitches need not be quite as close as in buttonholing and no padding is required. Continue in the same slant to where the centre line stops. The stitches from this point radiate till they are in a good slant to continue down the left side. Note the stitches in the diagram (Figure 120).

Some people do not slant their stitches and the result is that the work is not as pretty and loses its chief charm.

Placing your thimble on a piece of material, make a little circle around it and in the centre make a little dot to practise the Wallachian ring on.

You will find that your thimble or spool is a great help to you also in making scallops. Draw a line with the ruler just below where you want your scallop to be. Inscribe half a circle with the aid of your thimble or spool on the straight line. Just within this half-circle draw another half-circle that will touch the upper line of the scallop. A ten-cent piece or in fact any coin can be used like this. Embroidered pieces should be washed by themselves, especially if they are worked in colours.

A little girl I was teaching some years ago was very slow in working a centre piece. She finished the piece one day just before her term was over. Thinking that she would surprise me, little Daisy decided to launder the piece herself. Her mother knew nothing about embroidery, so was not able to tell her how to proceed. So Daisy washed the piece and having seen how mother bleached the linens, Daisy desired to give her piece a sun bath. She spread it out in the sun and when she went for it the colour was half out. Poor little Daisy was heart-broken. She would not have had this trouble had she observed the following directions:

Put the piece to launder in warm water and rub it with a pure soap, such as castile. Ordinary laundry soaps are too strong of lye to be used. If the piece is very soiled let it soak a long time, several hours. Usually washing the piece out in water is sufficient. Rub with the hand only. Rinse in clean water and lay the piece on a thick cloth or a Turkish towel. Roll the towel up and leave until the piece is almost dry.

Lay the embroidery, with the worked side down, over a heavy padded surface. Press with a hot iron quickly. If the centre of the piece puckers, dampen it again till you have pressed it out thoroughly.

If you fear to put the iron directly on the piece lay a thin white cloth over it and then press. Many a really beautiful piece is spoiled in the laundering.

XIII

ROMAN CUT-WORK, FANCY BUTTONHOLING FOR BORDERS, WORK BAGS, BERMUDA FAGOTTING

Roman cut-work or Colbert embroidery is one of the prettiest forms of buttonholing. The right way to work it is to make the stitches so that each one is distinct from the other. Some people insist on crowding the stitches as in regular fine buttonholing, which is quite a mistake, as its distinctness lies in dissimilarity to the ordinary buttonholing (Figure 122).

The work is used for centre pieces, corners of lunch napkins, coat sets, as well as on heavy linen dresses. In Scotland the little girls make the entire yokes of their night gowns in cut-work as well as the top of their night gown case. These cases are placed on top of the bed pillows during the day and are marvels of fine handwork. This custom is not restricted to Scotland, but Italian, French, and German women are also proud of their night dress cases.

The design for Roman cut-work should be bold and not too close together. It should be stamped directly on the material. The American way of working it is to run a line of fine stitches on the outline and then work a row of buttonholing. The stitches are a little less than an eighth of an inch deep. The background spaces between the design are then cut away close to the buttonhole edge. Do not neglect to wet and press the linen before cutting the buttonholing. Keep the twill of the buttonholing on the outer edge of the design so that the background will be bordered with the twilled edges (Figure 123).

The European method of Roman cut-work is to run the thread first and then cut the material so that there is an eighth of an inch extending beyond the running stitches. This is turned under till the running thread forms the edge and then the buttonholing is worked through both thicknesses of the material. This way prevents the linen from fraying. The design is basted over a piece of coloured paper, letting the basting stitches follow closely the buttonholing. The wide spaces are then filled in with a simple lace stitch such as the twisted bar, woven bar, or spiders. Sometimes the spider is used in conjunction with one of the former stitches, and it is an excellent stitch for filling in the corners. Marking cotton No. 20 or No. 25 should be used for Roman cut-work, as well as the lace stitches.

To make the twisted bar, plan the open spaces so that they will be well filled and yet not too crowded. Span from one side of the space to the other with the thread, then return and whip the thread or stitch three or four times. The stitches may be connected and have the appearance of a series of points (Figure 124).

