LAMBERT “THE HAIm^-FOOK OF NEEDLE WORK. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS * m 7 4 £>.44 L17K The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. THE HAND-BOOK OF NEEDLEWORK. THE HAND-BOOK OF NEEDLEWORK. BY MISS LAMBERT. “ And though our country everywhere is filld With ladies, and with gentlewomen, skilld In this rare art, yet here we may discerne Some things to teach them if they list to learn.” John Taylor WITH Numerous Illustrations ENGRAVED BY J. J. BUTLER. PHILADELPHIA: J. L. GIHON, 102 CHESTNUT ST. 1854. 4 //,£ C<^,3 TO THE ILiilDE®® ©IP ‘H'lEElS W M H l H ) IS ID) ®l)is i)o!«tne is MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE PUBLISHER. 1 * 679 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/handbookofneedle00lamb_0 PREFACE. In the following pages I have endeavoured to embrace those subjects which appeared most worthy of notice in a Treatise on Decorative Needlework, and by combining a brief historical sketch with a detailed account of the practice of each department, to render them more generally interesting than a mere Manual of directions and examples. I am indebted to my husband for his assistance in some of the historical notices, and again for his permission in al- lowing my maiden name to appear on the title-page, as being that by which I am more generally recognised in my avocation. It may be stated, that this volume was commenced three years since, but circumstances (here unnecessary to men- tion), occasioned its being laid aside until the commencement of the present year: It has been written at intervals snatched from my other employments, and I trust that the accuracy of the details will obtain that indulgence its literary merits cannot demand. F. S. . i CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Introduction — Early history of Needlework — The time of Moses — The ancient Egyptians — Greeks and Romans — Helen and Penelope — Embroidering of the Peplus — Needlework of the Middle Ages — The Anglo-Saxons — Anglicum opus— St. Dunstan — Needlework practised by men — Hangings or veils — Tapestries — Bayeux Tapestry — Work of Glueen Matilda — Ancient Pall belonging to the Fishmongers’ Company — English Needlework in the sixteenth century — Va- rious occupations of ladies at that period — Needlework noticed by Addison — The close of the last century — Coloured Embroideries — Print work — Miss Linwood — her pictures — Berlin Patterns — Varieties of Needlework — Amuse- ment afforded by them 1 CHAPTER II. Tapestry — Described by Spenser — Decoration of walls with Tapestry — Mentioned by Ho- mer — Antiquity of — Invention — the Phrygians — Women of Sidon — Phssacia — Griffins and Centaurs — Athenian Tapestry — Story of Arachne and Minerva — Introduction of Tapestry by the Crusaders — Weaving Tapestry — First practised in Flanders — Arras — Introduction into England — Patronized by James I — Manufactory at Mortlake — Charles I and Sir Francis Crane — When Manufactured in France — Henry IV — Colbert, and Louis XIV — Manufacture Royale des Gobelins — History and productions of that Manufac- tory — Sully — Le Brun — Napoleon — Tapestry for St. Cloud — Evelyn’s De- scription of Gobelin Tapestry — Dyeing Establishment, and Drawing-school of the Gobelins — -The basse and haute lisse — Working of Tapestry — Instru- ments — Cartoons of Raffaelle — Tapestry of St. Mary’s Hall, Coventry — Hampton Court 17 CHAPTER III. Materials in General — The Products of the A nimal, the Vegetable, and Mineral Kingdoms — Various Materials employed — Needlework of the present day — Materials used by Miss Linwood — Facilities now possessed — Variety of Colours — Paper Patterns — Implements 27 X CONTENTS. Wool — CHAPTER IV. Its Importance — Description of Sheep’s Wool — the product of Cultivation— its History and Preparation — Merino, whence derived — Invention of Spinning and Weaving — mentioned by Moses — Linen and woollen cloths of the Egyptians — Duties of Women in the Primitive Ages — Produce of white Wool — Dyeing — German Wool — Prepared at Gotha — Introduction of Merino sheep into Saxony — First reared at Stolpen — Improvement in the quality of their Wool — Different qualities of Wool — Employed for Needlework — Zephyr Merino — Berlin Wool — Superiority of— Its qualities and capabilities — Used for Canvas-work and Embroidery — for Knitting, Netting, and Crochet — Varieties and duality of German Wool as prepared for Needlework — English W ool — Grounding — W orsteds — Crewels — Y arn — Fleecy — Hamburgh W ool — German Fleecy — Antiquity of the Art of Dyeing — Discovery of the Tyrian Purple — Anecdote relating to 30 Silk — CHAPTER V. Antiquity of its use by the Chinese — Silkworms introduced into India and Persia — Carried to Constantinople — Into Greece— Palermo — Calabria — Italy and Spain — Rearing of Silkworms in France — The Silkworm of Ceos — Gluantity of Silk used in England — Use of Silk among the Romans — Its rarity — Sold for its weight in Gold — Heliogabalus first wore a Silken Robe — General use of Silk at Rome — Silkworm described by Pausanias — Spinning and weaving Silk introduced into England — Marriage of the daughter of Henry III — Silk- women in the Reign of Henry IV — Silk Stockings worn by Henry VIII — Anecdote of Glueen Elizabeth — Broad Silk manufactured in the time of James I — Silk-throwing Mill — Improvements of the Manufacture in England — Lines, by Cowper, on the Silkworm — Varieties of Silk — Their employment in Needlework — Mitorse Silk — Netting Silk — Sewing Silks — Crochet Silk — Dacca Silk — Floss Silk — Bourre de Soie — Spun Silk — Other materials resembling Silk — the Spider — Pinna — Spun Glass ... 44 CHAPTER VI. Gold and Silver— Used in the earliest Ages for Embroidery — Mentioned in Exodus — Invention ascribed to Attalus — The Robe of Agrippina — The Tunic of Heliogabalus — Mantle of the statue of Jupiter — Vulcan’s Net — Remains of ancient wire- work — Wire-drawing supposed to have been known to the Egyptians — Gold thread in the time of the Romans— Gold and Silver Thread of the present day — Its manufacture — Mosaic Gold — Wire-drawing first practised at Nurem- berg — Its introduction into England — Manufacture of Gold and Silver for Needlework — Gold thread of the Chinese — Passing — Gold cord — Gold braid — Bullion — Spangles — Lama and Paillon — Gold beads — Gold fringes — Military embroidery 56 CHAPTER VII. Chenille, Braid, etc. — Derivation of the term Chenille — Chenilles of Silk, and Wool — Its manufac- ture — Application of — Braids — Their various kinds — Application of — Union Cord — Straw — Nacre and Ecaille — Velvet — Flowers made of— Beads — Bugles — Paillons and Paillettes — Crepe — China Ribbon .... 64 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER VIII. Canvas— Different manufactures of — Various sizes — How designated — Mosaic Canvas —Silk Canvas — Flexible Canvas — Cotton Canvas — English, French, and German — Striped Canvas — Imitation Silk Canvas — Thread Canvas — Penelope Canvas — Canvas for Tapestry-stitch — Flattened Canvas — Its use — Woollen Canvas — Bolting *70 CHAPTER IX. Berlin Patterns— Improvements in the Art of Needlework since their Introduction — Their con- sumption in different countries — Manufacture of— Process of colouring — Adap- tation for working — Grounding — Defects of these Patterns — The remedy — Sorting of Patterns — Common rules of painting — Arrangement of Colours — Faces of Figures — Skies — Materials for working them on — Lining Berlin Canvas — Vienna Patterns — English work from Berlin Patterns — History of Berlin Patterns 76 CHAPTER X. Drawing Patterns for Embroidery, Braiding, etc. — Designing of Patterns — Drawing on paper — Pouncing — Tracing on the ma- terial — Drawing liquid — Large patterns — Repetition of the same design — Method of MM. Revel and Regondet — Patterns on muslins, &c. — Changing proportions of Patterns — Drawing upon various materials — Satin, Velvet, &c. — designing on the material 84 CHAPTER XI. Implements — Needles — Manufacture of — Their antiquity — Knitting Needles and Pins — Netting Needles and Meshes — Crochet and Tambour Needles — Filiere — Embroidery frames — Large frames — Table frames — Standing frames — Tam- bour frames — Screw Embroidery frames — D’Oyley and Shawl frames — Meshes for raised work — Purse stretchers — Purse moulds — Chain mould— Fork for a chain 89 CHAPTER XII. Framing Work — Dressing a frame — Framing canvas — Cloth and canvas — Velvet — Satin — Silk — Leather — Cloth, &c. 101 CHAPTER XIII. Stitches — The working of stitches — Tent stitch — Cross stitch — Gobelin or Tapestry stitch — Irish stitch — German stitch — Imitation of lace — Various fancy stitches 106 CHAPTER XIV. Embroidery — Introduced from the East — the invention of, attributed to Minerva — The Phrygians — Story of Procne — Embroidery mentioned by Pliny — other ancient CONTENTS. xii authors — Homer — The embroideries of Helen — Andromache — Abolish in the time of Moses — Embroidery mentioned by Ezekiel — Embroidery in gold in- vented by Attalus — A law of Zaleucus — The garments of Tarquiniu* Priscus — Decorative needlework — Derivation of the term Embroidery —The Chinese ■ — Embroideries from Manilla — Embroidery as at present practised in China — Indian Embroidery — Canadian — The negresses of Senegal —The Georgians — The Turkish women — Modern Greeks — The women of Therapia— their extraordinary works — Embroideries of Vienna — Milan and Venice — France — Saxony — Nancy and Paris — In what the art consists — Shaded embroidery — Arabesque or Moresque Patterns — Flowers — Historical subjects, landscapes, and portraits — Various materials employed — Application of — French or flat embroidery — Embroidery in chenille — Embroidering coats of arms — Raised embroidery — Raised cut embroidery — Embroidery in gold and silver — Embroi- dery in tambour — Chain stitch — Embroidery by machinery — The Weaver’s Song 112 CHAPTER XV. Canvas Work — Rules relating to — Right way of the stitch — Berlin patterns — working from — enlarging work from — Cross stitch on one thread — Mixing of cross and tent stitch — Patterns to form a centre — Grounding — the mode of working — various colours for — Gobelin stitch — Colours — Sorting Berlin patterns — Flowers — Flesh colours — Patterns drawn on canvas — Crests and coats of arms — Intro- duction of silk with wool — Increase and decrease of work from Berlin patterns — Illustration of 1-6 CHAPTER XVI. Crochet — Its varieties — Stitches — Directions for Working , . 147 A sofa pillow, or table cover .... . 149 An easy Turkish pattern for a table cover or pillow . 150 Another Turkish pattern for a table cover, etc. . 151 A table-cover or pillow . 152 Another table-cover . 153 Small pine-pattern table-cover . 154 Making up crochet table-covers . 155 A crochet slipper . 156 Chanceliere ....... . 158 A plain crochet bag in silk .... • ) . 159 A crochet bag with star-shaped bottom . 160 Persian pattern bag . 162 A star bottom for a bag with beads . . 162 A bag with steel or gold beads . 163 Another bag with steel or gold beads, and silk of two colours . 164 An elegant bag in blue, white, and gold . . 164 An open crochet bag in chenille . 165 Other patterns for bags . . . . . 166 A Greek cap in crochet silk .... . 167 A Greek cap in coarse chenille • » . 167 A penwiper in plain crochet .... . 168 A crochet neck chain . 168 A plain purse in crochet .... . 169 A plain croehet purse with square and round ends . 169 1 CONTENTS. Kill A plain open crochet purse 170 A short crochet purse 170 A sprigged purse in open and plain crochet 171 Open crochet stitch . . . . . . . . .171 A purse with beads, in plain and open crochet . . . .172 An elegant crochet purse with gold 173 Plain double-stitch crochet purse, pine pattern . . . .174 Plain and open crochet purse .175 Another plain and open crochet purse 175 A bridal purse 17G A short purse or hag in plain stitch double crochet . . .177 A baby’s cradle cover, or a carriage wrapper 178 Another square pattern, with a border 179 A round D’Oyley or mat 180 Travelling bags 181 Explanation of terms used in crochet 181 Hints on crochet . . . .182 Knitting — CHAPTER XVII. Unknown in England before the sixteenth century — mentioned in the Row- leian Forgeries — The first stockings knit in England — Silk stockings worn by Henry VIII — Invention of Knitting — The Spaniards — the Scots — Knitting practised in Spain and Italy — Glueen Elizabeth’s stockings — The invention of the stocking frame — amusement it affords to the blind — employment to the poor — Knitting of the cottage girls in Ireland — Works on knitting — . 184 An easy stitch for light scarfs, shawls, babies’ quilts, etc. A D’Oyley . Checked or matted pattern Harlequin quilt with tufts Turkish knitting . : Raised knitting Knitted fringe Vandyke border A scalloped fringe or border Another knitted fringe A spaced fringe for a crochet table cover, etc. Knitted insertion Bonnets de nuit d’hommes Double nightcap Opera cap Barege knitting for shawls Shetland shawl patterns . A Shetland knitted scarf A Brioche Bourse a la Josephine German purse A strong knitted purse Open stitch purse with beads Herringbone, or Shetland stitch for a pur A pence jug or purse Star-pattern shawl in two colours Plain ribbed muffatees 187 188 188 188 190 190 191 191 192 193 193 193 194 194 195 197 198 199 200 201 201 202 202 202 203 204 205 2 XIV CONTENTS. Graham muffatees . . 205 Another pair of muffatees 206 Pattern for a chair tidy or D’Oyley 207 Double knitting for comforters, etc. 208 A knitted bag, with black or garnet beads 209 Dotted knitting for babies’ shoes, etc 209 A knitted bonnet-cap 209 A knitted muff in imitation of sable . . . . * .210 Another muff 210 A baby’s shoe 211 Another very pretty baby’s shoe 212 A baby’s stocking 213 A double knitted scarf, in two colours . . 214 Cable knitting 215 Knitted cuffs 215 Cover for an air cushion 216 A fish napkin, D’Oyley, or Tidy 216 A knitted mat 217 Close stitch for a waistcoat, etc 217 Honeycomb stitch, for a bag 218 Baby’s hood 218 Long sleeves to wear under the dress 219 Open stitch for a light shawl, D’Oyley, etc. .. . . . . 219 Jarretieres 219 Explanation of terms used in knitting 220 A weaver’s knot 221 Hints or! knitting 221 The fez manufactory at Constantinople 222 Barege, Shetland, and Sanquhar knitting 222 CHAPTER XVIII. * Netting Antiquity of the Art — The nets of the Egyptians — mention of, by Pliny and Herodotus — Fishermen’s nets — Directions for netting — The netting knot 224 Plain netted gentleman’s purse 228 A Lady’s purse 229 Gentleman’s purse with ends of different colours .... 229 A lady’s purse with points 229 A pretty purse with chine silk ....... 230 Netting with beads ......... 230 A plain netted purse with a bead mouth 230 A prettjkseme purse with steel or gold beads .... 231 'An elegant netted purse with steel beads 231 Plain netted mittens 232 A knitter’s bag with ring 232 A checked or dice pattern purse 233 Grecian netting or filet rose 233 A purse in Grecian netting ........ 234 Mittens in Grecian netting 234 Netted fringe . 235 Single diamond netting 235 Treble diamond netting 236 Diamond netting, with five stitches 236 CONTENTS. XV Seme purse, diamond pattern 238 Open plain netting, or filet a Bagaette 239 Fond de Berlin 239 Filet rose 240 Filet a Baton rompu 240 Filet Rond 241 Netted mittens with silk and wool ....... 241 Netted cuff with silk and wool 242 CHAPTER XIN. Braiding and Applique — Simplicity of braid work — pxecufced by the Turks and Greeks — braiding in various materials — Patterns for — working of — Introduction of gold cord — Groups of flowers in braid — Adaptation of braid work — Union cord — Silk for sewing on braid — finishing of braid work — Applique — materials of which it is composed — its application — stamped leather — Lames de velours . . 243 CHAPTER XX. Bead Work — German bead work — its application — Glass beads — paucity of their colours— Turquoise beads — Gold and silver beads — Steel beads — Designs for bead work — Introduciion of beads in other works — Tricot — duality of beads — Can- vas for bead work — Manufacture of glass beads .... 247 • CHAPTER XXI. Needlework of the English duEENS and Princesses — The four daughters of Edward the Elder — dueen Matilda — Adelais, wife of Henry I — Katharine of Arragon — mention of, by Shakspeare — Sonnet — Anne Boleyn — Lady Jane Grey — dueen Mary — Sonnet — dueen Elizabeth — Sonnet — Mary, dueen of Scots — dueen Mary II — dueen Charlotte and the Princesses — The Princess Royal, dueen of Wurtemburg — The Princess Sophia — The Princess Augusta — The Princess Amelia — The Duchess of York — The Duchess of Gloucester — dueen Adelaide — -Her Majesty — The Duchess of Kent 250 CHAPTER XXII. Conclusion — The Praise of the Needle — The “ Needle’s Excellency” — Poem by John Taylor— rarity of the work- some account of the Water Poet 258 CONTENTS TO MRS. GAUGAIN. PAGE Bag in purse cord, (not purse silk,) spider-net 291 Bag, very beautiful shaded 291 Bag, handsome crotchet 295 Bed-Cover, Russian crotchet-stitch... 284 Boot, warm and useful for a baby 288 Boot, long 290 Cap for wearing under the bonnet 299 Comfort, scale stitch 277 Comfort 287 Coverlet, Baby’s, in garter stitch 277 Cuffs, simple and pretty dress knit... 282 Cuff, another very simple, 283 D’oyley’s, set of open square 274 Echarpe, petite net, for the neck 294 Edging 279 Edging, beautiful lace 283 Fringe 278 Guard, strong, for a lady or gentle- man 300 Hood, Baby’s, garter-stitch 277 Kettle-holder.