Needlecraft
by Effie Archer Archer · English · Gutenberg #44766 · 387,806 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Needlecraft
Author: Effie Archer Archer
Release date: January 26, 2014 [eBook #44766]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEEDLECRAFT ***
THE LIBRARY
OF WORK AND PLAY
CARPENTRY AND WOODWORK
By Edwin W. Foster
ELECTRICITY AND ITS EVERYDAY USES
By John F. Woodhull, Ph.D.
GARDENING AND FARMING
By Ellen Eddy Shaw
HOME DECORATION
By Charles Franklin Warner, Sc.D.
HOUSEKEEPING
By Elizabeth Hale Gilman
MECHANICS, INDOORS AND OUT
By Fred T. Hodgson
NEEDLECRAFT
By Effie Archer Archer
OUTDOOR SPORTS, AND GAMES
By Claude H. Miller, Ph.B.
OUTDOOR WORK
By Mary Rogers Miller
WORKING IN METALS
By Charles Conrad Sleffel
[Illustration: Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman. The Last Step is Making
the Buttonholes]
NEEDLECRAFT
BY EFFIE ARCHER ARCHER
_Needlework Editor of well-known magazines. Connected with
New York Public Schools, Y. W. C. A.,
and Arts and Crafts Club_
[Illustration: Title Page]
GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1916
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN
LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. What You Should Have in Your Work Box--Sewing
on Buttons--Basting--Darning 3
II. Back-stitching--Over-casting--Creasing a
Hem and Hemming--Rolling a Hem--French
Hemming--Sewing on Tapes and
Hooks and Eyes 12
III. Gathering--Sewing on Bands--A Practical
Sewing Apron--Hemmed Patches--Gussets
and Tucks 26
IV. A Doll's Skirt--Sewing Case--Bindings--Doll's
Bed Linen--Pin Case 41
V. Making Buttonholes--Cutting from a Pattern--A
Doll's Dress 58
VI. A Lesson in Stencilling 74
VII. What Can Be Done with One Skin--Cut
Leather Bags, Belts, Book Covers, etc. 83
VIII. Tooled Leather and Tools Necessary 91
IX. The Simplest Stitches in Embroidery--Chain-stitching,
Outlining, Herring-boning, Cross-stitching,
Soutache, Coronation Braiding 98
X. Smocking--Feather-stitching--Lazy-daisy
Stitch 112
XI. Couching--Shadow-work--Turkish Stitch--How
to Stamp Designs 121
XII. Buttonholing and Wallachian Embroidery 130
XIII. Roman Cut-Work--Fancy Buttonholing for
Borders--Bermuda Fagotting 138
XIV. Satin-Stitch and Marking 147
XV. Eyelets and French Knots--Bullion Stitch,
and Other Fancy Stitches 160
XVI. Long and Short--Kensington Embroidery--Ribbon
Work for Simple Flowers 176
XVII. Hardanger Embroidery for Squares, Pin
Cushions, and Spreads 190
XVIII. Appliqué on Linen and Other Materials--Hedebo
Embroidery 198
XIX. Hemstitching for Handkerchiefs and Collar
and Cuff Sets--Simple Drawn Work
Stitches 207
XX. Easy Lace Stitches--Fagotting, Single Mesh,
Double Mesh, Spiders, Fan, Maltese Cross,
Twisted and Buttonhole Bars, Picots for
Simple Edge 227
XXI. Simple Baskets 242
XXII. Raffia Baskets and Napkin Rings 250
XXIII. Raffia Hats 262
XXIV. Knotting for Dolls' Hammocks, Shopping Bags
and Other Purposes 271
XXV. Simple Bead Chains on Single Strings--A
Homemade Loom--Woven Chains--Belts
and Purses 278
XXVI. Braiding and Weaving Four and Six Strands--Weaving
on Looms 295
XXVII. Simple Crocheting--Stitchery for Edges and
Shawls 306
XXVIII. Pattern Directions for Making Doll Caps
and Capes, Jackets, and Child's Bedroom
Slippers 320
XXIX. Irish Crochet Lace 333
XXX. Knitting, Plain and Purling--Wash Rags--Fancy
Stitches for Shawls 351
XXXI. Doll's Cap, Hood, Leggings, and Jackets 360
XXXII. Embroidery Suggestions for Boarding School
Girl 372
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Last Step is Making the Buttonholes _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
The Right Way to Darn 10
A Single Motif Being Used on a Stencilled Scarf 76
Many a Happy Hour is Spent Embroidering 164
It is Jolly to Make a Raffia Work Bag 250
Sewed Raffia Baskets Make Attractive Gifts 258
The Fascinating Task of Making Bead Chains 284
A Cushion Top Can be Woven on a Simple Hand Loom 296
Her First Knitted Shawl 356
NEEDLECRAFT
I
WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR WORK BOX, SEWING ON BUTTONS, BASTING,
DARNING
You will find that you are happiest when doing things for those you
love; and what greater help can you give than by learning to do things
for yourself that now those who love you best do for you? The little
everyday things that appear to be so simple, yet take so much of the
mother's time should be the things first to learn. There are so many
things that one could do if one only knew how, that it seems a shame to
waste time. Dolly needs new clothes, mother always needs help with her
sewing; and then, too, the numerous birthdays and Christmases follow so
quickly one on top of another, that there is hardly a chance to save
up for one before the next is here. Many a hard problem for the little
mother will be solved in this book.
It is lovely to have a little work-box fixed up with thread, needles,
and scissors, all of your own, and if you ask mother, I am sure she
will give some of her threads to help you start one. If you take a
card and shape it like a Maltese cross you will have space for four
colours of threads. You will need a card for the white alone because
you will find you use so much more of it. You must have a little
thimble and always use it or your finger will look cramped when
working. Have you noticed how pretty ladies look when sewing? Well, you
must do as they do, tap your needle with the thimble to send it through
the material (Figure 1).
[Illustration: Fig. 1. The way to use your thimble]
Have you ever wondered and wondered why it is that buttons have the
horrid habit of dropping off just when you wanted to dress quickly or
take Sally Ann walking? Well, I will whisper the reasons for this:
the first is, that the thread might have been worn out from active
service; or the thread used might have been weak; or lastly, which is
probably the true cause, the button might have been sewn too close to
the material and came off the first time it was used. Mother may not be
around to help you when the accident happens, and would you not feel
proud to sew it on for yourself?
To sew a button on securely you should make a pin-hole where the
button is to be placed. A four-hole white button is the easiest to work
on. Thread a No. 7 needle with a length of No. 40 white sewing cotton,
bring the ends together and make a knot. The right length thread is
measured from the tip of the thimble finger to the elbow. When a thread
is used double it should be twice the length of this. A neat knot is
made by holding the threaded needle in the right hand and by taking the
end or ends, as the case may be, between the thumb and first finger of
the left hand. Keep the thread tightly stretched, wind it around the
top of the first finger, then move the finger down the thumb, carrying
the thread with it about half an inch. Now with the nail of the second
finger bring the knot thus formed to the end of the thread.
A large ungainly knot is a disfigurement to a piece of sewing. You are
now ready to adjust the button; place the knot on the upper or right
side so that it will be concealed; after adjusting the button put a
pin across the top and sew securely through the holes, crossing the
threads. Sew not less than three times through each hole. Remove the
pin. Insert the needle from underneath, then bring it out between the
button and cloth close to the centre of the button. Wind the thread
tightly around the neck of the button three or four times. (The neck
is the threads between the button and material.) Wrapping the threads
around protects the stitches and allows room for the buttonhole to lie
under the button. Take the thread through to the wrong side and take up
three stitches, make a short stitch on the material and cut the thread
close (Figures 2 and 3).
[Illustration: Figs. 2 and 3]
When a three-hole button is used the stitches form a triangle on the
top of the button. A shoe-button should be sewed with a No. 2 needle
and coarse black thread. The stitches are taken through the shank of
the button. Fasten off the thread after sewing on two buttons, for if
they are all on one continuous string or thread and that breaks, all
the buttons are apt to come off. If each button is securely fastened
the thread may be passed, however, from one to the other.
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Even basting]
[Illustration: Fig. 5. Uneven basting]
Now I know you want to do some real sewing; it must not be big or
you will get very tired and think sewing is not as pleasant as you
fancied. The simplest stitch in sewing is basting. This is used to
hold materials together until you are ready to make firmer stitches.
In the following illustration the even and uneven basting stitches are
shown (Figures 4 and 5). They must be straight. Even basting stitches
should be taken about a quarter of an inch apart and in the running
stitch which is fine basting about an eighth or a sixteenth of an inch.
Pretty huck pillows can be made of even and uneven basting or running
stitches. A leaf, star or a figure cut out and traced on a piece of
muslin will make a nice design for running stitches (Figure 6).
[Illustration: Fig. 6. A simple design in running stitch]
If you will examine different kinds of materials before they are cut,
you will note that the threads run in two directions. The threads
running lengthwise must be the stronger, as they have more strain on
them. They are called the warp. The warp is set up first before the
weaving begins. The threads running crosswise are called the woof. It
is the weaker thread and forms the edge or selvage.
If you will take a card three inches square and prick a line of dots
half an inch from the top and bottom edges and prick a line a quarter
of an inch apart you will have a little loom. The dots must be directly
under each other. A piece of coloured worsted and a large-eyed crewel
needle No. 2 will be required. Make a knot at the end of your thread
and start from the upper right hand hole on the wrong side. Bring your
thread up through the hole and down through the lower right-hand dot.
The needle must now come up through the next hole at the bottom and the
thread be again stretched across the card.
When every hole has been filled and you have several rows of straight
lines, fasten off the worsted in the back. Another shade of wool should
be selected so that you can distinguish the warp from the woof. The
thread you are now going to use is the woof; commence at the top and go
straight across to the left line, up over and down under each thread
and so on till the row is completed. In weaving the next row, pick up
the threads of the warp that you went over last time. Alternate rows
agree (Figure 7). When finished, the little piece can be used as a
doll's mat.
To darn your stockings is almost as simple a matter as this weaving.
Instead, however, of starting the thread of the warp on an even line,
as on the card, start some higher than the others. The reason for this
is that an even line will be apt to make an uncomfortable seam in
your stocking. The woof threads are always connected to the stocking.
A darning ball should be used under the hole. In darning cashmere or
woollen stockings it is best to allow the warp to be very slack as
wool shrinks considerably in washing. Wool should be used for darning
woollen stockings.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Weaving with worsted]
[Illustration: Fig. 8A. The first step in darning]
[Illustration: Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman. The Right Way to Darn]
Have you ever belonged to a sewing club? If not, try to start one
and see how much fun there is in it. The club should meet either on
Friday or Saturday afternoon, after the school work is finished. Every
girl should bring her stockings to darn and another piece of work, so
that when the darning is over she will have something to work on. If
there are more than four in the club it is a very hard thing to keep
up. Three is the ideal number for it. It is better to have a small
number--three, for instance. A large club is apt to be distracting, but
three or four little girls, with the right helpful spirit, will find
such meetings very instructive and entertaining.
[Illustration: Fig. 8B. The second and last step in darning]
II
BACK-STITCHING, OVER-CASTING, CREASING A HEM AND HEMMING, ROLLING A
HEM, FRENCH HEMMING, SEWING ON TAPES AND HOOKS AND EYES
[Illustration: Fig. 9. The right way to hold your scissors]
"Stitching is witching," the song book says, and it is true, for after
we know that stitch there are a hundred and one things we can do. Some
people call it back-stitching and we must try to remember that, so that
we shall understand of what they are talking. Get mother to give you a
piece of material to practise on that has a stripe in it. Now take your
scissors (Figure 9) and cut out two three-inch squares. Baste the two
squares together a quarter of an inch from the edge. Hold the square
over the first finger of the left hand ready for the back-stitching.
Let the basting run up and down over your finger. Start from the top
and make a small stitch backward, on the right side of the material,
instead of forward as you did in running (Figure 10). Pass the needle
under until you have a stitch twice as long on the wrong side as that
on the right. Take the next stitch backward close to the end of the
last one on the right.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Back-stitching]
Remember that the stitch you take backward is only half as long as
the one you take forward. Stitching always looks very different on
the wrong side, but on the right side it ought to look like machine
stitching. This stitch might be called the lion stitch, because it is
so strong. It is used to join two edges together, as for the seams in
bean-bags or cushion covers.
In places where there will not be much strain we use a quicker stitch,
which is called the half-back stitch (Figure 11). This is very much
like the stitching of which I have been telling you. The wrong side
will look about the same, but on the right side instead of the
stitches touching there will be a space, then a stitch of equal length.
[Illustration: Fig. 11. The half-back stitch]
The next stitch to learn is the combination-stitch, which is made up of
both the running and the back-stitch (Figure 12). It is a stitch that
is greatly used for sewing long seams, as on underwear. By this stitch
we can cover the distance in about half the time that back-stitching
would take.
[Illustration: Fig. 12. The combination running and back-stitch]
Whenever you can avoid making a knot, do so, because it spoils the
look of your work on the wrong side. You can start your work, if it
is a seam, for example, by making two or three stitches on top of
each other. Follow the thread of the warp or woof of the material as
much as possible. After fastening your thread, make two fine running
stitches forward and one back. Keep the stitches the same length.
[Illustration: Fig. 13. Over-casting]
Over-casting is used on unfinished or cut edges to keep them from
fraying (Figure 13). The stitches all slant from right to left. Take
the stitches one eighth of an inch deep and one quarter of an inch
apart.
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Over-handing]
Over-handing is fine over-casting and used to connect two finished
edges together (Figure 14), as when sewing lace on ruffles, or joining
selvages. What is the selvage? It is the edge of the warp. The next
time mother goes shopping ask her to take you with her. When she tells
the salesman she wants so many yards of goods, whether it is for
kitchen towels or a dress for herself or for you, notice how the goods
is measured. The salesman will measure along one of the finished sides
of the goods. These finished edges are called selvages.
[Illustration: Fig. 15. The seam opened]
Make the stitches in over-handing as small as possible, keeping the
stitches even. Sew through both pieces of the material. Hold your work
between your thumb and first finger. Here again it is not necessary to
make a knot. Let a half-inch of the end of your thread lie on top of
the material toward the left side; the over-handing stitches will cover
this end. When the over-handing is finished run your thumb-nail along
the stitches on the right side. If your stitches are too deep there
will be a seam on the wrong side, whereas if the instructions have
been followed carefully the material will lie perfectly flat (Figure
15).
Now we are ready to help mother hem the new kitchen towels. First see
that the edge you are to hem is straight. If it is not, pull out a
thread so as to mark a line to cut by. You must take a thread that runs
the entire way across the end of the towel. Cut carefully along the
space out of which the thread came. Get a piece of card that has two
smooth or straight edges and make a notch one-half inch from the corner
(Figure 16). A half-inch hem is the one commonly used on a towel.
[Illustration: Fig. 16. A notched card]
If mother likes to have her towels with a wider or narrower hem, notch
the card the size she wishes. Turn the material back one-quarter inch
and crease it down with your thumb-nail. A second fold is made the
width of the hem. Take your measuring card and, placing the end of it
on the double edge, see if your hem is exactly the width desired. Baste
along the first folded edge to hold the material together for hemming
(Figures 17 and 18). Hold the edge to be hemmed toward you. Do not knot
your thread. Insert the needle at the extreme right of the hem. Pull
the needle through, leaving a little end, as in over-handing, to be
fastened down with the hemming itself.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. The first step]
[Illustration: Fig. 18. The second step]
Your needle should slant as shown in the diagram (Figure 19). Take a
stitch right through all the thicknesses of the material. Be sure that
it goes through to the other side. The fewer the threads taken on the
needle at the same time, the neater the result will be. The stitches
should slant from right to left. The stitches must be close together if
we want fine hemming. Let each stitch be the same size as the other and
slant in the same direction. The right side of the hem looks like a row
of short dashes.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. The way the needle should slant]
If your needle gets "sticky" when you are sewing, you should pass it
through your emery-bag till it is shiny and sharp again. The needle is
apt to get that way if your hands perspire. Ladies who like to keep
their sewing looking fresh and white, as if hands had never touched it,
find it a good plan to wash their hands in a little vinegar, or lemon
and water.
It is very necessary to sit so that the light falls over your left
shoulder. A little straight-back chair is another good help in sewing.
Do you know that many of our English great-grandmothers had very
straight backs? When they were little girls they had to sit on a very
straight, tall chair, an hour or two every day. A foot-stool was placed
under their feet, and their shoulders strapped against the chair. Of
course they did not sit there idle, but a piece of fine sewing was
given them to work. You see they did not have the opportunity to run
around and play as you have. Their chief recreation was their dancing
lesson.
[Illustration: Fig. 20. A corner basted ready for hemming]
The towel finished, the next thing to learn is how to turn a corner and
hem it. Shall we make a cover for Sally Ann's bed or a dust-cloth for
mother? In either case cut a piece of material eighteen inches square
and turn a hem and baste it as you did for the towel. The next side is
folded the same as the first. The corner should form a perfect square
(Figure 20). Sometimes the material is very thick and the hem wide; in
that case it is wise to cut a little oblong piece out of the corner as
shown in the illustration (Figure 21).
[Illustration: Fig. 21. The material cut from a corner]
Napkins and table-covers should be sewed with a French hem. Make a turn
about a sixteenth of an inch deep. The second turn should be about
three sixteenths of an inch wide. Fold the hem back so that it touches
the right side of the material. The hem is connected to the material
with tiny over-hand stitches. Open the hem, when finished crease with
the thumb-nail till it lies perfectly flat.
[Illustration: Fig. 22. Whipping]
A pretty new way of finishing a handkerchief is to roll the material
for the edge instead of folding it. Over-cast or, as we sometimes say,
whip it with delicate-coloured cotton, (Figure 22). The nicest material
for handkerchiefs is fine linen, but lawn is cheaper for practice
work. Hold the wrong side of the material to you. Then roll about one
eighth of an inch between the thumb and first finger of your left hand.
Do not roll more than an inch of the hem at a time. Take a needle
and thread it with a piece of coloured cotton. In this case it is
permissible to make a knot. Insert the needle at the beginning of the
roll. Over-cast or whip the rolled edge. The stitches should encircle
the roll and not go through it. When the rolled inch is over-casted,
roll another inch and repeat in this manner till the whole handkerchief
is worked. If you desire, when you have finished one side, you can whip
in an opposite direction toward the point at which you started, thus
forming a cross with each return stitch (Figure 23).
[Illustration: Fig. 23. A pretty finish for handkerchiefs]
Lace is sewed to raw edges by rolling and whipping the material and
connecting the lace at the same time.
[Illustration: Fig. 24. A rolled hem]
[Illustration: Fig. 25. One end creased one quarter of an inch]
[Illustration: Fig. 26. The tape open flat on material]
Tapes should be on all towels and on all your skirts and dresses that
are to hang on nails or pegs. Take a piece of fine tape about five
inches long. Crease one end down one quarter of an inch (Figure 25). If
the tape-loop is to be sewed on a towel find the direct centre of the
top edge of the towel. Lay the tape with the creased end open flat on
the towel (Figure 26). Sew along the creased line with back-stitching.
Fold the other end of the tape over, baste it down so that it entirely
covers the stitches already made and with small hemming stitches
connect the tape to the material (Figure 27). There should be two
tape-loops on your dress or separate skirt. There is usually too much
weight for only one loop. Place a loop in each armhole of the waist or
dress. For the skirt, measure the waist-band and place the loops so
that the band is divided in thirds.
[Illustration: Fig. 27. The tape finished]
Do you know that very few people sew on hooks and eyes properly? Yet
there is no difficulty in sewing them correctly and they look much
nicer. Take the eye, connect it to the material with two stitches that
make a cross. With the same thread pass the needle to the left-hand
loop. Insert the needle in the material so that the eye of the needle
is within the loop and the point of the needle comes just outside. See
that the thread passes from left to right _under_ the point of the
needle. Draw the needle through and repeat in this manner until the two
loops of the eye are firmly connected to the material. Sometimes it is
necessary to cover the upper part of the eye. In that case cover the
metal with fine over-and-over stitches as shown in (Figure 28B).