The woven bars are made by working two threads across the space about one eighth of an inch apart. Start from one end and weave. Take up one thread on the upward and the other thread on the downward pass. Continue in this manner till the whole bar is woven. The bars are placed at equal distances apart (Figure 125).

The spider is a little more complicated. It is made on an uneven number of threads, usually seven. They may be double or single. To make the whipped or double-thread spider, span the space with the thread and then whip back to the centre and connect the thread to the buttonholing again at some little distance from the first stitch. Whip back to the centre again and take a stitch directly opposite. Continue in this manner till there are five, seven, or nine threads around the centre, then proceed to weave under one and over the next thread until a good-sized spider is made. Do not make too large a spider, as it detracts from the work. An illustration for the single spider is given in the chapter on lace stitches.

The blanket stitch is a favourite for working the edge of flannel skirts or quilted covers. Worsted or coarse silk can be used for it. It is made on the raw or folded edge of the material. Two stitches are long and two are short. Sometimes they are worked like a pyramid. Beginning at the base we increase each stitch till we reach the point and then decrease each stitch in length as we work back to the base on the other side (Figure 126).

The triangular buttonhole is a pretty stitch for a conventional design that has long narrow sections. It may also be used for working a very large simple scallop (Figure 127). The way we were taught in school was to mark the section to be worked in deep points. The twill of the buttonholing must come on the lines. The stitches are not very close to each other. The stitches are taken on the line across to the next line. Begin at the longest opening and make every stitch shorter. When the line is covered, turn the work so that the twill of the buttonholing touches the top of the stitches just made. If this stitch is used on the outer scallop it will be necessary to hem the material, letting the triangular buttonholing form the edge.

Then there are fancy forms of buttonholing that are used especially in Mount Mellick work. The double buttonhole stitch is effective to fill in the large leaves. The stitches are taken in groups of two, then a little space and two more stitches. Continue in straight rows. Sometimes one will see a leaf worked one half in double buttonholing and the other half in a close stitch.

The honeycomb or mesh is a fancy name for another form of buttonholing. Work a row of buttonholing about a quarter of an inch apart. The distance may be changed to suit the design you are working on. In the second and all other rows, the needle is over the buttonhole loop directly above and a short stitch taken a quarter of an inch, or the distance you have decided on, below the loop. In starting each row bring the needle up a quarter of an inch, or more or less as you desire, below the previous row. The distance must be kept even to achieve satisfactory results. It is not necessary to start from one side always. The first row is worked from left to right, the second from right to left and so on, back and forth, till the space is filled (Figure 128).

Bermuda fagotting is the name of a stitch that gives the effect of drawn work, when no threads have been drawn. It is used on scroll designs as well as to outline a simple floral pattern. Lawn, dimity, China silk, handkerchief linen, or nainsook are the prettiest materials for this stitch, as it demands a fine, transparent background to give the right effect.

Sewing cotton No. 100 or 150 and a special needle are the only requirements for this work. The needles can be bought from any art needlework shop for five cents each. It is like a large-sized carpet needle with a small eye. A carpet needle can be substituted if it is not possible to obtain the regular needle in your locality. Tie one end of the thread to the eye of the needle. While practising this stitch it will be necessary to make guide lines. On each side of the design line make a row of dots an eighth of an inch apart. The dots above the line must be directly over the lower dots. Note the diagram (Figure 129) of this stitch. I have numbered the first six dots.

Take a stitch from one to three and tie the end of the thread under this point. Make the stitch a second time from these points, pulling the material between them closely. Pass the needle underneath and connect one and two with two stitches. Then pass to point four and connect two. Three and four are connected in the same manner. It is only necessary to tie the thread when commencing the work or a new thread. The needle is so large that it makes quite a hole in the material and the thread is so fine that the manner of working is not clear to the average eye unless a detailed explanation is given (Figure 130).

When working on a curved line or a corner it will be necessary to make an extra stitch on the outer or longer side only.

The scroll lines or stems of a conventional shirtwaist design are more dainty when made in Bermuda fagotting. The corners of handkerchiefs or a design on underwear or yokes and collars lend themselves to this style of adornment.

