Fig. 236. Embroidery frame for gold embroidery.
Every gold embroidery, on whatever material it may be executed, requires a stout foundation, which has to be sewn into the frame, in doing which, hold the webbing loosely, almost in folds, and stretch the stuff very tightly. Sew on a stout cord to the edges of the foundation, which are nearest the stretchers, setting the stitches, 3 or 4 c/m. apart. Then put the frame together and stretch the material laterally to its fullest extent, by passing a piece of twine, in and out through the cord at the edge and over the stretchers. Draw up the bracing until the foundation is strained evenly and tightly. Upon this firm foundation lay the stuff which you are going to embroider, and hem or herring-bone it down, taking care to keep it perfectly even with the thread of the foundation and, if possible, more tightly stretched to prevent it from being wrinkled or puckered when you come to take it off the backing. For directions how to transfer the pattern to your stuff, and prepare the paste with which the embroidery has to be stiffened before it is taken out of the frame, see the concluding chapter in the book.
The spindle (fig. [237]).—The spindle to wind the gold thread upon, should be 20 c/m. long and made of hard wood. Cover the round stalk and part of the prongs with a double thread of Coton à broder D.M.C No. 16, or pale yellow Cordonnet D.M.C No. 25, and terminate this covering with a loop, to which you fasten the gold thread that you wind round the stalk.
The pressers (figs. [238] and [239]).—These, so called ‘pressers’, are small rectangular boards with a handle in the middle. The convex one, fig. [238], should be 15 c/m. long by 9 broad; the other, fig. [239], which is quite flat, should be 32 c/m. by 20.
Fig. 238. Convex presser, for pressing the stuff on the wrong side.