A SIDEBOARD CLOTH
The wide dark bar at the end of the work is of dark brown braid, about 2½ inches wide, with straps of the lighter braid couched down in brown thread; these straps are carried down over the fringe which has been added in the various colours with a crochet hook (p. 115). The sideboard cloth is 54 inches by 22 inches wide. The fringe is about 4 inches deep.
Laid Work.—Laid work is particularly effective for the filling of large surfaces, where a bold definite mass of colour is required. It is a method of applying threads which gives a rich appearance almost similar to that achieved by the appliqué of some rich silk material. The stitches are on the surface only and are generally very long; they have to be crossed and recrossed by other strands, which in their turn are tied down by little stitches. When worked in floss silk, a favourite medium with Eastern embroiderers, it is a stitch par excellence for showing off the beauty and lustrous sheen of the thread, but it is not a very durable type of work, and is therefore only suitable for such articles as are not exposed to hard wear, unless worked in wools or thick cottons. All the threads on the surface are “laid,” as the term is, in parallel lines either vertical or in whatever direction is best, in order to allow the couching lines to accentuate the form or pattern; it adds to the durability of the work if these threads are laid rather widely apart to begin with, as it allows the needle to get a firmer hold of the material; the spaces are then filled up by working over the surface a second time. Compare Fig. 15 and note first layer of stitches. For example, let us suppose the vertical threads are laid—the horizontal ones, of another colour perhaps, could be placed over them, about three-quarters of an inch apart; small upright stitches, about half an inch apart, could couch, or fasten these down, one row alternating with the other. This is a most decorative method of filling in large flowers or leaves. Single petals can be laid diagonally, crossed and tied down, or a complete flower may have laid lines radiating from the centre, with the second layer of threads in concentric circles couched down with small stitches of a contrasting colour.
Fig. 15.
Chequered or Basket Pattern (Fig. 15).—Fig. 15 gives a plaited or basket pattern; after the vertical threads are laid or placed in position in such a way as to lie easily—just filling the form—the weaving in of the cross threads is a simple matter.
To work a Chequered Pattern.—Begin at the right-hand corner and pass the needle over and under three strands for three rows, then reverse the chequer by lifting the stitches previously passed over. This work looks much better if the darning is all done from right to left. It is not so economical in thread, but much more practical on account of its greater durability, as the threads all lie the same way; they are carried back behind the material instead of being worked to and fro as in ordinary darning.
The Italian, Spanish and Japanese embroiderers make great use of these laid stitches which, like most other stitches, probably originated in the East, as they are to be met with in most oriental embroideries.
Fig. 16.