XIV

SATIN-STITCH AND MARKING

The more interested we become in embroidery the more we find how much more there still is to be learned about it.

There may be embroiderers who are experts in one branch of the subject and yet who will do very unsatisfactory work in another. For instance, one girl may be very proficient in fancy stitches and yet may not do the simple stitches or vice versa. Few American girls excel in the satin-stitch, not because it is hard, but it must be perfectly accurate. The average German, Swiss or French child can do better satin-stitch at the age of twelve than the average American woman does. From the time the children in those countries can hold a needle in their hand they are taught to sew and embroider.

Satin-stitch is a stitch that is taken over and over across a space. Sometimes it is quite heavily padded and at a first glance gives the appearance of a piece of material heavily raised. Fine designs should, however, be slightly padded. There are three ways in which padding may be done. There is the running or uneven darning, the chain, or the filling-stitch. A great deal depends on the smoothness of the padding. The chain-stitch should only be used for coarse work. The padding should not cover the stamped outlines, for they are needed as a guide for the satin-stitch. The padding is usually worked in a heavier thread than the outer stitches. Darning cotton that comes in four strands is often used. One or two strands is sufficient.

The prettiest satin-stitch is taken straight across. The stitches should not be crowded, but should be worked so that when the embroidery is finished the stitches are hard to distinguish one from the other.

The Old English letter "E" (Figure 131) shows a good example of satin-stitch and outlining. The latter was used on the single lines. The entire letter may be carried out in satin-stitch by first running the single lines with uneven darning stitches and then covering these with fine satin-stitches. Make the padding stitches as close together as possible, or the satin-stitches will be uneven.

The letter "C" (Figure 132) offers an opportunity of combining two colours. After the satin-stitch has been done, a little back-stitch is worked through the centre of the heavily padded sections. This combination of stitches is pleasing when colour is used, as the satin-stitch is in one colour and the centre stitches in another. A great many of the regular sewing stitches can be used instead of the embroidery ones. For the very fine lines, back-stitching can be used, making the stitches finer than those used in ordinary sewing.

The letter "A" of Figure 133 shows a good combination of satin-stitch and back-stitching.

Satin-stitch can be worked straight across or on the slant. Most of the modern work is straight, though a great many Germans still prefer to slant their stitches. The work should be held toward you and the needle straight. The padding should be worked lengthwise on the design and the satin-stitch in the opposite direction.

The Chinese do beautiful embroidery, usually in satin-stitch which is not padded and the finest of silks are employed for the work.

Another way of marking is to make a row of French knots along the outline design. A single line script letter lends itself best to this kind of work.

For bath towels an outlined letter is better than a padded one. The letter on a school bag or a heavy Turkish towel should be very simple as the wear they get does not warrant the spending of too much time on them. If there is a monogram to be made it is prettier if the initials of the Christian name be light and the surname heavy.

We learned about outlining in the first chapter of embroidery stitches, but outlining in combination with outer stitches is a little surprise for you. We have the German to thank for most of the good combinations of stitches or letters. After the letter has been outlined in white, we will say, a thread of colour is taken. Starting from the upper left-hand side the needle is passed under the first stitch of the outlining, up through the second stitch and down again through the third, till every stitch has been taken up on the needle (Figure 135). The threaded needle should not pass through the material except at the beginning and end of each line (Figure 136).

Another manner in which a letter may be embroidered, especially an old English letter, is to work it solid in white and outline it in colour. The Van Dyke point is good also where a broad space is to be filled. It is sometimes called the bird's-eye stitch.

Start at the top and on the left side of the letter or space it is to fill. Insert the needle on the right side and take a stitch to the centre on a slant like a buttonhole stitch. Fasten to the material with a little short stitch. Bring needle out at the extreme left and repeat directions until the space is filled. Each stitch forms a V (note Figure 138).

Sometimes you will find a very elaborate letter, the outline of which has been worked in satin-stitch or French stemming. Little eyelets or satin-stitch dots are worked between the lines.