[Illustration: Fig. 28A. The eye firmly sewed]
[Illustration: Fig. 28B. A covered eye]
The loop of the hook is sewed on in a very similar manner at the
base, while the top of the hook is caught with eight or nine
over-and-over-stitches (Figure 29). These stitches are taken under the
hook portion and connect the under side only. Measure accurately just
where every eye goes and place the hook so that when it meets the eye
it will be straight. A sixteenth of an inch out of the way spoils the
appearance and is apt to pull the material crooked. Another point to
remember is that it is not a good plan to place the eyes on the extreme
edge. A margin of some size is most necessary to extend beyond the
eyes. Sometimes it is necessary to sew a piece of material so that it
extends one inch beyond the eyes if the eyes are sewed on the extreme
edge of the finished garment. This piece is called the fly piece.
[Illustration: Fig. 29. The hook]
III
GATHERING, SEWING ON BANDS, A PRACTICAL SEWING APRON, HEMMED PATCHES,
GUSSETS AND TUCKS
Though I know you don't like making samples, I am going to ask you to
make a little apron for a doll, as a model, before we make a real big
one.
Get a piece of muslin five by nine inches and a No. 9 sewing needle.
Thread it with a piece of No. 70 cotton. Baste an eighth of an inch hem
on both of the five-inch sides, and a three-quarter of an inch hem on
one of the nine-inch sides.
The basting of the three sides being finished we will now start to
gather the fourth side. Thread a No. 8 needle with No. 50 thread. Use a
thread a trifle longer than nine inches. Make a good-sized knot in the
thread so that the end cannot slip through the material. Start from the
right-hand side of the piece and insert the needle on the under side.
Let the knot come on top of the narrow hem about one quarter of an inch
from the raw edge.
The needle is now in position on the right side of the material. Take
up several stitches on the needle before pulling it through (Figure
30). The stitches are nothing more than running stitches. When the
running has been worked across the nine inches of the material, take
the needle out and make a knot in the thread.
[Illustration: Fig. 30. Gathering the apron]
Put a pin, vertically, close to the last stitch. Take up only a few
threads of the material on the pin. Draw up the running thread so that
you have about three and a half inches of gathering. Wind the thread
that extends beyond the gathering over the top and under the point of
the pin a number of times, crossing the thread at the middle of the pin
so that it forms an eight (Figure 31).
To allow the gathering to fall evenly, it will be necessary to stroke
it. Use a No. 2 needle for this purpose. With the right side of the
work toward you begin at the left-hand edge. Hold the work between
the left thumb and forefinger, keeping the thumb below the gathering
thread. Put the point of the No. 2 needle under the gathering thread,
holding it obliquely. Press the needle toward the thumb, bringing the
little plait under the thumb and drawing the needle downward. Pinch
the little plait down lightly with your thumb. Continue in this way,
putting the needle under each stitch (Figure 32).
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Gathers ready for stroking]
Let us now put a band and strings on our apron. Cut two strips of
material ten inches long by two inches wide. These are for the strings.
Baste an eighth of an inch hem on the two long sides of each strip.
Make a three-quarter of an inch hem on each string.
Over-hand the ends of the broad hem. All the hems that are basted on
the strings and the material itself should be hemmed with fine stitches.
[Illustration: Fig. 32. Gathering Strokes]
Cut another strip two and a half inches wide by five inches long. This
is the band. Turn down one eighth of an inch of the material all around
the band. Crease the band in half, lengthwise, so that the edges, just
folded, are inside.
Find the centre of the gathered material and the centre of the opened
band. Holding the wrong side of the apron toward you, pin the middle of
the apron to the middle of the band. Pin the gathered side of the apron
to the band, three quarters of an inch from each end of it.
Wind the gathering thread around the left-hand pin, drawing the thread
up to fit the band. With the point of the needle adjust the gathers
so that the fullness is evenly distributed along the band. Holding
the gathers toward you, baste with small stitches a little above the
gathering thread.
Turn up the band and on the right side of the apron hem the band in it,
catching up a gather with each stitch. Some people prefer to stitch
along the basting line instead of hemming (Figure 33).
[Illustration: Fig. 33. Taking up a gather with every stitch]
Baste the other side of the band down, and hem as on the right side.
Insert the strings in the band. Hem in the same way as on the band,
first the right side and then the left side, and now your little apron
is completed (Figure 34).
Would you not like to have a sewing apron that you can use as a bag
when you are not wearing it? It is such an easy thing to make that
after you have one for yourself you will be making them for your
friends for Christmas.
[Illustration: Fig. 34. The apron completed]
Get mother to measure you from the waist to the knees. The material for
the apron should be one and a half this measurement. Turn one third of
the material back. Baste the double edges together and sew with fine
combination stitches.
Turn this piece inside out. Crease back one eighth of an inch edge of
this pocket, as it were. Baste a piece of beading over this raw edge
right around the back of the apron. Be careful not to sew up the pocket.
The beading on the back must be the same distance from the bottom as
the beading in front; that is, we must keep a straight line. Sew on the
extreme edges of the beading with fine running stitches, to connect it
to the material. Now as the ribbon we are to run in the beading must
serve as a draw string, as well as for decoration, it will be necessary
to put two pieces in. So get a narrow ribbon about one half the width
of the openings in the beading. Each piece of ribbon must be long
enough to go once around the apron and enough of the ends left to tie
double bows--one for each side. Start one piece of the ribbon at the
right-hand side of the apron and the other at the left.
The top of the apron or single piece is finished with a piece of
beading which is sewed on, as on the pocket. A ribbon long enough to
go around your waist and to tie a bow in the back is run through the
beading (Figure 35).
[Illustration: Fig. 35. The apron]
When the apron is not being worn your work can be placed in the large
pocket and the single section folded within the pocket. The ribbons
are then drawn up tight and "bravo!" you have a work bag fit for a
queen (Figure 36).
[Illustration: Fig. 36. The work bag]
There are so many kinds of rents or holes that may happen to your
clothes that it is worth the while to know how to mend the various
kinds. There is an old adage that says, "Waste makes want," and we
would spend a small fortune in clothes if every time a wee hole made
its appearance we discarded the garment.
If it is a circular hole in a dress or underbody, as often happens,
under the arms, we will use the square patch. Cut a piece of the same
kind of material, three inches square, or larger if necessary. Turn a
fold of one eighth of an inch on the four edges of this square. Crease
it lengthwise and crosswise.
[Illustration: Fig. 37. The patch hemmed to the material]
Crease the material on which the patch is to be laid lengthwise and
crosswise through the tear. Pin the small piece or patch on the wrong
side of the large piece, or garment, so that the creases run in the
same direction. The warp must run the same way in both pieces. One
sixteenth of an inch from the edges run a basting thread. Hem the four
sides on the patch to the material (Figure 37).
[Illustration: Fig. 38. The pin in each corner of the patch]
On the garment side make a crease half an inch wide, from the hemming,
on the four sides. Four little squares will be formed in the corners.
Crease along the diagonal of each square. Place a pin one eighth of an
inch from each corner, within the patch (Figure 38). Cut the garment
from the centre of the tear to the pins. Repeat this on each side,
cutting along the crease which you made, one half inch from the hemming.
Turn in one eighth of an inch and baste. Hem all around (Figure 39).
[Illustration: Fig. 39. The garment side of the patch]
In patching material such as checked or striped ginghams, percales, or
other materials, the stripes or the checks must match so that the patch
is not too apparent (Figure 40).
[Illustration: Fig. 40. Matching the stripes]
Have you ever noticed how the slit or placket of a petticoat or side
opening of drawers is finished? A piece of material is put in of an
odd shape to strengthen the openings. This is called a gusset. Suppose
that you were making a petticoat. Join the skirt up the back from the
bottom, but leave eight inches open at the top. This top opening is the
placket. But let us take a small piece of material and practise making
the back of a skirt. We will put a hem and a few tucks at the bottom of
the material first.
[Illustration: Fig. 41. Basting the tuck]
Make a measuring card of a straight strip with an eighth, three
eighths, and three quarters of an inch notches.
Crease and fold a wide hem (three quarters of an inch), using the
measuring card as a guide.
Over-hand each end of the hem. Now baste along the hem. The
over-handing must be done before the basting. Now hem this wide hem.
Again, using the cardboard measure, on the right side of the model
fold a crease three quarters of an inch above the hem. Begin at the
right-hand side to crease and baste (Figure 41).
With a fine, even, running stitch, an eighth of an inch below the
crease, make the tuck (Figure 42). Measure every few stitches to keep
the seam straight.
[Illustration: Fig. 42. Making the tuck]
If a second tuck is desired, measure from the tuck instead of the hem.
Now we are ready for the slit which is in the centre top. On the wrong
side start at the top with an eighth of an inch hem, but decrease it to
almost nothing right to the bottom (Figure 43). Fold the other side in
the same manner. In hemming the two sides, start at the top.
[Illustration: Fig. 43. The placket hemmed]
Now let us practise making gussets on a piece of paper. Cut a piece
of paper three inches square. Fold it from corner to corner and cut
(Figure 44). Turn the straight or short edges of the paper one eighth
of an inch and fold along the two shorter edges (Figure 45).
[Illustration: Fig. 44. The triangle]
Hold the paper with the straight edge down, measure it from the two
points one quarter of an inch. Now cut a piece of material the size of
the paper and fold like model.
[Illustration: Fig. 45. The short edges folded]
Cut off the two points one quarter inch from each corner on the thread
of the goods (Figure 46). Turn these two straight ends and the bias
edge of paper one eighth of an inch (Figure 47). Turn point of paper
down one eighth of an inch from bias hem and crease (Figure 48).
[Illustration: Fig. 46. With points cut off]
Now cut the muslin gusset and fold just like the paper one.
[Illustration: Fig. 47. All sides are now creased.]
[Illustration: Fig. 48. The point folded over]
Hold the model or skirt with right side toward you, and turn up point
of gusset. Holding the wrong side of the skirt toward you, twist left
side of gusset to left side of placket and over-hand to creased line,
half way up the gusset (Figure 49).
[Illustration: Fig. 49. The gusset over-handed half way]
Over-hand right side. Turn bias edge of gusset over to right side, pin,
having straight edges parallel to warp and woof threads and then hem
(Figure 50).
Gather the top of the skirt and put on a band on each side of opening
about the same width as the one used on the apron (Figure 51).
[Illustration: Fig. 50. Gusset hemmed]
[Illustration: Fig. 51. The gusset model completed]
IV
A DOLL'S SKIRT AND SEWING CASE, BINDINGS, DOLL'S BED LINEN AND A PIN
CASE
Let us suppose that Sally Ann measures twelve inches from the crown of
her head to the soles of her feet and that you would like to make her a
gored skirt like mother's. Would you not feel happier if you made the
pattern and then cut the skirt yourself?
Take a piece of paper twelve by nine inches wide, mark every inch on
both the long sides of the paper. Lay a ruler so that it touches the
centre of the space between the first and second dots on the upper
edge, and between the second and third dots on the lower edge. This
will form the half of the front gore of the skirt. Mark it, "half of
front."
Now draw a line from the second dot on the upper edge to the centre of
the space between the fourth and fifth dots of the lower edge. Connect
the sixth dot on the upper and lower edges, mark this section "side
gore." Connect the eleventh dot on lower and upper edges and mark this
section "back." The remaining inch mark "belt." (Figure 52).
[Illustration: Fig. 52. The pattern drawn]
Cut the pattern apart along the lines drawn.
Take a piece of muslin twenty-four by nine inches. Tear off two inches
of the muslin on the length for the band and then ten inches for the
back of the skirt.
Fold the remaining piece of muslin with the two short edges together so
that the doubled piece measures six inches by nine. Place the straight
edge of front of skirt pattern on the fold of the material and the edge
of the side gore on the other edge. Pin the pattern down securely and
cut through both thicknesses of the material (Figure 53).
Pin the skirt together, placing a straight edge of a gore to a bias.
Baste a quarter-inch seam along the finished edges of each gore,
holding the bias edge toward you. Sew the seams up with combination
stitches. Press open the seams and over-cast each one to keep it from
fraying.
[Illustration: Fig. 53. The back, side gore and front]
Fold a hem at the bottom of the skirt an inch and a quarter wide. Baste
the hem so that seam comes to seam. On the front gore there will be a
fullness. Gather this fullness in with fine running stitches and baste.
Use a separate thread for the gathering. Now hem around the whole skirt.
Cut the placket two inches down through the centre back. Turn a hem on
the right side one half inch wide and on the left one eighth inch. Sew
the hem.
Lap the wide hem over the narrow at the bottom of the placket and
stitch across the wide hem two rows of stitching one eighth of an inch
apart.
Turn in the strip you cut off at first for the band one quarter of an
inch on the two short sides and on one of the long sides.
[Illustration: Fig. 54. The skirt]
Fold lengthwise, find centre of band and crease; one inch from this,
crease again.
Place and pin band in the same way as for the gusset described in the
last chapter, placing the middle crease at the middle of front of
skirt. Then pin the band also at the creases on either side of centre.
Gather each side of the skirt that is left. Draw in the thread to fit
belt. Spread the gathers so that most of the fullness is in the back.
Over-hand the ends and hem second side of the placket. This finishes
the skirt (Figure 54).
A basket or box of some sort is very nice to have, as we have said
above, for your sewing, but suppose you were going to sew with another
friend and you wanted a handy case in which to carry your sewing
implements? A cloth case that can be folded or rolled is very much more
convenient and may be carried in the large pocket of your apron. One
made of denim is inexpensive, wears well, and is highly practicable.
One yard will make you a case.
Cut a piece of green denim sixteen by fifteen inches long. Turn up four
inches of the material, baste down both sides. Baste a four-inch pocket
on the left-hand corner of your case. The rest of the case divide in
two. This will hold your darning cotton that comes on cards.
We have a pretty way of finishing this case, which is not only
ornamental but strong, and that is to bind it. Get a piece of tape long
enough to go around the whole case. Crease it lengthwise so that one
edge comes slightly below the other. Open it and lay it on denim and
then neatly back-stitch the right side and hem the wrong. The hemming
should be just below the back-stitching, and must not be seen on the
right side. Allow enough tape at the corners to make a good angle. Both
sides of the corner must be treated alike.
[Illustration: Fig. 55. The material caught from side to side]
It will be well to have a needle case to match the sewing case. Cut
a strip of material thirteen inches long by three and a half inches
wide. Cut this strip in four parts. Get a piece of cardboard that is
not too thick or of such kind that will break easily, as some of the
cheaper grades of brown cardboard are apt to do. Cut four pieces, three
inches wide by three and a half inches long. Thread your needle with a
piece of No. 40 cotton and put a big knot at the end. Take one of the
pieces of denim and a piece of the cardboard. Catch the material from
side to side with stitches about one quarter of an inch apart (Figure
55). After sewing these two sides sew the third and fourth in the same
manner. Cover each piece of the cardboard in this way (Figure 56). Take
two of the covered pieces and over-cast them carefully together.
[Illustration: Fig. 56. The four sides of material caught together]
You should have leaves of flannel to stick your needles in. Pink the
edges of the flannel. Pinking is snipping out the edge in little points
and can be done with scissors. Connect the two pieces of the needle
case with two tiny bows, or a heavy thread can be made to answer the
purpose. The flannel sheets are tacked through the centre like the
pages in a book (Figure 57).
The third or middle compartment between the spool case and darning
thread can be used for a miscellaneous pocket to hold the tape-measure,
emery-bag, small scissors and other necessary articles.
[Illustration: Fig. 57. The flannel sheets tacked through the centre]
A piece of tape stretched down on the denim with just enough spring for
the package of needles to pass through is a handy way to carry them
(Figure 58).
It is rather dangerous to travel with a pair of scissors with the
points unprotected. In Canada and the states that border it the
Indians sell the little sweet grass protectors. A cork, however, that
comes in small bottles such as you get from drug stores will protect
the points of the scissors as well as the sweet grass protectors, if
not as elegantly. If the scissors are too large to put in the pocket a
piece of tape could be stitched down to slip them in lengthwise. The
case should be folded in three parts when it is not in use and a piece
of tape the same colour as the binding tied around it (Figure 59).
[Illustration: Fig. 56. The four sides of material caught together]
Now that you have your sewing apron and a work box, you will love to
be sewing every chance you get. Suppose we plan a set of bed things
for Sally Ann. First let us make a mattress. The mattress on your bed
is covered, probably, with ticking, but this is too harsh for your
fingers to sew, so let us select percale or zephyr, and half-inch tape
for the binding; the filling can be cotton, hair, or feathers. If it is
impossible to get any of these three, newspapers chipped up very fine
will make an excellent padding. Many people use newspaper chippings to
fill pillows for summer use.
[Illustration: Fig. 59. The case folded]
Measure the bedstead and cut two pieces of percale or zephyr exactly
the same size. Now cut a stripe of the material, one inch wide, long
enough to go around the four sides of one of the pieces of the material
that you have just cut.
[Illustration: Fig. 60. The narrow strip to the large strip]
Baste the long narrow strip around one large piece. Lay the wrong side
of the strip to the wrong side of the material (Figure 60). The edges
must be even. Use the combination stitch of one running stitch and one
back-stitch just below the basting. When the strip has been securely
sewed to the four sides of the material, join the two ends together on
the wrong side.
Now take your tape, which may be white or the colour of the figure in
your material, and bind the edges by first running one side down and
then the other (Figure 61).
[Illustration: Fig. 61. Binding the mattress]
The other piece of material is sewed in the same manner--the wrong
side of the strip to the wrong side of the material. Do not sew,
however, around the entire four sides but leave about six inches open
through which the filling may be passed. After basting the strip with
combination stitching fill with cotton or whatever material you have on
hand. Do not fill the mattress so that it will be bumpy. Put a little
stick in and flatten the filling at the top. Now sew the opening up
and we are ready to quilt the mattress.
Thread a large needle with two pieces of heavy cotton floss or wool.
Push your needle through to the other side, letting a short end extend
above the mattress. Bring your needle back again close to where it came
out (Figure 62). Unthread the needle and tie the ends tightly. Cut off
what is left and repeat again two and a half inches over. It is best to
quilt in rows; that is, to start two inches in from the long side and
make a row parallel with the tape. The next row is made two and a half
inches farther over and the next row of knots should come in between
the first row of dots.
[Illustration: Fig. 62. Quilting]
This mattress is made just like yours and the pillow is the next
article we will make. The pillow should be half the width of your
mattress, as we will use two on the bed. Take a piece of material
twice the length desired for the pillow. Use the same kind of material
as that used for the mattress. Fold the piece in two with the wrong
side out. Join the two long edges and one of the short sides with the
combination stitch (Figure 63). Make the stitches one quarter inch from
the edge. Now turn the case inside out and fill with cotton. Turn in
the edges of the open end and over-cast them together (Figure 64). As I
have said before, it will be necessary to make two pillows.
[Illustration: Fig. 63. The pillowcase]
[Illustration: Fig. 64. Overcasting the open end]
The pillowcases can be made of lawn, cambric or muslin. Cut the
material a little larger both in length and width than the pieces used
for the pillow. The seams of the pillowcases will have to be felled.
Along the one short side and the long side make fine running stitches,
one quarter of an inch from the edge. Cut the raw edge from one side so
that the other is about an eighth of an inch wider. Now fold the wider
edge over like a hem so that it completely covers the cut edge and
hem neatly to the material. The open end has a wide hem of say three
quarters of an inch. When the hem is finished turn the case with the
work inside.