*; 296 Muff, Princess Royal’s scale stitch... 276 Muffetees 293 Muffetee, another 294 Muffetee, warm, for boys., 294 Neckerchief, summer 282 Neckerchief, the roy, triangular net, or Coiffure a Neglige 286 Net, Grecian, for a veil 305 Net, dotted 308 Net* French ground 309 PAGE Netting, round, for a gentleman’s long purse 302 Netting, honeycomb, for veil 303 Netting, single diamond 306 Netting, leaf. 307 Purse, long, Queen Victoria 273 Purse, long, pretty open stitch 274 Purse, Prince Albert’s 280 Purse, beautiful 283 Purse, Russian crotchet-stitch 285 Purse, long net, for a lady 301 Purse, long net, for a lady 301 Purse, very pretty long Grecian net, for a lady 304 Purse, long, of open stitch of single tambour 311 Purse, long, diamond of five stitches 306 Purse, long, plain French double tam- bour 311 Purse, long, French tambour 312 Purse, open tambour 313 Purse, open tambour stitch 313 Scarf, elegant knit, with coloured ^ * on >7 Scollop for borders of veils, collars, caps, &c 310 Scollop, another, for border 310 Scollop 310 Shawl, Chinee Triangular Wrapping, garter-stitch 281 Stocking, under or sleeping 290 Tidy, very beautiful 278 CONTENTS TO MRS. J. B. GORE. PAGE Collar, the lace, No. 1 322 Collar, lace for, No. 1 323 Collar, the lace, No. 2 «... 325 Collar, lace for, No. 2 326 PAGE Shawl, the Shetland Wool 321 Shawl, border for the Shetland Wool 322 Slipper, the Royal Brighton 324 Purse, the China 327 16 CHAPTER I. Introduction. “ The various kinds of needle-work practised by our mdefatigab.e grandmothers, if enumerated, would astonish even the most industrious of our modern ladies.” Douce. The use of sewing is exceedingly old.” J. Taylor. EEDLEWORK appears to have been not only a pastime for noble ladies, but the principal occupation, as a source of pecuniary advantage, for women, from the most remote periods. If we consult the earliest writings, abundant proof found of the high estimation in which this, — • the most elegant and useful of the imitative arts, been held in all ages, and in every country ; at from time immemorial, it has ever been the constant amusement, and solace, of the leisure hours of royalty itself. In the time of Moses, needlework ranked high among the arts practised by the nations of the East, — embroidery with 2 * 2 INTRODUCTION. gold and with silver, and with silk, and precious stones, being frequently mentioned in the sacred writings, particularly where allusion is made to the work of the tabernacle ; — a proof that it had attained a considerable degree of perfection at a period so remote as three thousand four hundred years since. Even an- terior to this, needlework must have been greatly cultivated by the Egyptians, of whom the Israelites had doubtless acquired their knowledge. From the East, this art spread to Greece and Rome, and from thence over the whole of civilized Europe. Our knowledge of the needlework of the Greeks and Romans is principally to be gathered from Homer and Pliny. The names of Helen and Penelope are familiar to every one, as connected with this subject. There was a memorable custom among the Grecian dames, in accordance with which, they could not accept a second husband, until they had worked the grave-clothes of their deceased lords, or his next of kin ; and the story of the fa- mous web of Penelope, as related by Homer, is founded upon this fact. — Penelope having, as she thought, lost Ulysses at sea, she employed her time in working a shroud for Laertes, the father of her husband. 11 Sweet hopes she gave to every youth apart, With well taught looks, and a deceitful heart : A web she wove of many a slender twine, Of curious texture, and perplex’d design : My youths, she cried, my lord but newly dead, Forbear awhile to court my widow'd bed, Till I have wov’n, as solemn vows require, This web, a shroud for poor Ulysses’ sire. His limbs, when fate the hero’s soul demands, Shall claim this labour of his daughter’s hands : Lest all the dames of Greece my name despise, While the great king without a covering lies. Thus she. Nor did my friends mistrust the guile All day she sped the long laborious toil ; INTRODUCTION. 3 But when the burning lamps supplied the sun, Each night unravell’d what the day begun. Three live-long summers did the fraud prevail ; The fourth her maidens told th’ amazing tale j These eyes beheld, as close I took my stand, The backward labours of her faithless hand ; Till watch’d at length, and press’d on every side, Her task she ended, and commenced a bride.” The ceremony of the embroidering of the peplus or veil for the statue of Minerva, and its consecration, has been handed down to us as one of the highest festival? of the Athenians.* The peplus was the work of young virgins, selected from the best families in Athens, over whom two of the principal, called Arrephora, were superintendents. On it was embroidered the battles of the gods and giants ; amongst the gods was Jupiter hurling his thunderbolts against that rebellious crew, and Minerva, seated in her chariot, appeared the vanquisher of Typhon or Enceladus.f The names of those Athenians who had been eminent for military virtue were also embroidered on it. When the Panathenaic festival was celebrated, the peplus was brought down from the Acropolis, where it had been worked, into the city ; it was then displayed and suspended as a sail to the ship, which, on that day, attended by a numerous * The Panathenaic frieze, with which Phidias embellished the outside of the temple of the Parthenon, represented this sacred procession, which was celebrated every fifth year at Athens in honour of Minerva, the guardian goddess of the city. The remains of this frieze (one of the principal treasures in the collection of Elgin marbles) is preserved in the British Museum. + Vide the Hecuba of Euripides, act ii. where the Trojan females are lamenting in anticipation the evils they will suffer in the land of the Greeks : — “ In the city of Pallas, of Athena on the beautiful seat, in the woven peplus I shall yoke colts to a chariot, painting them in various different coloured threads, or else the race of the Titans, whom Zeus, the son of Kronos, puts to sleep in fiery all-surrounding flame.” 4 INTRODUCTION. and splendid procession, was conducted through the Ceramicus and other principal streets, till it had made the circuit of the Acropolis ; it was then carried up to the Parthenon, and there consecrated to Minerva.* The exact nature of the peplusf has been disputed ; but it is generally supposed to have been a sort of awning or covering suspended over the statue of the goddess. The following description of a similar covering, but of more ample dimensions, is given in the u Ion” of Euripides : “Then from the treas’ry of the god he takes The consecrated tap’stry, splendid woof! To clothe with grateful shade the wondrous scene. First o’er the roof he spreads the skirted peplus, (The skirts on every side hang waving down), Spoil of the Amazons, the votive gift, That Hercules, heroic son of Jove, Return’d from conquest, offer’d to Apollo. On this rich produce of the loom are wrought The Heav’ns, within whose spacious azure round The num’rous host of stars collective shine; His coursers there, down to his western goal The Sun has driven ; his last expiring beams Draw forth the radiant light of Hesperus ; In sable stole Night urges on amain With slacken’d reins her steeds and dusky car ; The Constellations on their swarthy queen Attend ; there thro’ the mid heav’ns win their way The Pleiades ; his sword Orion grasps ; Above them shines the Bear, circling round Heav’n’s golden axis ; while the full-orb’d Moon, That halves the varying months, darts from on high * Vide Stuart’s Athens , vol. ii. p. 8. The famous statue of Minerva was of ivory and gold, the work of Phidias. + “ Peplus, a garment and the like : the use of it is twofold, to wear as a gar- ment, or to cover something ; that it signifies a covering, we may conclude from the Pepli of Minerva.” — Pollucis Onomasticon , lib. vii. c. 13. For a further description of the peplus, vide Meursius in his Panathcenaia and Reliqucz Atticce. INTRODUCTION. 