< 
 
 
 ART-NEEDLEWORK 
 
 DECORATIVE EMBROIDERY: 
 
 GUIDE TO EMBROIDERY IN CREWELS, 
 SILKS, APPLIQUE, ETC.; 
 
 AND CONTAINING 
 
 THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE ROYAI SCHOOL 
 
 FOR ART-NEEDLEWORK AT SOUTH 
 
 KENSINGTON, ENGLAND. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 LUCRETIA P. HALE. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 S. W. TILTON AND COMPANY. 
 

 TILTON'S NEEDLEWORK SERIES. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 ART-NEEDLEWORK FOR DECORATIVE EMBROI- 
 DERY. A Guide to Embroidery in Crewels, Silks, Applique, 
 &c, with illustrated instructions as to Stitches, Satin. Stitch and 
 South Kensington Stitch. Also several designs for Patterns. 
 Edited by Lucrltia P. Hale. Price 50 cts. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 ART-NEEDLEWORK. — POINT- LACE. With illustrations 
 of Stitches and Valuable Patterns. By Lucretia P. Hale. 
 
 Price 
 
 50 cts. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 ART NEEDLEWORK, MORE STITCHES FOR DECO- 
 RATIVE EMBROIDERY. Containing Holbein, Punto Tirato 
 (drawn work), Vienna Cross Stitch, Double Piatt Stitch, and 
 Cordonnet, and eighty illustrations and patterns. By Lucretia 
 P. Hale. Price 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 50 cts. 
 
 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK, MENDING, KNITTING, AND 
 
 DARNING FOR ALL, at Home and in Schools; giving in- 
 struction in Plain Sewing, &c, the Management of Classes, with 
 twenty illustrations. Compiled from the best English works on 
 these subjects, with some additional suggestions by the American 
 editor. Edited by Lucretia P. Hale. Price 50 cts 
 
 B^** Any book on our list sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price. 
 
 S. W. TlLTON & Co., 
 
 Publishers, 333 Washington Street, Boston. 
 
 Copyright. 
 S. W. TILTON & CO. 
 
 1878. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN making use of the valuable book on Art-Needlework, pub- 
 lished in London by E. Mase', the American editors take 
 occasion to make many additions. 
 
 Materials that can be bought here are suggested, and the 
 descriptions of stitches are made more clear. In the History 
 of Embroidery, some account of work in our country is given 
 also. We believe the book will be of value to all desirous to 
 perfect themselves in this work. L. P. H. 
 
 Practical instructions in the art of embroidery have been ren- 
 dered necessary by the revolution in needlework that has taken 
 place during the last few years. Berlin-wools have been sup- 
 planted by crewels, and cross-stitch and tent-stitch are superseded 
 by that used in the old tapestries. 
 
 The difficulty that is inseparable from what is new is added 
 to in this case by the great difference in the mode of working. 
 In Berlin-work each stitch has its model in the copy, and not a 
 single original idea is required to have a place in the mind of the 
 worker. In art-needlework, however, the copy gives only out- 
 lines ; and these must be filled in and colored, not only by the 
 worker's fingers, but by her mind. It is, in fact, " painting in 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 wools," and is as much more difficult than Berlin-work as it is 
 superior in its results. 
 
 It is hoped that this little book will not only assist the novice 
 to master the difficulties of the initiatory steps, but that it may 
 also serve as a guide to the more advanced, as regards coloring, 
 choice of material, and those minor matters of detail, which, 
 taken as a whole, are of great importance to the effect of the 
 work. 
 
 PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 
 
 The publishers are indebted to Messrs. N. D. Whitney & Co., 
 of Boston, for the use of the frames and implements which are 
 figured in this book. The illustration of Penelope, next to p. 5, 
 is one of a series of twenty of Flaxman's celebrated designs issued 
 for decorators and art-students. (See advertisement on another 
 page.) "The Age of Fable " alluded to in these pages is a vol- 
 ume giving the stories of the mythological characters which are 
 brought into every kind of decoration : these stories are intensely 
 interesting, besides giving a large amount of valuable information 
 to decorators. " Greek Ornament " is Part I. of Tilton's " Hand- 
 books of Decorative Form," illustrated with twelve plates printed 
 in the original colors, edited by William R. Ware, Professor of 
 Architecture in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On 
 p. 59 is a caution not to mix the style of one epoch or nationality 
 with another. " Greek Ornament " gives the pure Greek forms. 
 
 The publishers of this book have in preparation other works on 
 
 needlework, and will send circulars of the same to any who will 
 
 send their address. 
 
 S. W. Tilton & Co., Boston. 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 THE rapid sale of the first edition of this book shows that the 
 purpose for which it was intended has been widely acknowl- 
 edged. It has proved a valuable handbook for ornamental needle- 
 work, not only in suggesting materials, but in describing the 
 processes of the work which has awakened so deep an interest in 
 every direction: 
 
 There is a wide-spread enthusiasm for Art-embroidery. Schools 
 are established in the larger towns, and help from books is wel- 
 comed everywhere. The school at the Art Museum in Boston 
 has met with gratifying success ; vacancies in the different classes 
 are filled as soon as they appear, and there is a tasty and artistic 
 atmosphere always in its attractive work-room. The rooms of the 
 Decorative Art Society, too, show the advance in skill and taste in 
 its contributors ; and the increasing number of visitors shows the 
 same advance in the public outside. Many visit the room to get 
 " ideas," and carry away suggestions for home-work ; while there 
 are others more liberal, who are willing to pay for the skill and 
 work of the contributors, and to give a solid help to the advance 
 Df decorative art. 
 
 In all this, there is, perhaps, too much eagerness to acquire all 
 these advantages easily by the help of other people's brains. A 
 request too often comes for some " recipe " by which designs can 
 be put upon work by any novice who can afford to buy crewels 
 and crash. 
 
 It should be remembered that this branch of decorative work is 
 
Vi PREFACE TO SECOXD EDITION. 
 
 called ART-needlework. and that art is always long. There is no 
 short road to artistic needlework. To design a little pattern an 
 inch and a half long for a tidy requires thought, as well as skill in 
 art, and experience in work. 
 
 It must not be imagined that " conventional " work is in any 
 work. On the contrary, a skilled artist is needed to 
 devise it, — one who has studied nature closely enough to learn 
 what are the characteristic forms to be expressed. 
 
 The workwoman, however, who is willing to be a mere copyist 
 will find always in the schools instruction in the mechanical use 
 of needle and crewels and color, and plenty of designs to occupy 
 her hours. And for her. as well as those who cannot attend the 
 schools, we hope that this handbook will provide all that is needed 
 for the first steps in art-needlework. Experience, and cultivated 
 taste, and study of art in every direction, will be required, how- 
 ever, for further advance. 
 
 Much of this, indeed, is needed in adapting the designs ol 
 others. For this there are certain laws that should be held always 
 in mind. 
 
 Keep always before your eyes the object and intention of your 
 work, and ask yourself if the design that you propose will suit the 
 material and the limits to which you must confine yourself. 
 
 A " conventional design " is one that is brought into artistic 
 form, which must always bear some reference to the object for 
 which it is used. It should be presented without perspective, 
 without modelling, when used for a flat surface, so that it may 
 not appear to project from the background : and the figures 
 need not be brought together in apparently natural grouj 
 but should be subordinate to the form required. 
 
 A more naturalistic treatment allows, for decoration of certain 
 objects, the use of a few shades ; but even here the treatment 
 should be as flat as possible. 
 
 No general rules, however, can pretend to cover a subject so 
 wide. These are only the leading principles intended to invite 
 study of a matter for which it is impossible to prepare a few pre- 
 scriptions. 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. v ii 
 
 In the first edition some illustrations were given adapted from 
 the English book, though they were not at the time considered 
 perfectly satisfactory. 
 
 In the new edition these are to be withdrawn, and in their 
 place will be given some designs, many of them original to this 
 work, of a simple character, and easily transferred to work. 
 
 The publishers are at the same time issuing some valuable pack- 
 ages of designs, with introductory instructions. 
 
 They propose also to give a complete series of instruction in all 
 the forms of needlework, including plain needlework, as well as 
 point lace and the more ornamental branches. 
 
 L. P. H. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Stitches taught at the Royal School of Art Needlework . 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Materials used in Colored Embroidery 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Implements 34 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Method 38 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Color and Design in Ornamental Needlework . . . -53 
 
 « 
 
 via 
 
ART- NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 STITCHES USED IN HAND EMBROIDERY AS TAUGHT 
 AT THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF ART NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 To avoid pulling or puckering the work, care should be 
 taken, — firstly, that the needle is not too small, so as to 
 require any force in drawing it through the material ; 
 secondly, the material must be held in a convex position 
 over the fingers, so that the crewel or silk in the needle 
 shall be looser than the ground ; and, thirdly, n.ot to use 
 too long needlefuls. These rules apply generally to all 
 hand-worked embroideries. 
 
 STITCHES. 
 
 Stem Stitch. — The first stitch which is taught to a be- 
 ginner is "stem stitch" (wrongly called also, "crewel 
 stitch," as it has no claim to being used exclusively in 
 crewel embroidery). It is most useful in work done in 
 the hand, and especially in outlines of flowers, unshaded 
 leaves and arabesque, and all conventional designs. 
 
 It may be best described as a long stitch forward on 
 the surface, and a shorter one backward on the under side 
 
 3 
 
ART-NEEDLE WORK, 
 
 ^ 
 
 No. i. — Stem Stitch. 
 
 of the fabric, the stitches following each other almost in 
 line from left to right. The effect on the wrong side is 
 exactly that of an irregular back-stitching used by dress- 
 makers, as distinguished from regular stitching. A leaf 
 
 worked in outline should 
 n be begun at the lower or 
 
 stalk end, and worked 
 round the right side to 
 the top, taking care that 
 the needle is to the left 
 of the thread as it is 
 drawn out. When the 
 point of the leaf is 
 reached, it is best to 
 reverse the operation in working down the left side to- 
 wards the stalk again, so as to keep the needle to the 
 right of the thread instead of to the left, as in going up. 
 
 The reason of this will be easily understood : we will 
 suppose the leaf to have 
 a slightly serrated edge 
 (and there is no leaf in 
 nature with an absolute- 
 ly smooth one). It will 
 be found, that, in order 
 to give this ragged ap- 
 pearance, it is necessary 
 to have the points at 
 which the insertions of 
 the needle occur on the outside of the leaf ; whereas, if 
 the stem stitch were continued down the left side exactly 
 in the same manner as in ascending the right, we should 
 have the ugly anomaly of a leaf outlined as in fig. 3. 
 
 If the leaf is to be worked "solidly," another row of 
 
 No. 2. 
 
— -*«. 
 
 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 5 
 
 stem stitching must be taken up the centre of it (unless it 
 
 be a very narrow leaf), to the top. . The two halves of the 
 
 leaf must then be filled in separately, with close, even 
 
 rows of stem stitch, worked in the ordinary way, with the 
 
 needle to the left of the thread. 1 This will prevent the 
 
 ugly ridge which remains in the centre if it is worked 
 
 round and round the inside of 
 
 the outline. Stem stitch must 
 
 be varied according to the work 
 
 in hand. If a perfectly even 
 
 line is required, care must be 
 
 taken that the direction of the 
 
 needle when inserted is in a 
 
 . . No. 3. 
 
 straight line with the preceding 
 
 stitch. If a slight serrature is required, each stitch must 
 
 be sloped a little by inserting the needle at a slight angle, 
 
 as shown in the illustration. 
 
 The length of the surface stitches must vary to suit 
 the style of each piece of embroidery. 
 
 Split Stitch is worked like ordinary "stem," except that 
 the needle is always brought up through the crewel or silk, 
 which it splits, in passing. 
 
 The effect is to produce a more even line than is possi- 
 ble with the most careful stem stitch. It is used for deli- 
 cate outlines. Split stitch is rarely used in hand embroi- 
 dery, being more suitable for frame work, but has been 
 described here as being a form of stem stitch. The effect 
 is somewhat like a confused chain stitch. 
 
 Satin Stitch {French Plumetis) is one of those chiefly 
 
 1 For most solid worked leaves, it is better not to take the outline first all the way 
 up, but begin at the middle rib, and work out on the under outline, first to first point 
 on the edge of the leaf, then carry the thread back to the midrib, working out to the 
 edge, merging the stitches in " Irregular Stem," as described under the head of Feather 
 Stitch. — Am. Editor. 
 
ART-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 used in white embroidery, and consists in taking the 
 needle each time back again almost to the spot from which 
 
 it started, so that the same 
 amount of crewel or silk 
 remains on the back of the 
 work as on the front. This 
 produces a surface as smooth 
 as satin : hence its name. 
 It is chiefly used in working 
 the petals of small flowers, 
 such as "forget-me-nots," 
 and in arabesque designs 
 where a raised effect is 
 wanted in small masses. 
 
 No. 4. — Satin Stitch. 
 
