The Stitches
There is a great variety in the stitches which may be employed in linen embroidery, but for each separate piece of work it is best to keep to one or two only. In the accompanying sampler I have contrived to show about a dozen different ones without seriously interfering with the unity of the design; but it is to be taken merely as a sampler of stitches, and of those only the most desirable for Church linen.
All this kind of work should be solid and firm without being drawn too tight. It should never be so tightly done as embroidery which is worked in a frame, if the linen becomes puckered or drawn out of shape it will never ‘come right’ afterwards, so the stitches ought to be well practised on a waste piece of linen till the right degree of tension is ascertained. A want of due regard to this is the cause of much disappointment in work done in the hand; if too loose it soon becomes shabby, and if too tight it makes a series of small holes all round the work, after repeated efforts of the laundress to make the thing lie smoothly by means of much stretching and heavy ironing.
In general method, embroidery worked loose in the hand differs from that done in a frame, in that each stitch is completed by one action of the needle instead of two, as it goes in and out of the stuff.
Satin-stitch, marked A on the sampler, is nearly always padded first by running a few stitches backwards and forwards in the opposite direction to that of the satin-stitch, which covers it by going ‘over and over,’ the needle going in at one edge of the outline and coming out at the other as nearly as possible at right angles. The stitches should be placed quite close together, and should never be much more than ¼ inch across: if the design shows a wider space to be filled it must be subdivided by a voided line. Some workers pad their satin-stitch very thickly, thinking to make it handsomer; but all very high relief is a mistake from an artistic point of view, as it destroys the delicacy one expects to see in linen-work, and obtrudes itself unduly even when worked entirely in white. Indeed, some authorities go so far as to say that the change of surface or texture caused by the stitchery is the only legitimate effect in white work; but I think the majority would allow a little relief, providing it is not exaggerated, especially as it causes the satin-stitch to lie much more smoothly than when done without any under layer of cotton.
Next to the satin- and chain-stitches I think BUTTONHOLE-STITCH is perhaps the most useful for linen embroidery. Simple buttonholing is worked from left to right, setting the needle in and out at right angles to the outline, holding the thread down with the left thumb at each stitch while the needle goes over it. Both chain- and feather-stitch may be considered variations of buttonhole, the principle of the method being the same in each case, viz. working from left to right (or from the top downwards), holding the thread under the thumb for the needle to pass over as it pierces the stuff and comes out again at one ‘stroke.’
In ordinary buttonholing the stitches are placed as near together as possible: at a little distance apart it becomes ‘blanket-stitch,’ of which there are as many variations as the ingenious needlewoman chooses to make, but which are not appropriate to our present purpose.
To work the foliation marked B on the sampler, it should be slightly padded, exactly as for satin-stitch, and the ridged side of the stitch kept to the outline; round the inner curves, if a sufficient number of stitches are inserted, the ridge will stand up a little and accentuate the ‘eye’ of the curve very prettily. The firmness of outline obtained by buttonholing has caused it to be applied to the most beautiful designs for cut-linen work (see Illustration, [p. 82]), which may be carried out with any amount of detail without the least danger of its fraying or getting out of shape, and which will last and wear as long as the linen itself. The outline should be run round before working the buttonhole for this purpose, the stitches kept close together and drawn rather tighter than when intended to lie on the surface.
The inner outlines, also marked B on the sampler, are done in the same stitch, in the one case set in straight and in the other slanting. The tiny rosettes above are worked by setting the needle in at the same place at each stitch. By drawing the thread fairly tight, a small neat hole is arrived at in the centre of each; if the linen is very hard and strong, the spot should be pierced with a stiletto before working.
Another application of the principle is shown as a ‘filling’ stitch at C on the sampler. It is worked like one of the lace stitches, except that the needle takes up a bit of the linen beneath at each stroke (instead of ‘being in the air,’ as lace may be truly defined). An outline of chain-stitch should be worked first, as it provides a neat and convenient boundary for the rows of buttonholing to begin and end with. Bringing out the needle on the edge to the right of the worker, it is carried straight across the work to the left and set into one of the chain-stitches there; it is then brought out at the next chain, and the long thread buttonholed over till it arrives at the beginning of the thread where it was fastened on. The same process is repeated till the space is filled, the stitches in each row of buttonholing being placed between those of the previous row, and each row beginning at the left over the thread laid across from the right.