For the sheets cut two pieces of muslin or lawn large enough to cover
the mattress and to turn under. The selvage edge of the material should
run the length of the sheet. Turn in a quarter-inch hem on the two long
sides of each sheet and hem. Now turn a one-inch hem at the top and
bottom of each sheet. This completes the sheet (Figure 65).
[Illustration: Fig. 65. The sheet]
A blanket is of course very necessary to have and it can be made of
a piece of an old blanket or of canton flannel, cashmere, or plain
flannel. If a piece of blanket is used, finish the edges with the
blanket stitch which is described in Chapter twelve of the book.
The flannel, cashmere, or canton flannel is finished by turning the
edges over a quarter of an inch and herring boning or cat-stitching
them to the material (Figure 66). For cat-stitching see diagram in
Chapter nine.
[Illustration: Fig. 66. The blanket]
No bed is complete without a counterpane of some sort and this can
be made as fancy as you desire. A pretty one is made of strips of
insertion joined together by fine over-casting or fagotting. Fagotting
is explained in Chapter twenty. A row of edging will have to be sewed
like a ruffle around the two long and one short sides to complete the
counterpane.
[Illustration: Fig. 67. The crow's foot and spider on checked gingham]
If a very fancy counterpane is desired get a piece of checked gingham
of some light colour. The check should be a quarter of an inch square.
With your needle threaded with white or a shade deeper than the
darkest check make spiders on the dark squares and crow's feet on the
light. Directions for making a spider are given in the chapter on "Lace
Stitches."
A crow's foot is made by taking one stitch on the diagonal of the
square and two on each side of it, the stitches on each side of the
first one being a trifle shorter than the previous ones (Figure 67). A
counterpane like this is very attractive and does not require a great
deal of time to make.
[Illustration: Fig. 68. The envelope opened]
A dainty little pin case that will make an acceptable little gift for a
friend that is going to travel is the envelope pin case. Take a piece
of material such as linen, cretonne, or silk and another piece of
different coloured material for lining and shape one end as shown like
the flap of an envelope (Figure 68). A good size is nine inches long by
four inches wide.
Cut a piece of stiff paper a half inch smaller than the pieces of
material. Baste the material which will be outside over the paper so
that the edges are folded back one quarter on the paper. Turn a similar
fold on the lining and hem it to the material as shown on the flap of
the envelope opened.
[Illustration: Fig. 69. The envelope case closed]
Now take two papers of pins and place them in the case so that they
look like leaves of a book. Be careful to see that the heads of the
pins are on top. Now catch the pins to the case with several long
stitches which are taken below the points of the pins. Stitch a ribbon
to flap of envelope and one at the bottom. Close the case and tie the
ribbons and you have a handy pin case (Figure 69).
V
MAKING BUTTONHOLES, CUTTING FROM A PATTERN, A DOLL DRESS
To make a good buttonhole is an accomplishment that any girl can be
proud of, as it is the hardest thing in sewing. The thread should be
almost double in length to that you usually take, as a joining is very
clumsy in a buttonhole.
A buttonhole is a worked opening in a piece of material or garment
through which a button is to be slipped. The friction caused by
buttoning and unbuttoning necessitates that the worked edges should be
firmly and well sewed.
[Illustration: Fig. 70. The first step in buttonholing]
Before we make a real buttonhole, let us see how the stitch is worked.
Draw a line one inch in length with the straight of the material. Take
two stitches one inch long over this line. At the extreme right of the
stitches insert your needle, threaded with No. 40 cotton. Take a stitch
about a sixteenth of an inch below the line. While the needle is still
in the material--you are working from left to right--(Figure 70), carry
the thread under its point from the left, to the right side of the
needle. The enlarged cut showing this stitch is very plain. The needle
is then drawn through the material toward the chest and then straight
from it. The next stitch and every other stitch must be identical with
the first, the difference being that each stitch is then a little
farther to the left. Every stitch must be the same length.
Now let us prepare to make the stitch on a fold. Fold a band in three
equal parts. Pass the needle between the folds and bring it out on the
edge. Hold the end of the thread with the left thumb. Carry the needle
to the back of the fold and insert the point through the fifth thread
of the material from the edge. The double thread at the edge of the
needle is brought around the point of the needle from left to right and
drawn out. (Figure 71).
A tailor's buttonhole is made slightly different. The needle is placed
in the same position as in the ordinary buttonhole. The thread is
brought from the top of the stitch and the doubled thread is brought
around under the point of the needle from right to left (Figure 72).
[Illustration: Fig. 71. The position of the needle in buttonholing]
[Illustration: Fig. 72. A tailor's buttonhole]
The corners of the buttonhole are worked in two ways, either barred or
rounded. The round corners are worked in the same buttonhole stitch,
only it is twice the depth of the buttonholing along the two edges.
Five or seven stitches will be sufficient for a corner or the ridge of
the buttonholing will be too crowded.
The bar or braced end of the buttonhole is a little more difficult. It
is necessary to bar a buttonhole for heavy woollen materials such as
men's coats, or your own cloak, or outer wraps (Figure 72). Generally
the first end of the buttonhole is rounded and the last end barred
(Figure 73).
[Illustration: Fig. 73. The buttonhole with one end rounded and the
other barred]
Work around the buttonhole end when the last stitch has been made,
turn the material so that the work lies across your forefinger. Pass
the needle over the extreme left of the stitch, (Figure 74). Work four
stitches the same length as those of the two sides of the buttonhole,
and then insert the needle through the ridge of the first buttonhole
stitch. The ridge of the bar faces the buttonhole. This bar should be
just the width of the buttonhole. Nine stitches are usually sufficient
for it.
[Illustration: Fig. 74. Barring the buttonhole]
Tailors run two or three strands at the base of the buttonhole before
working the nine stitches. The stitches are not taken through the
material but only over the threads.
A buttonhole is fastened off on the wrong side at the base of the
stitch.
The most important step is to cut the buttonhole straight. The
buttonhole should be a trifle longer than the button. It should be cut
in the opposite direction to which the strain will be. For instance on
the back of the waist the buttonholes should run crosswise, for the
movement of the shoulders spreads the buttonhole lengthwise. On the
bands around the waist buttonholes are made lengthwise.
A sharp pair of scissors or a penknife should be used for cutting the
holes. Insert the point of the scissors or knife through the centre of
the buttonhole. Cut one side, then the other, along a thread of the
material.
The thread is fastened securely on the wrong side of the left-hand
corner. Use No. 40 sewing cotton for buttonholes, unless on very fine
material, when No. 60 should be used. Sometimes it is well to over-cast
the raw edges before working the buttonhole. A thread should always
start at the extreme lower left-hand corner.
The backs of yokes should be fastened with loops and fine buttons. To
make a loop, span the thread across the edge of the material in a loop
large enough to slip the button through. Let the last stitch be on the
right-hand side. Now place the threaded needle under the strands of
thread letting the thread fall under the point of the needle. Repeat in
this manner till the strands are entirely covered. The ridge or purled
edge of this stitch will be on the outside of the loop.
[Illustration: Fig. 75. Loops made of threads]
Hooks are sometimes caught into loops, but they are made directly on
the material instead of sewed on the edge. The strands of thread,
however, are not as loose as the buttonloops. The diagram (Figure
75) of the two loops will convey a clear idea of how the threads are
spanned and covered.
The last step in sewing is cutting from a given pattern. An old garment
that fits well, ripped apart makes an excellent pattern and requires
very little fitting. Press the pieces before using them as a pattern.
Lay the material so that the selvage runs lengthwise, that is, from
head to foot. Only one half of the garment is necessary for a pattern,
as the material is doubled or folded lengthwise (Figure 76). The
centre front of the skirt or waist is always placed on the fold of the
material and either basted or pinned down before cutting.
[Illustration: Fig. 76. The centre front on fold]
Collars, cuffs, bands, and sleeves are cut with the selvage running
their length. Cut any part of a garment such as sleeves, waist, or
skirt through two thicknesses of material so that both sides will be
exactly alike. This does not refer to the front gore of a skirt. When
the material has a right and wrong side the right sides should face
each other before cutting the pattern.
Handkerchiefs or frills should be cut along a thread so that the edges
may be perfectly straight.
Be sure that the material lies perfectly flat under the pattern. Pin
the centre first to keep it from slipping before pinning the edges.
Pin the entire garment before cutting anything, so that you can be
sure that your material will be sufficient. This also gives you an
opportunity to see where to put the smaller pieces and economize with
the material.
A large pair of scissors should be used in cutting. The blunt-pointed
blade is next to the board or table. It is well to practise on paper
and plan the pattern before using the pattern on the cloth.
Bias bands should be cut on the bias of the material. Cut a square
piece of material and fold it cat-a-corner. Cut along the fold and you
will get a true bias.
Bands to finish the necks of undergarments or around armholes should be
cut on the bias. In fact, any curved edge that has to be faced should
be faced with a bias instead of a straight band.
Now suppose we make a real dress for Sally Ann that will be put
together and finished just like one of your own dresses. The style we
will select will be on the order of a French dress, that is, a long
waist and short skirt. The pattern for the waist is in seven parts:
they are the front, side front, back, side back, sleeve, collar, and
cuff. The skirt is only one piece.
Three quarters of a yard of material will be sufficient to make a dress
for a doll from eighteen to twenty inches in height.
In all patterns that are bought only one half is given; sometimes
all the seams--which are a very important part of a dress--are given
and sometimes they are omitted. Any pattern that is published by a
reliable firm tells on the envelope whether you should allow for the
seams or not.
The pattern is usually of tissue paper and each piece has perforations
or holes of different shapes. One shape means this side must be
placed on the fold of the material, another shape or perforation the
same shape only grouped differently, means that the pattern should
be placed on a straight thread of the material. Still another means
"gather here." If there are tucks in the pattern they are usually
indicated. Where the seams join each other, little notches are made and
corresponding notches are placed together and pinned after the pattern
is cut.
Let us suppose the material is forty-five inches wide. Place the centre
of the skirt on the fold of the material and pin in place. Your pattern
should be planned and pinned on a flat surface such as a sewing table.
Place the pins through the tissue pattern and both thicknesses of the
material, letting the head and the point of the pin be visible to the
eye. Do not cut any piece of your pattern until you have planned and
pinned every piece, as that is the only way you can economize on your
material (Figure 77). Often a pattern cut before each piece is planned
comes to grief if an over-supply of material has not been provided.
The centre front is also placed on the fold of the material as well as
the centre, back and collar. The sleeves are now fitted in, so that
the perforations rest on the straight thread of the material. The side
front and back and cuffs are also pinned to the material. The pattern
now pinned, take a large pair of cutting scissors and holding the blunt
part toward the table, cut close to the tissue pattern, or if no seams
are allowed, the width stated in directions should be allowed for the
seams.
[Illustration: Fig. 77. The waist pattern pinned to the material]
Let us make the sleeve first. Take one sleeve and holding with the
right side join notches together (Figure 78). Baste the sleeves up on
the seams one eighth of an inch from the edge. When the basting is
finished make a row of fine running stitches. Turn the sleeves on the
wrong side and baste them before working the combination stitches. The
sleeves are now ready to be banded. The band is taken and sewed on the
short side. The seaming is taken on the wrong side of the material. A
little seam is taken on each of the long sides of the cuff. Fold the
cuff in half. The turns or folds are opened out and now turn the cuff
inside out. Run a gathering thread at the lower edge of the main part
of the sleeves starting the thread one half inch from each side of the
seam. Place the cuff around the sleeve so that cuff seam rests on the
seam of the sleeve. Pin into position. It will probably be necessary
to pull or adjust the gathering thread so that the lower part of the
sleeve be just the size of the cuff. Baste the band on after it has
been pinned satisfactorily before working the combination stitch.
[Illustration: Fig. 78. Notches of sleeve put together]
Turn the sleeve inside out and fold the cuff in the creases. Hem the
inner side of the cuff to the wrong side of the sleeve. On the upper
side of the sleeves run another gathering thread about one inch and a
half from the seam (Figure 79). We have now finished with the sleeve
until the waist proper is ready.
[Illustration: Fig. 79. Gathering the top of the sleeve]
Now take the centre back and side back and baste them together. Join
the pieces so that the notches correspond. Work the combination stitch
three eighths of an inch from the edge. The side fronts are joined
to the backs under the arm and on the shoulders. The front is then
sewed to the right side of the waist only. It will be necessary to
face the centre front piece and the left side front. Take a bias strip
of material not more than three quarters of an inch wide and fold an
eighth of an inch on each side of this strip. Join the shoulder seams
together, one side of the back to the right side of the front and
the other side to back. Sew with combination stitches, then make a
felled seam as explained for the sleeve. Baste the turned fold to the
right-hand side of the waist by opening out creased side and placing
the two right sides together and stitching one eighth of an inch from
the edge. Turn the bias over to the wrong side of the waist and slip
stitch. Slip stitching, as I have explained before, is somewhat like
hemming; only the stitches are taken back of the folded edge and catch
one thread only of the material.
The other bias band is basted in like manner to the left-hand side of
the waist.
[Illustration: Fig. 80. The gathers on the upper part of the sleeve]
The sleeves are ready to be put in. Measure one and one quarter inches
from the under arm seam on the waist, which is the short seam near the
front of the waist. Pin the seam of the sleeve to this point. Pin the
rest of the sleeve so that the gathers are evenly distributed. Pin
the right side of the sleeve to the right side of the waist. Baste
securely. Remember that the gathers should be thickest on the upper
part of the sleeve (Figure 80). Stitch with fine back-stitching and
then overcast. The neck may be bound or may have the collar attached.
Turn and hem the outer edge of the collar; a ruffle of lace may be
added if desired. Baste the collar to the waist, and try the waist on
Sally Ann. If it is a satisfactory fit, stitch in place. It is well to
cover the raw edges with a little bias fold. Hem the fold down on both
sides.
The long strip is not joined, but a half-inch hem folded on one side
and then stitched. The skirt is plaited or kilted, as it is often
called. A hem is made on each of the short sides of the strips. Now
crease the material as if you were going to make a tuck three quarters
of an inch deep. A box plait will next have to be planned; again crease
your material as if you were going to make a tuck three quarters of an
inch deep. These creases must be exactly three quarters of an inch from
the double fold of each piece. Measure an inch and a half, then turn
the material under so that a three-quarter inch piece is under the left
side of the waist line. This completes the box plait.
The plaits from there on are folded toward the left, while the first
two were toward the right. Baste each plait down securely. When working
on cotton materials that have a lot of dressing, the creases are likely
to stay in without basting, but while working on it the edges are apt
to get turned up. Basting (Figure 81) is therefore the surer and safer
way to keep the plaits in position, while for woollen or soft, sleazy
materials it is the only way.
When every plait has been basted lengthwise, take another thread and
baste them crosswise three or four times.
[Illustration: Fig. 81. Section of plaited skirt showing how it should
be basted crosswise]
Join the waist to the skirt, taking care that the centre of the
box-plait is under the direct centre of the front of the waist.
A sash will be needed to finish this dress. It can be tacked in place
or little straps of ribbon may be stitched at intervals and the ribbon
run through the straps (Figure No. 81A).
If this dress had been stitched on the machine it would have been
better to make tailored seams on the waist; that is, a narrow seam is
taken on the wrong side. The material is then turned back so that on
one side of the seam it slightly overlaps the other. Baste in place and
stitch on the edge. Tailored seams do not require any extra allowance
of material. They should slant toward the right on the right side
of the garment and toward the left on the left side. If the seams
were stitched to run in one direction the garment would have a very
one-sided appearance.
[Illustration: Fig. 81A. Sally Ann's new dress]
Press all the wrinkles caused by handling the dress in sewing. It is
best to lay a damp cloth over the material rather than place the iron
directly on the material. You will need a small iron for this dress.
Press each plait down carefully. Take out the basting threads before
trying on the dress.
There are good, bad and indifferent dressmakers, and I know you wish
to be one of the former. Sew a row of buttons on the left front of the
dress and make little buttonholes to correspond on the right side.
VI
A LESSON IN STENCILLING
What is stencilling? Let us see. Stencilling is a branch of painting.
Have you heard the story of the Baltimore belle in the time of the
Revolution who was most anxious to go to the first big ball that was to
be given after the war? The town had been divested of all the beautiful
silks and satins that the great ladies were accustomed to wear. Our
country had stopped importing these costly materials because there was
no occasion to use them and no money to pay for them.
An invitation had been sent to one of Baltimore's fairest daughters
who was intending to go with her cousin. What were they to wear? Both
needed the festive garments. At last, after a careful canvass of the
town, the young man managed to borrow a pair of satin breeches and a
flowered coat and all the other articles necessary to make a fine dandy
of those days, except the silk stockings.
The girl succeeded in finding a piece of white lawn of the coarsest
kind that was sufficient to make a frock. In no way discouraged this
clever young lady, who luckily could paint beautifully, started and
painted little sprays of rose buds on the fifteen or twenty yards
required for the gown. This made a very dainty and pretty frock.
[Illustration: Fig. 82. Stencilled curtains]
Poor George, her cousin, was in despair in not being able to borrow or
buy a pair of silk stockings, but clever Miss Betty hit on the plan of
painting his legs with a thick coat of white and then decorating them
with clocks on each side, so that no one at the dance even suspected
that he didn't have on silk stockings.
Miss Betty's dress was voted to be the most charming dress of the
evening.
Ever since I have heard this story I have wished that Miss Betty had
known how to stencil. What a lot of time she would have saved! I am
sure you will agree with me when you know how to stencil.
Have you noticed the flat gay decorations above the moulding in some
houses? Well those are stencilled. A painter will cut out a design from
a thin steel background; he lays this on the wall and paints over the
open spaces in the design. It is the only true way in which he can keep
his pattern. All free-hand designs are bound to show a difference in
outline.
Stencilling for home decoration is used on curtains (Figure 82),
portières, rugs, couch covers, table covers, lunch sets, pillow tops,
(Figure 83), bags, counterpanes, as well as for dresses, parasols,
wraps, scarfs, and in fact almost every conceivable object that allows
the use of decoration.
You can get a stencil board from any artist supply shop, but the one
you can make at home is cheaper even if it is not quite as durable.
[Illustration: Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman. A Single Motif Being
Used On a Stencilled Scarf]
In many of the schools, stencilling in its simplest form is taught in
the kindergarten. The children are taught to fold a heavy piece of
drawing paper lengthwise and draw half a design so that the centre
of it is on the fold of the paper. The design is then cut away, leaving
the background intact. This method is good for very simple motives.
Sometimes when we do not wish our design to be so set, we will draw it
without creasing the paper.
[Illustration: Fig. 83. A simple stencilled pillow]
The stencil board that you can buy is very hard for little fingers to
cut, besides being expensive.
To make a stencil pattern, draw a design such as a bunch of violets.
Let every petal be separated from the other and where the stems should
intersect leave a little space between. These little spaces or bridges
are what keep the background together. Of course, as a usual thing,
if you buy a stencil outfit, one pattern or more already cut comes
with it. In many of the large shops stencil patterns can be bought
separately, but if one has any idea of drawing it is an easy matter to
make a pattern.
[Illustration: Fig. 84. The cut stencil]
The design can be traced and cut on a piece of heavy manilla paper: a
coat or two of shellac makes the paper stiffer and somewhat waterproof.
The advantage of using drawing paper is this, that it may be cut with a
pair of scissors, while a stencil board requires a sharp penknife and
lots of finger strength to cut the pattern. White shellac is the best
to use, as it dries quickly. It can be bought from any paint store.
The pattern now cut (Figure 84), you are ready to do a piece of real
stencilling. Let us choose the cheapest thing we can get for our first
attempt. A piece of cheese cloth for a sash-curtain appeals to me.
Put in the hem so that the stencil will be sure to be straight. Lay a
large piece of blotting paper over the board or table on which you are
going to work. Place the cheese cloth on top of that. Try your stencil
pattern and measure how many times you can repeat it. It is better to
plan a pattern with a small space between each motif so that you will
not have half or part of the design left over. Stick a pin where the
centre of each motif should be.