 Blanket Stitch is used for working the edges of table- 
 covers, mantle valances, blankets, &c, or for edging any 
 
 No. 5. — Blanket Stitch. 
 
A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 other material. It is simply a button-hole stitch, and may- 
 be varied in many ways, — by sloping the stitches alter- 
 nately to right and left ; by working two or three together, 
 and leaving a space between them and the next set ; or by 
 working a second row round the edge of the cloth, over the 
 first, with a different shade of wool. 
 
 Knotted Stitch, or French Knot, is used for the centres 
 of such flowers as the daisy or wild rose, and sometimes 
 for the anthers of others. The needle 
 is brought up at the exact spot where 
 the knot is to be : the thread is held 
 in the left hand, and twisted once 
 or twice round 
 the needle, the 
 point of which 
 is then passed 
 through the fab- 
 ric, close to the 
 spot where it 
 came up : the 
 right hand draws 
 it underneath, 
 while the thumb 
 of the left keeps 
 the thread in its 
 place until the 
 knot is secure. 
 The knots are 
 increased in size according to the number of twists round 
 the needle. When properly made, they should look like 
 beads, and lie in perfectly even and regular rows. 
 
 This stitch is very ancient, and does not seem confined 
 to any country, and the Chinese execute large and elabo- 
 
 No. 6. — Knotted Stitch, or French Knot. 
 
8 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 rate pieces of embroidery in it, introducing beautiful 
 shading. A curious specimen of very fine knotting stitch 
 was exhibited at the Royal School in 1878, probably of 
 French workmanship. It was a portrait of St. Ignatius 
 Loyola, not more than six inches in length, and was 
 entirely executed in knots of such fineness, that, without a 
 magnifying glass, it was impossible to discover the stitches. 
 This, however, is a tour dc force, and not quoted as worthy 
 of imitation. 
 
 There is one variety of this stitch, in which the thread 
 is twisted a great many times round the needle, so as to 
 form a sort of curl instead of a single knot. This is 
 found in many ancient embroideries, where it is used for 
 the hair of saints and angels in ecclesiastical work. 1 
 
 Knotted stitch was also employed largely in all its 
 forms in the curious and ingenious but ugly style in 
 vogue during the reign of James I., when the landscapes 
 were frequently worked in cross or feather stitch, while 
 the figures were raised over stuffing", and dressed, as it 
 were, in robes made entirely in point lace, or button-hole 
 stitches executed in silk. The foliage of the trees and 
 shrubs which we generally find in these embroidered 
 pictures, as well as the hair in the figures, were worked 
 in knotted stitches of varying sizes, while the faces were in 
 tent stitch, or painted on white silk, and fastened on to 
 the canvas or linen ground. 
 
 Another variety of knotting which is still occasionally 
 used resembles bullion, being made into a long roll. A 
 stitch of the length of the intended roll is taken in the 
 material, the point of the needle being brought to the sur- 
 face again in the same spot from which the thread origi- 
 nally started; the thread is then twisted eight or ten times 
 
 1 Other methods of French knot described on pp. 43, 44 of this book. 
 
A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 
 
 N. 7. — Bullion Knot. 
 
 round the point of the needle, which is drawn out carefully 
 through the tunnel formed by the twists, this being kept 
 in its place by the left thumb. The point of the needle 
 is then inserted once more in 
 the same place as it first en- 
 tered the material, the long 
 knot or roll being drawn so 
 as to lie evenly between the 
 points of insertion and re-ap- 
 pearance, thus treating the 
 twisted thread as if it were 
 bullion or purl. 
 
 Chain Stitch is but little 
 used in embroidery now, al- 
 though it may sometimes be suitable for lines. It is 
 made by taking a stitch from right to left, and, before the 
 needle is drawn out, the thread is brought round towards 
 
 the worker, and under the point of the 
 needle. 
 
 The next stitch is taken from the 
 point of the loop thus formed forwards, 
 and the thread again kept under the 
 point, so that a regular chain is formed 
 on the surface of the material. 
 
 This chain stitch was much em- 
 ployed for ground patterns in the 
 N0.8. — Chain Stitch, beautiful gold-colored work on linen, 
 
 for dress or furniture, which prevailed 
 from the time of James I. to the middle of the eighteenth 
 century. It gave the appearance of quilting when worked 
 on linen in geometrical designs or in fine and often-repeated 
 arabesques. Examples of it come to us from Germany 
 and Spain, in which the design is embroidered in satin 
 
IO 
 
 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 stitch, or entirely filled in with solid chain stitch, in a 
 uniform gold color. 1 
 
 Chain stitch resembles Tambour-tuork, which we shall 
 describe amongst framework stitches, though it is not at 
 present practised at the Royal School of Art-Needlework. 
 Twisted CJiain, or Rope Stitch. 
 
 Effective for outlines on coarse materials, such as 
 blankets, carriage-rugs, footstools, &c. 
 
 It is like an ordinary chain, except that, in place of start- 
 ing the second stitch from the centre of the loop, the 
 
 needle is taken back to half the 
 distance behind it, and the loop 
 is pushed to one side to allow 
 the needle to enter in a straight 
 line with the former stitch. It 
 is not of much use, except when 
 worked with double crewel or 
 with tapestry wool, and should 
 then have the appearance of a 
 twisted rope. 2 
 FcatJicr Stitch. — Vulgarly called " long and short stitch" 
 "long stitch," and sometimes "embroidery stitch." We 
 propose to restore to it its ancient title of feather stitch 
 (" Opus Plumarium "), so called from its supposed resem- 
 blance to the plumage of a bird. 
 
 We shall now describe it as used for hand-work, and 
 later (at p. 13), as worked in a frame. These two modes 
 differ very little in appearance, as the principle is the 
 same, namely, that the stitches are of varying length, 
 
 No. 9. — Twisted Chain. 
 
 1 Chain stitch is less used here as outline, because it can be so easily imitated by 
 the machine that it does not gain the credit of being hand-work. — Am. Editor. 
 
 2 This is sometimes called Charles II. Stitch, not that he embroidered with it him- 
 self ; but it is found in work of the time of Charles II. — Am. Editor. 
 
ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 II 
 
 losc - ,? ven ,#li 
 
 ie outline, M>\S \V 
 
 and are worked into and between each other, adapting 
 themselves to the form of the design ; but in hand-work 
 the needle is kept on the surface of the material. 
 
 This stitch and stem stitch are more carefully described 
 farther on, on pp. 23, 24. The illustrations given here show 
 how, though the stitch itself may be called the same, the 
 effect is made to differ by working the stem stitch along 
 a line, and carrying the needle in and out above the last 
 stitch. 
 
 Feather stitch is generally used for embroidering flow- 
 ers, whether natural or conventional. 
 
 In working the petal of a flower (such as we have 
 chosen for our illustration), the outer part is first worked 
 in with stitches which 
 form a cl 
 edge on th 
 but a broken one to- 
 wards the centre of 
 the petal, being alter- 
 nately long and short. 
 These edging stitches 
 resemble satin stitch 
 in so far that the same 
 amount of crewel or 
 silk appears on the 
 under as on the upper 
 side of the work. They must slope towards the narrow 
 part of the petal. 
 
 The next stitches are somewhat like an irregular 
 "stem," inasmuch as they are longer on the surface than 
 on the under side, and are worked in between the uneven 
 lengths of the edging-stitches so as to blend with them. 
 The petal is then filled up by other stitches, which start 
 
 
 10. — Feather Stitch. 
 
12 A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 from the centre, and are carried between those already 
 worked. 
 
 When the petal is finished, the rows of stitches, should 
 be so merged in each other that they cannot be distin- 
 guished; and, when shading is used, the colors should 
 appear to melt into each other. 
 
 In serrated leaves, such as Hawthorn, or Virginia 
 Creeper, the edging-stitches follow the broken outline of 
 the leaf, instead of forming an even outer edge. 
 
 It is necessary to master thoroughly this most im- 
 portant stitch ; but practice only can make the worker 
 perfect. 
 
 The work should always be started by running the 
 thread a little way in front of the embroidery. Knots 
 should never be used except in rare cases, when it is 
 impossible to avoid them. The thread should always be 
 finished off on the surface of the work, never at the back, 
 where there should be no needless waste of material. 
 No untidy ends or knots should ever appear there : in 
 fact, the wrong side should be quite as neat as the right. 
 It is a mistake to suppose that pasting will ever do away 
 with the evil effects of careless work, or will steady 
 embroidery which has been commenced with knots, and 
 finished with loose ends at the back. 
 
 The stitches vary constantly according to their appli- 
 cation, and good embroiderers differ in their manner of 
 using them ; some preferring to carry the thread back 
 towards the centre of the petal, on the surface of the 
 work, so as to avoid waste of material ; others making 
 their stitches as in satin stitch, — the same on both sides : 
 but these details may be left to the intelligence and taste 
 of the worker, who should never be afraid of trying experi- 
 ments, or working out new ideas. 
 
A J? T-XEEDLE WORK. 1 3 
 
 Nor should she ever fear to pick out her work ; for only 
 by experiment can she succeed in finding the best combi- 
 nations, and one little piece ill done will be sufficient to 
 spoil her whole embroidery, as no touching-up can after- 
 wards improve it. 
 
 We have now named the principal stitches used in 
 hand-embroidery, whether to be executed in crewel or 
 silk. 
 
 There are, however, numberless other stitches used in 
 crewel embroidery ; such as ordinary stitching, like that 
 used in plain needlework, in which many designs were 
 formerly traced on quilted backgrounds; others, again, 
 are many of them lace stitches, or forms of herringbone, 
 and are used for filling in the foliage of large conven- 
 tional floriated designs, such as we are accustomed to see 
 in the English crewel-work of the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries, on a twilled cotton material resembling 
 our modern Bolton sheeting. 
 
 It would be impossible to describe or even enumerate 
 them all, as varieties may be constantly invented by 'an 
 ingenious worker to enrich her design ; and in lace work 
 there are already one hundred named stitches, which occa- 
 sionally are used in decorative embroidery. Most of 
 these, if required, can be shown as taught at the Royal 
 School of Art Needlework, and are illustrated by samplers, 
 and are taught in our schools in America. 
 
 Descriptions of many of these stitches are to be fpund 
 in the successive numbers of Tilton's Art-Needlework 
 Series. 
 
 STITCHES USED IN FRAME EMBROIDERY. 
 
 Feather Stitch. — In frame-work, as in hand-work, we 
 restore the ancient name of Feather work or stitch {Opus 
 
14 A R T-NEEDL E WORK. 
 
 Plumarium). We have already said that it was so called 
 from its likeness to the plumage of a bird. 
 
 This comes from the even lie of the stitches, which fit 
 into and appear to overlap each other, presenting thus a 
 marked contrast to the granulated effect of tent stitches, 
 and the long ridges of the Opus Anglicum, having no hard 
 lines, as in stem stitch, or flat surface, as in satin stitch. 
 
 Feather stitch when worked in a frame is exactly the 
 same as that worked in the hand, except that it is more 
 even and smooth. The needle is taken backwards and for- 
 wards through the material in stitches of varying lengths ; 
 the next row always fitting into the vacant spaces, and 
 projecting beyond them, so as to prepare for the following 
 row. 
 
 Every possible gradation of color can be effected in 
 this way ; and it applies to every form of design, — floral 
 or arabesque. Natural flowers have mostly been worked 
 in this stitch. 
 
 A skilful embroiderer will be careful not to waste more 
 silk than is absolutely necessary on the back of the work, 
 while at the same time she will not sacrifice the artistic 
 effect by being too sparing of her back-stitches. 
 
 "couching," or laid embroidery. 
 
 This name is properly applied to all forms of embroi- 
 dery in which the threads of crewel, silk, or gold, are laid 
 on the surface, and stitched on to it by threads coming 
 from the back of the material. Under this head may be 
 classed as varieties the ordinary "laid backgrounds," 
 "diaper couchings," "brick stitch," "basket stitch," and 
 the various forms of stuffed couchings which are found 
 in ancient embroideries. Couching outlines are usually 
 thick strands of double crewel, tapestry wool, filoselle, 
 
ART-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 15 
 
 cord, or narrow ribbon, laid down and stitched at regular 
 intervals by threads crossing the couching line at right 
 angles. They are used for coarse outline work, or for 
 finishing the edges of applique. 
 
 Plain Couching, or " Laid Embroidery." — The threads 
 are first laid evenly and straight from side to side of the 
 space to be filled in (whether in the direction of warp or 
 woof depends on the pattern), the needle being passed 
 through to the back, and brought up again not quite 
 close, but at a sufficient distance to allow of an inter- 
 mediate stitch being taken backwards ; thus the threads 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 No, II. — Plain Couching. 
 
 would be laid alternately first, third, second, fourth, aod 
 so on. This gives a better purchase at each end than if 
 they were laid consecutively in a straight line'. If the 
 line slants much, it is not necessary to alternate the rows. 
 When the layer is complete, threads of metal, or of the 
 sarrie or different color and texture, are laid across at 
 regular intervals, and are fixed down by stitches from the 
 back. 
 
