CHAPTER II
THE ART AND CRAFT OF EMBROIDERY—THE SIX POINTS
“Chaires, Stooles and Screen, the same, all of Satten Stitch done in Worsteads.”
We shall now consider the six important points of design.
Art and Craft.—Many women have an inherent instinct for needlework—that is, the craft of the needle—for the knowledge of how to use a needle and thread is generally easily acquired; but it is quite otherwise when the design, the artistic or imaginative part, has to be carried out, as it ought to be, by the worker. Then all sorts of difficulties arise, mostly imaginary, as those who make an attempt may find.
Let us here consider the design as a necessary part of the workmanship. We shall be ambitious enough to study embroidery from an artistic point, for the art and the craft ought surely to go hand in hand.
The Habit of Design.—A special knowledge of drawing is not essential for pattern making—a child will make delightful patterns—nor for simple designs composed of straight lines and geometrical forms, such as might be happily applied to borders for articles of daily household use or for personal wear. A ruler, a compass and a sheet of squared paper are sufficient for initial efforts: and once the habit of simple designing is acquired it can become a wonderfully absorbing pastime, for eyes that are opened to see will find designs on every side.
Good Taste and Common Sense.—To carry out a piece of work successfully, however, the embroideress must possess good taste and common sense; these are indeed important qualities, the possession of which will help the beginner enormously: add to these an eye for colour and form, a practical knowledge of the stitches commonly in use, some acquaintance with materials, their utility and adaptability, and the worker will find herself fairly well equipped to start her design.
The Six Points.—There are about six points to be considered in connection with a piece of embroidery:—
The Object and its Use.—We must decide this, bearing in mind the position the work will occupy when finished; choosing a material suitable for the purpose, and with due regard to the restrictions of economy.
The Colour Scheme.—Consider the environment, and let the scheme be in harmony with or in contrast to the background and surroundings.
The Construction.—Plan carefully and arrange for the decoration, which should never interfere with the usefulness of the finished work.
The Building up of the Pattern.—This should always be done with a view to the limitations of the material.
The Stitchery.—This must also be adapted to the material—with bold, effective types for the coarser woven stuffs, and daintier, closer stitchery for the firmly woven textiles.
Finishing Touches.—A beginner rarely realises the importance of these, yet it is well worth while bestowing thought on them; interest may be considerably heightened by such additions or an otherwise good piece of work rendered less attractive by lack of care and thought at the final stages.
It will now be seen that the design—the least mention of which strikes terror to the soul of the uninitiated—does not consist in the drawing or the making up of the pattern alone, and that there are important preliminary stages to be gone through. Indeed the design is well on its way by the time the worker reaches the fourth point, i.e., the building up of the pattern.
The First Point: On the Choosing of
Materials, Threads, Tools, Etc.
Materials.—Materials, threads, and needles are important items, and should be chosen carefully; to spend time and labour on embroidery on a poor foundation is an extravagance rather than an economy—the tendency being to make up for the poorness of the quality by the profuseness of the decoration. Materials need not be costly, but they should be good of their kind.
Homely Materials.—Charming things can be made out of homely cloths, remnants and oddments. Texture, tone and colour should be considered, both from a practical and an artistic point of view; a background that is pleasant to work upon is always an advantage. Linens, of varying quality and texture, can be relied upon for domestic purposes—they make for good stitchery, they wash well, and are very durable. (Plate VII.) Some unbleached materials are extremely economical.
Greenhouse Shading.—A soft creamy netting used for greenhouse shading, which may be obtained from any of the large seed merchants, is made in different widths from 54 inches to 72 inches. It has an open mesh and lends itself to all types of darning and needle-weaving—the narrow widths make excellent semi-transparent sash curtains, which may be brightened by applied bands of coloured linen or chintz, and finished with rows of simple running or tacking stitch in wools or in some of the coarser makes of embroidery cottons. (Plate VIII.) The thicker quality has a closer mesh and is admirable for coverlets and hangings. These, when edged and decorated with lines of bright-coloured washing braids, and wide borders of coloured cretonnes—which again may be connected with bars of needle-weaving or darning, or any simple stitchery—make charming and economical articles, such as any housewife might well be proud to possess. (Plates V. and VI.) Covers and runners to match might complete the set. This would be a pleasant and instructive work for a girl’s leisure hours; she might make just such a set for her bedroom, with the addition of chair covers and cushions, adorning them beautifully with some simple design and a colour scheme of her own choosing.
