With a pair of sharp scissors
Cut Out Your Design
taking great care to keep within the outlines, for a snip beyond will let in color in the wrong place and spoil your stencil. Remember you are not to cut the paper away from the design but cut the design out leaving the surrounding paper intact. This makes the stencil ([Fig. 638]). When all of the design is cut out place your stencil flat on a board and give it a coat of white shellac, then lift it and move to another place on the board to prevent its sticking. When quite dry turn the stencil over and shellac the other side. Be sure the edges of the cut-out parts are covered with shellac as well as the rest of the paper. The shellac makes the paper waterproof and durable. Do not use the stencil until it is absolutely dry.
Fig. 639.—Trace this flower.
Trace [Fig. 639] which is the conventionalized flower, and transfer it to the centre of a four-inch square of the wrapping paper, or make the flower smaller if you prefer to have it the size of the one in the border. Cut out the design and shellac the little stencil as you did the larger one ([Fig. 640]).
The closer the weave of the cloth the easier is the work of stencilling, but the dye penetrates entirely through thin material, and the effect is so attractive I will describe the
Cheese-cloth Curtains