This will be seen clearly by the detail C, which is very much enlarged to show the working, but the rows of buttonholing are not usually much more than ⅟₁₆ of an inch deep. It combines admirably with chain-stitch for leaves, flowers, and even figures, the stems and small details being worked in chain, and the filling in this solid form of buttonhole, while features and the folds of garments may be clearly indicated by voided lines.
Feather-stitch, marked D on the sampler, may be considered another development of the buttonhole-stitch, the simpler forms of it being merely one, two, or three slanting buttonhole-stitches taken alternately from the one side and the other of imaginary boundary lines. In practising the stitch, until the worker gets accustomed to it, it is a good plan to trace real boundary lines, determining the width to be kept to, and two other lines at equal distances within these, as a guide for keeping the stitches all of the same size.
Feather-stitch by itself makes a very pretty border pattern, but it always seems a little frivolous unless it is subdued by an enclosing line of chain-stitch or buttonhole, with either of which it will combine most happily. The chain may be done first on each side (making, in fact, the boundary for width), and then the single feather-stitches taken from side to side into each chain in turn, being careful to pick up a tiny bit of the stuff on the needle, as well as the thread of the chain, at each stitch, otherwise it will be only a surface-stitch, which does not wear so well, though the appearance is almost exactly the same. If buttonhole be used for the edge, either it should be done slanting, to agree with the feather, or the latter should be worked in upright stitches to suit the buttonhole. In this case it does not matter which is done first, as the stitches go between and not into each other.
Herring-bone is somewhat similar in appearance to feather-stitch, but the method of working is quite different. It is begun from the opposite end of the border, working from the bottom upwards, and the needle is set in the same direction as the line of the border, not at right angles or diagonally, but on the line itself. The stitches are taken alternately from side to side, and the threads cross each other naturally, without any intervention of the needle or thumb of the worker. It is a stitch well known to the neat-fingered housewife for keeping flat the cut edges of a seam where a hem is considered too clumsy. As a decoration it is seldom used in its simplest form; but I have seen many beautiful pieces of embroidery executed entirely in other forms of the same stitch, such as Swiss or Close herring-bone or Fish-bone. The method of work is shown here, and I think needs no further description. In the third diagram of this stitch it will be noticed that the needle goes at right angles with the outline, both in the large stitch from edge to edge, and in the little stitch in the middle. This makes the work less thick and substantial than the Swiss, which gives the same effect at a greater expenditure of silk or cotton, &c.
Back-stitching is very useful for making fine lines, for following outside of an outline which may seem too hard, or for breaking up a background, as in the central petal of the fleur-de-lys in the sampler, where it answers the same purpose as dots or ‘sympathetic lines’ in a drawing, by filling a flat surface quietly and unobtrusively. It is well to work it in rather coarser thread than the satin-stitch it accompanies. The stitches should not lie too close together; a very small piece of the stuff should be taken up on the needle at each stitch, and the point of the needle brought out at the spot where the next stitch is to be. If the dots do not look large enough, each stitch should be gone over twice, instead of only once, at exactly the same place. When three or four stitches are used one over the other, they make a smooth raised knot preferable to French knots for linen-work, as they do not get disarranged by ironing. When only one or two stitches are used for each dot, the needle should pierce the thread at the back as it goes through from one dot to the next place.
Cross-stitch is, I think, too well known to need much in the way of description. But the application of it to linen-work would well repay more attention than is commonly given to it. I need only point to the accompanying examples from South Kensington to show something of the beauty that may be arrived at by this simple kind of work. There are three typical ways of doing this, the first (as in Illustration F) by making a pattern on the linen by means of cross-stitch alone, in one colour. The second (F, f), by making the pattern by the linen, the background being in cross-stitch. The third, by combining cross-stitch with back-stitch for the fine lines, by means of which the smaller detail can be described without breaking up the pattern too much. (See F, f).
It can be diversified by using two or more colours, but a medley is undesirable. I myself prefer the patterns worked in one colour only; and I believe most of the old work was done in either red, green, blue, or brownish yellow, each used alone, and making by itself quite sufficient contrast with the white linen on which it was worked.
