XIV
SATIN-STITCH AND MARKING
The more interested we become in embroidery the more we find how much more there still is to be learned about it.
There may be embroiderers who are experts in one branch of the subject and yet who will do very unsatisfactory work in another. For instance, one girl may be very proficient in fancy stitches and yet may not do the simple stitches or vice versa. Few American girls excel in the satin-stitch, not because it is hard, but it must be perfectly accurate. The average German, Swiss or French child can do better satin-stitch at the age of twelve than the average American woman does. From the time the children in those countries can hold a needle in their hand they are taught to sew and embroider.
Fig. 131. A letter in satin-stitch
Satin-stitch is a stitch that is taken over and over across a space. Sometimes it is quite heavily padded and at a first glance gives the appearance of a piece of material heavily raised. Fine designs should, however, be slightly padded. There are three ways in which padding may be done. There is the running or uneven darning, the chain, or the filling-stitch. A great deal depends on the smoothness of the padding. The chain-stitch should only be used for coarse work. The padding should not cover the stamped outlines, for they are needed as a guide for the satin-stitch. The padding is usually worked in a heavier thread than the outer stitches. Darning cotton that comes in four strands is often used. One or two strands is sufficient.