 The beauty of this work depends upon its regularity. 
 
1 6 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 This kind of embroidery, which we find amongst the 
 old Spanish, Cretan, and Italian specimens, is very useful 
 where broad, flat effects without shading are required ; 
 but, unless it is very closely stitched down, it is not dura- 
 ble, if there is any risk of its being exposed to rough usage. 
 It is possible to obtain very fine effects of color in this 
 style of work, as was seen in the old Venetian curtains 
 transferred and copied for Louisa, Lady Ashburton. 
 These were shown at the time of the Exhibition of 
 Ancient Needlework at the Royal School of Art Needle- 
 work in 1878. 
 
 Ancient embroidery can be beautifully restored by 
 grounding in " laid work," instead of transferring it, where 
 the ground is frayed, and the work is worthy of preser- 
 vation. It must be stretched on a new backing, the 
 frayed material carefully cut away, and the new ground 
 couched as we have described. 
 
 In other varieties of couching, under which come the 
 many forms of diapering, the threads are " laid " in the 
 same manner as for ordinary couching ; but, in place of 
 laying couching lines across these, the threads of the first 
 layer are simply stitched down from the back, frequently 
 with threads of another color. 
 
 Net-patterned Couching. — The fastening stitches are 
 placed diagonally instead of at right angles, forming a 
 network, and are kept in place by a cross-stitch at each 
 intersection. 
 
 This style of couching was commonly used as a ground 
 in ecclesiastical work of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 centuries. 
 
 Brick Stitch. — The threads are laid down two together, 
 and are stitched across at regular intervals. The next two 
 threads are then placed together by the side, the fasten- 
 
A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 17 
 
 ins: stitches bein£ taken at the same distance from each 
 other, but so as to occur exactly between the previous 
 couplings, thus giving the effect of brick-work. 
 
 Diaper CoucJiings. — By varying the position of the 
 fastening stitches, different patterns may be produced, 
 such as diagonal crossings, diamonds, zigzags, curves, &c. 
 
 They are properly all gold stitches; but purse silk, thin 
 cord, or even untwisted silk may be used. 
 
 uu 
 
 No. 12. — Three Illustrations of Diaper Couchings. 
 
 A wonderful example of the many varieties of diapering 
 is to be seen in the South Kensington Museum, No. 689. 
 It is modern Belgian work, executed for the Paris Exhi- 
 bition of 1867. As a specimen of fine and beautiful 
 diapering in gold, this could scarcely be surpassed. 
 
 Basket Stitch is one of the richest and most ornamental 
 of these ancient modes of couching.. Rows of "stuffing," 
 manufactured in the form of soft cotton cord, are laid 
 across the pattern, and firmly secured. Across these are 
 placed gold threads, two at a time ; and these are stitched 
 down over each two rows of stuffing. The two gold 
 
i8 
 
 A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 threads are turned at the edge of the pattern, and brought 
 back close to the last, and fastened in the same way. 
 Three double rows of gold may be stitched over the same 
 two rows of stuffing. 
 
 The next three rows must be treated as brick stitch, 
 and fastened exactly between the previous stitch ings, and 
 
 so on, until the whole space to 
 be worked is closely covered 
 with what appears to be a golden 
 wicker-work. 
 
 Strong silk must be used for 
 the stitching. 
 
 The Spanish School of Em- 
 broidery has always been famed 
 for its excellence in this style, 
 art. The " Embroiderers of the 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ffifi 
 
 r 
 
 SmB 
 
 
 SWirr 
 
 iSSS 
 
 No. 13. : — Basket Stitch. 
 
 and has never lost the 
 King," as they are called, still turn out splendid speci- 
 mens of this heavy and elaborate work, which are used 
 for the gorgeous trappings of the horses of the nobility 
 on gala days and state occasions. 
 
 A beautiful specimen was exhibited at the Royal School 
 of Art Needlework, in 1878, by the Countess Brownlow, 
 of an altar-hanging entirely worked in basket stitch, in 
 gold on white satin ; and a modern example is still to be 
 seen at the school, in a large counterpane which was 
 worked for the Philadelphia Exhibition, from an ancient 
 one also belonging to Lady Brownlow. 
 
 The Spanish embroiderers used these forms of couching 
 over stuffing with colored silks as well as gold, and pro- 
 duced wonderfully rich effects. One quilt exhibited by 
 Mrs. Alfred Morrison in 1878 was a marvel of coloring 
 and workmanship. 
 
 Basket stitch is mostly used now for church embroidery, 
 
AR T-XEEDLEWORK. 
 
 19 
 
 or for small articles of luxury, such as ornamental pockets, 
 caskets, &c. 
 
 Diapering is generally employed in the drapery of 
 small figures, and in ecclesiastical work. 
 
 Many fabrics are manufactured in imitation of the older 
 diapered backgrounds, and are largely used to replace 
 them. Among these are the material known as silk bro- 
 catine, and several kinds of cloth-of-gold mentioned in our 
 list of materials. 
 
 CUSHION" STITCHES. 
 
 Cushion Stitch — the ancient Opus Pulviuarium of the 
 middle ages, likewise called "Cross Stitch" — may lay 
 claim to be one of the most ancient known in embroidery. 
 There have been many varieties; but the principle is the 
 same in all. It is worked on and through canvas, of which 
 the threads, as in tapestry, regulate the stitches. 
 
 After six centuries of popularity it finally died out 
 within the last few years as " Berlin-wool work ; " but 
 will doubtless be revived again in some form after a time, 
 as being well fitted for cover- 
 ing furniture on account of its 
 firmness and durability. 
 
 In Germany and Russia it is 
 still much used for embroider- 
 ing conventional designs on 
 linen ; and the beautiful Cretan 
 and Persian work of which so 
 much has lately been in the 
 market, is executed in this style. 
 
 Tent Stitch may be placed first under this class, in 
 which the thread coming from beneath is carried over a 
 single cross of the warp and woof of the canvas. 
 
 No. 14. — Tent Stitch. 
 
20 
 
 A R T-NEEDL E WORK. 
 
 Simple Cross Stitch. — The worsted or silk is brought 
 up again to the surface, one thread to the left of the spot 
 where the needle was inserted, and is crossed over the 
 
 first or " tent " stitch, forming a 
 regular and even cross on the sur- 
 face. 
 
 Persian Cross Stitch. — The pecul- 
 iarity of this stitch is, that, in the 
 first instance, the silk or worsted is 
 carried across two threads of the 
 canvas ground, and is brought up 
 in the intermediate space. It is 
 then crossed over the latter half of 
 
 No. 15. — Simple Cross t h e original stitch, and a fresh start 
 
 Stitch. • -, 
 
 is made. 
 
 Much of the beauty of Persian embroidery is produced 
 by the irregularity of the crossing ; the stitches being- 
 taken in masses, in any direction that seems most suitable 
 to the design in hand, instead 
 of being placed in regular rows, 
 with the stitches all sloping in 
 one direction, as is the case 
 with the modern " Berlin work : " 
 this, with the happy choice of 
 colors for which the Persians 
 are so justly famous, produces 
 a singular richness of effect. 
 
 Allied to these canvas stitches, 
 and having their origin in them, are the numerous forms 
 of groundings, which are now worked on coarse linens, or 
 in fact on any fabric, and have sometimes, although in- 
 correctly, been called darning stitches, probably from their 
 resemblance to the patterns which are found on samplers, 
 
 
 jSig§ 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 - Persian Cross 
 Stitch. 
 
A R T-NEEDLE 1 1 'ORE. 
 
 2\ 
 
 for darning stockings, old table linen, &c. Almost any 
 pattern can -be produced in this style of embroidery, 
 simply by varying the relative length of the stitches. 
 
 Following the nomenclature of the committee which 
 named and catalogued the specimens of ancient needle- 
 work exhibited in the South Kensington Museum in 1872, 
 we have classed all the varieties of these grounding 
 stitches under the name of Cushion Stitch. 
 
 Cusliion Stitches are taken, as in laid embroidery, so as 
 to leave all the silk and crewel on the surface, and only a 
 single thread of the ground is taken up ; but in place of 
 lying in long lines, from end to end of the material, they 
 are of even length, and are 
 taken in a pattern, such as 
 a waved line or zigzag ; so 
 that, when finished, the 
 ground presents the appear- 
 ance of a woven fabric. 
 
 We give an illustration of 
 one variety of cushion stitch, 
 which may either be worked 
 as described here, in the 
 frame, or in the hand, as in 
 the woodcut. 
 
 A good modern example of this background was ex- 
 hibited in the Royal School of Art Needlework, on a bed- 
 hanging worked for the Hon. Mrs. Percy Wyndham, from 
 a design by Mr. W. Morris. In the Exhibition of Ancient 
 Needlework last year were many beautiful specimens, 
 notably one enormous wall-hanging of Italian seventeenth- 
 century work, lent by Earl Spencer. Many of the fabrics 
 known as "Tapestries" are woven imitations of these 
 grounds, and carry embroidery so perfectly, that on the 
 
 No. 17. — Cushion Stitci 
 
22 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 whole, except for small pieces, it seems a waste of hand- 
 labor to work them in, as the effect is not very far removed 
 from that of woven material ; while the expense is, of 
 course, very much greater. 
 
 The ancient specimens of this stitch are worked on a 
 coarse canvas, differing greatly from that which was 
 recently used for Berlin-wool work. 
 
 It cannot now be obtained, except by having it especially 
 made to order. It has been replaced by a coarse hand- 
 woven linen for the use of the school ; but the ancient 
 canvas is vastly superior, as its looseness makes it easier 
 for the worker to keep her stitches in regular lines. 
 
 In some ancient specimens the design is worked in 
 feather stitch, and the whole ground in cushion stitch ; in 
 others the design is in fine cross or tent stitch. There are 
 several very beautiful examples of this kind of embroidery 
 in the South Kensington Museum, — Italian, of the seven- 
 teenth century. 
 
 A variety of cushion stitch which we frequently see in 
 old Italian embroideries was taught in the Royal School 
 of Art Needlework by Miss Burden, and used, under her 
 direction, in working flesh in some large figures designed 
 by Mr. Walter Crane for wall decoration, and exhibited 
 at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. The 
 stitches are kept of one uniform length across the design. 
 The next row is started from half the depth of the pre- 
 ceding stitch, and kept of the same length throughout. 
 Its beauty consists in its perfect regularity. If worked in 
 the hand, the needle is brought back underneath the 
 material, as in satin stitch ; but in the frame all the silk or 
 worsted can be worked on the surface, with the exception 
 of the small fastening stitches. 
 
 The effect when finished is that of a woven fabric. 
 
AR T-NEEDLEWORK. 23 
 
 It is really more suitable in its original character of a 
 ground stitch than for working flesh. We have given an 
 illustration of it, because we are so frequently asked to 
 describe "Burden Stitch." 
 
 This form of cushion stitch worked extremely fine has 
 been used for flesh in very ancient embroideries, even 
 before the introduction of the Opus Anglicanum, and is 
 found in the works of the Flemish, German, Italian, and 
 French schools of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 
 
 No. 18. — "Burden" Stitch. 
 
 It seems to have been worked in a frame, on fine canvas, 
 or on a fabric of very even threads, and the stitches so 
 taken, that the same amount of silk appears on the back 
 as on the surface of the embroidery. 
 
 In a toilet-cover of ancient Spanish work recently added 
 to the South Kensington Museum, the design is entirely 
 embroidered in varieties of cushion stitch in black floss 
 silk upon a white linen ground. It is, however, extremely 
 rare to see this stitch used in any other way than as a 
 ground, except in actual canvas work ; in which we often 
 see varieties of it used to fill in portions of the design, 
 while another stitch will be devoted entirely to the ground- 
 in cr. 
 
24 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 These stitcnes were often executed on an open net. 
 
 Stem Stitch is used in frame embroidery, and does not 
 differ in any way from that described at p. 4, under 
 "hand-work," except that the needle is, of course, worked 
 through the material with both hands, as is the case in all 
 frame-work. The same may be said of "split stitch ; " but 
 this is more frequently (because more easily) worked in a 
 frame than clone in the hand. 
 
 "Japanese Stitch is a modification of stem ; but its pe- 
 culiarity consists in the worker taking very long stitches, 
 
 No. 19. — Japanese Stitch. 
 
 and then bringing the needle back to within a short dis- 
 tance of the first starting-place ; so that they may be in 
 even parallel lines, advancing by gradation from left to 
 right. It is principally used for working water or ground 
 in a landscape. 
 