5 Her grateful splendor ; there the Hyades, To mariners unerring well-known sign, Appear ; and gloomy in the east Aurora The harbinger of day, that from the sky Chases night’s glittering train.” In the Middle Ages, decorative needlework for the service of the Church, if we may believe the writings of Anastasius he Librarian,* and others, was carried to an excess of mag- nificence scarcely to be credited. The vestments of the ecclesiastics, the altar-cloths, the palls, and the veils or curtains, were wrought with the most costly materials ; — gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, being lavished with the utmost profusion. In England, during the Saxon dynasty,f the women were famous for their needlework, and English work ( Anglicum opus) was long proverbial abroad for its excellence. | The Anglo-Saxon ladies were accustomed, like those of Greece and Rome, to embroider the exploits of their husbands on the hangings of their chambers ; ladies of the highest rank thus occupied their * Vide Anastasius Bibliothecarius, de Yitis Pontificum Romanorum. Edit. Paris, 1649, vol. ii. p. 1*27, and numerous other passages. t The art of embroidery appears to have been unknown in England before the seventh century, in fact we find no mention of it, or even of the weaving of figured textures, until about the year 680. At this period, in a book written by Aldhelm, bishop of Shereburn, in praise of virginity, he observes, that chastity alone did not form an amiable and perfect character, but required to be accompanied and adorned by many other virtues ; and this observation he further illustrates by the following simile taken from the art of weaving: — “As it is not a web of one uniform colour and texture, without any variety of figures, that pleaseth the eye and appears beautiful, but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with threads of purple, and many other colours, flying from side to side, and forming a variety of figures and images, in different compart- ments, with admirable art.” — Vide Aldhelm de Virginitate , in Bibliotheca Pairum , tom. xiii. X Gul. Pictavens. p. 211. J 0 INTRODUCTION. leisure hours, as also more particularly in working various ornaments for the Church, and the vestments of the Clergy. We are told by William of Malmesbury, that St. Dunstan, in his younger days, did not disdain to assist a pious and noble lady in the drawing of a design for embroidering a sacerdotal robe, which she afterwards wrought in threads of gold. The four daughters of Edward the Elder, and sisters of king Athelstan, were highly praised and distinguished on account of their great assiduity and skill both in spinning, weaving, and needlework — accomplishments which, so far from injuring the fortunes of these royal maidens, procured for them the addresses of the greatest princes in Europe. In the tenth century, we find Edelfreda, widow of Brithned, duke of Northumberland, presenting to the church of Ely a veil or curtain, on which she had depicted with her needle the deeds of her deceased lord. Ingulphus, in his history, mentions that among other gifts made by Witlaf, king of Mercia, to the abbey of Croyland, he presented a golden cur- tain, embroidered with the siege of Troy, to be hung up in the church on his birth day.f At a later period, — 1155, a pair of richly worked sandals, and three mitres, the work of Christina, abbess of Markgate, were among the valuable gifts presented by Robert, abbot of St. Albans, to Pope Adrian IV. J Numerous * William of Malmesbury, b. ii. c. 5. t Ingulphus, p. 487, edit. 1596. t Adrian IV. was the only Englishman who ever sat in St. Peter’s chair. His name was Nicolas Breakspear : he was born of poor parents at Langley, near St. Alban’s. Henry II. on his promotion to the papal chair, sent a deputation of an abbot and three bishops to congratulate him on his election ; upon which occasion he granted considerable privileges to the abbey of St. Alban’s. With the exception of the presents named above, he refused all the other valuable ones which were offered him, saying jocosely, — “ I will not ac- cept your gifts, because when I wished to take the habit of your monastery you refused me.” To which the abbot pertinently and smartly replied, — “ It, INTRODUCTION. 7 other instances might be cited from the monkish historians, were it necessary to enter more fully into the subject. Maids used to work with their mistresses ; and men, especially the monks, practised decorative needlework.* * In fact, to the time of the Reformation, it formed the principal occupation of the se- cluded life of the nuns, in the various religious houses throughout England. Hangings or veils, such as we have mentioned, and— “ tapestry richly wrought And woven close.” were the description of needlework, which, in former times, principally occupied the attention and fingers of the fair. Remnants of these may still be seen in some of our royal and noble residences. The designs were wor&ed, or embroidered, with a needle, with worsted or silk of various colours, and not un- frequently intermixed with gold and silver threads, on a groundwork of canvass, or texture of cloth or silk, in a manner very different, however, from those either of Flanders, or the Gobelins: — an invention, comparatively speaking, of modern times, partaking more of the character of weaving than of needlework, and of which we shall hereafter make more especial mention, when speaking of tapestry in general. The celebrated needlework of Bayeux, doubtless the most ancient specimen in existence,! is supposed to have been the work of was not for us to oppose the will of Providence, which had destined you for greater things.” * The practice of needlework, even at the present day, is not entirely confined to the softer sex. Many men, particularly officers of the army, have not deemed the use of the needle more derogatory than that of the pencil. — Most of the best specimens of embroidery done on the continent, more especially the appendages of the sacerdotal and military dress, are executed by men t We must not omit to mention the pall used at the funeral of Sir William 8 INTRODUCTION. / Matilda, que&n ot William the Conqueror, and her maidens,* by whom it was presented to the cathedral of Bayeux in Normandy, where the canons were accustomed to gratify the people with its exhibition on particular occasions. It consists of a continuous web of cloth, two hundred and twenty-seven feet in length, and twenty inches in width, including the borders at top and bottom, these are formed of grotesque figures of birds, animals, &c., some of which are supposed to represent the fables of iEsop. In the part pourtraying the battle of Hastings, the lower border consists of the bodies of the slain. The whole is worked or embroidered with worsted, representing the various events connected with the inva- Walworth, in the fourth year of Richard II. a. d. 1381. This, perhaps the most magnificent piece of ancient needlework in existence, is still preserved by the Fishmongers’ Company. The ends which are exactly similar, represent St. Peter seated on a throne, clothed in pontificial robes, and crowned with the papal tiara ; he is giving the benediction with one hand, whilst in the other he holds the keys. On either side of the saint is an angel scattering incense from a golden vase. The sides of the pall, which are also similar, are richly decorated with the arms of the Fishmongers’ Company at either end ; the centres represent our Saviour giving the keys to Peter. The faces of the figures (including those of the merman and mermaid, the supporters of the arms) are most beautifully executed; but we would more particularly call the attention of those interested in such works to the face of our Saviour, which may justly be termed a masterpiece of art. The whole is richly and elabor- ately wrought in gold, silver, and silk, on a coarse kind of linen cloth; the ground being composed entirely of gold, with a pattern in relief. The top of the pall, it is supposed, was originally embroidered in the same manner, but it has been lost, and its place is now supplied by a rich brocade of gold, bearing the stamp of great antiquity. The arms of the Fishmongers’ Company are, azure, three dolphins, naiant in pale, between two pairs of lucies, in salterwise, proper, crowned, or ; on a chief, gules, three couple of keys, crossed, as the crowns ; supported on the dexter side by a merman, armed, and on the sinister by a mer- maid. holding a mirror in her left hand ; crest, two arms sustaining a crown j — Motto, “ All icorship be to God only. ” * Though Queen Matilda directed the working of the Bayeux Tapestry, yet tne greater part of it was most probably executed by English ladies, who were at this period, as we have before stated, celebrated for their needlework. INTRODUCTION. 