Damask and Huckaback.—Damask linens, with simple-patterned backgrounds, twilled sheetings, of various makes, and huckabacks, can be used most effectively for runners, mats, and luncheon sets; the soft, warm, creamy tone of the unbleached material blends harmoniously with bright-coloured threads and wools.
Titian Canvas.—Many coarser and more loosely woven textures make most charming and desirable backgrounds for bands of needle-weaving. (Plate VI.) Coarse canvas in various colourings, woollen hopsacks, floor-cloths, etc., are adaptable for many household articles.
Russian Crash.—A common roller towelling, or Russian crash, as it is also called, is a delightful material (Plate III.), and may be had in narrow widths, varying from 12 inches to 24 inches; it is woven by the Russian peasantry in small handlooms and varies considerably in texture and quality—but in all cases it is a most durable and suitable linen for domestic purposes.
The Scottish Blanket.—Another pleasing material for wool decoration is the well-washed, worn-out Scottish blanket; with the smaller pieces one can make hassocks and cushions which look wonderfully well in strong colours in any flat stitch; the larger single blanket can be used for coverlets or hangings—with applied decoration where the material is too frail for general hard wear. Decorated with edgings of woollen braids, etc., these will look almost new, and certainly will give immense satisfaction to the worker.
Threads are to be had in great variety and in different makes, many of which are excellent for embroidery. Cottons and flaxes in various sizes and thicknesses in a large range of colours can be combined most successfully.
Embroidery Wools.—Wools and yarns, particularly the types known as fingering, in three, four, and five-ply, are reliable both in colour and quality. It is always advisable to shrink wools before using them for embroidery if they are to be applied to articles which require frequent washing. Crewel and tapestry wools, to be had in hanks, “white heather” mending in balls, are very convenient for needle-weaving and canvas work, and they may be had in beautiful colours.
Silks.—Silks of different makes, embroidery or knitting, filosel, filo-floss and a soft, thick variety known as “Tyrian,” are all good for various purposes. The latter is particularly useful for couching lines; filo-floss—a bright, glossy silk with no twist in it—requires some skill in the manipulating of it, therefore filosel or mallard floss, each of which has a slight twist on it, is better for the less-skilled worker. Carpet chenilles in colours, both cotton and woollen, applied to coarse canvas or sacking, are used for the making of mats and rugs. Woollen and mohair, cotton and brush braids of the common skirt type, carpet and binding braids, cords and French tapes, coloured and washing gimps, all may be used with advantage for embroidery. It is better to shrink some of the loosely woven skirt and carpet braids before applying them to the material, or they are apt to pucker the material after washing.
Good needles should always be used, with well-drilled, good-sized eyes. Care should be taken to choose them so that they may be exactly suited to the thread and to the material; the eye should be large enough to hold the thread easily, in which case it will make a hole in the foundation of a sufficient size to allow the thread being pulled through without roughening it. Scientific sharps are very pleasant to use—numbers four, five and six, are suitable for cotton and flaxes, crewel and chenille, and long-eyed sharps for general embroidery and needle-weaving. For openwork backgrounds such as are shown in Plate XI, H, I, J, K, L, where no threads are withdrawn from the material, a special needle with a large thick stem and a small eye is used; it separates the threads of the material and makes them easier to gather into groups by means of the tightened thread.
In working on loosely woven materials—such as canvases—and for weaving patterns, tapestry, chenille, or rug needles with blunt points are the most comfortable to use; if these are not to hand, work with the eye of the needle foremost.