When two or more letters intertwine they are called a monogram. It is not every set of letters that will make good monograms. Letters that have a good swing should be selected so that though they intertwine each letter should stand forth clearly. It is permissible to use the surname initial a trifle larger than the Christian initial. When monograms are composed of three letters and one of the smaller letters is placed on either side of the larger one the effect is very pleasing. The smaller the letters, the finer the thread should be. No. 50 or 60 marking cotton can be used for letters one half-inch in size. A three-quarter inch letter should be carried out in No. 45 marking cotton. A one-inch letter requires No. 35 cotton, while the two-inch letters take No. 30 and so on. The larger the letter the coarser the cotton.

The beauty of a monogram is to have something original. Perhaps you want to work your bag. Take a tea cup and place on the material in the position you desire the monogram. Run a faint pencil line around the cup. Draw a block letter in the centre so that it touches the upper and lower edges of the circle. Your two Christian initials are then placed one on each side of the centre letter. Try to fit the letters so as to keep the circle perfect. It may be you will not really draw block letters, but so much the better, as the monogram will be more original. If it is impossible to make a complete circle with the letters, embroider the sections of the circle between the letters in stem-stitch. Stem-stitch, you will remember, is an outline-stitch covered with the over-and-over or small satin-stitch.

A monogram of this sort is especially appropriate for a man's handkerchief. A twenty-five-cent piece, or a fifty-cent piece if it is a very large handkerchief, should be used for the circle. Seeding (Figure 139A) may be combined with satin-stitch in working monograms. Seeding is nothing more than a series of little back-stitches. A good effect is obtained by working one letter in satin-stitch and the other in seeding. It will be necessary to outline the outer edges of the seeded letter.

You have probably noticed the gold emblems and lettering on the sleeves of army officers' regimentals. They are generally worked in bullion, though sometimes gold thread is used. Bullion comes in gold and silver and at the first glance looks like the Oriental gold or silver threads. The difference is, however, that bullion is tubular, while the threads are usually composed of two or three strands twisted together or over and over a thread of red cotton. The red cotton makes a strong foundation for the gold threads and, by the way, do you know that all silk that comes on spools has a fine thread of cotton running through the centre? The purer the silk the less cotton is used, but the latter is very necessary, as the threads will not stand very much strain if they are all silk.

Now let us get back to emblems in bullion. It is necessary in bullion work to have a fine cardboard foundation which is called "the cartoon." Trace your design on the cardboard and then cut the design out. Baste the cartoon to the background, which may be of any material you desire. Broadcloths, silks, satins, and velvets are the materials usually selected for the work. Thread a fine needle with a piece of silk. Fasten the thread on the wrong side of the material and bring the needle up through the right side. Let us suppose that you are working the block letter A. Start from the apex of the letter. Cut a piece of the bullion just the size of a very small bead. Slip the needle through the cut piece of bullion and span the point of the letter. Continue in this manner till the cardboard is closely covered with the bullion. Each piece of bullion is cut to fit the space it is to cover.

In working a five pointed star, start and pad each section lengthwise, if it is to be embroidered in silk or cotton. For bullion work the cartoon is always necessary.

Work each section of the star from the point to the centre. Work from left to right, so that each section that is worked is to the left.

Papier-maché letters can be bought that may be used as a padding. They are very satisfactory for anything that is not to be laundered, but continual washings flatten the papier-maché, while if the padding is made of cotton it lasts as long as the background.

Handkerchiefs for yourself can be daintily marked in very fine feather-stitching in D. M. C. marking cotton No. 80. Remember to keep the stitches in a pretty slant.

There are numerous places that a letter or monogram can be used. A girl I know who is at a boarding school has marked all her bed linen and towels. For each pair of sheets and two pillow cases she uses a different style letter or monogram so that her linen is in sets.

Cross-stitching is appropriate for bath towels, although face towels are often very attractive worked in this stitch.

The question often arises as to which is the right place to put a letter or monogram on a table cloth, napkin, pillow case, or sheet, and though you may not be interested in any of these articles at present, it is well to know these little points when helping to mark the household linens.

Napkins are usually marked with the letter in the direct centre when folded. Of course, like many other things, there are fads for changing the position. One extreme style is to mark the letter in the direct centre of the napkin. This style necessitates folding the napkin in a fancy shape so that the embroidery will be seen at its best advantage.