Lay the stencil pattern in position and thumbtack it down to the cheese
cloth and blotting paper. Turpentine and oil are the most satisfactory
for stencilling, though there are several patent mixtures sold that
are good. The paint can be mixed with the turpentine till it is the
consistency of a thick cream or the brush can be dipped into the
turpentine and then into the paint. In either case the brush must be
wiped quite dry, as the process is more of a rubbing in one than
painting. Bristle brushes of four different sizes should be in your
stencil outfit. They come round and flat, (Figure 85). The frontispiece
shows a child stencilling with the round brush.
[Illustration: Fig. 85. The brushes]
Dip the brush into the mixture and be sure you wipe it off on a soft
rag before painting in the design. If the brush is too wet the result
is a blurred stencil.
Use a different brush for every colour. When the first motif is
stencilled, move the pattern and place it over the next pin. If you
want to reverse the pattern, clean it thoroughly with naptha on both
sides and let it dry for a couple of minutes before using again.
To make a stencilled piece washable it has to be steamed like printed
dress goods. This can be accomplished in two ways: that is, by
holding it over a steaming kettle, or by laying a wet cloth over the
stencilling and pressing with a hot iron.
Needless to say, a piece stencilled in water colours should not be
treated like this.
[Illustration: Fig. 86. A stencilled bag]
Water colours or crayons can be used when a piece is not desired to be
washed. The latter works in as smoothly as paints.
Scrim, cheese cloth, linen, crash, burlap, monk's cloth, and Arras
cloth can be used for curtains or portières. The cost of them varies
from seven cents to one dollar a yard.
Sometimes a small motif is taken and stencilled all over the material.
This gives the effect of a printed pattern.
Five tubes of paint will produce almost any shade under the sun. They
should be blue, yellow, red, black, and white. Blue and yellow make
green; blue and red, purple; lavender, yellow and red make orange. A
little black will soften the colours while white lightens the shade.
Other combinations can be made by mixing three colours together. Enough
of the paint should be mixed at one time to stencil the entire piece,
as it is extremely difficult to mix a new batch of colour that will
be the exact shade as the first. Ultramarine blue is the shade of the
deep sea. Crimson lake is a bright red. Venetian red is a terra cotta.
Emerald green is a blue green. Sap green is yellow green. Ivory or lamp
black are the two blacks to be had in oil paints; the former is shiny
while the latter is dull. Flake white is the term for white in oil
paints.
Of course, you can buy ready mixed in tubes almost any shade you
desire, but it is lots more fun to make your own colour combinations,
as well as very much cheaper. Diamond dyes can be used for stencilling
by letting one package of dye serve for one pint. The dyes will have to
be boiled in the manner stated in their directions.
You will find that stencilling is the most delightful of the home
crafts. Those who are not fond of needlework will find this a real
wholesome pleasure.
VII
WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH ONE SKIN; CUT LEATHER BAGS, BELTS, BOOK COVERS.
ETC.
There is nothing so handsome for a library table or cushion in a
room of dark rich colouring as leather work. These articles are very
expensive to buy and are sold in arts and crafts shops or women's
exchanges and some of the department stores. You have doubtless seen
the dyed whole skin used on a library table, but have you ever seen
leather appliqué? That is the design cut out of a leather background
and lined, or pieces of leather applied to a background.
Different kinds of leather may be used for this work. The cheapest and
thinnest kind is sheepskin. Leather is usually sold by the square foot
and one has to buy the entire skin. Sheepskin costs about sixteen cents
a square foot; some stores charge more for it, while it is possible at
a wholesale and retail shop to get it for less. The skins come dyed in
all shades. Golden brown, dull gray or moss green are the most artistic
for general use. Many tailors like to trim ladies' suits with leather
and for this purpose many beautiful odd shades are dyed. Goatskin ranks
next to sheepskin and is a trifle dearer. Chamois is good for belts or
dainty opera bags. It comes in white or cream only. Calf is a beautiful
substantial skin, as is also Russia calf. Pebble calf is what its name
implies, very rough with a glazed finish. The other side presents an
undyed appearance.
[Illustration: Fig. 87. A well-planned skin]
If you get a skin you should not expect to get a sofa cushion as well
as a large table mat out of it. A skin carefully cut will give you one
large piece and the rest of it can be planned for smaller objects,
such as card cases, pen wipers, blotter corners, belts, picture frames,
possibly a magazine cover or a bag. The diagram of the skin shows how
carefully to cut out and plan every part of it (Figure 87).
Let us take the sofa cushion first. A bold conventional design can be
used in each corner. One that has each part separate like a stencil
design is one that I have in mind.
Cut each part out carefully so as not to impair the background. A
cheaper grade of leather of a tone deeper or lighter can be laid under
the design, though velvet is also in excellent taste for this work.
Broadcloth, satin, and sometimes taffeta are also used. If a shaded
effect is wanted a different coloured background can be pasted under
each different section of the design. It is a better plan, however,
for the amateur to restrict herself to one colour for the background
as the finishing of different pieces is no easy problem (Figure 88).
Library paste is the best means of making the leather and background
adhere, also it does not spot as mucilage does. The majority of leather
workers consider that the pasting completes the piece, while others
feel that it is necessary to machine stitch along the extreme edge of
the cutting. Yet again others prefer to work embroidery stitches such
as open buttonhole or couching stitches. Both of these are explained
at length in later chapters. A pen wiper can be made from a piece cut
in circular, diamond, or triangular shapes. Cut two pieces of chamois
leather the same shape. A plain piece of the leather also is needed to
back the pen wiper. The chamois pieces serve as leaves on which the pen
is wiped.
[Illustration: Fig. 88. Leather appliqué bag]
A card punch will be needed to make a hole through the four pieces for
the ribbon or cord which holds them together.
It is most necessary to plan the design so that it will be appropriate
to the object it is to be applied to. The leather should also harmonize
with the colour of the room or gown with which it is used or worn.
For those who are anxious to learn how to design, books on this subject
can be obtained from the public libraries. You should bear in mind,
however, that practice makes all things perfect.
The different methods of applying the design had better be gone into
before we proceed any further. Thick manilla paper or artist linen may
be used on which to draw the design. The pattern is then thumb-tacked
or pinned on a flat wooden surface, on the upper edge only, as it will
be necessary to raise the paper off and on during the tracing.
An orange stick such as used for manicuring or hard pencil will be
needed for the tracing. Trace along the pencilled design with a very
heavy pressure so that there will be an indented line on the leather. A
line once impressed is almost impossible to remove, so great care must
be taken to keep the design true.
Every time you stop tracing there will be a deeper indentation; for
that reason in tracing a curved line try to draw a full sweep without
stopping. A ruler will be an aid in tracing straight lines.
It may be found necessary to dampen the leather so that the tracing
will be distinct. In that case dampen the entire piece of leather with
a wet cloth. Dampening in sections only causes water rings. Once the
whole leather is dampened, however, it can be redampened in sections
without fear of marking.
Designs for leather may also be applied by means of a perforated
pattern and a stamping powder or paste or a transfer pattern may be
also used.
The leather for cut-work may be cut with sharp scissors and manicuring
scissors for round or curved places or two sharp knives of different
sizes. A board of soft wood is the best on which to work.
[Illustration: Fig. 89. A belt of leather of appliqué underlaid]
The best kind of paste is one that has been recommended by a successful
leather teacher and proves satisfactory to all who have tried it.
"Bring to a slow boil a half-pound of flour in two quarts of water. Add
to this mixture when cool, an ounce of nitric acid and a dram of boric
acid and a few drops of clove oil." The nitric and boric acid, as well
as the clove oil, can be obtained from the drug store.
If knives are used to cut out the design, thumbtack the leather before
commencing.
The paste is applied lightly on the wrong side of the leather, then the
lining placed over it. Lay the article with the right side up and put
it under weights until it dries. Any surplus paste that may happen to
ooze through can readily be scraped off.
A wide range of articles can be made from leather appliqué, whether
underlaid or overlaid, such as table covers, bags, belts (Figure 89),
medicine cases, card cases, mirror frames, book or magazine covers,
portfolios, memorandum pads, waste baskets, pocket books, bill folders,
chair covers, besides numerous other articles.
Sometimes it will be necessary to have two tracings of the design,
one on the leather and one on the other background. Leather is often
applied to heavy crashes for portières, or pillow tops. A bold
conventionalized poppy is an excellent design for portières.
Paper is often used to line centerpieces or mats.
Rough tinted cartridge paper can be treated the same as cut leather
and the daintiest of candle or lamp shades can be made of them. The
design is cut out as in leather and a thin China silk lines the whole.
Each section of the design may then be coloured the right shade of the
silk. For instance, a design of cherries can be painted with orange
and red for the cherries and the leaves green, while the paper is of
tobacco brown; a narrow gold braid finishes the shade at the top and
bottom, while the shade is held together with four tiny gold rivets.
VIII
TOOLED LEATHER AND TOOLS NECESSARY
Tooled leather is one of the oldest and most beautiful of crafts.
Instead of weakening the leather it simply makes it more beautiful. A
handsome box is made of soft wood or cardboard and covered with tooled
or embossed leather and is a possession that a queen might envy.
Boxes containing tools for leather work can be had for from five to
twenty-two dollars for the outfit. Twelve tools are in the box. Two
modelling tools, a steel hammer, two embossing tools, a punch, an
embossing ball tool, one cutting or trimming knife, and four chasing
and pearling knives (Figure 90). Now I know that there are not many
of you who would care to buy an outfit for five dollars, but for home
use there is a simple little article that can be substituted and yet
you can obtain very satisfactory results. A steel nut pick will work
wonders and then, when you feel that you can do very much better work
with other tools, invest in a case of them.
All leathers are not satisfactory for tooling. The best and most used
is Russia calf in a heavy quality. One skin is usually the least a
dealer will sell.
Let us suppose we are working on a card case. The design is traced in
the manner described in the last chapter, that is, by tracing over the
dampened leather.
[Illustration: Fig. 90. A case of tools]
After the design has been traced remove the paper and holding the nut
pick firmly in your right hand as you would a pencil, proceed to deepen
the lines. The leather must be kept moist or the tool is apt to scratch
and break the outer skin. It is a work over which you may become
fatigued, but you can just lay it aside till the next day and then
proceed again. The deeper the tooled line the handsomer the piece. It
will take several hours to tool a card case.
Another form of decorating leather is with the little geometrical die
that was used so much in past winters for decorating the background of
etched copper articles (Figure 91). The little die is placed on the
leather with its raised or embossed side downward and one knock from
a steel hammer is sufficient to make an imprint on the leather. The
entire background is filled out in this manner. Hammer with an even
pressure otherwise the background will be bumpy.
[Illustration: Fig. 91. The dies for backgrounds]
Sometimes you may prefer to have your background pressed or modelled
and the design to stand out in relief. In that case take the bowl or
thick part of the nut pick or modeller and press the background in
flat. If the leather wrinkles when rubbing it change the direction
of working. When the work is completed it will be noticed that the
modelled part of the leather is darker and quite shiny.
Designs such as cherries, cat-tails, and most floral forms give a
greater opportunity for elaborate working. They can be carried out in
relief. This relief is a much more difficult work. In the first place
the design is drawn on the finished surface of the leather and then,
after another sponging with water, hold the leather up from the table.
Holding the section to be modelled between the first finger and thumb,
work the tool backward and forward under the section.
Some workers prefer to hold the working side toward them, contending
that a greater pressure can be brought to bear on a downward stroke
than an upward one. In that case the design is stamped or traced on the
wrong side of the leather.
The oftener the rubbing is done and the leather is dampened the higher
the design will stand forth. The parts to be worked in relief may be
done before the background (Figure 92).
[Illustration: Fig. 92. A magazine cover]
To keep the leather from falling back to its natural shape some workers
paste the relief parts. My teacher used a paste that we found quite
stiff enough except for large heavy objects.
To make this paste an ounce of dextrin is left soaking in water for
about sixteen hours. Dextrin, by the way, is the only paste which will
not stain silk. It is a white powder, and when used as a paste can be
dissolved in boiling water till it is the consistency of a thick cream.
When used as a modelling wax, however, it requires to be thicker than
a cream. After the dextrin is dissolved mix in a pint of scrap leather
that has been grated to shreds, and a few drops of turpentine. The
scrap leather thickens the paste while water thins it.
Before applying the paste to the leather the raised side is placed face
downward upon the marble. Take some of the paste and press it into the
hollow places until they are entirely filled. After every space has
been filled lay a piece of paper over them and then a cardboard or a
piece of board large enough to cover all the design.
Turn the leather, paper, and board right side up on the working table.
While the places are being filled in the design is apt to be pushed a
little out of shape. With the finer modelling tool or your nut pick go
over the flattened places again. Let the work remain on the table for
four days without touching it so that it may be thoroughly dried.
Sometimes you will see a beautiful tinted leather. This is usually
done by the means of dyes, or chemicals. For the amateur the former is
recommended. The dye is applied to the leather with soft cotton or a
sponge. To deepen the shade wet the places desired to be darker two or
three times with the dye.
To obtain the brightly polished appearance so often seen in a handsome
piece of leather rub the piece with your bare palms. A little wax
rubbed on your hand greatly aids the work.
In all leather work it is necessary to leave a margin about a half inch
at least.
Another paste which may be substituted for the formula given in this
chapter is one made of equal parts of sawdust and rye flour with water.
The cutting or shaving knife that comes with the outfit is good for
cutting the leather. If a deeper indentation is desired than is
obtained by tracing the pattern, a slight slit may be made with the
shaving knife. Of course cutting the leather weakens it and it should
only be done on a very heavy piece of skin.
The hammer is indispensable for stamping in the little dies. These dies
are not usually included in the outfit.
The difference between the modelling (Figures 93 and 94) and embossing
tools is that the embossing tools are a greater aid in achieving fine
bas-relief work. The embossing ball tool is used to make the deep
indentations.
[Illustration: Fig. 93. A modelling tool]
[Illustration: Fig. 94. A modelling tool]
The punch is to make holes for rivets or through which cords or ribbons
may be passed to connect two or more pieces of leather together as on
a pad or book. The punch and pearling knives are used in fine carved
leather. As one becomes proficient in the art of simple leather work
she is tempted to branch out and try more elaborate work. A great many
books have been written on this subject which, though perhaps puzzling
to a beginner, will be interesting and invaluable if the work is taken
up as a serious occupation. The best specimens of this work can be seen
at the different arts and crafts exhibitions.
IX
THE SIMPLEST STITCHES IN EMBROIDERY--CHAIN STITCHING, OUTLINING,
HERRING-BONING, CROSS-STITCHING, SOUTACHE, CORONATION BRAIDING
It would be hard indeed to say just how many stitches there are in
embroidery, as so many are combinations of the others. The ones you
will hear about are the simplest ones.
Some years ago I had a large class in embroidery in a mission school.
Every seat was taken and many applicants were refused admittance. The
supervisor came in one day and said that there was a little girl who
was very anxious to join the class and that she knew how to sew. I
did not have the heart to refuse her, so in marched little Nellie.
She was just seven years old and said that she attended sewing school
every Saturday at her church and that her teacher had taught her _all_
about embroidery. I gave her a little stamped design and told her to
chain-stitch it and let me see how well she could do it. About five
minutes later I happened to turn around and there was little Nellie
frantically waving her hand. "Teacher, teacher," she said, "that is
the only stitch the Lady didn't show me."
Now, as I am most anxious that nothing like that will happen to you,
I will start with chain-stitching as the simplest stitch (Figure 95).
It is also one of the oldest stitches in embroidery. Every museum that
exhibits embroidered articles will have some elaborate designs carried
out in fine chain-stitching. If the stitches are worked in filo silk or
spool silk the effect is like machine work.
[Illustration: Fig. 95. Chain-stitching, showing how to turn a corner]
Draw a straight line on a piece of muslin and thread your needle with
a piece of red cotton. No knots should be used in embroidery. Fasten
the thread by taking three fine running stitches and one back stitch to
insure firmness at the end of the line. Now with the needle in position
at the beginning of the line, start by taking a straight stitch on the
line. Bring the thread under and pull the needle through the material.
You have made the first loop. Put your needle back into the last hole
or as near as possible to it, take another stitch on the line, repeat
until you come to the end of the design.
Take the same length stitch every time or you will not have a
good-looking chain. If you will look at the links in your chain
bracelet, you will see that every link is the same size as the others.
Suppose you wanted to chain-stitch a square or a triangle: when you
come to the corner do not try to make one continuous line, but carry
the needle down through the material at the end of the loop to fasten
the link and start the next row at right angles to it. Chain-stitching
can be put to many uses. It is a pretty stitch to cover a single line
in a conventional design. It is also the quickest kind of padding
for large designs. When it is used as a padding, the rows are worked
close to each other. If the work is to be raised very high, the
chain-stitching may be placed in rows one on top of the other. You
will, however, hear more about padding in a later chapter.
[Illustration: Fig. 96. Smooth outlining]
The next stitch we will talk about is the outlining, (Figure 96).
Some people think it is simpler than chain-stitching. It was the
first stitch I learned in embroidery, but it is not as pretty as
chain-stitching. The first thing I did in fancy work when I was nine
years old was a wonderful face cloth with a wild rose on the top, and
under it my name and the motto, "_Cleanliness is Next to Godliness_,"
worked in red cotton. After that I made face cloths for every member of
the family.
Outlining makes one think of plain sewing. There are two kinds of
outlining, rough (Figure 97) and smooth, the difference being in how
the thread is thrown. To make the rough outline, fasten the thread as
directed in chain-stitching and on the line take a stitch about an
eighth of an inch. Then work from left to right. Let the thread fall
under the needle and be sure to keep it this way. A smooth outline is
made by throwing the thread over the needle instead of under it; this
outline can be used as stems for flowers unless a more elaborate kind
is desired.
[Illustration: Fig. 97. Rough outlining]
Either chain-stitching or outlining is an excellent way to decorate
bureau scarfs, pillow tops, or table covers.
Herring-boning is used for finishing seams on a flannel skirt, or
it may be used above hems. The little flannel skirt you intend to
make for Sally Ann this winter should be finished in this way. Here
is a stitch for which we do not need guide lines, though while you
are learning, the lines might be helpful. Draw two parallel lines a
quarter of an inch apart. Take a stitch on the upper line, about an
eighth of an inch long. Then make one on the lower line, letting the
thread fall always to the right. When you have made a row between with
the lines, try to work one without lines and see if you can keep the
herring-boning straight (Figure 98).
[Illustration: Fig. 98. Herring-boning or cat-stitching]
A plain quilt or cover for the baby can be made very attractive, by
working herring-boning around the edge. If the cover is woollen, use
worsted or heavy silk for the stitchery, but if it is cotton material,
a heavy lustre is recommended. The needle to use depends on the thread.
A sewing needle will carry a round cotton thread such as D. M. C.,
Madonna, Utopia, Royal Society, or Peri lustre. A crewel needle, which
is a needle with a long eye, will be required for silk or worsted. An
easy way to thread a No. 2 or No. 4 crewel needle with worsted is to
hold the needle in the left hand and double the thread at one end and
run the needle through it. Hold the thread between the thumb and first
finger of the right hand so that the thread is just visible. Gently
pull the needle out with the left hand and run the doubled thread
through the eye. It sounds a great deal harder than it actually is, but
it will require very little practice.
[Illustration: Fig. 99. The first step in cross-stitching]
When you went to kindergarten did you have little pierced cards on
which you made designs in coloured silks or cottons? Well they had
these at my school and we made book-marks, needle-books and all sorts
of funny little things. If you remember the cross-stitching of the
kindergarten days, regular cross-stitching will be a simple matter.