Illustration (F), Cross-stitch
Spanish, Sixteenth Century. V. & A. Museum (No. 227—1880)
If the linen used is too fine to allow the counting of the threads, in order to keep the stitches of a uniform size and to follow the pattern correctly, a fine canvas may be tacked over it, and the work done through the two thicknesses. When it is finished, the threads of the canvas can easily be drawn away, leaving the work on the linen sufficiently accurate if it has been carefully done. I would recommend the use of an embroidery frame for work done on this system, as the stitches ought to be set in quite vertically to keep them true. All canvas or ‘cushion’ work may be done on other textiles by means of this method, and for quite coarse work a frame is unnecessary.
There is yet another application of cross-stitch admirable for linen-work, which was much in favour for the bordering of corporals, &c., in the sixteenth century, and presents a lighter effect than the ordinary solid-looking cross-stitch. In appearance it is very similar to ‘Lacis’ (a darning on coarse, square-meshed net, or on small-meshed netting). This open-worked cross-stitch is accomplished by drawing the thread it is worked with quite tight at each half-stitch that is taken into the linen, the first process of the ‘cross’-stitch is worked all along one row before the second, which ‘crosses’ over it. It is either worked in two colours, one for the pattern and one for the ground, or the ground alone is worked, leaving the linen to form the pattern, in the same manner as F, f, the ground of the border becoming open-work. It may be thus worked with a beautiful lacy effect in white thread or silk for altar-linen. In each case the thread used must be fine and strong.
Illustration (F, f)
Spanish, Early Sixteenth Century. The same back and front. V. & A. Museum, S. Kensington (No. 224—1880)
CHAPTER XIII
ON ALTAR-LINEN
The linen required for service at the Holy Table includes a ‘Fair Linen Cloth,’ a Corporal, Chalice-veil and Pall, or a pair of Corporals; Purificators, and a Credence Cloth.
Portion of an Altar-cloth (Embroidered Cambric), Italian
The first-named should be made to fit the top of the altar exactly as to width, but may hang down at each end to within a foot or so of the floor, including the fringe.
The hem along the sides should be one inch wide and that at the ends about three inches wide. If any embroidery is worked on the part which lies flat on the top, it should not be done in high relief, and may consist of five crosses, one in the centre and one at each corner about an inch from the edges of the altar, worked in chain or close herring-bone, or very slightly padded satin-stitch.
The two ends which hang down may be enriched by any amount of embroidery, and any of the stitches described in the last chapter may be used.
Many of the clergy prefer their altar-linen worked entirely in white; linen-thread, silk, or cotton may be employed; where colour is not objected to, red, blue, green and yellow, either singly or in combination, may produce very beautiful results.
Illustration I., [p. 80], taken from an altar-band at South Kensington, is worked with the names of saints, alternately red and blue, the foliage green, fruit red and yellow, flowers red, white and blue. The stitch used throughout is close herring-bone or braid-stitch, with the exception of the quaint little birds, which are done in cross-stitch.
For less elaborate work one of the cross-stitch borders F and F, f, [p. 77], and worked in red silk or in gold colour, would look well, and all the rest of the altar-linen could be done to match, or with a narrower border.
For white work Illustration II. is very satisfactory. The outline of the leaves may be done in chain-stitch, the veins and grapes in satin-stitch, the quatrefoil in feather-stitch; the sacred monogram may be either solid satin-stitch, divided down the middle of each down-stroke by a voided line, or outlined with chain-stitch and filled with the buttonhole filling or with satin-stitch dots, or again, with close feather-stitch like the quatrefoil. The stems of the vine may be filled in the same manner, and the leaves with a series of back-stitches, like the illustration given for Chalice-veil.
A neatly sewn hem is better for altar-linen than hem-stitching or drawn thread; the latter especially being somewhat flimsy, and destroying to a certain extent the wearing properties of the fabric, is decidedly unsuitable for this purpose, except perhaps one kind, of which I give an illustration here (Illustration III., [p. 81]).
In this some of the strands of either warp or weft are withdrawn as in ordinary drawn-thread work, but instead of being merely tied together by means of the needle and thread, or the spaces between filled up with stitches, the absent strands are replaced, and one might say more than made good by the darning which builds up the pattern.
This darning might be done all in white-linen thread, or colour may be introduced as in this example, which is of blue and white alternate medallions, and the fringe is spaced with blue to correspond.
