Some pretty figured material, such as China silk, silkoline, cretonne, or printed cotton goods may be used for the covering, which is to show on both sides of each wing. It should be from three to five feet wide, so as to allow for some fulness. One end of the goods is tacked to the top dowel; then it is passed around the bottom dowel and brought up to the top, where it is again tacked fast. Some narrow gimp and brass nails will hide the edges of the goods at the top, and to hold the material in place a few tacks may be driven along the bottom dowel.
The wood-work should be painted, or stained and varnished, before the covering material is put on. If a dull finish is desired, some dark paint may be thinned with turpentine and rubbed on with a soft cloth, then partially wiped off and allowed to dry. It will not be necessary to varnish or shellac the surface, but a little beeswax can be dissolved in turpentine and rubbed on.
A Fire-screen
When an open fire is burning on the hearth a screen that will protect the eyes from the glare, and yet allow the heat to reach the lower part of the body and the feet, is a useful piece of furniture.
A simple screen of this description is shown in Fig. 2, and for a living-room or bedroom it should measure thirty-six inches long, forty-two inches high, the screen proper being eighteen or twenty inches wide.
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8.
The uprights are of wood two inches square, and the cross-rails are seven-eighths of an inch thick and two inches wide. The joints are mortised and tenoned, and held with screws and glue, while the apparent fastenings are large, round, mock nail-heads. The feet are cut from hard-wood seven-eighths of an inch in thickness, as shown in Fig. 3, and attached to the bottom of the upright posts with glue and screws, the vertical edges of the feet being let into a lap cut in the posts. Each foot will then measure eighteen inches across at the bottom, and twelve inches high from the floor to the top of the lap cut in the posts.
Leather, burlap, denim, tapestry-cloth, or any good covering fabric, may be used for the screen. This material should be tacked on the top and bottom rail with large upholsterers’ tacks painted black.
A design may be lightly drawn on the fabric with a pencil, and afterwards painted in oil or water colors, or the ornament may be stencilled on with aniline colors, as described in Chapter XIX.