 Tambour- Work has fallen into disuse, but was greatly 
 admired when our grandmothers, in the last century, 
 sprigged Indian muslins or silks with colored flowers for 
 dresses, and copied or adapted Indian designs on fine 
 linen coverlets. These were very refined, but no more 
 effective than a good chintz. There are exquisite speci- 
 mens of the stitch to be seen in most English homes; and 
 in France it was in vogue in the days of Marie Antoi- 
 nette. Its use is now almost confined to the manufacture 
 of what is known as Irish or Limerick lace, which is made 
 on net in the old tambour frames, and with a tambour or 
 crochet hook. The frame is formed of two rings of wood 
 
ART-NEEDLEWORK. 2$ 
 
 or iron, made to fit loosely one within the other. 1 Both 
 rin^s are covered with baize or flannel wound round them 
 till the inner one can only just be passed through the 
 outer. The fabric to be embroidered is placed over the 
 smaller hoop, and the other is pressed down over it, and 
 firmly fixed with a screw. A small wooden frame of this 
 description is universally used in Ireland for white em- 
 broidery on linen or muslin. In tambour-work the thread 
 is kept below the frame, and guided by the left hand ; 
 while the hook or crochet-needle is passed from the sur- 
 face through the fabric, and brings up a loop of the thread 
 through the preceding stitch, and the needle again 
 inserted, forming thus a close chain on the surface of the 
 work. 
 
 The difficulty of working chain stitch in a frame prob- 
 ably led to the introduction of a hook for this class of 
 embroidery. 
 
 Perhaps we ought not to omit all mention of the Opus 
 Angliann or Anglicanum (English work); though it is 
 strictly ecclesiastical, and therefore does not enter into 
 our province. 
 
 Dr. Rock 2 and other authorities agree in thinking that 
 the distinctive feature of this style, which was introduced 
 about the end of the thirteenth century, was a new way 
 of working the flesh in subjects containing figures. 
 
 Instead of the faces being worked in rows of straight 
 stitches (like that described as Burden stitch on p. 23), 
 as we see in the old Flemish, German, and Italian work 
 of the same period, the English embroiderers invented a 
 new stitch, which they commenced in the centre of. the 
 
 1 Illustration of this frame on p. 
 
 2 See Dr. Rock's preface to his Descriptive Catalogue of Textile Fabrics in the 
 Kensington Museum. 
 
26 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 cheek, and worked round and round, gradually letting 
 the lines fall into outer circles of ordinary feather stitch. 
 
 Having thus prepared an elastic surface, they proceeded 
 to model the forms, and make lights and shadows, by 
 pressing the work into hollows with small heated metal 
 balls, the work being probably damped as a preparation for 
 this process. So skilfully did they carry out their inten- 
 tion, that the effect is still the same after the lapse of five 
 centuries. We must unwillingly add, that, though much 
 appreciated in the thirteenth century, the effect is rather 
 curious and quaint than beautiful. 
 
 The Syon cope in the Kensington Museum, of the 
 thirteenth century, is a fine specimen of this attempt to 
 give the effect of bas-relief to the sacred subjects depicted. 
 The whole cope shows how various were the stitches 
 worked at that period. On examination with a micro- 
 scope, the flesh stitch appears to be merely a fine split 
 stitch worked spirally, as we now work fruit. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 MATERIALS USED IN COLORED EMBROIDERY. 
 
 " Richesse a robe of purple on had, 
 Ne trow not that she had it mad, 
 Ne by a thousand deale so riche, 
 Ne none so faire, for it full well 
 With orfrais laid was every dell 
 And purtraid in the ribanings, 
 With Dukes stories, and of Kings." 
 
 Chaucer. 
 
 LINEN. 
 
 THE textile fabrics suitable for embroidery are not 
 very numerous, and, with very few exceptions, are 
 exactly similar to those that were in use centuries ago. 
 Modern industry has not clone much for us, either by dis- 
 covering new materials, or by inventing novel modes of 
 manufacturing the old ones. Linen is one of the oldest 
 fabrics used for embroidery : it is well adapted for that 
 purpose, and many kinds may be used. 
 
 Roller-towelling, of a loose texture, is an excellent 
 material, especially for beginners and children, as it is 
 easy to work on and very cheap. It may be used for 
 anti-macassars ("tidies " for chairs), table-mats, kettle-hold- 
 ers, d'oyleys ; but it is too gray and coarse and narrow for 
 light tea-cloths to put under a tea-service, though it is 
 used for that purpose. We have also seen it used as a 
 temporary cover to protect a costly Turkish table-cover. 
 
 27 
 
28 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 instead of the latter being removed when the table it 
 covers is used for writing, &c. 
 
 " Crash " is the specific name of the gray linen now 
 so much used for crewel-work, that embroidery on it in 
 crewels is often called "crash-work." But as it is pos- 
 sible that the present fashion — which, indeed, almost 
 amounts to a rage — will soon pass away, we do not rec- 
 ommend this material for any piece of needle-work. For 
 "tidies" it is excellent; so it is for toilet-covers, toilet- 
 mats, and nightdress-cases, which may be worked to 
 match, and which make very pretty sets when finished. 
 But for drawing-room curtains, and portieres, embroidered 
 with silks, we should advise nobler materials. 
 
 There is a lighter towelling, that, if chosen with judg- 
 ment, makes excellent embroidery stuff : it is found of a 
 very agreeable color, warmer in tone than crash, and pale 
 enough sometimes to be used. The English use this for 
 "tea-cloths" for their favorite " five-o'-clock " teas. 
 
 Very beautiful white linen, of a good width, may be had 
 for "five-o'clock-tea-cloths." The warp and " the woof 
 should be of the same thickness in linen used for em- 
 broidery. 
 
 Fine white linen is sometimes used for silk embroidery, 
 especially when the whole surface is to be covered. 
 
 Twilled linen, very stout, and of a narrow width, is 
 made sometimes expressly for borderings. 
 
 There is also the "mummy-cloth" before alluded to, 
 both linen and cotton. The linen forms a charming 
 material for embroidery. The cotton is heavier, but 
 suitable for curtains. A pretty linen material like striped 
 jean is very handsome for embroidery ; and nice white 
 duck, if found smooth and even, is also serviceable. 
 
 All these fabrics can be found now in most of the shops 
 
MATERIALS USED IN COLORED EMBROIDERY. 2 9 
 
 where materials for embroidery are sold, with varieties of 
 names, — mummy-cloth, bamboo-cloth, &c. 
 
 Strainer-cloth is used for curtains, and embroidery is 
 very pretty on it. It resembles a little the thin cottons 
 made in India, and used for embroidery. 
 
 II. — COTTON. * 
 
 Very few cotton textures are used for embroidery. Our 
 American cottons are too heavy. Unbleached sheeting 
 or cotton flannel, a thick coarse twill of the color tech- 
 nically called "gray," but really yellowish, is, however, 
 much used for crewel-work just now. Very pretty sum- 
 mer frocks for little children may be made with it, 
 ornamented in crewels ; and, as nearly all crewels wash 
 well, an elegant little costume may be had at a very small 
 
 expense. 
 
 Twilled cotton may be had in several colors, and answers 
 very well for some purposes to which ornamental needle- 
 work may be applied, - for instance, the covering of chair- 
 seats In this material there is a fine, cool earth-brown, 
 inclining to purple in the shadows, which has a rich effect 
 as a foundation for embroidery. There is also a very dark 
 blue, which is an excellent color, or any color can be ob- 
 tained by dyeing. 
 
 Muslin may be used for embroidery. We have seen 
 very pretty aprons worked in crewels, which, with a little 
 care, wash extremely well. Doubtless most of our readers 
 have seen and admired exquisite specimens of Indian 
 muslins enriched with needlework in gold and floss-silk. 
 We do not say that it would be beyond their skill to imi- 
 tate these productions ; but as the muslin fitted for the 
 purpose is both expensive, and difficult to obtain, we do 
 not counsel them to attempt the task, except for such un- 
 important things as sashes and little scarfs. 
 
A R T-XEEDLE If 'ORK. 
 III. WOOLLEN FABRICS. 
 
 Serge is one of the very best materials for embroidery. 
 There is a thin, harsh serge, and there are other kinds 
 that are thick, soft, and rich-looking. The first is by no 
 means the worst. There is also a serge which is twilled 
 only on ovtt side, and which makes a capital firm ground 
 for needlework. 
 
 Cloth is well adapted for applique work and silk em- 
 broider}-, but it does not do so well for crewel-work as 
 serge. It should be chosen with very little dress (to use a 
 technical term) upon it. 
 
 Cloths and serges may be had in all colors. We have 
 seen some, exquisite salmon-pinks in the former, and beau- 
 tiful blues and yellows in the latter. Blues seldom look 
 well in cloth, the material is too smooth and glossy ; but 
 the diagonal rib of the serge fabrics produces a play of 
 light and shade that takes off from the coldness and harsh- 
 ness of the blue tints. 
 
 Merinos and cashmeres may be embroidered in silk for 
 dresses, jackets, &c. 
 
 These fabrics can be found at the principal upholsterers. 
 
 IV. SILK FABRIC S 
 
 Nearly all kinds of silk are suitable for embroider)- : 
 even thin sarcenets will look well when backed by holland 
 or paper. The thin silks also may be used for applique 
 work, with very good effect for purposes where great 
 strength is not required. The rep-silks and diapered 
 silks, thick and soft, are almost the only kinds of silk that 
 should be used for ecclesiastical embroiderv. 
 
 Of all textile fabrics, however, there are none to com- 
 pare with satin for beauty of effect, when embroidered 
 
MATERIALS USED IN COLORED EMBROIDERY. 31 
 
 with silk. Its surface, smooth and lustrous almost as pol- 
 ished metal, reflects surrounding colors to a greater extent 
 than any other woven material ; while, from the peculiarity 
 of its texture, its highest lights are few and crisp, and the 
 greater part of its surface, therefore, is nearly always in 
 half-tint or shadow, and the deep shadows of the larger 
 folds are themselves lighted up by innumerable reflections. 
 This shimmer of light and shade — this changefulness — 
 serves to bring into harmony colors the most harshly op- 
 posed to each other ; and therein lies the explanation of 
 the fact that ladies may venture to wear satins of a color 
 that in any other stuff would be, to say the least, "very 
 trying " to theii complexions. Nevertheless we would 
 not be understood to counsel our readers to embroider 
 satin without any regard to harmonious arrangement of 
 color, and to trust to its precious qualities to set things 
 right for them. 
 
 V. PILED FABRICS. 
 
 Velvets, both cotton and silk, receive embroidery well. 
 They are also used in applique work on serge, cloth, silk, 
 and velvets of another color. When a very pure white is 
 required, it is almost necessary to use cotton velvet, as silk 
 velvet nearly always inclines to gray or yellow. The 
 shorter the pile of velvet, and consequently the more 
 costly, the better it is adapted for needlework. 
 
 Utrecht velvet looks very well ornamented in crewel- 
 work, and is especially suitable for mantle-piece hangings, 
 wall-friezes, portieres, and curtains. 
 
 There is also a handsome material in ribbed velveteen, 
 which may be had in nearly all shades of drab and brown, 
 and which looks extremely well for similar purposes, when 
 worked with a fine, bold design in crewels. It should be 
 very soft, thick, and pliant. 
 
32 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 VI. CREWELS, SILKS, GOLD AND SILVER. 
 
 Crewels are the only kind of worsted used for colored 
 embroidery. They are made with only two plies, and their 
 loose twist causes them, in working, to form lines which 
 may be compared to the lines in copperplate engravings. 
 This is a very great advantage from an artistic point of 
 view. In color, too, they may be brilliant without being 
 harsh ; and they are to be had in such an immense variety 
 of tints and shades, that in working with them one may 
 almost be said to paint in worsted. 
 
 The embroidery silks are floss (coarse and fine), Dacca 
 and Mitorse silks, and filoselle. 
 
 Dacca is more useful than floss, on account of the read- 
 iness with which it can be split into filaments. 
 
 Mitorse is ah excellent silk, though Berlin silk is to a 
 great extent taking its place. It is the silk used by the 
 Chinese and Japanese for their double embroideries ; but it 
 requires skill in using, as it is difficult to keep the twist of 
 one size. 
 
 Filoselle is what the French call " bourre de sole." It is 
 made from the waste cocoons : that is to say, the cocoons 
 from which the moths have been allowed to emerge, caus- 
 ing thereby a "solution of continuity" of the filament. 
 Instead, therefore, of the silk being reeled off, it is spun, 
 and is, in fact, the raw material from which what we call 
 spun silk is made. Filoselle is not much used in embroid- 
 ery at present ; but as it is cheap and very durable, and 
 easier to work with than floss, there seems no reason why 
 it should not become more general. Lack of brilliancy 
 would not be an undesirable quality in embroidery for 
 dresses for daily wear. 
 
 Purse-silks and silk cords are also used in embroidery 
 
MATERIALS USED IN COLORED EMBROIDERY. ^ 
 
 Sowing-silks, when thick and soft, of the kind sold in 
 skeins, may also be used. The Japanese embroideries on 
 satin, now so much in vogue for mounting as screens, are 
 nearly all executed in a silk which appears to be similar to 
 our sewing-silks. 
 
