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.