The Library of Work and Play: Home Decoration

by Charles Franklin Warner

The Subordinate Unit.—By studying the illustration in [Plate IV] it will be seen that the unit of the border in this case is not complete in itself, but that the very conventional flower and stem composing it are joined to the next unit by what might be called a subordinate unit, composed, in this case, of a leaf form. The units are so closely spaced that a structural effect is fairly well obtained—i. e., the upper and lower edges of the border are nearly straight, giving a feeling of restfulness to the design that never accompanies one with broken or wavy edges.

Designing the Corner.—Having planned a design for the straight running border of the curtains, take a reflector and experiment with the corner. The reflector can easily be made by cutting from an old discarded looking-glass a small rectangular piece, 3¹⁄₂ by 6 inches being a convenient size. The edges should be very straight and the corners square. Hold the reflector at various points along the border and always at an angle of 45 degrees. Study these possible corners which will be reflected in the glass, and when one sufficiently strong and interesting is found draw a light line along the edge of the reflector. This line, of course, exactly bisects the corner of the border to be made. Avoid making a border of this kind too deep or, when turned for the vertical edges, it will form a very broad and heavy band.

The Outline Drawing.—The dark and light design having thus been worked out in charcoal, the next thing to do is to make a very careful pencil-outline drawing of the same. It is well to draw the corner and one unit free-hand and trace the rest. To do the tracing, pin a piece of very thin paper over the finished part, and trace with a well sharpened and fairly soft pencil. Turn the tracing paper upside down, fitting a part of the tracing to the drawing underneath. After tacking it down, trace the remainder, using a firm, even pressure and being careful exactly to follow the line. Strengthen the part of the pattern thus transferred by going over it with a sharp, hard point, and continue as before until you have a border of which both the vertical and horizontal sections are from 9 to 12 inches long.

Transfer to Stencil Paper.—Now, take a piece of stencil paper and square up one corner. Fasten the pencil drawing securely to the stencil paper along one edge, slip a piece of carbon paper between the two, and trace the design.

Cutting the Stencil.—Before cutting the stencil for the curtain a beginner should do a little practising upon an extra piece of the paper. Trace a portion of the design upon this piece, lay it upon a sheet of glass or very hard wood, and with a sharp penknife cut along the outline of the pattern. The knife should be held at a slight angle and the cut made completely through the paper. The pieces of stencil paper should never be pulled out but will fall out without aid when the cutting is completed. After a little practice it will be found a simple matter to cut the design with perfectly smooth edges.

Suitable Materials for Stencilling.—For the curtains fine cheese cloth or batiste will be found excellent. Even unbleached muslin will make attractive curtains where expense must be carefully considered. Unless the woodwork of the room is white, the pure white materials will be found less pleasing than those that are quite creamy in tone. Scrim in a charming, grayish tan colour is obtainable, and, if of good, soft quality, makes most satisfactory curtains. It is not advisable to hemstitch this material before stencilling as in case of accident or failure so much work is lost; but the hems should be carefully planned and basted, those along the inner edges of the curtains being narrower than the bottom hems.

The Colours.—The color scheme of the room should be carefully considered in deciding upon the colour or colours to be used in stencilling. If two colours are chosen, they should be of the same value—i. e., the two colours should form equally dark spots in order that the pattern of the border may appear in the same dark and light as the original charcoal sketch.

Pinning the Stencil.—When ready for the actual process of stencilling, lay a large sheet of blotting paper upon a board and over this place the corner of the curtain. Pin the stencil securely to the curtain so that the edge of the border when printed shall be about half an inch from the hem and the edges of both shall be absolutely parallel. Use as few pins as possible but enough to keep the stencil close to the cloth.

Testing the Paint.—Having mixed the oil paint with turpentine or stencil mordant, using an old cup or glass for each colour, practise stencilling upon a small piece of cloth. Put blotting-paper under the cloth and pin the stencil down with great care. Use short, stiff bristle brushes for the stencilling, one for each colour. Remove almost all the paint from the brush by pressing it upon blotting-paper. When it leaves scarcely a mark, proceed to stencil the pattern by pounding the brush upon the exposed portions of the cloth, working close to the edge of each spot. If, upon removing the stencil, the edges are blurred, the paint was too thin or the stencil not carefully pinned down. If, on the other hand, the coloured spots look thick and painty, so that upon drying, the cloth is found stiffened in these places, you may be sure that the paint used was too thick or that the brush was too wet. The secret of good stencilling is to use the paint as thin and the brush as dry as possible. Hold the stencilled sample up to the window and see whether, when the light shines through it, the colour appears right.

The Real Process.—When confident that the process is understood and that the colour is satisfactory, proceed to stencil the corner of the curtain. Always have at hand a bottle of turpentine and a clean piece of cloth to use in case of accident. When removing the pins from the stencil wipe each one carefully. Clean the stencil, too, handling it with care that none of the slender bridges may be broken. Replace the stencil, fitting a section of it to the finished work. Put the pins in the holes already made, otherwise the paint will get into them and disfigure the work. Continue the stencilling, a section at a time, until the border is completed. Do not fold the curtains until the stencilling is thoroughly dry. If the threads of the material can be easily pulled, a hemstitched edge will make the best finish; but careful hand hemming will look well upon material like fine batiste.