 Chenille was formerly much used in combination with 
 silk, in embroideries on the more precious stuffs. 
 
 Gold and silver are not much used at present, except in 
 church embroidery, which does not come within the scope 
 of the present work. Perhaps, now that gold and silver 
 braid is so generally worn on dresses, fashion may give a 
 turn to these materials for embroidery. Cord is generally 
 used for edging ; and " passing," as it is termed, for 
 "laying" or "couching." 
 
 We read in the latest accounts of the fashions, that 
 kid, richly embroidered, is now being used for the close- 
 fitting cuirasse bodies of ladies' dresses. We do not think, 
 however, that this material will have more than a tempo- 
 rary and limited vogue. 
 
 Silk embroidery is at present rather expensive work ; so 
 our readers will be glad to hear that there exists a reason- 
 able expectation that in a very short time a large supply 
 of silk, unadulterated, and of the finest quality, will be 
 brought into the market from Australia. The :limatc of 
 Australia is admirably adapted to silkworm culture ; and 
 the soil suits the mulberry-trees, which have been exten- 
 sively planted in that country. Both trees and worms 
 succeed beyond even the expectation of the company 
 formed to promote this important industry. With regard to 
 materials, fresh fabrics are now constantly presented ; and 
 an opportunity for choice in tone and color is given for the 
 most artistic workwoman, who had better select for herself 
 from the most enterprising of the dealers in these things. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 " Implements of every size, 
 And formed for various use." — Covvper. 
 
 ''The needle's sharpnesse profit yeelds and pleasure." 
 
 John Taylor : The Needle's Excellency. 
 
 THE implements used in colored embroidery are few 
 and simple. 
 
 For Illustrations, see Frontispiece. 
 
 The needles used are the ordinary round-eyed needles, 
 and the long-eyed embroidery-needles. The latter are 
 used for crewel and floss silks, and the former for twisted 
 silks and cords and for gold and silver threads. No. 19 
 (illustration) will show the form of needles desired for 
 crewels and floss. They are what are usually called 
 worsted-needles, pointed ; though for many materials a 
 common darning-needle, if it can be found sufficiently 
 fine, would be preferred. They should be chosen so large 
 as to allow them to carry the thread easily through the 
 stuff to be embroidered, and the eye should be large 
 enough to take the thread immediately, and allow of its 
 •being drawn backwards and forwards without distressing 
 it. If you have to tug a needle through the stuff, it is too 
 small, and should immediately be rejected; for tugging 
 spoils material, and, besides that, wastes the time, strength, 
 and temper of the worker, to a much greater extent than 
 34' 
 
IMPLEMENTS. 35 
 
 might be generally supposed. It is almost needless to 
 say, always choose the best needles. Thimbles should be 
 particularly smooth ; if new and rough they catch and 
 worry floss silks and loosely twisted threads. They 
 should, therefore, before being taken into use for embroid- 
 ery, have been used for common needlework for some time. 
 
 A stiletto (see illustrations Nos. 7, 8) will be wanted 
 to make holes for taking thick edging cords through the 
 stuff. 
 
 Another tool is necessary to the embroiderer. This 
 is a little instrument of steel called a "piercer" (illustra- 
 tion 9) round, and pointed at one end like a stiletto, and 
 flat at the other. It is used in gold embroidery to help 
 lay the threads, and also in raised work in crewels and 
 silk, and in church embroidery in working silk over card- 
 board. 
 
 A frame is necessary in some kinds of embroidery. 
 The ordinary four-piece frame, the same as used for can- 
 vas work, is too well known to need description. (See 
 cut, figs. 2, 3, 4, 5.) The tambour frame is better for 
 dresses and large pieces of work, as no sewing of the stuff 
 is required. It consists of two hoops fitting closely one 
 within the other. (See cut, fig. 1.) 
 
 Before leaving the subject of tools it may be well to 
 give a hint or two as to the hands, the most important 
 implements of all. It is essential, in all kinds of embroid- 
 ery, that the hands be clean, soft, and dry. The slightest 
 roughness of the skin will catch and " tease " floss silk : 
 therefore, if the forefinger be rough from plain sewing, it 
 should be well rubbed with pumice-stone. A little silver 
 shield is sometimes worn on the forefinger of the left 
 hand to protect it. In winter the hands should be washed 
 with oatmeal, and most carefully dried. Do not grudge 
 
$6 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 five minutes or more for drying your hands well ; use a 
 soft old towel, and do not give over rubbing and drying 
 till the towel glides quite smoothly over the skin. The 
 only reason why people have rough hands in winter is 
 that they do not dry them thoroughly after washing. In 
 summer if your hands are inclined to be damp, and you 
 are doing delicate work, wash them frequently in warm 
 water. Take off all rings, bracelets, and the innumerable 
 chains, chatelaines, and other bibelots, that ladies are so 
 fond of hanging about their persons, before you set to 
 work : they catch and pull your materials, and bracelets 
 fatigue the wrists more than you are aware of. Rings, 
 too, impede the circulation, and cause weariness in the 
 fingers. 
 
 Unless your dress be perfectly fresh and clean, it is 
 well, while you are embroidering, to wear a large linen 
 apron with a bib to it. A pair of linen cuffs should be 
 drawn over your sleeves. The apron should be made with 
 pockets large enough to hold an ample supply of materi- 
 als, or to take one end of the stuff if you are doing a 
 large piece of work. The support which this gives pre- 
 vents a good deal of fatigue from the weight of the mate- 
 rial, and it also prevents the work from being pulled and 
 dragged. Thus attired, your aspect will be far from ro- 
 mantic ; but you will be amply repaid for the little sacri- 
 fice of personal vanity that you may make by the appear- 
 ance of your work when finished. Even the coarsest and 
 dingiest materials, the darkest crewels on the roughest 
 towelling, show the difference between careful and slov- 
 enly treatment, and are the better for dainty niceness of 
 manipulation. 
 
 Paste will frequently be required ; and, though it may 
 seem a very common thing, very few people know how to 
 
IMPL E ME NTS. 3 7 
 
 make it well. It may be bought ready-made at a book- 
 binder's ; but, besides being more expensive, it is also 
 more troublesome to purchase ready-made, and a shop 
 may not always be within reach. We give directions how 
 to make it. 
 
 Mix some flour and water in a pipkin or saucepan (a 
 pipkin is best, because you can keep it in your workroom, 
 and it does not look unsightly). Add a pinch of rosin or 
 alum to every handful of flour ; when quite smoothly 
 mixed, set it on the fire, and keep stirring with a wooden 
 spoon till it thickens. It should not be kept more than a 
 few days. 
 
 For applique work, as described on p. 44, where paste 
 is necessary, great care should be used in applying it. 
 
 After the material is cut out in the figure required, such 
 as a leaf, flower, or scroll, lay it upon clean paper or a 
 towel, and apply the paste with a brush on the wrong, side ; 
 then put the figure on the foundation in exactly the posi- 
 tion where it is needed ; lay a towel or smooth cloth over 
 it, and press it with a flat-iron, not too hot. If too much 
 paste is used, it will ooze out from beneath the pattern, in 
 which case, for certain materials, a sponge and warm 
 water may remedy the difficulty. But it is better to be 
 careful that the paste is not too moist, and to use only 
 just enough, as many materials would be injured by 
 water. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 METHOD. 
 
 . . . "And with her neekl composes 
 Nature's own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or berry; 
 
 That even her art sisters the natural roses, 
 Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 I. TRACING AND TRANSFERRING. 
 
 IF the worker is a good enough draughtswoman, we 
 should advise her to draw at once on the material to 
 be wrought upon, if it be not very costly, as her work will 
 thus have a greater freedom of effect. Unless, however, 
 she is very certain of her ability, she had better, at all 
 events at first, attempt only floral designs. In flowers 
 and leaves, exactness of form is not of much importance ; 
 but it is otherwise with an ornamental scroll. If she is 
 not skilful enough to draw her design directly on the stuff, 
 she must have recourse to the somewhat tiresome process 
 of tracing and transferring, for which we will now give 
 instructions. 
 
 The design may be traced on cartridge or drawing 
 paper, either by placing it against the glass of a window 
 with the cartridge above it, and tracing it with a pen or 
 pencil, or else by first tracing it on tissue or tracing paper, 
 and then transferring it by placing it on the cartridge with 
 a piece of transfer-paper between the two, and going 
 38 
 
METHOD. 39 
 
 carefully over the design with an ivory style. The design 
 traced on the cartridge must now be pricked carefully and 
 evenly with a pin or a steel point. It is then to be laid 
 on the material, and pounced ; that is to say, pounce or 
 powder is to be rubbed through the pin-holes. When this 
 has been clone, the paper is to be removed, and the design 
 will be found to be marked out on the material in little 
 dots. When the halves or four quarters of a design cor- 
 respond, time may be saved, and greater accuracy obtained, 
 if, instead of drawing each portion of the design, the 
 paper be folded in two or four divisions, and the pattern 
 drawn on the upper side only. The holes can then be 
 pierced through the several divisions at the same time. 
 In this way a more correct pattern will be produced 
 than if every part had been pricked and pounced sepa- 
 rately. 
 
 Powder-blue or pulverized pipe-clay makes a good pounce. 
 For a dark outline the pipe-clay should be mixed with 
 finely-powdered charcoal. The charcoal used by artists is 
 the best for this purpose, and may be had at the artists' 
 color-shops. Some persons rub in the powder with a stiff, 
 hard brush, of the kind formerly used for Poonah painting, 
 with all the bristles of a length ; but a better tool for this 
 purpose is made of list rolled up very tightly. Care 
 should be taken to place the design on the material in 
 the exact place it is to occupy ; it should be fixed in its 
 place with weights, and the rubbing should be so managed 
 that neither the paper nor the material shall be disturbed : 
 otherwise the. dotted impression will be blurred and indis- 
 tinct. 
 
 When the pricked outline has been removed, the design 
 must be gone over with paint. Use cobalt if the pouncing 
 has been done with blue, and Chinese white if with pipe- 
 
40 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 clay, or sepia if with gray. Indian ink makes a good out- 
 line on white linen, and may be used with a pen. For 
 painting the outline a short stiff red sable is the best kind 
 of brush. Go over the outline with few and free touches : 
 do not be always lifting the brush, but make bold and 
 sweeping strokes, or the outline will be stiff and feeble, 
 and your embroidery, consequently, an inferior perform- 
 ance. For many purposes, transferring-paper answers to 
 trace the impressions of a pattern. Care should be taken 
 to use the better transferring-paper which does not "crook" 
 the cloth. 
 
 II. FRAMING. 
 
 A frame is not essential for all kinds of embroidery. 
 For church-work, embroidery over cardboard, and floss-silk 
 work, however, it should be used. A strip of strong linen 
 or tape should be stitched along the woof ends of the 
 material, which must then be sewn firmly with strong 
 doubled thread to the webbing on the frame. When this 
 has been done, the laths of the frame are to be slipped 
 through the mortice-holes of the other pieces, and the 
 pegs fastened in. The strain should be increased gradu- 
 ally and cautiously till the tension appears sufficient. 
 The woof ends must now be braced to the side-pieces with 
 fine twine. A packing-needle threaded with twine must 
 be drawn through the upper right-hand corner of the tape 
 or linen, and the end securely tied. The twine must be 
 sewn over the lath till the lower corner is reached, knotted 
 securely, and cut off : the other side must be done in the 
 same manner. When the material is larger than the 
 frame, it may be sewn on to the bars, and rolled round one 
 of them, with tissue-paper and wadding between to pre- 
 
METHOD. 41 
 
 vent the creasing of the stuff ; when the portion in the 
 frame is finished, it is rolled round the opposite bar, and 
 so on until the work is finished. Or it may be man- 
 aged in this way, if the stuff to be wrought upon is pre- 
 cious ; brace a piece of fine holland in the frame, and then 
 carefully place a portion of the velvet or satin on the hol- 
 land, and tack it down with small stitches and fine thread. 
 When this piece of the work is finished take it out, put 
 in fresh holland, and spread another portion of material. 
 In this way very large surfaces may be covered very easily 
 and well. A large frame adds greatly to the fatigue of 
 working, and is really very seldom necessary. 
 
 III. — PREPARATION OF MATERIALS. 
 
 In many cases the material wrought upon requires 
 strengthening by a lining of stronger and less costly stuff. 
 Linen or fine holland is generally used, and very frequently 
 paper : sometimes both paper and holland are employed 
 together. When the backing (to use the technical term) is 
 of linen or holland, the process is as follows: The linen 
 is stretched on a frame in the way above described, and, 
 when quite tightly strained, should be covered smoothly 
 and evenly with paste ; the velvet or silk is then to be laid 
 upon it, and pressed down, great care being taken that 
 every part of the upper material shall be in immediate 
 contact with the lower. It is best to spread the paste with 
 the fingers, in order that no little lumps be overlooked. 
 Some persons make use of a brush, which is by no means 
 so good a tool as the fingers for producing an even coating 
 of paste. When paper is used for a backing, the woven 
 fabric may be stretched first in a frame, or not, as the 
 worker pleases. With large pieces it is perhaps more con- 
 venient to back the material first. When both linen and 
 
42 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 paper are used together, the paper should always be under- 
 most, be pasted on first, and allowed to dry completely 
 before the uppermost material is laid down. It is scarcely 
 necessary to observe that the paste must be allowed to dry 
 completely before the embroiderer sets to work. 
 
