Needle-weaving is a form of decoration common to all countries; it was practised by primitive peoples and must have preceded embroidery. It was a means of adding richness and colour much in favour with the early Egyptians, who decorated their garments with fringes and bands of needle-weaving. Mummy cloths treated in this way are to be seen in the British Museum; also specimens of early Coptic work, preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, show that they were in the habit of weaving little panels and borders with the needle, with which to decorate their garments. This desire to enrich and decorate with the needle, by means of colour and pattern, the more important parts of their apparel followed on the discovery of how to weave cloth, and so we find that these early workers frequently left out the weft threads and wove in beautiful patterns, rich in colour, with the needle into these spaces. Later, little panels, bars and medallions were worked in this way and inserted into their garments. This needle-weaving, which is practically tapestry with the needle, seems to have reached a great degree of perfection in the fifth century. There is very little to distinguish needle-weaving from tapestry, except that the latter is done with the shuttle instead of the needle.
This weaving of patterns directly on to the material is fascinating work. It is so effective, so rich in result, and so charmingly appropriate to the material; there must always be a certain stiffness and rigidity in the pattern, caused by the upright warp threads, which demand simplicity of treatment. Weaving, whether done with needle, bobbins or shuttle, is just a method of interweaving the warp threads with the weft; these weft-threads may consist of wools, silks, cottons, or—decoratively, of raffia, or even gold and silver threads.
This type of work may be applied to all kinds of useful household articles—table linen, bed linen, cushions, bags, chair backs, footstools, book covers; also bands and insertions for garments. There is room for such simple pattern, combined in some cases with other stitchery, on these and many other articles, where a marginal decoration is appropriate.
Description of Frontispiece.—Plate I. shows a table square worked on “Titian” canvas of a soft brown tint. The original was 36 inches by 18 inches. The edges of the canvas should be turned up and the spaces arranged for the needle-weaving and coloured bands before the weft threads are removed. Allow about 3 inches for the open-work. Cut the weft threads and pull them out. Fig. 31 shows method of working; begin at the right-hand corner and weave the pattern over six groups, three strands in each group—these are worked in gold and yellow; repeat the same pattern on the opposite side—it simplifies the work and saves time and trouble if the weaving is done from the ends, working inwards; thus two similar patterns are woven, one after the other. If the band of weaving is carefully examined, it will be seen that the gold-coloured threads form a definite pattern on the background; if these are woven in first, it will aid the worker and act as a guide for the interlacing of the other colours. The next group, in lemon and purple, is worked on nine groups of threads: throughout all these patterns a group consists of three strands. The purple lines are sewn in with a back stitch. The third group is formed of a large cross in orange surrounded with gold-coloured squares, which in turn are completed with blue squares at the corners.
The fourth, or central group, has two narrow bars on each side, worked in soft green, blue, purple and gold.
The inner cross of lemon wool with purple and gold can be easily followed from the plate.
The broad band of needle-weaving is edged by rows of variegated chain stitch in brown and cream (for the working of which, see [Fig. 1], p. 46), and followed by rows of button-hole in orange (Fig. 11).
The wide braid-like line in oriental stitch, along the top, is worked very closely; along the sides the same stitch is seen with wider spacing. This stitch is of the herring-bone type—the needle is inserted vertically, instead of horizontally, as in the case of the commoner and better-known stitch. It is effective and economical, as the bulk of the thread is on the surface.
The tassels are of soft brown and bright blue wool hung on to button-holed loops, for the making of which, see [Fig. 57], Chapter XIII.; and for the tassels, [Fig. 41]. The ribbon border is worked in gold and purple silk.
A sideboard runner worked similarly, but with two wide bands of needle-weaving at each end and rather wider lines of stitchery at the sides, was made to match this table runner; the light colours of the border gave a very gay touch to an otherwise sombre room.