The Design.—A great variety of design is possible in table scarfs. It is common to weave in a narrow beading of whatever colour may have been chosen, following this by a few threads of white, and this in turn by a narrow band of the colour of the border with some slight suggestion of the pattern, then more of the plain white and finally the full pattern of the border. The centre of the table scarf is simply a matter of plain weaving in white or possibly in some solid colour, while the other end of the scarf must be woven with the same border and bands as were woven at first, but in the reverse order.
Variations in Design.—One pleasing style of decoration is found in repeating the border several times with inch-wide spaces between. Another variety requires a heavy border at the ends, with narrow ones at short intervals throughout the length. Shadow borders, so-called, are also common, and may alternate with borders of colour or may constitute the entire decoration. Shadow borders are heavy borders woven in the cream or body colour of the scarf instead of being in a contrasting shade. In order to make them stand out well it is necessary to use a coarser thread than is required for the colour borders. A gray linen plain weave is often embellished in white with delicate effect. There is also a heavy linen thread which is good for scarf borders. It is obtainable in dainty colours, and the heavy thread seems to bring out the patterns in greater perfection. Darning silks in fast colours are also employed, but these should be woven double in order to obtain the best effect. They are found in the market in short lengths and in such attractive colours as Delft blue, reseda green, pink, and catawba. The last two colours, used with linen in the natural shade, make a happy combination.
Scarfs should be woven from 20 to 24 inches wide and about 11⁄2 yards long, unless some special use requires that they should be of different length. Not only do they make pleasing table covers, but they are useful as tray cloths, and from them charming sewing or embroidery aprons may be fashioned by folding one end over, tying it with ribbons, and arranging pockets to hold the work. One scarf will make two aprons. Fancy bags are also woven on the same general lines as scarfs, but the width needs to be only 8 or 10 inches. These may be woven of the pattern throughout, or they may be striped with bands or borders. Lined with silk and finished with ribbons or cords, they are very much admired for embroidery and other fancy work.
DYEING
In the discussion of the problem of hand weaving, frequent reference has been made to the use of coloured materials. While it is possible to obtain many good colours in the market, it is much more satisfactory to make these colours at home by the use of the dye pot. In former times, when hand weaving was general, there was no other way; and, in fact, dyeing and weaving may well be considered now, as they were then, sister arts. When the wool was washed, carded into rolls, spun into yarn, and again doubled and twisted, it was, generally speaking, still necessary to treat the yarn with some permanent dye before weaving it into cloth. One notable exception was found in the natural gray homespun, which was of yarn spun from the wool of both the black and the white sheep carded together. The modern worker with the hand loom will find almost the same necessity as our grandmothers did for a knowledge of the art of dyeing. Seldom will she find at hand just the shade or colour required by the design of the piece to be woven. Much of the material that is worked up for the woof of rugs, for example, will be found to be so faded or spotted that it would poorly repay one for the labour of weaving it up in that condition. And even the new material, which it is often necessary to procure for plain weaving, for pattern weaving, and for use in borders, will often need a bath in the dye pot in order to furnish the tone of colour needed.
Some Good Points in Dyeing.—Good results in dyeing are obtained by using the prepared dyes of the markets, mixing together more than one colour often, after some experimenting, in order to produce the desired shade. Instead of mixing the dye one may, if she chooses, dye first in one colour and top off with another. A fine permanent green is obtained by dyeing thread or cloth a good yellow and topping with a blue bath. Green and blue dye used together give neither green nor blue but a blending of both colours, which is exceedingly pleasing. In all cases it is better to make the dye bath weak, leaving the article to be dyed in the bath a long time rather than to keep it a shorter time in a stronger dye. The advantage is not only greater permanency of colour but also greater certainty in the result; for one can watch the process of dyeing more easily and guard against the colours becoming too dark. The material which remains in the dye bath until it takes practically all the colour from it may generally be depended upon neither to fade nor crock.
Some Common Dyes.—The dull, soft colours, made generations ago from barks and teas with alum as a mordant, had artistic qualities and were generally permanent. It is well worth while to experiment in this direction. Straw colour may be made from the old-fashioned herb saffron; orange comes from madder and fustic; yellow is obtained from powdered dock root; rusty nails boiled in vinegar with a bit of copperas give a good black dye, useful also in freshening black yarns that have acquired a dull or faded colour. White maple bark boiled in water makes a fine medium brown which may be made fast by first treating the cloth or yarn to be dyed in it with a solution of alum. A permanent and fine nankeen colour may be made from a pail of lye with a piece of copperas half the size of an egg boiled in it. In fact, nearly everything which possesses colour may be considered a dye. Vegetable substances are generally in themselves more permanent, but most dyes need to be fixed or "set" by the use of some mordant. All this will mean much experimenting, of course, unless one is fortunate enough to possess an old receipt book with its quaint allusions to mordants, kettles of brass, and vessels of pewter. The use of the prepared dyes, which may be easily obtained with explicit directions, is generally satisfactory and of course somewhat easier; and yet the interest which inspires one to cultivate the art of hand weaving leads to a desire to master all of the arts intimately associated with this ancient and fascinating home industry.