A well-fitting thimble, preferably vulcanite or silver lined with steel, is necessary. It should be deeply pitted to catch the eye of the needle and well finished, so as not to roughen the thread. Scissors of different sizes are required: a large pair with one sharp and one rounded point—these for the cutting and preparing of the material; a small sharply pointed pair for the snipping of threads; a special pair with a little square knob on the one blade and a sharp point on the other for cutting out threads and sections between embroidered and openworked parts; these are a safeguard and prevent the snipping of the work.
Frames are not necessary for the simpler types of work, but for wide borders in needle-weaving, particularly for the novice, a frame will fix the warp threads by keeping them taut, and prevent puckering of the material—little tambour frames which consist of a couple of rings, the one fitting into the other, will serve the purpose.
Finally, a small emery cushion, for polishing the needle should it get sticky or rusty, a piece of beeswax is useful for flax threads, a stiletto for piercing eyelet holes, a yard measure, a bodkin, and some small pins, are all necessary items, which should always be at hand when wanted.
The Second Point: The Colour Scheme.
Colour lends an inexpressible charm to our daily life—it is in nature that it exists in greatest beauty. The wonderful robe of colour which she displays for us throughout all seasons and in all countries, through the flowers and fruits, trees and foliage, sea and sky, the birds, animal and insect life, all under different aspects and ever-varying circumstances, increase our admiration and pleasure. We reflect and gratify our need for colour in our intimate surroundings—dress, hangings, furniture, carpets, pottery and pictures. The embroideress who has a fine instinct for colour will arrange a scheme wherein beautiful combinations of hues, tints, and shades will mingle and produce a harmonious whole. It is for those less favoured that the following hints are given. A knowledge of the principles of colour will serve as a guide, while the use of a chromatic circle, i.e., a colour circle, will be invaluable to the beginner. This convenient arrangement wherein successive strips of all the colours are placed concentrically in their due proportions—as in the prismatic spectrum—will enable her to study the varieties, the relations and the peculiarities of colour and help her to arrange and select those hues, tints and shades which will combine well together; it will aid her to obtain happy effects with some appreciation of its harmonies and contrasts.
The three primary colours, green, red and blue—green being now generally accepted as a primary instead of yellow—offer the greatest contrast to each other. They are the strongest and most powerful and exercise a greater influence on the mind than any of the others; add to these, orange, yellow, violet, white and black—the sum of these six colours constitutes white, and the absence of all, black—and we have the eight from which all the other colours and their modifications can be made, easily and systematically.
Red (Complementary Colour, Bluish-Green).—Red, the strongest and most powerful, excites and stimulates the eye. It was the first colour to be used for decorative purposes by primitive man, and the first to receive a name: it is the most predominant of the warm colours, and on account of its fresh, bright, cheerful character, is much used by beginners; but this very assertive quality makes it rather difficult to combine with other hues, therefore it is well to use it in small quantities for general purposes. Red, in different hues, has always been the symbol of power and distinction. Scarlet has been used for regal robes and state ceremonials, as well as for military purposes—it indicates bloodshed and war, fierceness and courage. Red of a rosy hue signifies divine love. It has been a favourite colour with the poets from the days of Homer to our own time. The complementary of red is bluish-green.
Blue (Complementary Colour, Yellow).—Blue followed red—it is of a quiet retiring nature, soft and soothing in effect, imparting the same quality to all the hues in which it predominates. It is one of the cool colours and is symbolically emblematical of heaven, piety, and intelligence. The complementary of blue is yellow.
Green (Complementary Colour, Purple).—Green, the most prevalent colour in nature, and the least stimulating, has a remarkably distinct and striking effect on the eye. It is highly refreshing as well as soothing, and is the necessary restful colour, the opposite of red. Yet the nervous power of the eye is sooner exhausted by strong greens than by any other hue; thus, a piece of work with a preponderance of green is not so pleasing to look at constantly as the piece where blue predominates. Symbolically, green is the emblem of bountifulness, youth, happiness and prosperity. The complementary of green is purple (violet-red).
Yellow (Complementary Colour, Blue).—Yellow approaches white, and is therefore a brilliant and advancing colour. It possesses the greatest power of reflecting light; is rather difficult to combine unless modified. Bright yellow has been used emblematically, to express charity, joyousness, plenteousness and old age—greenish-yellow is the symbol of jealousy and envy. Its complementary is blue.