The nicest material for this work is Java canvas, which is very coarse
and stiff. It is ideal for book covers or napkin rings. The holes in
the canvas are so large that working on it is almost like play. As
Java canvas is rather expensive you will find a coarse scrim a good
substitute. A lot of boys that I once knew took up this work very
enthusiastically, so simple is it.
[Illustration: Fig. 100. The second step in cross-stitch]
Do you know that you can make a gingham apron for mother and decorate
it with cross-stitching that will last ever so long? Get a piece of
gingham with squares about an eighth of an inch. Cross-stitch it in a
shade darker than the gingham or in white or red. The stitches are
taken on the diagonal as shown in the diagram (Figures 99 and 100).
If there is a great deal of cross-stitching to be done, the quickest
way is to make all the stitches that run in one direction first, and
then come back and cross them. Perhaps mother has a small piece of
cross-stitching that you can use as a model. Simple triangles are
easy to make. Begin the lower row with an uneven number, such as
seven, nine, eleven, or thirteen. The next row make two stitches less,
dropping one from each end, and so on till you have one at the top.
[Illustration: Fig. 101. A good hand design in cross-stitching]
Now suppose that you had a little linen or silk bag on which you would
like to have a cross-stitch design, yet this material is not coarse
enough for you to use as a guide for the cross-stitching. Do not think
you cannot do it, for I will show you a way. Get a piece of scrim just
as coarse as you can find, and baste it over the place you would like
to cross-stitch. Work the design on it and when the cross-stitching is
all finished pull out the scrim thread by thread. Sometimes you will
have to snip the thread of the scrim if your needle accidentally gets
caught in them. (Figures 101, 102, and 103.)
[Illustration: Fig. 102. A cross-stitch design]
[Illustration: Fig. 103. Another cross-stitch design]
A very simple thing to do is to braid a dress for yourself. Now that
all the large pattern houses are carrying transfer patterns you can get
a design for braiding very cheap. A little girl I know braided a dress
for herself and one for her mother last summer. She used light blue
chambray and braided it with white. There are several kinds of braid,
but the easiest to use is soutache, whether it is cotton or silk. It is
a flat braid and varies in width from one to three eighths of an inch.
First stamp your design on the material, or if you have not a transfer
pattern you can draw a design on tissue paper, making it as long as
required and then baste the paper in right position on your dress. Take
a stiletto, which is a little tool somewhat like a nail that is used in
embroidery for piercing holes, and punch a hole on the line. Push one
end of your braid through this and fasten the end of it on the wrong
side of your material. Thread your needle with sewing cotton or silk
the colour of the braid and sew it down with little running stitches
and an occasional back-stitch to fasten it firmly. When you come to
the end of the line or of the braid, carry the end through as at the
beginning and fasten.
[Illustration: Fig. 103A. A fourth design in cross-stitch]
Coronation braid is beautiful, but oh, so very much harder to sew
on than flat braid. There are two ways that coronation braid may be
sewed on. The one that I give preference to is stamping the design
on the wrong side of the material and holding the braid on the
right. A stiletto hole is made on the line and the end of the braid
brought through to the back and fastened securely so there will be
no likelihood of its slipping. Then, holding the braid with the left
hand, connect it to the material from the wrong side with fine running
stitches. The stamped line on the wrong side will serve as a guide for
the stitches. You can feel every time the needle touches the braid.
Now perhaps many of you are wondering what coronation braid is. It is
a braid that looks like fat grains of rice all strung together. There
are different sizes of the braid, varying from the quarter inch to the
three quarters of an inch size.
[Illustration: Fig. 104. Coronation braid]
The second way to sew it on is from the right side with little slip
stitches. At the small end it would be wise to take a stitch over the
braid to hold it firmly. Centre pieces, bureau-scarfs or even towel
ends are handsome when decorated with coronation braid, and do you know
it is a very easy matter to make designs for yourself, as there is
nothing prettier than daisies or wild roses for coronation braid. If
the petals are too fine to allow you to use the coronation braid, then
you must use one grain for each petal, cutting off the grains as you
require them.
Coronation braid comes in white, Delft blue, bright green, or red. The
braid is supple enough to turn sharp corners.
The daisy, as I have stated before, is one of the principal designs
used for coronation braid. Braid the flower with one piece of the
braid. It is not necessary to cut the braid but at the beginning and
the ending of the daisy. The very largest width of coronation braid
will be required for the daisy. Two grains will be sufficient for a
petal. Bring the narrow ends to the centre and connect them to the
material. In the centre make a cluster of French knots. The effect
produced is a daisy embroidered heavily and yet quite different from
satin stitch. (Figure 105.)
A belt decoration with five or six coronation daisies is very
attractive when used on a light summer dress. Sometimes the owner
prefers to couch the braid down with blue cotton and to work the centre
of the daisy in the same colour.
[Illustration: Fig. 105. A daisy in coronation braid]
A row of daisies is improved by working a fagotting stitch which is
explained in "Simple Lace Stitches," between the petals. See that the
braid is sewed on far enough apart that the lace stitches will not be
crowded.
Coronation braid is also used with crochet stitches for the borders of
centre pieces and towels.
X
SMOCKING, FEATHER-STITCHING AND LAZY-DAISY STITCH
Smocking is such a fashionable trimming this year that I am sure you
will not be contented till Sally Ann has a smocked dress. Why, one
cannot take a walk in the park without seeing several little children
and some grown-ups, too, wearing smocked dresses. Sometimes they are
made of fine lawn or pique and then again they are China silk, crêpe de
chine, or cashmere.
Stamped patterns can be had for smocking but they are not at all
necessary. Nearly every little English girl knows how to smock without
buying a pattern and why should not you?
The simplest form of smocking is the honeycomb or diamond (Figure
106). It can be any size you wish. A good size for Sally Ann's dress
is the half-inch diamond smocking. The beauty of the work lies in its
regularity. To keep it so, the dots must be spaced evenly. A good
way is to have a marking card. Take a piece of heavy paper or thin
cardboard about six inches long by an inch and a half wide. With a
ruler draw a faint line one half inch down parallel with the long
edge of the card. Draw four other lines below this at quarter-inch
intervals. Be sure that the space between each two lines is a quarter
inch, no more or no less. Along the top line measure in one half inch.
From this point make dots at quarter-inch intervals all the way across.
Each line is dotted in like manner, letting each dot come directly
under the upper one in straight rows. If mother has a card punch ask
her to lend it to you and where the dots are make holes. A stiletto
will answer the same purpose as the punch; or an orange stick may be
pressed into service. Your marking card is now ready.
[Illustration: Fig. 106. Diamond smocking]
Measure the length you wish to make Sally Ann's skirt. Select a piece
of material that will show pencil marks, such as lawn, pique, China
silk, or crêpe de chine. It will not be necessary to gore the skirt,
as the smocking will form a sort of yoke for the dress. A little frock
smocked in blue or red will be nice enough for all occasions. Take
the material and smooth all the creases out after it is cut the right
length. You must allow about the same amount of material for the width
of the hem as you do for ordinary skirts. Place the smocking card so
that the edge of it is on a line with the top edge of the goods. The
smocking must be done before the belt is put on. Through each of the
perforated holes make a dot in lead pencil. After every hole has been
dotted, move the card so that there is only one quarter of an inch
space before commencing to dot again. In other words, place the card so
the dots have the appearance of being one continuous design.
Thread a No. 6 sewing needle with a piece of red or blue cotton. Make
a tiny knot at the end. Start from the topmost left-hand dot from the
under side of the material. Draw the first and second dots together.
Three stitches on the right side will suffice to hold them together.
Between the second and third dots let the thread span the material on
the wrong side without pulling it. The third and fourth dots are drawn
together and then the thread spans the space between the fourth and
fifth. Do you see how we are working? First a dot, then a space, a dot,
then a space, until the entire line is finished.
The second row is worked exactly the same only instead of starting on
the first dot of the second row, start with the second. The third row
corresponds with the first and now at last we have formed a diamond.
[Illustration: Fig. 107. Smocking in points]
If a little more colour is wanted than just the dot alone, pass a
thread along the edge of each diamond under the dots. A suggestion
which may prove helpful to you if the material has starch in it is that
it is easy to crease each line of dots before starting to smock. If the
material is soft the smocking should be stroked or gauged. There is a
new term to learn, "gauge." It is the same as stroking in sewing. The
English women have all sorts of complicated patterns in smocking, but
the one that is most popular is the diamond smocking I have told you
about. After you know the principle you can make the smocking as deep
as you wish and then try and smock in points. (See Figure 107.)
Feather-stitching is almost as simple as smocking. It has various other
names. Perhaps you know it by the name of "brier-stitch." The first and
simplest form is the single feather-stitching. A thread as fine as No.
60 sewing cotton or a heavy Germantown wool can be used for it. Baby
blankets or a blanket for yourself are pretty feather-stitched in wool.
[Illustration: Fig. 108. Single feather-stitching]
Like smocking, patterns can be had for feather-stitching. But the best
embroiderers never use them, as their mechanical correctness makes the
work too much like machine work. I do recommend, however, a faint line
drawn so as to have something on which to guide your line and gauge
your stitches.
[Illustration: Fig. 109. Double feather-stitching]
Let us thread our needle with a piece of coarse blue thread. On a
little piece of muslin draw a faint pencil line across it. Commence
from the upper right-hand side of the line. Take a short stitch about
three sixteenths of an inch on the right of the line, slanting to the
line. Let the thread come under the point of the needle in each stitch.
The second stitch is taken on the left side of the line the same
distance over and the same in slant (Figure 108).
[Illustration: Fig. 110. Triple feather-stitching]
[Illustration: Fig. 111. Four on each side]
Double feather-stitching is two stitches to the right, two to the left
and so on till the line is finished (Figure 109). In fact you can
make three, four (Figures 110 and 111), or five stitches or even more
if you wish on each side. The prettiest little border can be made of
feather-stitching in circles. Take a quarter or a fifty-cent piece and
draw a faint line around it on the material about one inch from the
edge. Move the piece till it overlaps the pencilled circle and draw
another circle. Repeat as many times as necessary to go around the
skirt, sleeve, or section you are decorating. A row such as this makes
a pretty decoration around the sleeves and neck of a night dress or the
ruffles of drawers. Marking cotton No. 20 or No. 25 should be used for
feather-stitching underwear.
Infants' dresses, bibs, or petticoats of lawn or any very sheer
material of cotton or linen should be worked in fine marking cotton,
either Nos. 25, 30, 40, or 50.
Just a word about threads. There are several different kinds. The
most popular and best known are D. M. C., Madonna, Royal Society, and
Utopia. The numbers run about the same. Some teachers recommend one
certain kind, but the result obtained from using any of them is almost
identical.
[Illustration: 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.
Another name for this lazy-daisy stitch is the "bird's-eye" stitch
(Figure 113). It is used to represent clovers, daisies, or leaves.
The stitch is made, if for a daisy, from a common centre. Bring your
needle up from the centre of the daisy and take a stitch the length of
the petal. Let the thread come from the left under the point of the
needle. Pull the needle through the material on the right side. A short
stitch at the end of the petal catches it down to the material. The
needle is now brought back to the centre and the next petal made in the
same manner. Any size daisy can be made like this from the quarter to a
two-inch size. Remember that the larger your daisy is the more petals
it should have. As fine thread should be used for the little flowers
and the heaviest silk or lustre for the big ones, it is a wise plan to
faintly mark in pencil the daisy. One line will be sufficient for each
petal. If you do this, you can then be sure that each petal will be the
same length as the last.
[Illustration: Fig. 113. The lazy-daisy stitch]
A charming little yoke can be made of groups of fine tucks and rows of
the daisies.
XI
COUCHING, SHADOW WORK AND TURKISH STITCH HOW TO STAMP DESIGNS
The more one does of fancy work the more fascinating it becomes. Every
new piece presents an opportunity for new stitches and colours.
We have talked a lot in the first chapters of this book as to the
different implements necessary for sewing and by now I am sure you have
a well-equipped sewing box or basket. Now it will be necessary to add
considerably to your work box for embroidery.
The crewel needle which I mentioned in the ninth chapter is the most
important implement. Get a pack of assorted Nos. from 5 to 10. They
will answer every purpose unless you need a large tapestry needle for
couching. The most unfortunate thing about a crewel needle is that the
eye has the bad habit of breaking. This is caused from the steel being
so fine at the top that vigorous working snaps it off very quickly.
A tapestry needle is like a large crewel needle, only it is much
stronger and the eye is very large.
A stiletto of ivory, bone, or steel should also be in your box. An
orange stick can be substituted for a stiletto in case of emergency.
A small pair of scissors, too, should be included to cut the ends of
silks or pare away the material after buttonholing or making an eyelet.
I have kept the most important till the last. That is the embroidery
hoop or rings. Really you would be surprised to see how many different
kinds there are in this world. First there are the black celluloid ones
that have their good points, but they do not stretch over the material.
Then there are the common wooden ones that have sharp edges that catch
and fray the silk on every turn. There are some wooden ones that have
a felt lining and whose edges are an improvement on the cheaper kind,
but they also do not stretch over thick fabrics. The kinds that have a
spring and may be adjusted to any size desired have their advantage,
but the spring catches the silk also and of course that will never do
for fine work. The simplest, best, and cheapest kind is the pair that
is made at home. Get two pairs of the cheapest rings, even if their
edges are rough. One pair should be small enough to set inside of the
other. They vary from the smallest to the largest circular kind, each
one setting inside of the other. Select two pairs that come next in
size to each other. The most convenient size and ones that can be used
for all kinds of work are the six inch. Take the larger hoop of each
pair for your work. Now cut a piece of canton flannel in half-inch
strips, or if mother has the coloured selvage left from a piece of
flannelette, get that. The largest hoops should be wound over and over
like the hoops they use in schools for fancy drills. The other hoop
should be padded before winding it. To pad, lay strips two or three
thicknesses deep around the hoop and then wind thickly like the other
hoop. Hoops like these never leave marks on the material, as often
happens with the celluloid or wooden hoops. Another point is that the
sheerest material, such as chiffon, can be used in them, while if a
heavy burlap or crash is embroidered over them a little of the winding
strips can be removed for the time being.
There are other things you might find handy for your box, but it is no
use getting them till you have occasion to use them.
Now we are ready to make use of some of the things just described. The
tapestry needle will be brought into use for our next stitch, which
will be couching.
It is a beautiful old stitch that is often used as an outline. It can
be made as a heavy thick cord, or yet again it need only be the size of
a fine string. The expression is often used, "Couch a cord on." Cord is
used instead of threads and lustre on pieces where only the effect is
wanted.
[Illustration: Fig. 114. Couching]
To couch with a number of silk or lustre threads select a No. 2
tapestry needle. Cut the skein of silk so that you will have the
longest length of thread possible. Thread your needle with all the
strands in the skein, if the eye will carry them. Make a stiletto hole
in the cloth on the line of the design. Bring the tapestry needle
through to the back (Figure 114).
A crewel needle is threaded with a single strand of silk, the same
shade or lighter or darker if you desire. Fasten the silk ends down
neatly on the back of the material with the single thread and bring it
up one quarter of an inch from the hole and span the cluster of silk
threads. The threads are caught down in this manner at quarter-inch
intervals. When the end of the line is reached, the cluster of threads
is again taken through to the back of the material.
Couching is a stitch that you will hear more about in later chapters.
The Turkish or Ismet stitch is another name for cat-stitching or
herring-boning. See Figure 98. The stitch is taken vertically instead
of horizontally, as in cat-stitch. Turkish stitch gets its name from
the embroideries from Turkey (Figure 115). It seems to be the favourite
stitch of the Turkish ladies.
[Illustration: Fig. 115. Turkish stitch]
Have you ever noticed how many pieces of Turkish embroidery are worked
on coarse unbleached muslin or tan linen? The colours are generally
bright green, blue, coral pink, chestnut brown, purple and then
outlined in black or gold thread.
Shadow work, is not that a funny name for embroidery? But you can
understand why it is called that when you see a piece worked. It
gives the appearance of a design under the cloth, as all the stitches
are taken from the wrong side of the material. The design is drawn or
stamped on the wrong side. Lawn is usually selected for the background
of shadow work because of its transparency. A heavy cotton such as No.
16 or No. 20 marking cotton or D. fine lustre is necessary.
Daisies or chrysanthemums are most popular for shadow work on account
of the smoothness on their edges. Not that it is impossible to work an
indented edge, but it is more difficult.
[Illustration: Fig. 116. The right side of shadow stitch]
To work the shadow stitch, place your work over your embroidery hoop
with the design side up. Start to work a petal from the heart of the
flower. Do not use a knot. The stitch is like cat-stitching (see
Figure 98). First you take a stitch on one side of the petal, then you
pass over to the other side. Be sure you take the same length stitch
every time. The stems are worked in outline stitch. Shadow work from
the right side looks like back-stitching (Figure 116). It is used on
aprons, shirtwaists, or bureau scarfs where a good effect is wanted
with very little work.
There are two ways of working the leaves of daisies or chrysanthemums
in shadow work: First, and the best in my opinion, is to start and work
from the top of the leaf to where the midrib commences in the design.
Now work from the midrib to the outer edge on the right side of the
leaf. The left-hand side is yet to be filled in. Start from the base
of the leaf and instead, however, of putting the needle through the
material by the midrib catch one thread upon the midrib and then take a
stitch on the left-side edge of the leaf, up to where the midrib ends.
The other way of working a leaf is to outline the midrib first. Then
start from the base of the leaf and work across the entire leaf. The
former way is the better, because there is not such a wide stretch of
thread on the wrong side as in the latter method.
Batiste, organdy, and lawn are the usual materials used in America
for shadow work, but in England, where more substantial materials are
generally liked, tea cloths of linen in shadow stitch are often seen.
Tiger lilies are good for any large piece.
The effect of shadow work on linen is as if a padded design was placed
on the material.
White is the nicest for working shadow stitch on waists, especially as
colour is apt to cheapen the effect.
Remember that a design drawn out in pencil soils the cottons or silks
and necessitates the article being washed before it is used. You can
buy patterns for embroidery so cheap and in such excellent taste that
it pays one in the end to use them instead of drawing on the material.
There is the perforated design that can be had from five cents up.
It is the oldest and in some ways the most expensive pattern. The
perforated paper is laid, with the rough side up, over the material on
the ironing table or any other flat surface. An especially prepared
powder that embroidery shops sell for stamping designs is the best to
use. A pouncet is several layers of felt rolled together, or a piece
of wood covered with felt. Rub the pouncet in the powder. See that the
pattern is weighted down so that it will not slip while you are working
on it. Rub the powder in with a circular movement. Lift the weights
from the lower edge of the paper, and gently raising the pattern see
that the design is well on before removing the pattern. A hot iron
will be necessary now to set the powder. Every time you use the iron
just clamp it down on the design. Wipe it off on an old piece of cloth
before you press it again on another section of the design. Each time
the iron touches the powder, part of it adheres to the iron and the
design would be spoiled if the iron was used again before wiping it.
After the design has been set, the iron can be used freely over the
whole work.
There is another method of stamping with a perforated pattern, and that
is placing the smooth side of the design face upward and using a blue
paste that comes in cake form. The pouncet is dipped in kerosene or
naptha and then rubbed on the paste. Apply to the paper as directed for
the powder. This method requires no iron, but care must be taken not to
get the pouncet too wet or the design will run.
A third method for stamping is one that requires to be rubbed with the
back of a spoon. The fourth and newest method of stamping is by the
transfer designs. The patterns are in different colours. Place the
transfers with the bright or raised surface next to your material and
press with a heated iron. Some patterns require a very hot iron, while
for others a moderately heated iron suffices.
You can make a perforated pattern yourself by drawing a design on a
piece of paper and using a sewing machine to perforate along the lines.