9 sion and conquest of England by the Normans. It comprises altogether, exclusive of the borders, about five hundred and thirty figures, three only being females. The colours, as may be readily supposed from the period in which it was executed, are not very numerous, consisting only of dark and light blue, and green, red, yel- low, and buif ; and these, after a lapse of nearly eight hundred years, have become considerably faded, whilst the cloth itself has assumed a brown tinge. This curious piece of work appears to have been wrought without any regard to the natural colours of the subjects depicted, — the horses being represented blue, green, red, and yellow, and many of them have even two of their legs of a different colour to their bodies; — as for instance, a blue horse has two red legs and a yellow mane, whilst the hoofs are also of another colour. The drawing of the figures has been termed “ rude and bar- barous,” but in the needlework of this age, we must not look for the correct outline of the painter. The work is of that kind properly termed embroidery; — the faces of the figures, and some other parts, are formed of the material composing the ground, — the outline of the features being merely traced in a kind of chain stitch. Nevertheless, taking the whole as a piece of needlework, it excites our admiration, and we cannot but wonder at the energy of mind which could with so much industry embody the actions of a series of events ever memorable in the pages of history.* An idea of the various descriptions of needlework practised by English ladies in the sixteenth century, may be gathered from some of the poems of the laureate Skelton. * Some beautifully coloured engravings of the Bayeux Tapestry, from drawings by Mr. Stothard, have been published by the Society of Antiquaries in the “ Vetusta Monumenta ; ” — as alsr in nhe munificent work recently Published r* b' T iVl. A rcfcite J>b:no * he* Aociennes a apissenas nistnnea*. 10 INTRODUCTION. “ With that the tappettes and carpettes were Iayde, Wheren these ladyes softely might rest, The sampler to sowe on, the laces to embroyde. To weave in the stole some were full prest, With slaies, with tavels, with hedelles well drest, The frame was brought forth, with his weaving pin ; God give them good speed their work to begin. “ Some to embroider,* put them in prease, Well gydyng their glotten to keep straight their silke; Some pyrlyng of golde, their work to encrese, With fingers small, and handes as white as mylke, With reche me that skayne of tewly sylke, And wynde me that batoume of such an hewe, Grene, red, tawney, whyte, purple, and blewe . 77 From the time of Elizabeth,* when the study of the dead lan- guages, and the cultivation of the more abstruse sciences, became the fashion of the day, the art of needlework, although possessing so many attractions, and capable of such endless variety, would appear, in England at least, to have been much neglected, if we except some occasional intervals, when it has for a time resumed its former importance, paramount to all other feminine amusements. * At this period, in addition to the pleasing occupation of needlework, ladies studied Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian and French. The “ more ancient 77 among them exercised themselves, some with the needle, some with “ caul work 77 (probably netting), 11 divers in spinning silk, some in continual reading either of the Scriptures or of histories, either of their own, or translating the works of others into Latin or English.” The younger branches also applied to “ their lutes, citharnes, and pricksongs, and all kinds of music , 77 which were then understood. The preparing of confectionary was also deemed an important household duty for ladies ; the distillation of waters, and the acquiring some knowledge both in physic and surgery likewise occupied their attention ; as, until the time of Kenry VIII. there had been no licensed practitioners in either of these branches of science. The mewing of sparrow hawks and merlins, much engaged the attention of the younger portion of the female sex. One great and important office, however, must not be omitted, namely, the distribu- tion of charitable doles by the lady of each parish or manor, poor’s rates being then unknown. — Vide HolinsKed's Chronicle . INTRODUCTION. 11 In the time of Addison, its discontinuance is thus mentioned in .. letter to the Spectator. 55 — “ Mr. Spectator,— u I have a couple of nieces under my direction, who so often run gadding abroad, that I don’t know where to have them. Their dress, their tea, and their visits, take up all their time ; and they go to bed as tired with doing nothing, as I am after quilting a whole under-petticoat The only time they are not idle, is while they read your c Spectators 5 ; which being dedicated to the interests of virtue, I desire you to recommend the long neglected art of needlework. Those hours which in this age are thrown away in dress, play, visits, and the like, were employed, in my time, in writing out receipts, or working beds, chairs, and hangings, for the family. For my part, I have plyed my needle these fifty years, and by my good will would never have it out of my hand. It grieves my heart to see a couple of proud idle flirts sipping their tea, for a whole afternoon, in a room hung round with the industry of their great-grandmother. Pray, sir, take the laudable mystery of embroidery into your serious consid- eration, and as you have a great deal of the virtue of the last age in you, continue your endeavours to reform the present. I am, &c.,” At the close of the last century, needlework of all kinds was again much in vogue. Coloured embroideries, with crewels and silks, in imitation of paintings, comprising all the varieties of land- scape and historical subjects, fruit, flowers, birds, animals, and shells ; these were principally worked on satin or lute-string, the faces and other parts of the human figure being generally painted on the material, as being more difficult to embroider. Specimens of these are not unfrequently to be met with, in which the work is 12 INTRODUCTION. most beautiful and elaborate. During the war, a great number, of delicate and ingenious kinds of work were done by the pri- soners and emigrants in fine silk and hair. The ornamenting and spangling of fans, then an absolute appendage to the dress of every lady, must not be forgotten. Besides the coloured embroideries, much skill and ingenuity were displayed in what was, termed print-work , — a close imitation of line and dotted or stippled engravings. These were worked on white satin or silk with a fine needle, in silks of various gradations of tint, from black to grey, — the design being first drawn upon the material ; the darker parts were worked much closer together than the lighter or middle shades, and in those imitating dotted engravings the stitches were extremely small : the whole art consisted in representing as closely as possible the lines of the engraver, — a work, however, which required both skill and patience to produce the beautiful effects which we sometimes see in these pieces. When fine engravings were copied, the stitches more closely resembled those of the usual embroideries, but were kept wider apart, so as to imitate the black and white lines of the engraver. This species of work was peculiarly adapted for representing architectural subjects. In addition to the above, numerous different kinds of needlework were practised, but the mere enumeration of these would be productive of but little benefit, as most of them have long since given place to others of a superior description. In a work of this kind, a “ Hand-book” of the present state of needlework, and of the best means we possess of bringing it to perfection, it is scarcely necessary that we should enter more fully into the early history of the art. This has already been so ably and successfully done under the auspices of the Countess of Wilton, and withal, in so entertaining a manner, accompanied with INTRODUCTION. 13 such deep research, as to leave no stone unturned, or any want upon the subject. In all ages needlework has been applied to the same purposes, either for the adornment of the person, or the decoration of the mansions of the wealthy. For such did the maidens of Egypt ply the needle; and again, in after times, those of Greece and Rome ; # yet be it remembered that they also occupied themselves with the then equally feminine labours of the distaff and spindle, and with the more toilsome mysteries of the loom, at which they were pre-eminently skilful, as is fully proved by the remains of ancient textures, which the researches of modern travellers have brought to light. It is scarcely to be imagined that any needlework, either of ancient or modern times, has ever surpassed the celebrated productions of Miss Linwood. This lady, who is now in her eighty-seventh year, commenced her labours when only thirteen years old; her last piece she completed at the age of seventy- eight. The works of this accomplished artist are executed on a thick kind of tammy, woven expressly for her use, with fine crewels, dyed under her own superintendence; they are entirely drawn and embroidered by herself, no background or other unimportant parts being put in by a less skilful hand, the only assistance she received, if indeed it may be called such, was in the threading of her needles. In her collection, still exhibited in Leicester-square, London, is her first piece, the Head of St. Peter, a copy from Guido.f The “ Salvator Mundi,” from Carlo Dolci, has generally been considered the finest production of her needle, for which we are informed she refused the sum of three thousand guineas. * In the simplest days of Greece, those occupations were not deemed unsuit- able to palaces : nor did a princess degrade her dignity by superintending the abours of the loom, the distaff, and the dyeing vat. t Marked No. 24 in the Catalogue. 