All flower work has long and short stitch on the edge of the petals or leaves that do not turn over. Daisies do not have turn over leaves as often as a double rose or chrysanthemum. Suppose we draw a very large daisy on a piece of white muslin. With your needle threaded with white lustre start from the right-hand side. Take one stitch on the line. Place your needle back near the same point from which you started. Take a short stitch that goes a wee bit outside of the stamped line past the first stitch. The object of going beyond the line, is that the stitch completely covers the stamping.
The third stitch is taken at the same slant, only longer. The fourth is a short one and so on, first one short and then one long until the top of the petal is reached. Remember, though, these stitches are only on the edge. The left half is worked the same, but the stitches slant a little differently. A good rule to mention right here is, that all stitches should slant to the heart of the flower. In leaves they slant toward the base. The inside of the petal, when the long and short stitches are completed, should be irregular ([Figure 151]).
The Kensington stitch gets its name from an English school of embroidery. It is more like outlining than any other stitch.
After the edge of the flower has been worked in long and short stitch, the Kensington stitch is used to give the solid effect.
The piece must be held all the while in a tight fitting pair of hoops so that it can not sag in the least.
If the petal is long, two or three rows of Kensington stitch will have to be worked to fill it in. If silk is desired, two strands are used for the edge and one strand for the Kensington stitch. The stitches are dovetailed into each other. Each row must have an irregular lower edge, else they will look like bricks laid one on top of the other. The stitches should be so worked that it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins ([Figure 152]).
Fig. 152. The Kensington stitch
Three shades of green are sufficient for the leaves until you are quite expert. In working them embroider on the edge of the lower half of each leaf with the second shade and the upper part with the lightest. Work one side first using the second shade under the lightest and the third under the second. Work to the midrib only. It is not necessary to work in the veins, but if they are desired they are put in after the leaf has been worked. Do not hesitate to cover the stamped veining on the leaf you are working, as the next leaf will be a guide to where to place the veins. They may be in the lightest or deepest shade of green, while sometimes a reddish-brown is substituted.