There are two good ways to mark a table cloth. One is to place the lettering midway between one corner of the table and the hem. When the cloth is on the table the letter is below the top. The second and newer way is to have the letter on the top of the table on a line with the plates. If two sets of letters or monograms are used place them at diagonal corners.

On sheets the letters should be placed two and a half inches above the hem. The letter is worked so that when the sheet is folded back the base of the letter is toward the foot of the bed.

Pillow cases or towels are marked in the centre of one side, two inches above the hem.

Again let me impress upon you not to embroider white washable material in silk, thinking that because silks are more expensive they are better. Silks are apt to discolour in laundering. Cottons are now manufactured that have a high gloss like silk and yet they never discolour.

Another pretty and new way to mark letters on lawn or fine linen handkerchiefs is one that gives the effect of Bermuda fagotting and yet it is only hemming with a large needle (Figure 140). Draw the letter in pencil on the handkerchief. Thread a large tapestry or chenille needle with a piece of No. 200 linen thread. Cotton thread may be used but it is very apt to break. Tie one end of the thread to the eye of the needle so that it does not slip out. Thread another needle with a strand of No. 8 marking cotton and pass it to the back at the beginning of the letter. Unthread the needle, allowing a half inch to extend out of the back. Let the No. 8 cotton follow the lines of the letter and take a stitch into the material with the large needle. Work from right to left, holding the No. 8 cotton from you. Pull the fine thread tight around the stitch you have taken. Now pass your needle around the same group of threads of the material, holding the stitch over the heavy cotton. Work around the entire outside of the letter, then turn and work the inner line. Stitch again through the hole already made, taking up the same group of threads. Sometimes this style is called ladder-stitch, as the heavy cotton gives the effect of the side of the ladder and the groups of threads represent the rungs. Any design that is uniformly narrow can be carried out in ladder-stitch.

XV

EYELETS AND FRENCH KNOTS, BULLION STITCH, AND OTHER FANCY STITCHES.

The most beautiful of the embroidery stitches is the eyelet, and it is also one of the hardest. A piece of embroidery that is thickly covered with eyelet-work and possibly a little satin-stitch and buttonholing is commonly termed Madeira embroidery. One will often see a piece of the Madeira embroidery so closely covered that it is almost impossible to put another stitch in between the embroidered spots. About fifty years ago it was a matter of impossibility to buy machine embroidery, and eyelet-work was one of the last things made by machine. It was an easy matter to distinguish the hand-work from the machine-work up to about five years ago. A certain regularity of the stitches and the kind of thread used proclaimed it machine to even the amateur. Now-a-days the crafty manufacturers stamp the material to imitate the hand-made embroideries and use a thread of the same quality so that sometimes the professional embroiderers find it hard to distinguish it from the real.

If you should ask a boy who has watched his mother working one, what an eyelet is he will probably tell you that it is cutting holes in the material and sewing them up again. To his mind this is a great waste of time.

Besides being ornamental, the eyelets often play an important part. They are used to run ribbon through in corset covers, night-gowns and other pieces of underwear, as well as on bags, baby bootees, (Figure 142), caps and carriage covers. No machine beading can impart the elegance that a well-made eyelet does to a personal garment. Eyelets can be either round or oval. For a small round one run a tracing thread on the outline. Let each stitch take up but one or two threads of the material. Use No. 35 or finer marking cotton for small eyelets. With your stiletto pierce a hole in the outlined edge till it is just the size of the stamped eyelet. Now with the same thread sew around the opening with close over-and-over stitches. The stitches should only be the width of the stamped line (Figure 143). They must be even, else you will have a "Pig's-eye."

For the large round eyelet, as well as the oval, in all sizes it will be necessary to cut the material within the outline which has first been traced with the running thread. The cuts should be made lengthwise and crosswise, right to the tracing thread. The cut material is turned under to the wrong side and the eyelet worked as just described. After the embroidery is finished turn the material over and any part of the cut cloth that extends beyond the stitches trim off. Your fine embroidery scissors should be used for the cutting.