The threads withdrawn should be counted if the linen is fairly coarse, but if very fine, measurement will suffice for accuracy and is not so trying for the eyes; indeed, after a little practice, neither should be necessary in the case of the strands taken up by the needle in the course of the work. In my example—which is done on a heavy homespun linen—twenty-four threads go to the half-inch, both in warp and weft, and I would recommend that this pattern should be practised on nothing finer until it is thoroughly learnt, as it is somewhat intricate. The narrow border above and below the principal pattern is simple enough.
Fig. I.—Portion of Linen Altar-cloth Band, embroidered in various coloured silks in close herring-bone or Plait-stitch
German, Fifteenth Century. In V. & A. Museum (No. 7,025—1860).
To work it, begin by drawing three-eighths of an inch deep, then threading a needle with blue linen, silk or cotton, take up five threads (or their equivalent one-eighth of an inch), and knot the blue over them with a single knot, just to keep it in place to start with; lay the end along with the strands of the linen, and work over it by taking an equal number of strands on the needle in the opposite direction to the first lot. This must be done backwards and forwards till nearly half the bar is firmly and evenly covered with blue. Then take up five and leave five, darning (over twenty altogether) backwards and forwards about four times to make the cross-bar. The first bar is to be continued up to the end, then the other stroke of the H-form is to be worked the same as the first, only, instead of doing the cross-bar, the needle is just run through the former stitches (in with the warp-strands). They are worked alternately two blue and two white, and I strongly recommend blue or green to be used with the white for practice, for the sake of the worker’s eyes, as all white work is undeniably bad to do very much of.
To fasten off the thread it is simply run through the stitches already done and cut off close.
To work the larger part of the pattern, threads are drawn to the depth of one inch (see A, on Illustration IV., which is very much enlarged to show the method of work). This will be for a row of half medallions. A very fine needle and No. 100 or 120 cotton is used to collect the strands into a series of upright bars (B), by twisting the fine cotton over each group of four (or an eighth part of the threads which each medallion takes to do). It should be twisted round and round fairly tightly, from one end to the other, and a few stitches into the linen will help to keep them apart at each end. When this is done, another inch may be drawn, leaving a few threads of the linen intact between the two halves of the medallion, D.
Fig. II.—Border for Fair Linen Cloth, suitable for working all in white—in the same style as No. VI
Fig. III.—Strong Drawn-thread work in blue and white thread, suitable for border of Fair Linen Cloth
The dotted lines at E show how the bars are pulled apart on the one hand and drawn together on the other by the darning forming the pattern, the bars thus connecting the whole of the medallions throughout the work. F shows one of the latter being worked from the centre. It is begun by darning eight bars regularly backwards and forwards about four times. Then the two middle bars are left and one side is darned over only three bars, to finish the first ‘step,’ and to leave the little window-like opening, H, then over two bars only to finish the ‘window,’ and begin the second step. At J it goes right across six bars once, when returning to the centre it goes down the two that were left till it arrives near F again, and the other side is begun in steps like the first. At J it goes right across six again and keeps on till the second step is finished, which is where the needle has got to in the sketch. The second step is about half the depth of the first. The third is the same depth as the second, but is darned over four bars. This leaves two to be finished last, and these two are darned over till the undrawn strip of linen is reached and the half medallion is finished. The other half is exactly the same, only reversed. The thread should be worked fairly tight throughout.
Fig. IV.—Details of Fig. III, showing how to work it
The hem at the bottom should be finished off with a fringe. If colours are used in the work they should appear again in the fringe, but if it is all white a good knotted one of fine white linen thread should be sewn on by its upper edge (see Illustration II.), taking care not to stretch it at all, but rather to ease it on. It should hang quite free, not on the stuff, as it is in the case of frontals, &c.
I may here remark that it is a mistake to suppose that there is any difficulty in washing fringes. If they are not too deep in the ‘fall,’ and are well made of good linen thread, they only need to be well shaken two or three times when wet and while drying, to make them hang perfectly straight and well.
Good thread lace[11] may be used instead of fringe. Lace is also sometimes tacked along the front to hang over the super-frontal, but as it requires to be taken off every time the cloth is washed it is not practicable unless some careful lady is responsible for its welfare, or unless some such lace as Irish crochet be used, which will stand washing.
I believe the coloured embroidery described above used to be tacked on to the ends of the fair linen in this way like apparels, and removed for the more frequent washing of the cloth itself; in some modern churches where there are plenty of persons able and willing to attend to these things they are still used, and quite appropriately; but for a small village or very poor town church it seems more suitable to have good strong linen, simple embroideries (either in one colour or white), and a stout linen fringe to match.