 It may be imagined that these several thicknesses of 
 material will render the working difficult; but this is not 
 the case, as the extreme tension, caused by the framing, 
 makes the admission of the needle easy. 
 
 A good deal of embroidery is done by working designs 
 first on linen, and then applying it on richer stuffs. When 
 this is the case, the embroidery is executed first, and then 
 backed by paper ; when quite dry it is taken out of the 
 frame, and cut round with a sharp pair of scissors, leaving 
 about one-sixteenth of an inch of linen round the embroid- 
 ered part, which must be laid on the velvet, and tacked 
 down if the latter is loose ; if it is framed, the piece of 
 embroidery should be fastened on it by small pins thrust 
 perpendicularly through. It must then be secured by 
 sewing over in small stitches. The edge of the linen must 
 afterwards be dissimulated by a gold or silver cord fas- 
 tened down by fine sewing-silk matching the cord in color. 
 
 Much of the old embroidery is done in this way, though 
 of course we cannot be sure that it was executed so origi- 
 nally ; it being quite possible that the same embroidery 
 may have been transferred to new foundations several 
 times. 
 
 Thin and transparent materials, such as muslin or net, 
 may be placed over a muslin lining with the pattern traced 
 thereon, which may be cut away when the work is fin- 
 ished. In many cases the back of the embroidery should 
 be smeared with paste, in order that the ends of silk, &c, 
 may be secured. 
 
METHOD. 43 
 
 IV. CARDBOARD. 
 
 Embroidery over cardboard is principally employed in 
 church-work. For domestic purposes, however, it is occa- 
 sionally wanted, as, for instance, in monograms and devices 
 for curtain and mantlepiece valances. We therefore give 
 directions for it. 
 
 The design is to be drawn in pencil on the cardboard, 
 and then cut out with a penknife or sharp scissors. Care 
 must be taken to leave pieces of cardboard, called "stays," 
 to connect together the various parts of the design which 
 might otherwise become disconnected in the cutting out. 
 Then place it on the material, and tack it firmly down with 
 packthread. When it is secured the " stays " may be cut 
 away. The best cardboard for this purpose is called thin 
 mounting-board. 
 
 V. — THE STITCHES, AND THE MODE OF WORKING. 
 
 The stitch used in crewel-work is very simple and very 
 old ; though it goes by the name of the " South Kensing- 
 ton stitch," as though it had been invented at the South 
 Kensington school. This name is erroneous ; for, as we 
 have already stated in speaking of the work of two genera- 
 tions ago, it is the stitch used by our grandmothers, and 
 might with more propriety be called " our grandmothers' 
 stitch." It is the least mechanical of all stitches used in 
 fancy-work, and much discretion in its practice is left to 
 the worker. It is like the hatching in chalk and water- 
 color drawing : so that the effect be good, it signifies but 
 little what means the artist takes to produce it. This free- 
 dom gives a peculiar charm and fascination to working in 
 this long-stitch, which, indeed, has been not inaptly called 
 "painting with the needle." 
 
44 ART-XEEDLEWORK. 
 
 A knot being made in the worsted, it is brought from the 
 under side of the cloth or linen to the surface, on the line 
 marked out for the pattern. Then the needle is passed 
 back again from the upper side, on the line of the pattern, 
 
 at about a quarter of an inch distance, 
 more or less. It is again brought up 
 below, at about half way from the first 
 
 DIAGRAM I. — CREWEL STITCH. . _ - - 
 
 point, at the left of the thread, and 
 carried on about as far beyond the second. (See dia- 
 grams 1 i and 2.) If the line is to be made wider (the 
 stalk, for instance, broader, or a leaf or flower to be filled 
 in), after reaching the top of the pattern the same stitch 
 must be worked back inside the first line, the needle being 
 J. The work might be turned, but a little practice 
 will make reversing the needle more convenient. The 
 object is to bring the lines of work closely together, each 
 new stitch covering the stitch of the line just worked, — 
 "imbricating" it, as the tiles are 
 put on a roof. (See diagrams 3 
 and 4.) 
 
 The length of the stitches must 
 be left entirely to the judgment of 
 the worker, who will make them 
 longer or shorter according to the 
 extent of surface to be covered, 
 the abruptness of the curves, the 
 coarseness or fineness of the material wrought upon, and 
 the destination of the work when finished, &c. Naturally 
 a closer stitch and more solid work are required for anti- 
 macassars or sofa-cushions, which are always coming in 
 contact with fidgetv and restless human beings decked out 
 with every kind of ornamental excrescence likely to pull 
 
 1 In these diagrams the spaces between the stitches are much enlarged. 
 
 DIAGRAM 2. 
 
METHOD. 
 
 45 
 
 DIAGRAM 3. — WORKING AN OUTLINE. 
 
 and catch at worsted-work, than for a frieze of needle- 
 work nailed immediately under the ceiling. 1 
 
 The stitches should be smoothly and evenly laid, and 
 
 should resemble the woof of satin. 
 
 In working;, the outline is to be covered first ; for in- 
 
 stance, in working the stalk of a flower, begin from the 
 
 lower end first, and work on the outline till it is crossed 
 
 by a leaf, or terminates in a 
 
 flower ; then pass the needle to 
 
 the other side, and work back 
 
 again to the lower end ; then 
 
 work another line of stitches 
 
 inside the outline till the stalk 
 
 is filled up. (See diagram 3.) 
 
 Leaves that are all one color 
 
 are worked in the same way, and the veins are put in last. 
 
 (See diagram 4.) 
 
 Variegated leaves and 
 shaded flower -petals are 
 treated differently, though 
 the stitch is still the same. 
 The outer edge of color is 
 worked first, beginning on 
 the outline, and going to- 
 wards the centre. Be careful 
 not to take all the stitches 
 right up to the inner edge of 
 
 color, so that the two shades may dovetail into one 
 
 another, and a sharp, hard, defined line be avoided. (See 
 
 DIAGRAM 4. — OUTLINE OF LEAF. 
 
 1 In speaking of Paolo of Verona, Vasari mentions with approbation the fact that he worked 
 with the old-fashioned close stitch, which besides greater solidity had the advantage of produ- 
 cing an effect more like painting. " This manner of working," he goes on to say, " is now nearly 
 
 forgotten, and a longer stitch has been adopted, which is less durable and less agreeable to the 
 
 ■ >t 
 eye. 
 
4 6 
 
 A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 diagram 5.) It is quite easy to make curves and angles 
 in this stitch, taking care that the lines of stitches follow 
 the direction ,of the fibre or grain of the object imi- 
 tated in needlework. Thus the stalk of a plant should 
 never be worked across, as we frequently see it done, but 
 invariably lengthwise. Work the leaves the same direc- 
 tion as the fibres in a natural leaf. With such leaves as 
 
 brambles, do one side of the 
 leaf darker than the other. 
 Old-fashioned pieces of picto- 
 rial embroidery may be ad- 
 vantageously studied in this 
 respect, though we do not 
 recommend our readers to 
 imitate them in others. Good 
 line-engravings, too, will often 
 afford useful hints as to the 
 direction of stitches. In- 
 deed, an embroideress will, 
 if she loves her art, always have her eyes open, and her 
 mind alert and ready to find instruction. It is very 
 necessary to fill up thin places in this stitch without any 
 appearance of patchiness. 
 
 Embroidery in floss silk is executed in this way, the 
 stitches being carefully laid with the piercer. This little 
 implement is of great use in working with floss silks ; it 
 keeps the fibres open and broad, whereas without it they 
 would be constantly t'visting. Before the silk is pulled 
 right through the stuff, it should be passed over and spread 
 on the flat end of the piercer. 
 
 This kind of stitch, which the French call point perdu, 
 because its beginnings and endings should, in good em- 
 broidery, be lost and undefined, is, of course, not available 
 
 DIAGRAM 5. — STITCHES FOR SHADING. 
 
METHOD. 47 
 
 for twisted silks, which require a different treatment ; and 
 point passe, or satin stitch, must be adopted. This consists 
 in passing the silk from one outline to another. Those 
 beautiful pieces of Indian and Chinese embroidery, with 
 the right and wrong sides exactly alike (making, indeed, 
 two right sides), are wrought in this manner. The piercer 
 here again comes in usefully for keeping 
 the stitches even and smooth. Some- 
 times it is desirable to raise certain 
 portions of the work : this may be clone 
 with cotton, and the silk taken over the 
 padding, as illustrated in diagram 6. 
 This stitch is used for embroidery over 
 cardboard ; and, when the pattern is to 
 
 . - . (■ . llii DIAGRAM 6. — ^ATIN STITCH. 
 
 be raised, a piece of string should be 
 sewn in the centre of the cardboard, and the silk taken 
 over it. The stitches should always be taken in a slanting 
 direction ; that is to say, they should, if possible, never run 
 parallel to either the warp or the woof of the material. 
 
 Button-hole stitch, coral stitch, chain-stitch, knot-stitch, 
 fern stitch, &C., 1 are only used in applique work, and then 
 
 principally to strengthen the 
 material that makes the pattern, 
 and to enrich it. A stitch called 
 point Russe, 2 a long back-stitch 
 something like herring - bone 
 stitch, is sometimes convenient 
 for light grasses or stalks, by way of contrast to the heavier 
 work in grouping. The French knot is used in most kinds 
 of embroidery ; and, as it requires some skill, we recom- 
 mend our readers to practise it first with common materials. 
 
 1 Descriptions of these stitches are given in part II. Art Needlework. 
 
 ' This will be found described, with illustration, in part If. Art Needlework. 
 
48 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 It is worked thus : Take about four threads of the material 
 on the needle (or more in coarser work), draw the needle 
 half out ; wind the thread (crewel or silk) twice round the 
 point of the needle, hold it tight with the thumb, draw 
 the needle out carefully, and insert it in the place where 
 the stitch was begun, and draw it out at the place where 
 the next stitch is to be worked. (See diagram 7.) In 
 
 working without a frame, you 
 vary a little in the manner of 
 placing the needle in completing 
 the stitch. Before drawing the 
 crewel or silk out of the material, 
 
 DIAGRAM 8.-FRENCH KNOT, 2 . h ° lcl [t tl S^ With ^ ^ft thumb J 
 
 leave the needle in the same 
 position, 'wind the thread twice round it; turn the needle 
 from left to right so (follow the direction of the arrow) 
 that its point arrives where the cotton was drawn out 
 (marked by a cross in illustration); insert the needle there, 
 and draw it out at the place of the next stitch. In one 
 case, to complete the stitch, after winding the thread 
 round, you put the needle in where the stitch was begun : 
 in the other, you put it in where the thread was drawn 
 out. French knots are used for filling up the centres of 
 flowers or wherever raised work is needed. 
 
 Edging cords and gold are fastened down by fine sewing- 
 silk taken over them. When the outline is finished, a 
 hole must be made in the stuff with a stiletto, the cord 
 cut off, and the end threaded on a large round-eyed needle, 
 taken through the stiletto-hole, and fastened off securely 
 at the back. 
 
 IV. APPLIQUE WORK. 
 
 " Appliqitt" is a French word, which, as it has now no 
 equivalent in the English language, we are forced to use. 
 
METHOD. 49 
 
 "Application" and "applied work" come nearest to the 
 true signification, but are rather awkward to use. Applique 
 work consists of a pattern cut out in one color or stuff, 
 and laid on or applied to another. 
 
 Applique work may be executed in almost every material 
 and for almost every purpose. It is probably the oldest 
 kind of decorative needlework : it certainly is the most 
 simple. Neatness and some degree of mechanical skill 
 are all that are required in the manipulation of the mate- 
 rials. In this kind of ornamental work, even more than 
 in the others, design and color are of higher importance 
 than mere stitchery. 
 
 Cloth is one of the most satisfactory materials for ap- 
 plique work. It is easy to cut, and at the same time is 
 very solid. It can be had in a great many different shades 
 and colors. The pattern should be traced on it in the 
 manner that has already been described, and cut out with 
 a sharp pair of scissors, and gummed or pasted on to the 
 stuff it is to ornament. When quite dry, it must be se- 
 cured with fine sewing-silk of the same color, and after- 
 wards worked over with purse or embroidery silk in button- 
 hole stitch in another shade or color. If an edging of 
 cord is used, the button-hole stitch is not required. The 
 cord is sewn clown with fine sewing-silk of the same color. 
 When the design is complicated, or in many colors, or it 
 is to be executed in more precious stuff, a tracing should 
 be made on the material it is laid upon, and the parts care- 
 fully numbered : they should fit together like a dissected 
 map. In working with velvet, satin, or silk, holland 
 should be stretched in a frame, the design drawn upon it, 
 and the velvet, &c, pasted on the other side, and when 
 dry cut as above directed. When several colors are used, 
 pieces the size of the parts they are required for may be 
 
50 AR T-XEEDLEU 'ORK. 
 
 pasted on the foundation. Cotton-velvet does not require 
 this backing, as it is little liable to fray : gum or starch 
 or paste spread over the back is enough to keep it firm 
 for cutting. Paper is often used for the purpose of back- 
 ing : tough paper is the best for this. 
 