3 * 14 INTRODUCTION. “To raise at once our reverence and delight, To elevate the mind and charm the sight, To pour religion through th’ attentive eye, And waft the soul on wings of extacy ; For this the mimic art with nature vies, And bids the visionary form arise.” The “Woodman in a Storm,” from Gainsborough, and “Jep- tha’s rash Vow,” from Opie, also rank among her*best. Her last production is the “ Judgment upon Cain,” one of the largest pictures in the gallery. “ And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘ Where is Abel thy brother V And he said, 1 1 know not : am I my brother’s keeper 'l ” “ And he said, 1 What hast thou done 'l The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. “ 1 And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. “ ‘ When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength ; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.’ “ And Cain said unto the Lord, ‘ My punishment is greater than I can bear .” The whole collection consists of sixty-four pieces, including a portrait of Miss Linwood herself, from a painting by Russell. Within the last few years, ornamental needlework has again attracted considerable attention, and although the modern style of the art may as yet be considered in its infancy, it has already so far progressed as infinitely to surpass the labours of the ingen- ious women of bygone times. Needlework may be regarded (if we may be allowed the expression) as the sister art of painting ; the aim of the accomplished needlewoman of the present day, being to produce as true a picture of nature as possible ; soaring far beyond the common-place ideas of the ancient embroideries, which, perhaps, are more to be admired for the richness of their materials, and the labour bestowed upon them, than for any merit they possess as works of art. We would wish to see the needle and embroidery INTRODUCTION. 15 frame rescued from any doubt as to their utility, or their capa- bility of taking a higher stand among the more elegant of female accomplishments, — and worthy of occupying the elevated position in which the talent of Miss Linwood has placed them. It will, perhaps, be urged by some, that needlework, as practised at the present time, is but a mechanical art ; and the recent invention of Berlin 'patterns may somewhat favour the opinion. This, however, we entirely disown, — no one, who regards the work of the mere copyist of these designs, (as commonly done for sale in Germany, where neither taste nor judgment are displayed in the selection of the colours, nor skill in the appropriation of them) can compare it with that of the talented needlewoman, who, even though she may have worked stitch for stitch from the same pattern, produces what may be justly termed — a “ painting with the needle.”* No feminine art affords greater scope for the display of taste and ingenuity than that of needlework. The endless variety of form which it assumes under the various denominations of tapestry work, — as gros point , petit point , and point de Gobelin , — in that of embroidery ; — and again in the apparently intricate, but really easy, mazes of tricot , filet , and crochet , — each in their turn serving as graceful occupations for the young, and an inexhaustible source of amusement for those in a more advanced period of life ; more particularly the latter descriptions of work, as these can be, and * All descriptions of canvas work have undergone great improvement within the last few years. Even so recently as 1829, they were dismissed with the following • brief account, in a work dedicated to the pursuits of young ladies. “Worsted- work, on canvas, is a subordinate description of embroidery. It is applied to the production of rugs for urns, covers of ottomans, bell-pulls, and many other elegant articles. The outline of the pattern is sketched with a pen, on canvas, strained in the middle of a frame.’’ — ! ! 16 INTRODUCTION. are frequently, practised by persons even when labouring under deprivation of sight. It has opportunely been observed by Mrs. Griffiths, “ that the great variety of needleworks which the in- genious women of other countries, as well as our own, have invented, will furnish us with constant and amusing employment ; and though our labours may not equal a Mineron’s or an Ayles- bury’s, yet, if they unbend the mind, by fixing its attention on the progress of any elegant or imitative art, they answer the purpose of domestic amusement ; and, when the higher duties of our situation do not call forth our exertions, we may feel the satisfaction of knowing that we are, at least, innocently employed.”* In conclusion, to quote the words of John Taylor, the water poet, it may be said, — “Thus is a needle prov’d an instrument Of profit, pleasure, and of ornament, Which mighty queenes have grac’d in hand to take. Essays, p. 65. CHAPTER II ilcipestrj}. “ This bright art Did zealous Europe learn of Pagan hands, While she assay’d with rage of holy war To desolate their fields : but old the skill : Long were the Phrygians’ pict’ring looms renown’d Tyre also, wealthy seat of art, excell’d, And elder Sidon, in th’ historic web.” Dyer. “ For round about the walls yclothed were With goodly arras of great maiesty, Woven with gold and silke so close and nere That the rich metall lurked privily As faining to be hid from envious eye; Yet here, and there, and everywhere, unwares It shewd itselfe and shone unwillingly'; Like a discolourd snake, whose hidden snares Through the greene gras his long bright burnisht back declares,” Faery GLueene. HE last quotation forms part of the description, given by Spenser, of the beautiful tapestry which Britomart saw in one of the apartments of the house of Busyrane ; and the poet had probably in view the actual specimens of tap- es iry tnen frequently to be seen in the principal mansions of the nobility in England. 18 TAPESTRY. The decoration of the walls of palaces with tapestry, appears to have been a custom practised even in the earliest ages. Homer says — “ The walls, through all their length, adorn’d With mantles overspread of subtlest warp Transparent, work of many a female hand.” The mode of building adopted by the ancients, and even in more recent times, in the baronial castles in England, rendered such a mode of decoration, or, at least, some description of lining for the walls, absolutely necessary : and although the term tapestry is now generally restricted to one species of fabric, — such as that produced at the “ Manufacture Royale des Gobelins, :rp 'and at Beauvais, — yet it was formerly applicable to all kinds of ornamental hangings for the walls of apartments ; and these, before the loom was employed to furnish a similar article with less labour and expense, were generally the needle- work of female hands.* Tapestries were known among the inhabitants of eastern countries at an extremely remote era, from whence they were introduced into Greece and Rome. The invention of the art, like all other kinds of needlework, has generally been attri- buted to the Phrygians ; the women of Sidon, long before the Trojan war, were celebrated for their tapestries and embroideries ; and those of Phseacia, the island on which Ulysses was wrecked, were, according to Homer, equally noted. “ Far as Phseacian mariners all else Surpass, the swift ship urging through the floods, So far in tissue-work the women pass All others, by Minerva’s skill endow’d With richest fancy and superior skill.” * The term Tapestry comes from the French, whence it is derived from the Latin word Tapes or Tapete which again comes from the Greek rdirns TAPESTRY. 