Fig. V.—Design for Cut-linen work
Cut-linen too may be used either for an open-work border or instead of lace or fringe for the edge. If evenly and firmly worked, either in buttonhole or over-sewing, it will last as long as the linen itself.
In olden times the CORPORAL or corporax-cloth was often made large enough to cover the surface of the altar, to fold over the chalice, or a ‘Pair of Corporals’ were used. It seems to be more general now to have one corporal about twenty-four inches square, and one smaller and thinner—a ‘Chalice-veil,’ used in conjunction with a stiffened square of linen called the pall; which together take the place of the second corporal.
The corporal may be worked with five crosses like the altar cloth, only smaller, or with one, just above the hem, in the centre of one of the sides; or it may have a border embroidered all round it. There are some in the Victoria and Albert Museum done in cross-stitch very similar to the designs I have suggested for Fair Linen Cloths, and one, it may be noted, with the border worked exactly the same on both sides (inside and out), so that when turned over in actual use there would be no ‘wrong side’ to show.
The more delicate ‘Chalice-veil’ may be embroidered all over, so long as the decoration does not interfere with the softness of the linen, which is its chief beauty. If it is intended to be folded when in use it should not be so soft, and the design might take up just one-ninth of the surface—one-third of the width by one-third of the length, so that when folded in three each way the ornamentation may fill the central square.
Fig. VI.—Linen Pall
Fig. VII.—Design for centre of Chalice-veil
If it is to hang over as a veil the same rule applies to it as to the silk chalice-veil, namely, that as one-third of it will hang down all round when in use, the design must take account of these conditions. The corners or the sides may be the centre of decoration, which should in this case grow upward, or a border may run all round. It is frequently edged with lace of the finest and richest description.
The PALL, which is used with the soft fine chalice-veil, is a stiff square of linen from 4 to 6 inches in size, according to the chalice it is to cover. It may be embroidered all over, or with a cross, or the sacred monogram, or a symbol of the Passion in the centre. Some stiffen it with a square of cardboard covered with linen, others with a double fold of the material used for the interlining of linen collars. The upper square, which is embroidered, is often made separately; it is in this case hemmed (sometimes edged with a narrow thread lace), and a tiny strap is buttonholed across each corner to keep it in place. Otherwise it is over-sewn finely all round in the same manner as are the boards of a burse. In every case the stiffening is covered on both sides with fine white linen neatly sewn.
The origin of the PURIFICATOR is very obscure, while the use of and the necessity for it are quite obvious.
Purificators and lavabo towels now supply the place of the original maniple, &c., and in consequence are not subject to much ornamentation, the cross on the purificator being intended more to indicate its sacred use than as a decoration. There seems to be no reason why the lavabo towel should not have a neat border worked just above the hem or fringe.
Purificators should be made of the softest of linen, plain or diapered, about 12 inches square, or 9 × 12. The edges may be fringed by drawing out threads all round to the depth of about half an inch, or they may be neatly sewn with a very narrow plain hem. A small cross in the centre or at one of the corners is all that is necessary in the way of embroidery.
The CREDENCE CLOTH should be made to fit the table. It may hang down a little on each side like the altar cloth, and have a border somewhat similar only narrower, and either a fringe or lace to match in style.
In some churches the old custom is retained of hanging a ‘HOUSELING-CLOTH’[12] over the altar-rails. These rails were first required in England about the beginning of the seventeenth century, according to Canon 7 of 1640, to preserve the communion-table from Puritan profanations.
Previously to this the Houseling-cloth (a long white silken or linen towel) was held before the communicants as they knelt at the altar. It is a reverent and seemly custom, intended to prevent the fall of any particle of the Blessed Sacrament during the communion of the people.
The decoration of it may be treated in the same style as that of the altar- and credence-cloths.
Humeral veils, offertory veils, and sudaries of various kinds have been in more or less constant use to preserve the books, sacred vessels, vestments, &c., from contact with the bare hands of the assistants at the altar. It is to this reverent care and scrupulous cleanliness that we owe the conservation of so many of the precious relics of the past that have come down to our own time, which with rough and careless handling would have perished long ago. A small neat cushion of velvet or some other soft textile, about 9 by 3 inches in size, after the old fashion, would be much better for the altar-book to rest upon than the hard wooden or brass desks we so often see nowadays. Wherever these latter are used a soft cloth of some kind should at least prevent their contact with valuable books, especially if the covers are embroidered.