XII
BUTTONHOLING AND WALLACHIAN EMBROIDERY
Embroidery buttonholing is a little different from the buttonhole
stitch used in sewing. It is a stitch that is most used to finish
the edges of centre pieces, scarfs, and, in fact, any article where
embroidery is wanted to finish the work. You know that it is possible
to use a fancy stitch, such as the Turkish stitch described in the last
chapter, but in that case the material will have to be turned back and
hemmed. The twill or purl of buttonholing, as the little ridge on the
edge is called, serves as a resistance for the material from fraying
out.
The buttonhole stitch is the most popular in embroidery. It is the
foundation for many other stitches. Feather-stitching is really an open
form of this stitch.
As a usual thing it is necessary to pad before working buttonholing. It
raises the work and makes it much more durable as an edge. The padding
can be done in either running-stitch or chain-stitching.
Let us take for our first example the straight buttonholing. It is the
simplest form. Cover the space between the lines with coarse, running
stitches. Let the background be medium weight linen. The padding
thread should be No. 16 or No. 20 marking cotton, or two strands of
white darning cotton makes an excellent padding. The stitches can be
fully one quarter of an inch in length. Take up a single thread of the
background so that the padding will be all on the top of the material.
This keeps the work well raised on the right side and perfectly flat
on the wrong side. An extra row or two toward the outer edge of
buttonholing raises the edge prettily. Chain-stitching is a more rapid
way of padding, but should only be used for coarse work. Remember that
the wider the buttonholing the more padding will be necessary.
The padding should be worked over your embroidery hoops, keeping the
work as near to your fingers as possible. The actual buttonholing gets
a rounder effect if done over the finger, though it is possible, of
course, to do it over the hoops.
Again, no knots in buttonholing. Thread your needle with No. 25 marking
cotton. Make three little running stitches and one back-stitch to
insure firmness in the starting. Let your thread come up slightly
under the lower line of the buttonholing. With your left thumb holding
the thread down to the material draw your thread to the right, take a
stitch over the padding, bringing the needle out slightly below the
lower line. The thread should fall under the point of the needle in
each stitch.
The next thing we learn in buttonholing is a scallop. The deeper the
scallop the more difficult it is to make a good corner and to keep
the slant of the stitches right. When you buy a stamped piece of
embroidery, select a pattern that has a shallow scallop and one where
the points are not too sharp. In working a scallop the stitches should
slant vertically in the direct centre, slanting the other stitches
toward this point (Figure 117).
[Illustration: Fig. 117. A simple scallop]
The object in carrying the needle slightly beyond the stamped line is
that all the stamping may be well covered. A stitch that is taken
directly through the line shows the stamping.
The diagrams (Figures 117 and 118) show how to work a simple scallop
and one with a sharp scallop. A good deal has been written about the
cutting of scallops, but the safest and wisest is to wash the piece
before cutting out the scallops. A pair of small embroidery scissors
should be used to cut the material away close to the twill of the
buttonholing. If a scallop is cut before it is washed it frays so much
that the edge has an untidy look.
[Illustration: Fig. 118. A sharp scallop]
Some women work a row of machine stitching close to the lower edge
before padding it, as a preventive from fraying, while others insist
on cutting the material to allow a hem on the wrong side only. Try the
first way and see if you are not successful. Another point to bear in
mind in buttonholing is that the stitches should be taken very close
to each other. If a piece of buttonholing is well done it is hard to
distinguish one stitch from the other, and yet they must not be made
one on top of the other or the buttonholing will be rough.
Wallachian work gets its name from a little community in Pennsylvania.
It is a German word and is nothing more than coarse buttonholing. It
is especially appropriate on heavy waists, centre pieces, pillow tops
or work bags. A finer form of it looks well on sheer waists. The rings
or circles are worked from a centre like the spokes in a cart wheel
(Figure 119).
[Illustration: Fig. 119. A Wallachian ring]
[Illustration: Fig. 120. Wallachian stitch]
The leaves or petals of a Wallachian figure are worked on the slant,
and here is the difference from ordinary buttonholing and the
distinctive feature of Wallachian embroidery. Usually the petals have
an indented top and a line running through the centre. Begin at the
lower right-hand section and take a short stitch on the line as for
outlining. The next stitch is taken close to this from the midrib to
the outer right-hand edge. The stitches need not be quite as close as
in buttonholing and no padding is required. Continue in the same slant
to where the centre line stops. The stitches from this point radiate
till they are in a good slant to continue down the left side. Note the
stitches in the diagram (Figure 120).
Some people do not slant their stitches and the result is that the work
is not as pretty and loses its chief charm.
Placing your thimble on a piece of material, make a little circle
around it and in the centre make a little dot to practise the
Wallachian ring on.
[Illustration: Fig. 121. A whisk broom holder in Wallachian stitch]
You will find that your thimble or spool is a great help to you also in
making scallops. Draw a line with the ruler just below where you want
your scallop to be. Inscribe half a circle with the aid of your thimble
or spool on the straight line. Just within this half-circle draw
another half-circle that will touch the upper line of the scallop. A
ten-cent piece or in fact any coin can be used like this. Embroidered
pieces should be washed by themselves, especially if they are worked in
colours.
A little girl I was teaching some years ago was very slow in working
a centre piece. She finished the piece one day just before her term
was over. Thinking that she would surprise me, little Daisy decided to
launder the piece herself. Her mother knew nothing about embroidery, so
was not able to tell her how to proceed. So Daisy washed the piece and
having seen how mother bleached the linens, Daisy desired to give her
piece a sun bath. She spread it out in the sun and when she went for it
the colour was half out. Poor little Daisy was heart-broken. She would
not have had this trouble had she observed the following directions:
Put the piece to launder in warm water and rub it with a pure soap,
such as castile. Ordinary laundry soaps are too strong of lye to be
used. If the piece is very soiled let it soak a long time, several
hours. Usually washing the piece out in water is sufficient. Rub with
the hand only. Rinse in clean water and lay the piece on a thick cloth
or a Turkish towel. Roll the towel up and leave until the piece is
almost dry.
Lay the embroidery, with the worked side down, over a heavy padded
surface. Press with a hot iron quickly. If the centre of the piece
puckers, dampen it again till you have pressed it out thoroughly.
If you fear to put the iron directly on the piece lay a thin white
cloth over it and then press. Many a really beautiful piece is spoiled
in the laundering.
XIII
ROMAN CUT-WORK, FANCY BUTTONHOLING FOR BORDERS, WORK BAGS, BERMUDA
FAGOTTING
Roman cut-work or Colbert embroidery is one of the prettiest forms of
buttonholing. The right way to work it is to make the stitches so that
each one is distinct from the other. Some people insist on crowding the
stitches as in regular fine buttonholing, which is quite a mistake, as
its distinctness lies in dissimilarity to the ordinary buttonholing
(Figure 122).
The work is used for centre pieces, corners of lunch napkins, coat
sets, as well as on heavy linen dresses. In Scotland the little girls
make the entire yokes of their night gowns in cut-work as well as the
top of their night gown case. These cases are placed on top of the bed
pillows during the day and are marvels of fine handwork. This custom is
not restricted to Scotland, but Italian, French, and German women are
also proud of their night dress cases.
The design for Roman cut-work should be bold and not too close
together. It should be stamped directly on the material. The American
way of working it is to run a line of fine stitches on the outline and
then work a row of buttonholing. The stitches are a little less than an
eighth of an inch deep. The background spaces between the design are
then cut away close to the buttonhole edge. Do not neglect to wet and
press the linen before cutting the buttonholing. Keep the twill of the
buttonholing on the outer edge of the design so that the background
will be bordered with the twilled edges (Figure 123).
[Illustration: Fig. 122. Roman cut-work]
The European method of Roman cut-work is to run the thread first and
then cut the material so that there is an eighth of an inch extending
beyond the running stitches. This is turned under till the running
thread forms the edge and then the buttonholing is worked through both
thicknesses of the material. This way prevents the linen from fraying.
The design is basted over a piece of coloured paper, letting the
basting stitches follow closely the buttonholing. The wide spaces are
then filled in with a simple lace stitch such as the twisted bar, woven
bar, or spiders. Sometimes the spider is used in conjunction with one
of the former stitches, and it is an excellent stitch for filling in
the corners. Marking cotton No. 20 or No. 25 should be used for Roman
cut-work, as well as the lace stitches.
[Illustration: Fig. 123. A Roman cut-work centre piece]
To make the twisted bar, plan the open spaces so that they will be well
filled and yet not too crowded. Span from one side of the space to the
other with the thread, then return and whip the thread or stitch three
or four times. The stitches may be connected and have the appearance of
a series of points (Figure 124).
[Illustration: Fig. 124. The twisted bar]
The woven bars are made by working two threads across the space about
one eighth of an inch apart. Start from one end and weave. Take up
one thread on the upward and the other thread on the downward pass.
Continue in this manner till the whole bar is woven. The bars are
placed at equal distances apart (Figure 125).
[Illustration: Fig. 125. The woven bar]
The spider is a little more complicated. It is made on an uneven
number of threads, usually seven. They may be double or single. To
make the whipped or double-thread spider, span the space with the
thread and then whip back to the centre and connect the thread to the
buttonholing again at some little distance from the first stitch. Whip
back to the centre again and take a stitch directly opposite. Continue
in this manner till there are five, seven, or nine threads around the
centre, then proceed to weave under one and over the next thread until
a good-sized spider is made. Do not make too large a spider, as it
detracts from the work. An illustration for the single spider is given
in the chapter on lace stitches.
[Illustration: Fig. 126. Blanket stitch]
The blanket stitch is a favourite for working the edge of flannel
skirts or quilted covers. Worsted or coarse silk can be used for it.
It is made on the raw or folded edge of the material. Two stitches
are long and two are short. Sometimes they are worked like a pyramid.
Beginning at the base we increase each stitch till we reach the point
and then decrease each stitch in length as we work back to the base on
the other side (Figure 126).
The triangular buttonhole is a pretty stitch for a conventional design
that has long narrow sections. It may also be used for working a very
large simple scallop (Figure 127). The way we were taught in school
was to mark the section to be worked in deep points. The twill of the
buttonholing must come on the lines. The stitches are not very close to
each other. The stitches are taken on the line across to the next line.
Begin at the longest opening and make every stitch shorter. When the
line is covered, turn the work so that the twill of the buttonholing
touches the top of the stitches just made. If this stitch is used on
the outer scallop it will be necessary to hem the material, letting the
triangular buttonholing form the edge.
[Illustration: Fig. 127. The triangular buttonholing]
Then there are fancy forms of buttonholing that are used especially
in Mount Mellick work. The double buttonhole stitch is effective to
fill in the large leaves. The stitches are taken in groups of two,
then a little space and two more stitches. Continue in straight rows.
Sometimes one will see a leaf worked one half in double buttonholing
and the other half in a close stitch.
[Illustration: Fig. 128. The honeycomb stitch]
The honeycomb or mesh is a fancy name for another form of buttonholing.
Work a row of buttonholing about a quarter of an inch apart. The
distance may be changed to suit the design you are working on. In the
second and all other rows, the needle is over the buttonhole loop
directly above and a short stitch taken a quarter of an inch, or the
distance you have decided on, below the loop. In starting each row
bring the needle up a quarter of an inch, or more or less as you
desire, below the previous row. The distance must be kept even to
achieve satisfactory results. It is not necessary to start from one
side always. The first row is worked from left to right, the second
from right to left and so on, back and forth, till the space is filled
(Figure 128).
Bermuda fagotting is the name of a stitch that gives the effect of
drawn work, when no threads have been drawn. It is used on scroll
designs as well as to outline a simple floral pattern. Lawn, dimity,
China silk, handkerchief linen, or nainsook are the prettiest materials
for this stitch, as it demands a fine, transparent background to give
the right effect.
[Illustration: Fig. 129. Diagram of stitches]
Sewing cotton No. 100 or 150 and a special needle are the only
requirements for this work. The needles can be bought from any art
needlework shop for five cents each. It is like a large-sized carpet
needle with a small eye. A carpet needle can be substituted if it is
not possible to obtain the regular needle in your locality. Tie one end
of the thread to the eye of the needle. While practising this stitch it
will be necessary to make guide lines. On each side of the design line
make a row of dots an eighth of an inch apart. The dots above the line
must be directly over the lower dots. Note the diagram (Figure 129) of
this stitch. I have numbered the first six dots.
Take a stitch from one to three and tie the end of the thread under
this point. Make the stitch a second time from these points, pulling
the material between them closely. Pass the needle underneath and
connect one and two with two stitches. Then pass to point four and
connect two. Three and four are connected in the same manner. It is
only necessary to tie the thread when commencing the work or a new
thread. The needle is so large that it makes quite a hole in the
material and the thread is so fine that the manner of working is not
clear to the average eye unless a detailed explanation is given (Figure
130).
[Illustration: Fig. 130. An enlarged drawing of Bermuda fagotting]
When working on a curved line or a corner it will be necessary to make
an extra stitch on the outer or longer side only.
The scroll lines or stems of a conventional shirtwaist design are more
dainty when made in Bermuda fagotting. The corners of handkerchiefs
or a design on underwear or yokes and collars lend themselves to this
style of adornment.
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 131A. Satin-stitch]
The prettiest satin-stitch is taken straight across. The stitches
should not be crowded, but should be worked so that when the embroidery
is finished the stitches are hard to distinguish one from the other.
[Illustration: Fig. 131B. Satin-stitch dot]
The Old English letter "E" (Figure 131) shows a good example of
satin-stitch and outlining. The latter was used on the single lines.
The entire letter may be carried out in satin-stitch by first running
the single lines with uneven darning stitches and then covering these
with fine satin-stitches. Make the padding stitches as close together
as possible, or the satin-stitches will be uneven.
The letter "C" (Figure 132) offers an opportunity of combining two
colours. After the satin-stitch has been done, a little back-stitch
is worked through the centre of the heavily padded sections. This
combination of stitches is pleasing when colour is used, as the
satin-stitch is in one colour and the centre stitches in another. A
great many of the regular sewing stitches can be used instead of the
embroidery ones. For the very fine lines, back-stitching can be used,
making the stitches finer than those used in ordinary sewing.
[Illustration: Fig. 132. Satin-stitching and seeding]
The letter "A" of Figure 133 shows a good combination of satin-stitch
and back-stitching.
[Illustration: Fig. 133. Satin-stitch and back-stitching]
Satin-stitch can be worked straight across or on the slant. Most of
the modern work is straight, though a great many Germans still prefer
to slant their stitches. The work should be held toward you and the
needle straight. The padding should be worked lengthwise on the design
and the satin-stitch in the opposite direction.
The Chinese do beautiful embroidery, usually in satin-stitch which is
not padded and the finest of silks are employed for the work.
Another way of marking is to make a row of French knots along the
outline design. A single line script letter lends itself best to this
kind of work.
[Illustration: Fig. 134. A simple letter in back-stitching]
For bath towels an outlined letter is better than a padded one. The
letter on a school bag or a heavy Turkish towel should be very simple
as the wear they get does not warrant the spending of too much time on
them. If there is a monogram to be made it is prettier if the initials
of the Christian name be light and the surname heavy.
We learned about outlining in the first chapter of embroidery stitches,
but outlining in combination with outer stitches is a little surprise
for you. We have the German to thank for most of the good combinations
of stitches or letters. After the letter has been outlined in white,
we will say, a thread of colour is taken. Starting from the upper
left-hand side the needle is passed under the first stitch of the
outlining, up through the second stitch and down again through the
third, till every stitch has been taken up on the needle (Figure 135).
The threaded needle should not pass through the material except at the
beginning and end of each line (Figure 136).
[Illustration: Fig. 135. A pretty combination stitch]
[Illustration: Fig. 136. A letter in fancy stitch]
Another manner in which a letter may be embroidered, especially an old
English letter, is to work it solid in white and outline it in colour.
The Van Dyke point is good also where a broad space is to be filled. It
is sometimes called the bird's-eye stitch.
[Illustration: Fig. 137. A simple way to work a letter]
Start at the top and on the left side of the letter or space it is to
fill. Insert the needle on the right side and take a stitch to the
centre on a slant like a buttonhole stitch. Fasten to the material with
a little short stitch. Bring needle out at the extreme left and repeat
directions until the space is filled. Each stitch forms a V (note
Figure 138).
Sometimes you will find a very elaborate letter, the outline of which
has been worked in satin-stitch or French stemming. Little eyelets or
satin-stitch dots are worked between the lines.
[Illustration: Fig. 138. Van Dyke stitch]
When two or more letters intertwine they are called a monogram. It is
not every set of letters that will make good monograms. Letters that
have a good swing should be selected so that though they intertwine
each letter should stand forth clearly. It is permissible to use the
surname initial a trifle larger than the Christian initial. When
monograms are composed of three letters and one of the smaller letters
is placed on either side of the larger one the effect is very pleasing.
The smaller the letters, the finer the thread should be. No. 50 or
60 marking cotton can be used for letters one half-inch in size. A
three-quarter inch letter should be carried out in No. 45 marking
cotton. A one-inch letter requires No. 35 cotton, while the two-inch
letters take No. 30 and so on. The larger the letter the coarser the
cotton.
[Illustration: Fig. 139. A letter in Van Dyke stitch]
[Illustration: Fig. 139A. Seeding]
The beauty of a monogram is to have something original. Perhaps you
want to work your bag. Take a tea cup and place on the material in the
position you desire the monogram. Run a faint pencil line around the
cup. Draw a block letter in the centre so that it touches the upper
and lower edges of the circle. Your two Christian initials are then
placed one on each side of the centre letter. Try to fit the letters
so as to keep the circle perfect. It may be you will not really draw
block letters, but so much the better, as the monogram will be more
original. If it is impossible to make a complete circle with the
letters, embroider the sections of the circle between the letters
in stem-stitch. Stem-stitch, you will remember, is an outline-stitch
covered with the over-and-over or small satin-stitch.
A monogram of this sort is especially appropriate for a man's
handkerchief. A twenty-five-cent piece, or a fifty-cent piece if it
is a very large handkerchief, should be used for the circle. Seeding
(Figure 139A) may be combined with satin-stitch in working monograms.
Seeding is nothing more than a series of little back-stitches. A good
effect is obtained by working one letter in satin-stitch and the other
in seeding. It will be necessary to outline the outer edges of the
seeded letter.
You have probably noticed the gold emblems and lettering on the sleeves
of army officers' regimentals. They are generally worked in bullion,
though sometimes gold thread is used. Bullion comes in gold and silver
and at the first glance looks like the Oriental gold or silver threads.
The difference is, however, that bullion is tubular, while the threads
are usually composed of two or three strands twisted together or
over and over a thread of red cotton. The red cotton makes a strong
foundation for the gold threads and, by the way, do you know that all
silk that comes on spools has a fine thread of cotton running through
the centre? The purer the silk the less cotton is used, but the latter
is very necessary, as the threads will not stand very much strain if
they are all silk.
Now let us get back to emblems in bullion. It is necessary in bullion
work to have a fine cardboard foundation which is called "the cartoon."
Trace your design on the cardboard and then cut the design out. Baste
the cartoon to the background, which may be of any material you desire.
Broadcloths, silks, satins, and velvets are the materials usually
selected for the work. Thread a fine needle with a piece of silk.
Fasten the thread on the wrong side of the material and bring the
needle up through the right side. Let us suppose that you are working
the block letter A. Start from the apex of the letter. Cut a piece of
the bullion just the size of a very small bead. Slip the needle through
the cut piece of bullion and span the point of the letter. Continue in
this manner till the cardboard is closely covered with the bullion.
Each piece of bullion is cut to fit the space it is to cover.
In working a five pointed star, start and pad each section lengthwise,
if it is to be embroidered in silk or cotton. For bullion work the
cartoon is always necessary.
Work each section of the star from the point to the centre. Work from
left to right, so that each section that is worked is to the left.
Papier-maché letters can be bought that may be used as a padding. They
are very satisfactory for anything that is not to be laundered, but
continual washings flatten the papier-maché, while if the padding is
made of cotton it lasts as long as the background.