 In cutting out. economize your stuff as much as possible, 
 and make use of the smallest morsels. A great deal of 
 waste may be avoided by a very slight attention to this 
 recommendation. You must remember that in piled 
 fabrics and cloth vou get a different shade of color if 
 the stuff does not meet the light in the same direction. 
 So be careful in cutting out and laying down, that the pile 
 always goes the same way. It is well, before pasting down, 
 to lay the pieces flat in the position they are to occupy, 
 and look at them from different points, when any inac- 
 curacy of placing will then be discovered. 
 
 For very delicate materials isinglass is sometimes used 
 instead of paste. 
 
 Applique work is often ornamented afterwards with 
 patterns in different stitches, chain-stitch, coral-stitch, 
 button-hole stitch, &c. ; but its chief use is in cases where 
 flat masses of color are required. 
 
 VII. A FEW USEFUL GENERAL HINTS. 
 
 When you are working on any costly or delicate mate- 
 rials, it is well to place a fold or two of soft old damask 
 tablecloth over the lower part of the frame, so that any 
 friction arising from contact with your body may be avoid- 
 ed. Tissue-paper or soft old tablecloth should also be 
 placed over the part on which you are working, so that 
 your hand shall not touch the work. 
 
 Always cover up your work when you leave it, even if 
 it be onlv for half an hour. 
 
METHOD. 51 
 
 In working without a frame, your work may, if it be in 
 rather narrow strips, be pinned to your knee or to a leaded 
 pincushion.. 
 
 Very thin strips may sometimes be pinned to the top 
 webbing of a frame, and the lower part left loose, allowing 
 the left hand to pass under it. 
 
 In working with a frame, you should learn to use both 
 hands at once, — one to thrust the needle downwards, and 
 the other to thrust it up. A delicate sense of touch is re- 
 quired to do this dexterously, and your progress will be 
 slow at first ; but, when you get accustomed to this mode 
 of work, you will be quite repaid for the trouble you have 
 taken in acquiring it. Of course it will be necessary for 
 you to use two thimbles, for right and left middle fingers. 
 One very good reason for working with both hands is, that 
 you may always so sit that the light may never cast the 
 shadow of your hand on your work, as you can use the 
 hand under the frame that would otherwise cast a shadow. 
 Another advantage is, that by changing the position of the 
 body, and bringing different muscles into play, you can 
 work longer without being fatigued. 
 
 It is very false economy to go on working with a thread 
 that shows signs of being worn, soiled, or distressed in 
 any way. It is not wasteful to cut it off, and throw it 
 away ; for it would spoil the appearance of your work, 
 which should look, as the popular phrase has it, "as if 
 hands had not touched it." 
 
 You must never pick out when you are working on silk or 
 velvet. Crash or coarse linen will not be any the worse 
 for unpicking. You must insert the sharp point of your 
 scissors under the stitches, and cut through them in all 
 directions, then pull out from the back of the stuff. Even 
 after you have picked as cleanly as possible, there will still 
 
52 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 remain a film of color caused by the slender filaments re- 
 maining in the web. This you may get rid of by brush- 
 ing once or twice with a clean, small clothes-brush. 
 
 When it is necessary to secure the fastenings-off and 
 the ends of the threads, a coating of thick paste or gum 
 should be passed over the back of the work. 
 
 When your design is all filled in, your work, unless you 
 are a very skilful hand, cannot be considered finished. 
 You must go carefully over it, filling up the bare spots and 
 thin places, here drawing a stitch tighter, there making 
 one looser. The surfaces should have the smooth, rich, 
 even effect of velvet ; and the trouble taken to secure this 
 end is as little thrown away as are the " finishing touches " 
 a painter gives his picture. Any one who really loves her 
 work will take a peculiar pleasure in thus completing it, 
 and making every portion as perfect as it is possible for 
 it to be. 
 
 Do not forget the directions on p. 33 for the careful 
 use of paste in applique work. The outline should be 
 already drawn on the foundation ; so that the figure cut 
 out can be placed in exactly the right position, and it 
 should be done with great care and neatness. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 COLOR AND DESIGN IN ORNAMENTAL NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 " We see in needlework and embroiderie, that it is more pleasing to have 
 a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melan- 
 choly work upon a lightsome ground." — Bacon. 
 
 I. — COLOR. 
 
 IT has been asserted, wc do not presume to say with 
 how much of justice, that the English school of paint- 
 ing is remarkable for fine color. A cynic might be dis- 
 posed to say that it is a pity a national characteristic so 
 valuable should be displayed only on canvases, be shut up 
 in studios and galleries, be revealed only to a few, whilst 
 in daily life, in our dwellings and in our dresses, it is con- 
 spicuous chiefly by its absence. And we are disposed to 
 agree with the cynic. We are not, however, inclined to 
 think that this deficiency arises from a natural depravity 
 of taste inherent in the Anglo-Saxon race, but rather from 
 sheer stupidity, laziness, carelessness, and indifference. 
 It is supposed that every woman is fond of dress, and 
 it is charged upon us that women are extravagantly 
 fond of it. Yet but few women know how to dress be- 
 comingly. Many a woman is aware of this defect, and 
 strives to gain instruction how she may correct it. She 
 believes what she is told, and, above all, what she sees in 
 print. For instance, a girl with a sallow skin, pale eyes, 
 and neutral-tinted hair, reads in a book that blue is becom- 
 
54 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 ing to fair complexions. It is, indeed, a tradition, an ac- 
 cepted canon of good taste, that blues and blondes are 
 justly formed to meet by nature. So straightway she goes 
 and clothes herself in blue, generally with the most disas- 
 trous result. She does not observe that the blue reflected 
 tones intensify the leaden grays in the shadows of the 
 carnations, and neutralize their rosy tints ; and she wears 
 the hideous garment with the placid contentment of igno 
 ranee. 
 
 It is impossible to lay down rules and laws for every 
 color in embroidery : the shades and tones of color are so 
 numerous and so varied that description is of little use, 
 and prescription of none at all. 
 
 In painting, the artist can produce or alter colors to an 
 unlimited extent by mixing his pigments or glazing one 
 over another ; but the embroiderer's colors are fixed, and 
 the only way in which he can subdue and change them is 
 by juxtaposition and proportion. 
 
 We can no more define a color in words than we can 
 define a curve or the timbre of a musical sound. Nor can 
 we precisely order color, and scientifically distribute its 
 proportions. Study, by all means, whatever works on 
 color you can obtain ; but in practice you must be guided 
 chiefly by your eye and your good taste. If your eye, 
 however, be deficient, no theories nor science in the world 
 will help you. You may, of course, improve your taste by 
 the study of fine color ; but if you have not a normal eye, — 
 if, for instance, cool crimson looks to you much the same 
 as hot orange, — you can scarcely be expected to turn out 
 a piece of work agreeable to the majority of your fellow- 
 creatures. Unfortunately few people are aware of their 
 deficiences in this respect : a scheme of color looks rich 
 and harmonious to them, and they cannot understand why 
 to others it should appear bad. 
 
COLOR AND DESIGN. 55 
 
 A great authority on color says, that, to be harmonious, 
 primaries of equal intensity must exist in the proportions 
 of three yellow, five red, and eight blue — integrally six- 
 teen ; the secondaries in the proportions of eight orange, 
 thirteen purple, eleven green — integrally thirty-two ; the 
 tertiaries, citrine (compound of orange and green) nine- 
 teen, russet (orange and purple) twenty-one, olive (green 
 and purple) twenty-four — integrally sixty-four. It follows, 
 therefore, that each secondary, being a compound of two 
 primaries, is neutralized by the remaining primary in the 
 same proportions, — thus eight of orange by eight of blue, 
 eleven of green by five of red, thirteen of purple by three 
 of yellow. The tertiaries are neutralized by the second- 
 aries in the same proportion. Of course the above propo- 
 sitions suppose the colors to be used in their prismatic 
 intensities ; but as hundreds, we may rather say thou- 
 sands, of shades and tones are in daily use in dress and 
 decoration, we must, after all, fall back upon ourselves, 
 our individual tastes, and our experience. Experience 
 tells us that blue is a cold, hard, disagreeable color, and 
 when used in combination it should be employed in a very 
 small proportion. The great artists teach us this both by 
 precept and example. Sir Joshua Reynolds says a great 
 mass of pure blue in a picture is destruction to its har- 
 mony. Gainsborough set himself to work to refute this 
 theory in the famous portrait known as the "Blue Boy," 
 but he only confirmed it. His blues are so broken and 
 changed by reflections and shadows, and so surrounded by 
 the yellows and browns of the background, that it is evi- 
 dent that he has only evaded the difficulty, not overcome 
 it. 1 The late Mr. Owen Jones, a scientific colorist and a 
 
 1 The book on Greek Ornament, published by Tilton & Co., gives admirable hints of 
 color. 
 
5 6 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 true artist, tells us, that, in the great Exhibition of 185 1, 
 he used the primitive colors, in the proportions stated 
 above, for the decoration of the girders of the roof, and 
 with the happiest result so long as the light was tempered 
 by the canvas covering. When, however, this was re- 
 moved, the strong daylight completely extinguished the 
 red and yellow, and the third primary alone could be seen. 
 The aerial effect was entirely lost ; and, as it became im- 
 possible to distinguish one girder from another, the nave 
 appeared to be shortened by one or two hundred feet. 
 
 It is tolerably clear, therefore, that if in a piece of em- 
 broidery, considered only with reference to itself, we use 
 blue in the large proportion indicated in the foregoing 
 proposition, we shall not do well. 
 
 Color in embroidery, however, depends upon so many 
 conditions, that the most general advice only can be given. 
 We may tell the worker that crewel used on " crash " may 
 be used in much more vivid tints than upon fine white 
 linen. The neutral color of " crash," and the broken grays 
 induced by the roughness of its surface, tend to harmonize 
 what may be placed upon it. Mixed and broken tints will 
 look better on the white. A piece of embroidery for an 
 anti-macassar that is intended to light up a dark corner, 
 may consist of bright colors and strong contrasts, while 
 one that is full in the light should be more neutral-tinted. 
 A piece of embroidery may be used for the purpose of 
 gathering up, as it were, of focussing, the color of the sur- 
 rounding decorations, by repeating them in fainter and 
 brighter, or darker and brighter, tones. For instance, in a 
 room of which the prevailing color is deep crimson, a chair 
 or table-cover or anti-macassar may be placed en evidence 
 worked in pale crimson, and the effect heightened by a 
 little pink of the same tone. 
 
COLOR AND DESIGN. 57 
 
 To return, however, to our primaries and secondaries. 
 Yellow is the color the most akin to light, and red stands 
 about midway between yellow and blue in this respect. 
 Where you want warmth and light, there it is well to make 
 your prevailing color yellow. 1 
 
 Each primary, as is well known, has a complementary 
 color, composed of the other two primaries : thus green 
 is the complementary of red, purple of yellow, anckorange 
 of blue. A primary and its complementary form a full 
 and harmonious contrast. The primaries, indeed, reflect 
 their complementaries in a certain . proportion ; as, in 
 acoustics, when a fundamental note is sounded, its har- 
 monics sound also. The primaries, however well propor- 
 tioned in quantity and intensity, do not produce an har- 
 monious effect : yet if the contrasts are multiplied by being 
 repeated in small quantities, the relative proportions being 
 observed, black and white being added, and distance and 
 light helping to blend the component colors, a very agree- 
 able result maybe produced. The Egyptians, in the deco- 
 ration of their temples, made use of this system of color. 
 
 Brilliancy does not by any means depend on the primi- 
 tive colors, which, if not well proportioned, will appear 
 dull and heavy, as well as gaudy and discordant, while the 
 dull and heavy tertiaries may, on the other hand, if well 
 arranged, produce an effect almost brilliant. 
 
 Always remember that when a primary is tinged with 
 another primary, and contrasted with a secondary, the sec- 
 ondary must have a tinge of the third primary. For in- 
 stance : simple red may be used with pure green ; but 
 scarlet, which is red tinged with yellow, must have a blue 
 
 1 Ruskin is of opinion that the first approach to viciousness of color in any master is indi- 
 cated by a prevalence of purple and an absence of yellow; that yellow in Nature is more gen- 
 erally contrasted with black than purple, and that this contrast has been employed with success 
 by Turner and Rubens. 
 
