Fig. 112. Seaweed-stitch
There is a pretty little stitch that can be made with a foundation of double feather-stitching. We used to call it "seaweed-stitch" when we were youngsters. I remember I made a white cashmere coat for my doll and used the seaweed-stitch along the hem and above the opening, and on the cuffs and collar of the coat. It was embroidered in rose coloured filo silk. A row of double feather-stitching was worked in the usual way. At the end of each stitch a little Van Dyke point or V was worked. Try it yourself and see how dainty it is ([Figure 112]).
A good way and something new for decoration is the feather-stitchery used like festoons on the hems. The way this is done is to take a compass and make a circle about two and a half inches in diameter. Cut it out in heavy paper or thin cardboard. Baste the hem in place and then trace one-third of the circle. Repeat in like manner till the hem has the appearance of large scallops. Along the lines work the single or double feather-stitching in No. 20 marking cotton through the two thicknesses of the material. Pull out the basting threads from the hem and then carefully cut away the material within each scallop on the wrong side of the hem. In other words, the upper part of the under hem is cut close to the stitching. Cut right down to the feather-stitching.
Only thin materials are pretty worked like this, as the doubled material gives a milk-white appearance, while the upper or single parts are transparent. A lazy-daisy stitch worked in the centre of each scallop adds further beauty to a feather-stitched hem such as has been just described. The lazy-daisy has been aptly called because it requires a stitch to connect each petal to the material.
Fig. 113. The lazy-daisy stitch