Handkerchiefs for yourself can be daintily marked in very fine
feather-stitching in D. M. C. marking cotton No. 80. Remember to keep
the stitches in a pretty slant.
There are numerous places that a letter or monogram can be used. A
girl I know who is at a boarding school has marked all her bed linen
and towels. For each pair of sheets and two pillow cases she uses a
different style letter or monogram so that her linen is in sets.
Cross-stitching is appropriate for bath towels, although face towels
are often very attractive worked in this stitch.
The question often arises as to which is the right place to put a
letter or monogram on a table cloth, napkin, pillow case, or sheet, and
though you may not be interested in any of these articles at present,
it is well to know these little points when helping to mark the
household linens.
Napkins are usually marked with the letter in the direct centre when
folded. Of course, like many other things, there are fads for changing
the position. One extreme style is to mark the letter in the direct
centre of the napkin. This style necessitates folding the napkin in a
fancy shape so that the embroidery will be seen at its best advantage.
There are two good ways to mark a table cloth. One is to place the
lettering midway between one corner of the table and the hem. When
the cloth is on the table the letter is below the top. The second and
newer way is to have the letter on the top of the table on a line with
the plates. If two sets of letters or monograms are used place them at
diagonal corners.
On sheets the letters should be placed two and a half inches above the
hem. The letter is worked so that when the sheet is folded back the
base of the letter is toward the foot of the bed.
Pillow cases or towels are marked in the centre of one side, two inches
above the hem.
Again let me impress upon you not to embroider white washable material
in silk, thinking that because silks are more expensive they are
better. Silks are apt to discolour in laundering. Cottons are now
manufactured that have a high gloss like silk and yet they never
discolour.
[Illustration: Fig. 140. A handkerchief corner in satin-stitch]
Another pretty and new way to mark letters on lawn or fine linen
handkerchiefs is one that gives the effect of Bermuda fagotting and yet
it is only hemming with a large needle (Figure 140). Draw the letter
in pencil on the handkerchief. Thread a large tapestry or chenille
needle with a piece of No. 200 linen thread. Cotton thread may be used
but it is very apt to break. Tie one end of the thread to the eye of
the needle so that it does not slip out. Thread another needle with a
strand of No. 8 marking cotton and pass it to the back at the beginning
of the letter. Unthread the needle, allowing a half inch to extend
out of the back. Let the No. 8 cotton follow the lines of the letter
and take a stitch into the material with the large needle. Work from
right to left, holding the No. 8 cotton from you. Pull the fine thread
tight around the stitch you have taken. Now pass your needle around
the same group of threads of the material, holding the stitch over the
heavy cotton. Work around the entire outside of the letter, then turn
and work the inner line. Stitch again through the hole already made,
taking up the same group of threads. Sometimes this style is called
ladder-stitch, as the heavy cotton gives the effect of the side of the
ladder and the groups of threads represent the rungs. Any design that
is uniformly narrow can be carried out in ladder-stitch.
[Illustration: Fig. 141. A simple letter for towels]
XV
EYELETS AND FRENCH KNOTS, BULLION STITCH, AND OTHER FANCY STITCHES.
The most beautiful of the embroidery stitches is the eyelet, and it is
also one of the hardest. A piece of embroidery that is thickly covered
with eyelet-work and possibly a little satin-stitch and buttonholing
is commonly termed Madeira embroidery. One will often see a piece of
the Madeira embroidery so closely covered that it is almost impossible
to put another stitch in between the embroidered spots. About fifty
years ago it was a matter of impossibility to buy machine embroidery,
and eyelet-work was one of the last things made by machine. It was an
easy matter to distinguish the hand-work from the machine-work up to
about five years ago. A certain regularity of the stitches and the kind
of thread used proclaimed it machine to even the amateur. Now-a-days
the crafty manufacturers stamp the material to imitate the hand-made
embroideries and use a thread of the same quality so that sometimes
the professional embroiderers find it hard to distinguish it from the
real.
If you should ask a boy who has watched his mother working one, what
an eyelet is he will probably tell you that it is cutting holes in the
material and sewing them up again. To his mind this is a great waste of
time.
[Illustration: Fig. 142. Baby's bootees]
Besides being ornamental, the eyelets often play an important part.
They are used to run ribbon through in corset covers, night-gowns and
other pieces of underwear, as well as on bags, baby bootees, (Figure
142), caps and carriage covers. No machine beading can impart the
elegance that a well-made eyelet does to a personal garment. Eyelets
can be either round or oval. For a small round one run a tracing thread
on the outline. Let each stitch take up but one or two threads of the
material. Use No. 35 or finer marking cotton for small eyelets. With
your stiletto pierce a hole in the outlined edge till it is just the
size of the stamped eyelet. Now with the same thread sew around the
opening with close over-and-over stitches. The stitches should only be
the width of the stamped line (Figure 143). They must be even, else you
will have a "Pig's-eye."
[Illustration: Fig. 143. The way to work an eyelet]
For the large round eyelet, as well as the oval, in all sizes it will
be necessary to cut the material within the outline which has first
been traced with the running thread. The cuts should be made lengthwise
and crosswise, right to the tracing thread. The cut material is turned
under to the wrong side and the eyelet worked as just described. After
the embroidery is finished turn the material over and any part of
the cut cloth that extends beyond the stitches trim off. Your fine
embroidery scissors should be used for the cutting.
[Illustration: Fig. 144. The round eyelet]
Sometimes you might like to make an eyelet to represent a grape. Some
embroiderers call it a shaded or padded eyelet. After the eyelet has
been traced make another row of tracing or padding below the lower half
of the eyelet. Start from the centre side of the eyelet and make the
second tracing deeper on the lower portion of the eyelet. If any space
is left between these two rows of tracings fill in with other rows of
uneven darning (Figure 144A).
[Illustration: Fig. 144A. A padded eyelet]
When eyelets are used on the outer edge of a design, they should be
buttonholed.
[Illustration: Fig. 145. A simple centre piece in eyelets]
The next stitch to claim our attention is French knots. In France they
are known as the English knot. They are used to fill in the centres of
flowers. When working a piece of golden rod the natural effect is best
produced by using French knots very close to each other. A row worked
on each side of a row of feather stitching makes a pretty decoration on
babies' dresses, caps or even on yokes of dresses for yourself.
[Illustration: Fig. 146. An eyelet design for a pillow]
A heavy thread is good to practise making the knot. The actual size
or kind of thread to use should depend partly on the kind of material
and partly upon the other style of work or stitches that you intend
combining with it.
[Illustration: Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman. Many a Happy Hour is
Spent Embroidering]
To work the knot, fasten the thread securely on the wrong side and
bring the needle through to the right side. Now hold the thread down
with your left thumb. With the right hand put the needle over and under
the thread until there are three or four coils of the thread around
the point of the needle. Now hold these coils down with the left thumb.
Turn the needle so that its point will go down through the material as
close as possible to the place through which it came (Figure 147).
[Illustration: Fig. 147. French knots]
A pretty idea for making knots for dress trimmings is to thread the
needle with two strands of silk, each of a different colour.
Bullion stitch is an elongated French knot. It is used considerably in
Mountmellick embroidery, to represent grains of wheat. Small leaves and
daisies are oftentimes carried out in bullion stitch.
To make the stitch we will say that we are working on the conventional
daisy. Bring the thread up to the base of the petal. Insert the needle
so that the length of the petal lies on top of it. (See Figure 148.)
Twine the thread around the needle point until there are as many coils
as the length of the petal. The left thumb should hold the coils in
place while you are twisting them. The needle is now drawn through the
material. It is put through the same hole, or as near as possible to
the one from which it came. Keep the left thumb holding down the coils
until the stitch has been fastened.
Another way to accomplish bullion stitch, which has the same
appearance, but which really is a very much slower method, is to lay a
heavy thread the length of the stitch desired and then neatly wind the
cotton over it. It requires a heavy cotton to work this successfully.
[Illustration: Fig. 148. Bullion-stitch]
An embroidery needle should not be used for either French knots or
bullion stitch, as the eye is apt to stick when pulling it through the
coils. A large sewing needle should be substituted.
[Illustration: Fig. 149. An elaborate piece of buttonholing and
satin-stitch]
Any girl can make dainty and original designs for eyelet work if she
will invest in compasses. As has been stated before, eyelets vary in
size. The size that is most effective for decorating heavy linen or
cotton is an eyelet a little less than half an inch in diameter. A
larger eyelet is often used, but it requires a good deal of patience
and experience to keep it in shape.
With the compass hundreds of designs may be used. The most popular
as well as being the most attractive is the simple daisy. A circle
is drawn to represent the centre. A quarter of an inch over from the
centre circle, or less if you wish to, draw six other circles so that
they form a ring around the centre dot.
A design such as this can be used on a ruffle of a petticoat or
between tucks on dresses while for a whole linen piece there is
nothing handsomer for a scalloped or hemstitched centre piece, doily,
bureau cover and many other articles on which a bold, open effect is
appropriate.
The Wall-of-Troy design is a good one for compass work, only it is
suggested to faintly rule the design then inscribe the circles so that
their centres are on the line. For instance, suppose you want to make a
border design about an inch and a half deep. Take your rule and keeping
on a straight thread of your material draw a two-inch line, then leave
a space, then draw another line, so on to the end. An inch and a
half above these lines draw another row of lines just over the spaces
of the first row. Connect the ends of the lines together. Plan so
that there is a circle at the points or corners of each line. Between
these dots on the horizontal lines make two more circles, while on the
vertical lines make only one. These instructions are for a circle the
size described; for a smaller eyelet it will be necessary to add more
circles to the lines.
A still simpler design is one that is made on a square, that is, with a
dot at each corner and one in the direct centre. The dots must be kept
the same distance apart.
The Italian girls will make the most elaborate designs of compass
work on strips of firm, heavy muslin for ruffles for underwear. They
are not like the American and French girls, who will only wear the
sheerest kind of light material. The advantage the Italian girl has
over her French and American sisters is that when she embroiders a
garment it lasts for years, even if it is constantly used, while
delicate embroidery is apt to have a very short life on account of the
background. To the American girl this is no drawback, as she is always
craving for new things.
Sometimes a thimble, spool, or even a twenty-five cent piece is used
instead of the compass when a large eyelet is required.
An edge of eyelets is very handsome on a collar and cuff set or
handkerchief. They should be placed so that after they are worked they
touch each other. The entire eyelet may be carried out in buttonholing
or the lower half may be buttonholed and the top worked in the regular
way. After the work has been completed dampen the edge and press before
cutting out the material from underneath the lower edge of the eyelet.
It is possible to work the eyelet without any buttonhole stitches and
yet use it for an edge. In that case a little padding is required and
the stitches should be close together.
A linen hat that has a simple scallop edge and a simple design on the
brim and crown is a treasure that usually only the wealthy enjoy. It
is nice to know how to embroider, but unless we put to use the things
we know our knowledge is like a white elephant on our hands. After a
careful study of the diagram of the stitches you desire to make and
reading the description as to how to make it, a little child could
almost work a hat, but the mounting of a hat is not so simple. Yet,
what is the use of taking time to embroider one if you do not intend
to make it up?
Eyelet work is particularly dainty on a hat as it gives a lacy effect.
The material should be a medium weight linen so as not to be too stiff.
At one time butcher's linen was thought to be the only kind to be used,
but of later years a softer linen is preferred. Lingerie hats have been
used for years, probably long before you were born. Every year the
shape varies a little. One year it is a narrow brim sailor, next year
it is a wide brim, then again a high, next a Tam-o'-shanter crown. The
last four years it has been the mushroom shape. For most faces there is
nothing more becoming and girlish than the latter (Figure 150).
[Illustration: Fig. 150. A lingerie hat]
Sometimes the mushroom shape is covered with hand-embroidered ruffles,
while again a circular piece having the crown cut out is used. The size
of hat varies by what fashion dictates, so it is hard to say just how
large your linen should be cut. A twenty-two or twenty-four inch circle
makes a neat little shape.
After the embroidery has been worked as described in the first part of
this chapter, the frame is prepared for mounting it. A wire frame is
lighter and more satisfactory than a buckram frame.
The first thing to decide is, how are we going to face the hat? Tucked
ruffling, net, dotted swiss, or fine ruffles of Valenciennes lace may
be used. Most people prefer to cover the entire frame with cheap, fine
lawn before facing or covering the hat.
This is done by placing the hat on the lawn, the brim touching the
material, and cutting a circle a trifle larger than the brim. Cut a
circle out for the crown and slip the lawn over the frame. If the crown
is too large to allow the lawn to be slipped over it a wide bias band
of the lawn can be used to cover the brim. The bias strip should be
just the depth of the brim. For the crown, cut a circle large enough to
cover the top and use a bias band around its sides.
Tack the muslin to the frame by long basting stitches. It will be
necessary to pass under the wire when taking a stitch to keep the
material in place. The tucked ruffling can be bought by the yard,
trimmed with a row of narrow lace. The entire thing is banded. To
adjust a ruffling of this sort place the band around the edge of the
crown and tack the ruffle in position at short intervals and at the
extreme edge of the brim.
Net or dotted Swiss is pretty shirred or corded or even put on plain. A
strip three times the length that it would take to go around the brim
plain is cut the depth of the brim. This band is cut on the straight
of the goods. A shirring string is run on both sides. The strip is
placed in position and pinned taking care to distribute the gathers
evenly. The shirring string under the crown is pulled up first and the
material over-handed to the frame. The gathering thread on the outer
edge of the brim is also adjusted like this, only instead of over-hand
stitches, fine running stitches are preferable. Then a small heading
is made on one side of the strip that is to be shirred. The heading
makes a pretty, soft finish at the edge and does not require any great
length of time to do. Allow three quarters of an inch, or more, in the
depth of your ruffle if it is to have a heading. Turn one edge of the
material to the wrong side. The turn should be a little more than a
quarter of an inch deep. The gathering thread is run a quarter of an
inch from the folded edge of the material. When the thread is pulled up
the heading is formed.
If the material is to be corded, baste a narrow round cord like a
corset lace inside the material. The cord is placed where it is desired
and the material is folded over it as for a tuck. A running thread is
worked close to the cord to keep the two pieces of material together.
The threads are afterwards drawn up to bring the fulness of the ruffles
to fit the outer edge of the hat.
Three rows of cording are quite sufficient on the edge and the other
two rows at equal intervals from the outer brim to the crown.
The ruffles of Valenciennes lace are adjusted by pulling the drawing
string on the edge of the lace, and basting the first row of lace on
the extreme edge. The second row just touches the first, and so on,
filling as many rows of lace in as required.
The embroidered piece is then washed and the brim placed. The edge is
tacked at intervals while around the crown the stitches are taken very
close together.
The Tam-o'-shanter crown is pulled in shape by a gathering thread, if
it is cut in a circular shape and the gathering is all on the edge. Cut
the circle large enough to make a pretty Tam-o'-shanter.
The embroidery decoration may be in the direct centre of the crown. If
the design is a small one it can be scattered over the crown to give an
all over effect.
There are many ways that a lingerie hat may be trimmed and it is
hard to say which is the prettiest. A black ribbon band and a bow is
simple but severe. White taffeta ribbon may be used the same way if
an all white hat is wanted. In fact any shade of ribbon is attractive
used like this. The illustration shows a pretty way of trimming a
lingerie hat for a girl of about fourteen. A narrow coloured ribbon
is used around the crown and a rosette of leaves with rose buds and
forget-me-nots is attractively placed on one side.
Sometimes coloured linen is used for the hat and in that case the
embroidery may be worked in the same shade as the linen; or white.
The hat is then trimmed with white or black. A coloured hat is not as
practicable as a white one, as the former is apt to fade and may not be
as becoming as the white.
A baby's buttoned hat is made of two circular pieces scalloped out
at the edges, one piece being four or five inches smaller than the
other. The large one is used for the brim. The head size is cut out
of the direct centre and then bound in tape. Three inches from the
crown opening sew a circular row of buttons, a half inch apart. Use a
washable linen, lace, or crochet button for this purpose.
One inch from the edge of the crown make as many buttonholes as you
have buttons. A pair of daintily hemstitched strings that are attached,
one on each side of the crown opening, completes this charming little
hat. It can be easily unbuttoned and laundered flat. These hats are
made of duck, pique or heavy linen. They are the nicest thing you can
make for your little sister for the summer when she wants to play in
the sun.
XVI
LONG AND SHORT, KENSINGTON EMBROIDERY, AND RIBBON WORK FOR SIMPLE
FLOWERS
It is the ambition of every one who starts to embroider to make a piece
of flower work and though the floral designs are most fascinating to
embroider they are by no means as artistic as the conventional.
The way to embroider a piece of flower work and obtain an original
colouring is to get a natural flower and place it in a vase in a
position that you can clearly see the light and shadow. The best flower
to start with is a daisy. Note that the petals are not a dead white,
but there is a suggestion of green toward the centre of the flower. Get
mercerized cotton to work with at first until you become accustomed to
the stitch.
There is no cut and dried rule in regard to the colouring, but the art
of shading a piece naturally is a lesson that is very essential for the
embroiderer.
To many people the term embroidery means flower work and only after
a course of instruction they discover for themselves how much more
artistic and in keeping with most rooms is a conventional design.
Flower work, however, is not to be despised as you will learn more
about colour combination and Kensington stitch in one piece of this
style than any kind of embroidery.
[Illustration: Fig. 151. Long and short stitch]
All flower work has long and short stitch on the edge of the petals or
leaves that do not turn over. Daisies do not have turn over leaves as
often as a double rose or chrysanthemum. Suppose we draw a very large
daisy on a piece of white muslin. With your needle threaded with white
lustre start from the right-hand side. Take one stitch on the line.
Place your needle back near the same point from which you started. Take
a short stitch that goes a wee bit outside of the stamped line past the
first stitch. The object of going beyond the line, is that the stitch
completely covers the stamping.
The third stitch is taken at the same slant, only longer. The fourth
is a short one and so on, first one short and then one long until the
top of the petal is reached. Remember, though, these stitches are only
on the edge. The left half is worked the same, but the stitches slant
a little differently. A good rule to mention right here is, that all
stitches should slant to the heart of the flower. In leaves they slant
toward the base. The inside of the petal, when the long and short
stitches are completed, should be irregular (Figure 151).
The Kensington stitch gets its name from an English school of
embroidery. It is more like outlining than any other stitch.
After the edge of the flower has been worked in long and short stitch,
the Kensington stitch is used to give the solid effect.
The piece must be held all the while in a tight fitting pair of hoops
so that it can not sag in the least.
If the petal is long, two or three rows of Kensington stitch will have
to be worked to fill it in. If silk is desired, two strands are used
for the edge and one strand for the Kensington stitch. The stitches
are dovetailed into each other. Each row must have an irregular lower
edge, else they will look like bricks laid one on top of the other. The
stitches should be so worked that it is difficult to tell where one
ends and the other begins (Figure 152).
[Illustration: Fig. 152. The Kensington stitch]
Three shades of green are sufficient for the leaves until you are quite
expert. In working them embroider on the edge of the lower half of
each leaf with the second shade and the upper part with the lightest.
Work one side first using the second shade under the lightest and the
third under the second. Work to the midrib only. It is not necessary
to work in the veins, but if they are desired they are put in after
the leaf has been worked. Do not hesitate to cover the stamped veining
on the leaf you are working, as the next leaf will be a guide to where
to place the veins. They may be in the lightest or deepest shade of
green, while sometimes a reddish-brown is substituted.
The centre of the daisy may be satin-stitch or a cluster of French
knots. If the dot is worked from the centre to left and from the centre
to right you are more apt to get a perfect outline than when starting
from one side and working to the other.
As a usual thing the lightest shade is on the outer edge of most
flowers, but there are a few exceptions, like wild roses and some
species of pansies in which the deepest shade is on the edge and toward
the centre it is lightest.