CHAPTER XIV
ON THE ALBE, SURPLICE, ETC.
There are various opinions among the learned both as to the origin and line of descent (so to speak) of all the distinctive vestments worn by the ministers of the Church at the present day. The albe and surplice are not among the least interesting from an historical point of view; however, it is not our purpose to discuss it here, and whatever theory we may prefer—that which derives them from a Levitical ancestry, or from the Eastern garments of common use in the time of Our Lord, or from the Græco-Roman in the early centuries of our era, the fact remains that from the very earliest times of which we have any record of such things white linen raiment[13] was a noticeable feature in the dress of the Christian minister, whether priest, deacon, or server.
The albe and the surplice were possibly both derived from one original garment. Their chief characteristics were that they were long, full, and made with sleeves; moreover that they were usually of white linen, and either quite plain or ornamented in some simple and appropriate manner by a border that could be washed with the garment, or (in the case of the albe from the thirteenth century) by apparels which were easily removed without injuring it.
The Albe has retained its primitive character in all these respects.
The long flowing garment is confined at the waist, for convenience in ministration, by a girdle or band, which may consist simply of a plain linen cord 4 yards long, finished at the ends with tassels of the same; or it may be a band from 1 to 3 inches wide, richly embroidered in silk and gold. When this is the case it should be fastened by strings sewn to the lining, or by hooks and eyes, or a clasp, so that it may not become creased and spoiled by frequent tying. A band is perhaps better for keeping the stole in place as being less liable to roughen and damage the silk. It seems to have been an old English custom to use a band, judging by the old inventories, &c.,[14] but it is not so general in these days as the cord, and the symbolism is lost unless the band is kept quite narrow.
Fig. I.—Albe, with Girdle, Amice, and Stole
Fig. II.—Ancient Albe
(South Kensington Museum)
The diagram (Illustration II.) shows the shape and dimensions of a very old albe now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. The linen it is made of is 22 inches wide, and the seams are joined down the middle of the front and back by means of an insertion, worked in buttonhole-stitch with white linen thread, rather more than; ¼ inch wide. The seams at the shoulders are treated in the same way with insertion ½ inch wide, into which is worked an inscription in red thread; and there is a small red cross on each of the gussets let in at the waist to contain the gathers, which are set very close together, to provide the necessary fulness for the skirt.
The apparels are made of fourteenth century brocade.
Modern albes are usually either gathered into a neck-band somewhat like a surplice (see Illustration III.), and so are full all the way down, or they may be widened gradually from the shoulder.
The measurements are very similar in each case, and take from 7 to 9 yards of linen, a yard wide.
In the gathered pattern (which is much handsomer than the plain one) there are no cut seams except for the sleeves; the selvedges should be over-sewn together with fine cotton very closely, and then the seams will not show at all. Those on the sleeve should be finely stitched and the raw edge turned in and ‘felled’—i.e. hemmed—down on the inside. The neck and shoulder bands should be stitched with fine back-stitching on the outside. They may be decorated with any fancy stitch as well, or a narrow border may be embroidered. The hem round the bottom should be from 1 to 3 inches deep. A border of embroidery may be worked all round, above the hem.
The custom of working a lace insertion in the middle of a seam, which used to be common to the better sort of household linen as well as that for the Church, has fallen into disuse of late years, in consequence of our linen being woven so much wider than it used to be. But it might still be used in the front and back of the plain albe, and it may be well to describe the method of working it, as it is not at all difficult to do, nor so tedious as it might appear at first glance. And irrespective of the width of linen, there are occasions when the length may require addition (such, for instance, as the enlargement of a fair linen cloth for an altar). It is a recognised law of art that Beauty should be called forth by Necessity; and the hiding, covering, or ornamenting a seam was perhaps the very first incentive to embroidery!
Fig. III.—Modern Albe
If it is a cut edge which is to be joined to another in this manner, each piece of stuff is hemmed separately.
The work is begun upon one hem as a foundation, and when finished is sewn closely on to the other.
For the first row * make two tiny buttonhole stitches into the edge of the hem (or of the selvedge if there is no hem). Then leave a small space, equal to the room taken up by the two buttonhole stitches; then two more stitches, then leave a space of about ⅜ inch, carrying the cotton straight along—repeat from * till the first row is done, all along the edge.