58 A R T-NEEDLE WORK. 
 
 green ; and crimson, or red tinged with blue, must have a 
 yellow green. 
 
 Always remember, too, that colors on a light ground 
 appear darker, and, on a dark ground lighter. 
 
 Colors placed in juxtaposition re-act upon one another, 
 and acquire each a tinge of the other. Neutral colors 
 reflect the complementaries of colors on which they are 
 placed. ' Neutral gray, for example, on an orange ground, 
 acquires a tinge of blue; of which orange is the comple- 
 mentary color. On a green ground, the gray becomes red- 
 dish ; on yellow ground, violet ; on a blue ground, orange ; 
 while a neutral ground has a very subduing and harmoniz- 
 ing effect on the colors placed on it. 
 
 If you are in doubt as to any colors harmonizing, it is a 
 good plan to make a rough sketch on paper in the same 
 colors as the material you wish to use. If this sketch does 
 not satisfy you, try some other scheme of color. It is 
 difficult to copy colored designs in worsted or silk, as you 
 often cannot get shades to match : it is therefore better to 
 work from uncolored designs, and experiment in color in 
 the way we recommend. 
 
 Light and shade should never appear in embroidery, ex- 
 cept in pieces that are to be looked at as pictures, which is 
 not the legitimate use of embroidery. In dress and deco- 
 ration, textile fabrics necessarily change position and light ; 
 so that sometimes, if light and shade were used, the real 
 light would fall on the part represented in shadow, and the 
 high lights of the work would fall into the shade, and the 
 relation of one to the other be falsified. Study specimens 
 of embroidery whenever you can, and endeavor to ascer- 
 tain the principle upon which they have been executed. It 
 may not be amiss to describe here one or two, although, as 
 we have observed above, we can never convey an exact 
 
COLOR AND DESIGN. 59 
 
 idea of color in words. Some old Spanish embroidered 
 decorations of a room were sold in London a short time 
 ago. They were of red satin, and the pattern was of 
 yellow satin applique on the red. This sounds gaudy 
 enough in words : in fact, however, the relative quantities 
 were nicely proportioned, and the two colors of shades 
 that met agreeably were harmonized by a white cord that 
 bordered the yellow satin applique. This cord was sewn 
 on principally with white sewing-silk : here and there, how- 
 ever, pea-green silk was introduced, and blue in a very 
 minute proportion. The whole effect was rich and pleasant. 
 A fragment of embroidery, date about 1750, gives an 
 admirable subject for study. It is the edge of a petticoat, 
 about eight inches deep, and is of white satin. The mate- 
 rial is ravelled out in a fringe at the bottom ; then comes 
 a line, about an eighth of an inch wide, in dark red floss, 
 then a row of disks shaded in a dark and a light green ; 
 above these, and touching one another, are two broader 
 lines of red, one the same color as the first, the other 
 paler ; then we have a representation of moss worked in 
 chenille of three shades of green, and from this mossy* 
 ground spring roses, carnations, forget-me-nots, and leafy 
 sprays. This part is treated quite decoratively ; and no 
 attempt is made to preserve the natural proportions of the 
 flowers in relation to each other, or to their stems and 
 leaves. In the sprays one or two leaves are of peach- 
 blossom color. Above this row of flowers are branches in 
 festoons, of which the stems are olive-brown, the leaves 
 shaded, or rather, we should say, party-colored, with peach- 
 blossom inclining to pink, olive -brown, and two or three 
 shades of green. It will be seen that nature is no more 
 strictly adhered to in color than in form. Above these 
 branches is a pattern in two shades of peach-blossom. 
 
60 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 accompanied with a very little blue. Except the moss, the 
 embroidery is all done in floss silk split very fine. Seen 
 by candle-light this beautiful piece of work has the bril- 
 liance of cut and polished gems, while the general effect 
 of color is extremely rich and sweet, and would harmonize 
 with almost any surroundings. A pair of mittens of a few 
 years later are of tasteful workmanship : they are of soft 
 open-woven white silk, and are worked principally in floss 
 silk split. There is a scroll of dark green, within and 
 around which are worked roses and green leaves. The 
 roses are worked in embroidery-silk, and are considerably 
 raised : there are four altogether, two red, one pink, and 
 one yellow. Springing from the scroll are ornaments in 
 blue, orange, and violet, all these colors, however, in very 
 small proportion : the stalks and veins are of fine gold- 
 thread, which also forms an outline round the scrolls and 
 two sprays of round red berries that spring from the top 
 of the scroll. The color is really beautiful, and is further 
 harmonized by the gray tint produced by shadows in the 
 open-work of the foundation. 
 
 When working in crewels we would advise the worker 
 to calculate carefully how much of each color she will 
 require, and to get it all at once, for the dyes seldom re- 
 peat themselves in exactly the same intensity, and thus 
 matching becomes difficult. In crewels, the only color 
 that can be depended upon with absolute certainty is the 
 military scarlet. The number of shades and tones in 
 crewels to be found in England is enormous, one house 
 of business alone keeping one hundred and thirty-three 
 shades of green in stock ; other houses keep, perhaps, as 
 many ; and, being served by different dyers, the colors are 
 by no means the same. It is to be hoped, that, as the art 
 of embroidery is more generally cultivated here, that one 
 
COLOR AND DESIGN. 6 1 
 
 can more easily obtain these varieties of shades. It is a 
 good plan, when copying a flower, to take a blossom to the 
 crewel-shop, and match its color as nearly as possible : 
 often this may be done exactly. The shades of crimson, 
 ranging from nearly black to nearly white, are sweeter and 
 cooler in crewels than in any other material ; the scarlets, 
 which are almost as numerous, are brighter and purer ; 
 while the deliciousness of certain blue greens cannot be 
 surpassed. The reader is implored to avoid the harsh 
 magenta reds, and the cold, hard violets and mauves, of the 
 aniline dyes, so common a few years ago. In the best 
 warehouses, however, these vicious tints are not to be 
 found. 
 
 II. — DESIGN. 
 
 In a book on needlework written about fifty years ago, 
 it is asserted that embroidery on stuffs in long-stitch 
 should not be attempted except by persons who are well 
 practised in drawing, the less accomplished women being 
 recommended to keep to canvas-work and Berlin wool. 
 It would seem that very few draughtswomen existed in 
 those days ; for, while minute instructions are given for 
 wool-work, embroidery is quite passed over. We cannot, 
 however, agree with the writer, that if people cannot draw 
 neither shall they embroider, though certainly a knowledge 
 of the principles of design, and some skill in drawing, are 
 of immense advantage. We recommend, therefore, that 
 the practice of drawing and of needlework should go 
 hand in hand. Ornamental designs and outlines of natural 
 flowers may be copied, and at the same time the worker 
 should endeavor to make drawings from natural leaves and 
 flowers. The leaves of the azalea afford an easy and 
 simple outline. The worker may soon attempt a design 
 
62 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 for a kettle-holder or a mat from a sprig of this plant. 
 She must not represent the leaves foreshortened or in 
 perspective, but place them flatly on her paper, and en- 
 deavor to keep the curves graceful and the masses as well 
 balanced as possible. This balance of masses and lines is 
 what is technically called "composition," and is the most 
 important element of design. There are some works on 
 free-hand, that the embroideress would find useful in her 
 endeavors to improve herself in design drawing. The 
 South-Kensington handbooks, and Plant Forms by F. E. 
 Hulme, and Dresser's Principles of Decorative Design, 
 are within the reach of any student in our public libraries, 
 and would be of help in suggestions of form and color. 
 
 As every embroideress will occasionally require to adapt 
 designs and patterns, we may here give a few hints as to 
 how to do so ; observing, however, that it by no means 
 comes within the scope of our present intention to give 
 instructions in drawing. You have, we will say, a draw- 
 ing of a branch of orange-tree which you wish to utilize 
 for an anti-macassar, but you cannot tell whether it will 
 compose well in the space you have at command. Take 
 a piece of paper the size of the portion of stuff you wish 
 to cover, and divide it by lines into four equal parts. 
 Sketch roughly in charcoal the branch of orange ; it is 
 probably copied from nature, and you find that the masses 
 of form only fill up two squares, while one is barely 
 touched and the other empty. Alter the inclination of the 
 stalk, add more fruit or leaves or twigs on the one hand, 
 and take them away on the other ; when you have done 
 your very best, faint off the charcoal with a handkerchief, 
 and go over the outline with chalk or pencil. If a square 
 obstinately remain empty, you may touch in a butterfly or 
 a bird. Very small objects, if discreetly placed, will hi] 
 
COLOR AND DESIGN. 63 
 
 up large spaces. A careful observation of the common 
 Japanese screens will be very useful in this direction. 
 The artful way in which the Japanese will cover a large 
 surface with the fewest possible touches is surprising, and 
 we cannot do better than take lessons from them. Econ- 
 omy in design is not our strong point : we are sadly given 
 to overloading, or else we fall into the opposite extreme 
 of meagreness, which is perhaps even a worse fault. 
 
 Designs may be enlarged or reduced by means of a 
 proportional compass. It is, however, not very safe to 
 alter the size of a design, as what looks well enough in a 
 large pattern is not always suitable for a small one, and 
 vice vcrsd. 
 
 Do not mix the style of one epoch or nationality with 
 another. It may be seen both in specimens of ancient 
 embroideries and in representations of it in paintings, that 
 the patterns used in needlework were, allowing for the 
 technical differences of the art, similar to those used for 
 glass and wall painting, and manuscript illumination. We 
 have no distinctive nineteenth-century style, and too often 
 we make an unmeaning jumble ; but we should as far as 
 possible assimilate our needlework to the style of the room 
 we wish to decorate. 
 
 In conclusion, we should like to warn our readers against 
 the extremes into which fashion loves to lead us. Just 
 now there is a mania for what is called ar/-needlework, 
 of which some of the manifestations are any thing but 
 artistic. In illustration of the danger into which the em- 
 broiderer may fall, we give the description of two arti- 
 cles which we have lately been distressed by seeing. One 
 of these was an anti-macassar worked on crash, and pre- 
 sented at its lower end three dandelions all in a row, — 
 pre-Raphaelite dandelions, stiff and bolt upright, all exactly 
 
64 ART-NEEDLEWORK. 
 
 alike and all hideous. The other piece of work, intended 
 for a mantlepiece valance, was also on crash, — a poincettia 
 was depicted springing out of nothing, and sticking out its 
 leaves stiffly enough. There were no sweet and flowing 
 curves : all was angularity and jerkiness. This frightful 
 plant was repeatedyfw times without any variation. These 
 two hideous specimens were bought and sold under the 
 name of art-embroidery ! 
 
JANUARY, 
 
 NK9200 .SI 8 1879 St 
 
 Savage, Eliza Mary/Art-needlework for 
 
 3 1962 00079 0810 
 
 1882. 
 
 TILTONS LIST 
 
 -OF 
 
 D ERFORATED PATTERNS 
 
 ^R- 
 
 )LEW0RK. 
 
 you wish on this list, write to 
 :rns not on this list, and are 
 
 ►»- 
 
 & COMPANY, 
 
 gton Street, Boston, 
 
 ice, at the head of Milk Street. 
 
TILTON'S 
 
 DECORATIVE ART COLOR-BOX. 
 
 Each Box has our name stamped on the lid. 
 
 TEN MOIST WATER-COLORS AND THREE BRUSHES 
 IN A JAPANNED TIN BOX, FOR 50 CENTS, 
 
 ARRANGED IN THE FOLLOWING OKDER : 
 
 INDIGO, VERMILION, COBALT, GAMBOGE, PRUSSIAN BLUE, C. LAKE, 
 VANDYKE BROWN, YELLOW OCHRE, SEPIA, LIGHT RED. 
 
 NO CHANGE MADE IN THE BOXES. 
 
 The Cups in the Lid are available for pi-eparing large washes, and the Palette Flap 
 
 for trying Colors. 
 
 These are not Toy Colors, but have been manufactured for us in London for the use 
 of Art Students and beginners in Water-Color Painting, for which purpose they arc 
 equal to the best, and it will require an experienced artist to detect any difference 
 between them and the most expensive pigments. These ten colors, with their com- 
 binations, Will be found all which are absolutely needed by the student and beginner. 
 But for the convenience of those who may wish for other tints without the trouble of 
 mixing, we can supply the following colors separately at Six Cents each : 
 
 Black, Brown Madder, Brown Pink, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Carmine, 
 Carnation, Chinese White, Chrome (Deep), Chrome (Pale), Cobalt, Crimson 
 Lake, Emerald Green, Gamboge, Green Bice, Hooker's Green, Indian Bed, 
 Indian Yellow, Indigo, Light Red, Naples Yellow, Neutral Tint, Olive, 
 Orange, Prussian Blue, Purple Lake, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Red Lead, 
 Roman Ochre, Royal Blue, Scarlet Lake, Sepia, Ultramarine, Vandyke 
 Brown, Venetian Red, Vermilion, Yellow Ochre.