19 It is supposed by Bottiger, that the Greeks took their ideas of griffins and centaurs from the grotesque compositions and fantastic combinations selected for the display of the talents of the needlewomen in this department of oriental art. The refined taste of the Athenians, however, soon became visible in the design of their tapestry ; and these unnatural combinations no longer covered the whole surface of the work, but were con- fined to the borders only, while the centres received more regular and systematic representations. It is narrated that Arachne, a woman of Colyphon, daughter of Idmon, a dyer, was so skilful in working these tapestries with the needle, that she challenged Minerva, the * * Idess of the art, to a trial of skill. She represented in her designs the amours of Jupiter with Europa, Antiope, Leda, Asteria, Danae, and Alcmene ; and although it is reported that her performance was per- fect and masterly, yet she was defeated by Minerva, and hanging herself in despair, was changed into a spider by the goddess.* After the fall of the Roman empire, the art of working tapestry appears to have been lost in Europe, until it was again introduced, as is supposed, from the Levant, by the Crusaders, as, with the exception of the far-famed Bayeux Tapestry, we find but few traces of it until that period : and from the early manufacturers in France being called Sarazins , or Sarazinois , this opinion is considerably strengthened. or rams. According to the best authorities, it signified an outer garment, or covering of any kind, generally composed of wool, and wrought or em- broidered in figures with various colours, such as hangings for walls, coverlets for beds, or tables, or carpets, or even for horse-cloths. The term is thus used in the writings of Pliny, Virgil, Martial, and other Latin authors. * Vide Ovid’s Metamorphoses , b. vi. Minerva, as the goddess of the liberal arts, was invoked by every artist, particularly by such as worked in wool, em- broidery, painting, and sculpture. In many of her statues she is represented holding a distaff instead of a spear. 20 TAPESTRY. The first manufactories for weaving tapestry which acquired reputation in Europe, were those of Flanders, and they appear to have been long established in that country, principally at Arras,* before they were introduced either into England or France : the precise period when they were first manufactured by the Flemings is uncertain. Guicciardini, in his history of the Netherlands, published at Antwerp in 1582, ascribes to them the invention of tapestries, but without mentioning any particular date. Whether the Flemings did or did not derive their knowledge from the East, to them is certainly due the honour of having restored this curious art, which gives a life to wools and silks, scasAsely, if at all, inferior to the paintings of the best masters. The weaving of tapestry was first introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII, by William Sheldon ; but it was not until the reign of James I. that it acquired any par- ticular reputation. This monarch greatly patronised the art, and gave the sum of two thousand pounds towards the advancement of a manufactory, which was established by Sir Francis Crane at Mortlake in Surrey. The patterns first used for making these fabrics in England were obtained from pieces which had already been worked by foreign artists ; but as the tapestries produced in this country acquired greater celebrity and perfection, the designs were furnished by Francis Cleyn, who was retained for that purpose.f There is extant in Rymer’s in the fleece of the same animal ; the finest growing along the spine from the neck, to within six inches of the tail ; including one third of the breadth of the back : the second covers the flanks and the shoulders ; and the third, the neck and hinder parts ; and the coarsest the breast to the feet. These it is the office of the wool sorter to separate, which he generally does immediately after shearing. The best wool is that shorn from the sheep at the proper seasons ; that which is taken from the skin after death is inferior. Wools again differ from each other not only accord* ing to their coarseness and fineness, but also in the length of their filaments. Long, or combing wool, varies in length from three to eight inches ; it is treated on a comb with long steel teeth, which opens the fibres, and arranges them horizontally like locks of flax ; such wool when woven is unfit for felting. Short, or cloth- ing wool, varies in the length of its staple from three to four inches ; if longer, as is the case with the best Saxon wool, it is broken down by carding, to adapt it to the subsequent operation of felting, where the fibres are convoluted or matted together. It is only within the last few years (in fact since the introduc- tion of coloured paper patterns) that German wool has been used for the purposes of needlework: previously to that time our only resources, with the exception of silk, were English lambswools, worsteds, and crewels. The beauty of German wools and the * The merino breed of sheep has been carried to New South Wales and Van Dieman’s Land, from whence, of late years, great quantities of wool have been exported. Australia promises, at no distant period, to be one of the principal wool growing countries in the world, and to outrival Saxony in the fineness and superiority of its fleeces. 36 WOOL. perfection to which the “ science” of dyeing them has been brought, is an era in the annals of our art; and has, together with the invention of Berlin patterns, contributed in rendering it a more enticing and facile amusement than when Helen “ Guided by love, O’er the stretch’d sampler’s canvas plain, In broidery’s various colours strove To raise his form to life again.” All kinds of wool are more or less characterised by a degree of harshness when compared to the “ Zejphyr Merino” the fine- ness, softness, and flexibility of the fibre of which renders it decidedly superior for all kinds of tapestry work with the needle, and embroidery in wool, especially where great numbers of colours are required. We shall now proceed more particularly to notice — GERMAN WOOL. German wool, or, as it is termed by the wool staplers of Germany, Zephyr merino , is prepared of various sizes. That commonly known as “ Berlin ” or “ German wool,” is adapted for working all kinds of Berlin patterns; and from the manner in which it is skeined, or notted, in small quantities, it is rendered the most convenient, and, comparatively speaking the least expen- sive description of wool for this purpose ; — recommendations sufficient, were they not more fully enhanced by the unequalled brilliancy and variety of shades in which it is dyed, and its above-mentioned superior qualities. This wool may be split and worked on the finest canvas, and also doubled and trebled on the coarsest: its beauty, however, can be best appreciated when worked in a single thread on a canvas suited to its size, where WOOL. 37 it should form an even and uniform surface of pearly stitches, thoroughly covering the threads of the canvas, yet not so tightly ranked as to be deprived of its beautiful elastic appearance. Like every other material, German wool requires to be well understood as to its qualities and capabilities, in order to pro- duce that degree of excellence which it is the wish of the needlewoman to accomplish. When worked on cloth, either with a canvas over the cloth, or an embroidery, it should be used with a needle sufficiently large to form a passage through which the wool may pass without “ dragging.” It is applicable for working flowers, figures, and every description of work in imitation of paintings ; also, for fine crochet, knitting, and netting. When of the best quality, German wool should retain but little of the smell of the dye ; it should be soft and curly in its texture, and round in its make, and free from all particles of vegetable or mineral substances which may have been used in its dyeing. This wool should not be wound, as, by being compressed, it may be partially deprived of its elasticity. A quantity of German wool is brought into Great Britain in a raw state, where it is combed, spun, and dyed ; the greater part undergoes these processes in Scotland. Some of this wool is equal to that imported in a manufactured state, for the purposes of needlework, from Germany ; but the dye is generally very imperfect and perishable, except the blacks, which are certainly much cleaner — an important desideratum in needle- work. The best German wools, and those which command the highest prices, are dyed in Germany, and imported into England ready skeined for use. Great quantities, however, of German wool, manufactured in this country, and also of very 38 WOOL. inferior wool imported from Germany, are daily sold ; and it requires the eye of an experienced person to detect them.