Turn the work over to the other side, or fasten off thread and begin at the same end as at first: by turning it over the same effect is attained—viz. working from left to right for each row, which keeps the work even.
For the second row the threads which stretch across the spaces of ⅜ inch are covered with fine buttonholing, and two stitches are put into each of the tiny spaces left for them in the first row.
When the end of the second row is reached the work should be turned over, as before, and the third row done exactly the same as the first, except that the pairs of stitches are worked into the little spaces caused by going from the bar to the middle of the pairs of stitches instead of into the stuff: c on Illustration IV. shows this very much enlarged; a and b are the same size as the work on the old albe. After the first row, which is worked into the linen, it is better to use a blunt needle. The button-hole-stitches should be drawn up tightly over the thread throughout the work; in the illustration of the detail they are not drawn tightly enough for the real work.
From three to five bars are enough for this pattern. A great number of different ones can be arranged with a little ingenuity, variation being brought about by differing the proportions of buttonhole ‘filling,’ bars and spaces.
Fig. IV
The sleeve of the albe is, theoretically, tight fitting, but for convenience in wearing it over other clothing, and to get it easily over the hand, it is generally made from 12 to 14 inches in circumference at the wrist. In old pictures one often sees it fitting quite closely, in which case it is provided with buttons and buttonholes to fasten the extra opening, which has to be made at the under seam.
Fig. V.—Amice of St. Thomas of Canterbury
The Amice is either a square or rectangular piece of fine linen from 29 to 36 inches in length, worn as a neck-cloth with the albe and covering the edge of the chasuble, where it would otherwise come in contact with the neck of the wearer. It is hemmed with a narrow hem all round and has two strings 74 inches long, fastened at the upper corners to keep it in place. It sometimes has a large cross embroidered upon it, as in this example which is taken from that of St. Thomas à Becket, and has an apparel of gold embroidery attached to the upper edge. These apparels were almost universal from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, and are retained in the English use. It is lightly tacked on to the edge of the amice, so that when it is turned back over the chasuble it lies evenly round like a collar. It may be made to match the colour of the vestment it is worn with, or one richly embroidered with gold or made of gold tissue, may be worn with any of them.
Fig. VI.—English Choir Surplice
(A.D. 1301)
The Surplice, which from very early times seems to have formed part of the choir habit of clergy and other ministers alike, is very similar to the albe, except that, being an outer instead of an under vestment, the sleeves are long and full, and also in consequence of being worn over a cassock, an albe, or a ‘pellice’[15] it has become somewhat shorter in the skirt; but there are, from the time of Edward the Confessor onward, numerous canons, laws, and directions always ordering the surplice to be long enough to reach down to the heels. The albe, surplice, and rochet are very much alike; in the old documents it is often difficult to determine which of the three is meant, there being so many names for the same thing, and both names and uses almost interchangeable. But in the present day we confine the term albe to the one with somewhat tight-fitting sleeves, surplice to the one with long flowing sleeves, and rochet to the one without any, or with full ones gathered into a band at the wrist. Albes were at one time occasionally made of silk, and sometimes were even coloured,[16] but I do not think surplices ever were, neither have they ever been much ornamented. Smocking at the gathers or an embroidered neck-band seems to have been the only decoration at all common. The rochet was and still is sometimes embroidered all round just above the hem.
The accompanying diagram (Illustration VIII.) shows how to cut a surplice like the one represented at Illustration VII.
The dimensions are very similar to those given by Dr. Rock, except that his is fuller in the skirt. If this is desired it can be done without any difficulty by merely adding another width of linen (placing the centre on the diagram 18 inches further to the right, and thus using two full widths instead of one).
It is better in this case to make the collar-band deeper, as it is difficult to get so many gathers into the 29 inches of circumference given here.
Fig. VII.—Modern Surplice
All the selvedge seams should be ‘whipped,’ ‘seamed,’ or ‘over-sewn’—three names for one and the same process. The diagonal seams or any with cut edges must be ‘run and felled.’
This pattern takes 6½ yards of linen, a yard wide; Dr. Rock’s would take 2½ yards more. His is more suitable for smocking; and where a deep collar-band is used it may be embroidered, preferably in white, though some of the old ones were done in red.
A priest’s surplice should measure at least 4½ yards round the bottom; those for choir men and boys are not usually so wide.
Fig. VIII