Orange (Complementary Colour, Greenish-blue).—Orange, coming between red and yellow, partakes of the nature of both—it expresses warmth, fruitfulness and wealth. The complementary colour is blue with a tinge of green.
Purple (Complementary Colour, Green).—Purple is the quietest of the rich colours, being composed of red and blue. It varies in tone according to the amount of its constituents. When blue is predominant it is symbolical of mourning, expressive of sorrow, sadness, and is called violet; when inclining to red it becomes warmer and richer. It expresses dignity, pomp, and regal power. Its complementary colour is green.
These six bright colours, when used in conjunction with black and white, with each other, or with their complementaries, will strengthen, intensify and enrich each other without altering their true value—when such vivid effects and sharp contrasts offend the taste of the worker, when they appear too crude, too conspicuous and too obtrusive—which they are apt to do—they may be harmonised quite simply, either by modifying the complementaries or by using a tint or a shade, that is, a lighter or a darker tone of the same colour. The strength and potency of these startling contrasts are in this way tempered; they become less glaring, less assertive, pleasanter and simpler to arrange, and lose the jarring effect they might have if used in their full brilliancy. For simple household articles with little decoration these bright colours may be used with charming effect. It is well to remember, in choosing the tints and shades of a colour, that the foundation material will have a considerable influence on them. On a white ground they will appear stronger and brighter, their tone being heightened by the white or light background, while on a black ground they appear more distinct and brilliant, particularly light ones, the contrast being greater. Dull hues gain in brightness when used with black and lose accordingly when combined with white.
Juxtaposition of Colour.—Colours, then, when associated, influence each other simultaneously in various ways, darkening and lightening, adding to or detracting from, as the case may be—thus, by placing a light and dark one in contact, for example, black and white, the former looks blacker, intenser, while the latter looks more startlingly white on account of its dark neighbour.
It is advisable, also, in arranging the colour scheme—after taking materials and positions into consideration—to determine at the very outset what the leading features are to be, and to have one colour in the scheme more predominant than the others, either in intensity or in area. There should be some central point or points of interest which will attract the eye to certain parts of the construction.
PLATE II.
SOME USEFUL STITCHES ([See p. 29])
A Dominant Colour.—A liberal use of a dominant colour, by conveying a definite impression, will give decision of character as well as beauty of tone to the work, while a vague, uncertain, or too equally distributed arrangement will leave an unsatisfied and indefinite impression on the mind.
There are abundant suggestions to be had from fields, hedgerows, flowers, plumage of birds, etc., for the embroideress who can adapt them to her purpose, but a simpler plan for the beginner is to choose her colour scheme from a good picture, a coloured illustration, a piece of chintz, cretonne or good brocade, or, when possible, to study the various pieces of old embroidery preserved in our museums, as a record of the time when we could compete with other countries, when embroidery was almost the sole occupation of women of rank, as it was of the occupants of the convents.
Green.—If we were to use one of the primaries as a dominating colour, say green, a bluish-green, we might have as a background a deep pomegranate red, the design could be worked out in bluish-greens, grey-greens, soft blues and purples, with touches of pale chamois yellow here and there; all the colours should have a tinge of bluish-green, the combining colour.
Blue.—Or we might choose blue, the pleasantest, simplest and most harmonious combining colour, and select as a background a warm white or cream. The decoration could be carried out in various tones of blue, deep rich blue, turquoise, deep and pale orange, and a blue grey—much would depend on the tones used in combination and the manner in which they were employed. Always avoid a spotty effect, and do not contrast colours too suddenly in an endeavour to emphasise special points.
Red.—Red, when used as the predominant or combining colour, looks best on a dark blue or a cream background. With a dark blue ground, white or cream, bright greens and a touch of dull orange will work in well with the reds, the former combining to make the latter less assertive. With a white ground and the same colours, the work becomes suggestive of some of the beautiful Bokhara embroideries in which reds, greens, blues and yellows—the latter used sparingly—are combined so gaily and instinctively.