No. 286. Diagonal Method of Enlarging or Reducing. Solid line shews given size.
Divisional measurement is rendered unnecessary by the diagonal method of proportion. Given a rectangular shape, which has to be reduced or enlarged, a diagonal line should be drawn, and prolonged if the latter, through opposite angles. A line parallel to either the vertical or horizontal can be drawn and returned at a right angle where it intersects the diagonal, and regardless of any dimensions, this will ensure the exact proportion of the original rectangle.
It is obvious that such designs as the foregoing should be complete, and both in drawing and colour a perfect anticipation of the painted result, owing nothing of their effect to mechanical reproduction.
Textiles
In designs for printed and woven fabrics, though the process of production varies, it is still necessary that the drawing be complete in the technical indications. Otherwise the reproduced version may suffer, or at least not fulfil the intention of the designer, and it follows that the drawings should be concise in every detail, even to the colour effect desired.
The drawings are usually to the full size in most printed fabrics. The design is not reproduced by any mechanical process, the blocks or rollers used in printing being cut by hand from a transferred tracing made from the original. Hence the importance of exactitude in joining and dimensions.
In some instances the whole of the pattern is cut in relief in the wood, but in others, lines are the result of narrow strips of ribbon-like brass embedded in the surface of the block or roller. These have their influence on the design, as in the former method of production the lines can vary in thickness and can be invested with greater interest than the employment of the wire can give. The metal results in a hard line of unvarying thinness.
Drawings for printed and woven fabrics are usually in opaque colour, and each tint employed should display a defined edge, graduated effects being only technically possible by means of tapering lines or stipple. Each distinct colour or tint involves separate printing; therefore as it is economically desirable to attain the best effect with the minimum cost, the utmost should be made of the colours employed.