The stems may be worked in satin-stitch or Kensington in wood shades or
deep greens, whichever give the more realistic effect to the flower.
It is a great mistake to use white for the background of flower work.
Cream or pale gray make a very much softer and more pleasing effect.
Sometimes a little of the stem brown can be worked into the leaves.
Have you ever seen a lace spread or centre piece with flowers
embroidered on it? You might think that the worker was more than
ordinarily clever, but really any one who can embroider flowers can do
this. Baste a piece of fine lawn on the section you desire to embroider
and stamp it with a spray. Embroider in the usual way and when the
spray is finished neatly cut away any of the lawn that extends beyond
the flower without cutting the lace. The result is that the piece has
the effect of a natural flower resting upon it.
The finer the silk used the more delicate shading can be accomplished.
There is another way to represent flowers that is particularly
beautiful. It is known as ribbon work or rococo embroidery. The ribbons
especially made for this work vary from slightly less than one quarter
of an inch to a little more than a half inch in width. The colours do
not range in such long lines as the silks. In fact it is rare to find
a shop that carries more than ten colours. Sometimes the ribbons are
shaded. They are soft and do not crease quite as readily as an ordinary
ribbon.
A No. 6 crewel needle is about the right size for the narrow ribbon,
while the half inch ribbons need a No. 3.
[Illustration: Fig. 153. Ribbon flowers]
Forget-me-nots, conventionalized small asters, and little roses are
suitable for the narrow ribbons. Satin, moire, broadcloth, or heavy
silk are used for the background and the daintiest of needle cases,
jewel cases, handkerchief bags, belts, and other little accessories
may be evolved from a small piece of silk and a few yards of ribbon.
The design is stamped on the background and all the single lines or
stems outlined with filo silk. Let us imagine we are working on a spray
of forget-me-nots. The needle is threaded with six inches of the narrow
green ribbon. Slip your needle from the under side of the material
drawing all the ribbon through but a quarter of an inch. One stitch
is generally sufficient for a leaf, though sometimes the leaves are
wider and require two or possibly three stitches. The ribbon serves
the same purpose as silk. The one point to remember is that the ribbon
should not be twisted. Naturally in pulling it through the material
several times it becomes so wrinkled that a short piece works to better
advantage than a long one. The flower is made in the same way, one
stitch for each petal and when completed a French knot is made in the
centre of the flower (Figure 153).
The ends caused from starting and finishing off are fastened or caught
down with a piece of fine thread on the wrong side.
Do not pull your stitches. The work is very much prettier when it lies
soft and full on the background.
It is well to make use of every piece of fancy work you do and yet
sometimes a new thing may strike your fancy and you would like to make
a small piece.
A card case is acceptable to every girl and it is a good plan to make
them to match your visiting dresses.
Take a piece of material five by ten inches long. Three inches from one
of the short edges stamp a design that will not occupy a space larger
than three inches long and two inches deep. The length of the design
must run parallel with the short edge of the material. The bottom of
the stamping must be five and a half inches from the short edge of the
material.
[Illustration: Fig. 154. A card case]
A little spray of lilies of the valley on a green silk background makes
a dainty case (Figure 154).
Get a piece of stiff tailor's canvas and cut it to measure eight and
three quarters inches by four inches wide. A piece of china silk the
same size as the satin will be needed for the lining. It is best to
select the shade of silk that harmonizes with the outside material.
With a green cover a lining lighter or darker is suggested. The latter
is preferred as the constant fingering of a light colour is apt to soil
it.
Cut all three pieces so that they are true oblongs; two and a quarter
inches from the short edge make a crease. Two and a half inches from
the first crease or four and three quarters inches from the outer edge
make another crease and cut along it, thus separating the stiffening in
two.
[Illustration: Fig. 155. The foundation of the card case]
Two and a half inches on both sides of the now short edges of the piece
that is not creased draw a line from side to side and crease.
On the extreme right-hand side measure down one and a half inches from
the corner and make a dot; measure up from the lower corner and make
another dot. The space between the dots should measure one inch. Take a
twenty-five cent piece and place on the space between the dots so that
the edge of the material is under the direct centre of the quarter.
Make a semicircular curve on the canvas around the quarter. Cut along
the pencil lines (Figure 155).
[Illustration: Fig. 156. The canvas interlining]
The stiffening now ready, baste it to the lining. See that all creases
have been smoothed out of the China silk lining before basting. Place
the two pieces of canvas so that there is an equal margin on all four
sides. The cut edges of the canvas must be placed one eighth of an inch
apart as shown in the diagram (Figure 156). On one side is the four and
three-quarter inch piece and the other is the four inch. Pin or baste
the canvas through the centre to keep it in position. With a threaded
needle cat-stitch the silk to the canvas, care being taken to see that
the stitches do not appear on the silk side. Cat or catch-stitching is
another name for herring-boning, which is explained in the chapter on
feather-stitching.
Before turning a corner, cut off a small piece of material to prevent
the corner from being bulky. Treat each corner in like manner: when you
come to the little curved part, slash the material so that when it is
folded over the canvas it will fit perfectly smooth.
Fold the canvas and lining along the creases originally made in the
canvas. An iron pressed over them will help to make them stay in
position. The embroidered piece is then placed over the wrong side
of the canvas. A half-inch turn is made on all sides. Turn this half
inch toward the wrong side of the canvas. Sometimes a layer of cotton
batting is laid under the embroidery between the canvas and satin. The
satin piece is basted to the canvas. The folded edge of the satin and
the folded edge of the silk are overcast with tiny stitches. Fold back
the two sections of the case and over-cast each side (Figure 157). Your
card case is now completed.
[Illustration: Fig. 157. The inside of the card case]
A bill folder is made in the same way, only that the ends are not
stitched together to form pockets as in the card case.
It is always well to know how to make pretty, attractive pieces of
needlework that will make acceptable gifts for Christmas or a birthday.
Nearly everybody has a hobby. Sometimes it is saving receipts,
sometimes keeping newspaper clippings, and then again it may be keeping
theatre programmes. It is well to consider what gift is most suitable
for the one that is to receive it; to make for the faddist an envelope
to keep her clippings will be just the thing.
[Illustration: Fig. 158. The way to make an envelope]
Take a piece of brown linen ten and a half inches by nine and a
half inches. Fold it in half so that it measures five and a quarter
inches by nine and a half inches. Stamp a spray of daisies or wild
roses on one side and mark what the envelope is supposed to hold,
such as receipts or clippings. Brown linen does not soil as easily
as white. Embroider the flowers and the lettering, then dampen the
linen thoroughly and press on the wrong side. Now take two pieces
of cardboard that measure eight and a half inches by four and three
quarters. Cover the cardboard with the linen, use long stitches as
described in the needle case, except that two pieces of the cardboard
are placed side by side on the brown linen. Now take two pieces of
brown paper the same size as the cardboard and cover the stitches.
Paste should be used to make the paper stick to the linen.
[Illustration: Fig. 159. The envelope]
[Illustration: Fig. 160. The case completed]
Make six envelopes by taking six pieces of paper nine by thirteen
inches and cut a two and a half inch square from each corner (Figure
158). One inch over from where the squares are cut make a star. There
are eight such points as you note. Connect the dot to the corner by
a line. Cut the paper along the lines. Fold the ends in, then fold
the bottom flap over these and paste. Fold the top flap over without
pasting (Figure 159).
Now, holding these six envelopes in the case with bottom edges touching
the space between the two cardboards, punch three holes through linen,
cardboard, and envelopes.
Take a half a yard of ribbon and run through the holes and tie the ends
in a bow on the corner.
Take another half a yard of ribbon and cut in two. Fasten a piece on
each side of the cover (Figure 160). These two pieces are tied in a bow
and keep the base of the case closed.
XVII
HARDANGER EMBROIDERY FOR SQUARES, PIN CUSHIONS, AND SPREADS
We have to go back to the foreign embroideries to find those that are
beautiful and yet substantial enough to last beyond the usual life of a
piece of fancy work. There is nothing we have originated in embroidery
on this side of the world as rich as Hardanger work, and yet it is
comparatively little known. The background for this work is a loosely
woven material like scrim or basket weave materials such as Java canvas
or the regular Hardanger canvas which is imported.
It is lots of fun working Hardanger in wool on Java canvas as it goes
so quickly, and after we have learned the stitches we can work it on as
fine a canvas as we desire.
The simplest stitch is the block. Thread a large tapestry needle with
a piece of heavy wool. On your piece of Java canvas work a little
block. The worsted is on the right side of the canvas, and then taking
a stitch over four threads of the canvas bring the needle up on the
next opening to the right on the same line as the first. Five stitches
constitute a block; a space of four threads is then left and the next
block started, (Figure 161). A great deal of Hardanger has these blocks
running at right angles to each other with no space between the blocks.
Mistakes cause a great deal of trouble and sometimes it is necessary to
rip out quite a lot of stitches before they can be rectified and for
that reason you must be very accurate in your counting.
[Illustration: Fig. 161. The block]
[Illustration: Fig. 162. The star]
The star is another favourite figure in Hardanger work (Figure 162).
Four stitches are taken over four threads of the material, side by
side, then five stitches over eight threads of the material and then
four again. This forms one side of the star. The second side is made
exactly the same only that at the base of the thirteenth stitch the
first stitch of the second side starts forming a right angle. The star
has four sides as you will note in the diagram of this stitch. Now
count and see if there are twelve threads on each of the inner sides of
the star. If you find any mistake go over it and straighten it out.
There must be twelve threads on each side. Cut four from each corner.
This will leave four threads directly in the centre of each side. With
a piece of embroidery cotton about the weight of a thread of your
canvas weave the bars. The weaving is very simple, over one and under
the next till the bars are woven. Some of these bars have little knots
on the outer centre edge of each. They are called picots (pronounced
pe-co) and they are made somewhat like a French knot. The bar is woven
half way across and laying the needle on the bar the thread is wound
around the needle point. Hold each twist down with the left thumb
(Figure 163). The needle is drawn through and the result is a little
knot on the thread near the stitches. A little stitch is taken into the
woven part of the bar and the thread carried over to the other side of
the bar and another picot made.
[Illustration: Fig. 163. The picot]
For an ornamental stitch to be used on the material between the
stars or blocks make a diagonal stitch like the first stitch in cross
stitching (Figure 164).
Pin cushion tops are easy to make and the following instructions are
given for cushions about four or five inches square. Take a square of
scrim or Hardanger canvas eight inches large. It will be necessary to
pull a thread so that the material will be quite straight on the edges.
Pull out four threads about one and a quarter inches from the edge on
each side of the material. Turn a quarter-inch fold on one side and
crease the material again so as to make a half-inch hem. Baste it down
so that it just touches the drawn threads. Repeat on the four sides.
Be sure that at the corner the double thickness of drawn threads are
exactly over each other. We are now ready to hemstitch the hem. Thread
the needle with No. 90 sewing cotton. Run the thread under the hem and
holding the double part of the hem toward you take up four threads of
the material. Pass the needle again around this group and now into the
hem. Continue in this manner around the four sides. At the corners it
will be necessary to take up both thicknesses of the material.
Crease the finished square in four. Count sixteen threads upon the
crease from the hemstitching and with lustre No. C or heavy linen
thread "aa" make a little block of four strands of floss over four
threads of the material. Make a flight of eight blocks each at right
angles to the other. Now instead of continuing in the same direction
turn and work seven more groups down and to the left. Turn again to the
left and work seven blocks for the third side of the square. Six groups
to the right of the third row completes the square.
[Illustration: Fig. 164. A simple ornamental stitch]
[Illustration: Fig. 165. A good arrangement of picot]
Now with your fine embroidery scissors cut close to the stitches of the
three blocks at each corner. The cut threads are drawn out. Four more
cuttings will be necessary on each side. They should be made against
the stitches only; that is, the threads that are running in the same
direction as the stitches should be cut. Figure 165 shows where the
cuts were made and the threads drawn out. The remaining threads are
woven. A mercerized or dull finished marking cotton is used for the
weaving. It may be either the plain weaving or may have picots on each
side of the bar. Another pretty arrangement of picots is to place them
on one side of the bars so that they appear in groups of four each
facing the other (Figure 165).
Sometimes a lace stitch is used such as the spider or simple loop
stitch. Directions for making a spider will be found in the chapter on
lace stitches. The loop stitch is made by taking a stitch in the centre
edge of each bar. Take a stitch just as if you were buttonholing.
Buttonholing the edge is preferred by many to hemstitching.
A pretty stitch often seen bordering a row of drawn work is made in
pyramid form. It can be as deep as desired. First take a stitch over
two strands of the material then three, then four, then five and down
again to two (Figure 166). This stitch must be worked of course before
any of the threads are drawn.
[Illustration: Fig. 166. The pyramid stitch]
If a little larger and more elaborate square is wanted, take a piece of
material nine or ten inches square. Make a star, skip four threads and
work the open squares described for the smaller pin cushion.
On the opposite side of the square, directly across from the first
star, skip four threads and make another square. At the other two
corners of the square make a star (Figure 167).
[Illustration: Fig. 167. The Hardanger square pin cushion]
The German peasant girls are proud of their aprons with a border of
Hardanger embroidery. It is a common thing for them to have a border
fifteen or eighteen inches deep. Often they will make yards and yards
of a pattern, say four inches wide, and they will insert it above the
hems on sheets and towels and cut out the background material.
There is no nation on earth as thrifty as the Germans. A German girl
I know who is only nineteen years old has her entire bedroom fitted
up with Hardanger articles that she has made herself. First there is
the bedspread and bolster, each most elaborately embroidered with an
all-over design. Then there is a round pillow (the edge buttonholed)
and a square pillow as well as the bureau scarf and pin cushion. If
she bought the articles already worked she would have paid hundreds of
dollars for the outfit, while the actual cost was only a few dollars.
Nearly all the best of fancy-work shops sell small pamphlets on
Hardanger work that are not expensive and after one is familiar with
the foundation stitches it is an easy matter to follow the designs they
give.
XVIII
APPLIQUÉ ON LINEN AND OTHER MATERIALS AND HEDEBO EMBROIDERY
Appliqué, or laying one material on another and stitching or
embroidering them together is one of the simplest forms of embroidery
that even the Indians years ago knew how to do. How many of you have
not seen on an Indian woman queer shapes cut out of leather and
ornamented with beads used for a border on her skirt?
There are two kinds of appliqué, underlaid and overlaid. Most of the
work is the latter kind. The underlaid is a little more difficult to
do. It will be explained at greater length later in this chapter.
Appliqué is such easy work that you will almost think it a mistake not
to have heard about it before, but after all it is really necessary
that we should know the simpler embroidery stitches before we attempt
an appliqué piece, so that we can decorate it in the manner to suit
ourselves.
The European peasants work some of the crudest specimens of appliqué,
yet their colour schemes and choice of material are good. For
instance, Russian crash, which is sold at the towel department of many
of our large department stores, from twelve to twenty cents a yard,
and which is very narrow, usually about sixteen inches wide, is often
employed as the background of their portières.
Before the Russo-Japanese War it was possible to get Russian crash as
wide as forty inches. It is made by the peasants in their homes from
the waste ends left from weaving linens. You have no doubt read of how
poor Russian peasants live in hovels in the same room with the cow, if
they are fortunate enough to possess one, and their pigs. Necessarily
the work they do is not very clean but the artistic qualities of the
crash overcomes the fact of the dirt.
The better class of peasants will take three strips of crash and
connect them together with coarse sewing or lace stitches and then
apply circles of broadcloth, or coloured linens on them. Other
geometrical figures are often applied.
I heard of a Southern family the other day who are so thrifty that they
allow nothing to go to waste, not even the old coats and trousers that
have played the double rôle of clothing the father and then have been
cut down for Johnny. After Johnny has had all the wear possible out of
them Grandma again cuts them, this time in the shape of leaves, and
sews them on a large muslin circle, one overlapping the other. This
forms a mat for the dining room. I am telling you this story not that
you may imitate it, but rather to let you know that after all we have
women here that are as clever and thrifty with their needles as the
European women.
[Illustration: Fig. 168. A pillow in Hedebo embroidery]
For appliqué work the design is cut out and the wrong side covered
almost to the edge with a paste made of starch and water.
When a complicated piece of appliqué is to be worked, stamp your
design on the background. Then on the right side of the material to be
appliquéd, or on the wrong side of velvet, lay a piece of transfer
paper. Place the design on them. With a blunt pointed instrument go
over the line firmly till you have a tracing of the design. If the
lines are not quite clear go over them with a pencil.
Cut out each piece and paste it to the background. The edges may be
machine stitched or satin-stitched or outlined. A cord, also the
couching stitch, makes a good finish.
Very clever representations of animals can be made by appliqué. Take a
duck, for instance. The breast can be white felt, the head dark green
velvet. The wings dark brown and the back and tail a lighter brown
broadcloth. The legs and the bill should be canary-coloured taffeta
silk. Cut each section so that it slightly laps over the other.
Appliqué underlaid is accomplished by stamping the design on the wrong
side of the material and then cutting it out. The background is left
intact like a stencil. A piece of material of a different colour is
laid under the cut piece of material. The raw or cut edges may be
treated in many ways. The material may be turned back and stitched
by machine or the edges may be finished with buttonholing stitches,
couching, fine satin-stitch or chain stitch. The turning back of the
cut edges requires that they be neatly done or the embroidery will not
show to its best advantage.
Hedebo embroidery is in no way connected with appliqué work, but like
the latter it is a branch of needlework that few people in America
understand. Without exception it is the most elaborate form of white
work. The stitches give the effect of being very difficult, but this
is not so. The work requires a lot of time and careful planning of the
stitches for which buttonhole stitch is usually the foundation.
[Illustration: Fig. 169. An elaborate design in Hedebo]
[Illustration: Fig. 170. Part of a Hedebo collar]
Hedebo is worked on a finely woven linen. The design is stamped
directly on the material. A thread of D.M.C. No. 25 or spool linen
thread outlines the figures. Within the design, the linen is cut one
eighth of an inch from the running thread. This eighth-inch extension
is then turned under the stitches and basted down. A small piece
of dark green oilcloth is then laid under the figure to be worked
and basting stitches hold the material and oilcloth together. The
oilcloth protects the fingers and it is often used by foreigners in
making eyelets. A small piece is used and it is moved as many times as
necessary. A large piece is too clumsy to hold. On the extreme double
edge of the opening of the design fine buttonholing stitches are taken.
The stitches are about one thirty-second of an inch apart.
A section of a design suitable for a collar is shown here and the
stitches will now be explained that have been used on it (Figure 170).
A bar is formed by laying two or three threads so that they span the
opening from side to side. Over these threads fine buttonholing is
worked.
The little triangles are worked by making seven or nine stitches into
as many of the buttonhole stitches. The second row is worked into the
first, one stitch from each end is omitted. Continue in this way to the
point (Figure 171).
The three large loops that separate the pyramids or triangles from
each other in the two outer circles are worked by making two loops
that will each take up half the space between the triangles. These
loops are whipped two or three times to make them heavier and then
they are covered with buttonholing. Work the first and half of the
second and then make the loop for the third or last and work it also in
buttonholing, then finish the second (Figure 172). The centre of the
circle is made by connecting the opposite triangles and loops together.
Gently distribute the threads from the centre to allow a small opening.
Put a thread around this opening and neatly buttonhole the threads.
The middle figure is made by working a row of open buttonholing then
running a drawing thread into the loops and buttoning this band with
tiny stitches.
The stitches of the middle circle are somewhat simpler than the ones
just described. A circle of open stitches is made directly under the
buttonhole stitches on the material. Divide this circle in eight parts
and make a large loop at alternate eighths. A connecting thread at the
centre base of each loop connects each opposite pair of loops. The
triangles are worked from the centre to the outer edge.
[Illustration: Fig. 171. Triangle in Hedebo embroidery]
The open triangles are made by working a row of open loops around the
three sides. The loops are drawn slightly together with
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