* Much more might be said as to the qualities and dyeing of these wools ; but it remains with the “ sorter ,” or selector of colours for working, to give them their final lustre, by the knowledge and care bestowed upon their choice, and the proper appropriation of them, each to their several purposes : and, like the colours on the painter’s palette, in mixing the various shades so delicately, that they shall seem but as one ; carefully avoiding all harshness, yet, by contrast, giving a proper spirit to the whole ; and, above all, avoiding that gaudiness of colouring, and glaring want of taste, so generally exhibited in the coloured-paper patterns of Berlin, and which are but too frequently complained of in the productions of the needle, f ENGLISH WOOL. " If any wool peculiar to our isle Is giv’n by nature, ’tis the comber’s lock, The soft, snow-white, and the long grown flake.” Dyer. * The importations of German wool* into this country were quite trifling during the war, amounting in 1812, to only twenty-eight pounds ; but since the peace, they have increased beyond all precedent. In 18 14, they amounted to nearly three and a half millions of pounds ; in 1820, they were above five millions of pounds ; and, in 1825, they reached the enormous amount of nearly twenty-nine millions of pounds ; this, however, was a year of overtrading, and they declined, in 1826, to about ten and a half millions of pounds. They have since, however, recovered from this depression ; and, in 1833, the imports amounted to nearly twenty-five and a half millions of pounds. These important statistical facts, although they have no reference to the subject of the consump- tion of wool for the purpose of needlework, nevertheless show the high estimation in which the German wool is held by our manufacturers. t German wool is prohibited in France : it is not long since, that the police, at Paris, made seizures of considerable quantities in several of the warehouses. WOOL. 39 English lambswool, or embroidery wool, though much harsher than the preceding, yet retains its superior qualifications. The dye of scarlet lambswool is quite equal to that of the German, as are also several of the shades of blue, green, and gold colours browns, clarets, and some neutral tints. On coarse canvas, either for tent, or cross stitch, it is decidedly preferable, both in working, and in appearance when finished. It may be sometimes used in the same piece of work with German wool ; such as, for instance, in needlework for carpets, large chairs, sofas, ottomans, &c. the gold colours, scarlets, olives, and some of the blues, as also the grounding, may be superiorly worked in English wool, whilst the whites, greys, pinks, lilacs, &c. may be introduced in German wool. For grounding , English wool is generally preferable to the German, as being more durable, and less apt to soil ; nor is it impoverished by brushing like the latter. If good, English wool is cleaner in the dye of the darker colours ; and has, also, another recommendation, — that of being more economical. WORSTED. olir anfo Silu^r. “ Then threads of gold both artfully dispose, And, as each part in just proportion rose, Some antique fable in their work disclose.” Ovid. MONG the various materials employed in nee- dlework, the application of the precious metals is extremely curious. Gold and silver (more especially the former) were used in the earliest ages both for embroidery and weaving ; but we are not to understand from this, such gold threads as those now in use ; for the embroideries with gold mentioned by the ancient historians, were in fact worked with the pure metal, which, beaten into thin plates and afterwards divided into small slips, were rounded by a hammer, and then filed so as to form threads or wire.* The invention of em- * The method of using gold for needlework is thus mentioned in the twenty- ninth chapter of Exodus, in allusion to the ephod : “ And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.” GOLD AND SILVER. 57 broidery with gold, has been ascribed to Attalus, king of Pergamus ; but the art had evidently been practised in several of the preceding centuries. The perfection to which it had been brought is manifest, when we are told that Agrippina wore a robe woven entirely of gold threads,* * * § without any linen or woollen ground. The tunic of Heliogabalus, as described by Lampridius,t was of the same material, as also that of Tarquinius Priscus, mentioned by Yerrius.J We are again informed of a similar mantle taken from the statue of Jupiter, by the tyrant Dionysius ; besides others, not to mention the fabulous net of the poets, in which Vulcan entrapped Mars and Yenus, and of which it is related, that it was so extremely fine that the gods themselves were unable to perceive it, — and this, we are told, was forged by Yulcan on the anvil. There is no passage in any ancient author, in which mention is made of the preparation of metal similar to the modern method of wire-drawing. Very few remains of ancient wire-work have been discovered. In the museum at Portici, is a bronze head, which has fifty locks of wire as thick as a small quill, bent into the form of a curl : and a small statue of Yenus has golden bracelets, made of wire, round the arms and legs. From the appearance of some wire found at Thebes, however, Mr. Wilkinson is of opinion that we are almost justified in the conclusion, that a mode of wire-drawing was known to the Egyptians and the * “ Auro textili sine alia materiel Plin. lib. xxxiii. c. 19. t Vit. Heliogab. c. 23. t Plin. lib. xxxiii. c. 19. § That the Egyptians had arrived at great perfection in the art of making gold thread or wire, is evident from its being sufficiently fine for weaving with linen, cloth, and for embroidery. The exceeding delicacy of the linen corslet of Amasis, as mentioned by Herodotus * (lib. iii. c. 43,) op which numerous 58 GOLD AND SILVER. omission of every representation of the process, in their paintings cannot be adduced as an argument against the fact, since they have also failed to depict the casting of metals, and various other arts with which they were undoubtedly acquainted. Gold thread appears to have been made entirely of metal, even to the time of the last Roman emperors ; nor are there any instances of flattened wire covered round silk or thread, or of silver or other wire gilt, in the ruins either of Herculaneum or Pompeii. Gold and silver threads, as used at the present day, are generally composed of a thread of silk, round which an extremely thin flat- tened wire of the metal is spun.* * Gold itself is never used for this purpose, but a silver or copper wire gilt,f — the former being of course the best and most expensive. For silver thread, either silver itself, or copper plated, is used in a similar manner. ’ With the material thus prepared, of various sizes, the different articles we meet with are manufactured, such as laces, fringes, tassels, cord, &c. The finer kinds of work in gold and silver were for a length of time best executed in France and Italy. It is said that the first machine for wire-drawing was invented by Rudolph, at figures of animals were wrought in gold, must have required a proportionate degree of fineness in the gold thread used for that purpose. * A silver rod is encased in gold leaf, and this compound cylinder is then drawn into round wire down to a certain size, which is afterwards flatted in a rolling mill. This flatted wire is then wrapped or laid over a thread of yel- low silk, by twisting with a wheel and iron bobbins. By the aid of mechanism, a number of threads may thus be twisted at once by one moving power. The principal nicety consists in so regulating the movements, that the successive volutions of the flatted wire on each thread may just touch one another, and form a continuous covering. By the ordinances of France, it was formerly required to be spun on flaxen or hempen threads. t The inferior manufactures of gold, or copper gilt, are frequently called Mosaic gold. GOLD AND SILVER. 59 Nuremberg, in 1360.* Anthony Fournier, a Frenchman, brought an improved art of drawing fine wire to Nuremberg! in 1570, where, a few years afterwards, an artist of the name of Hagel- sheimer, or Held, a citizen of the same town, received an exclusive patent for its manufacture for fifteen years, which term was afterwards doubled. His patent also, by a grant from the emperor Rudolphus II, in 1608, included the manufacture of copper wire, gilt or plated with silver. In 1602 this patent was renewed for fifteen years more by the emperor Matthias, and ten years afterwards, was converted into a fief to the heirs male of the family of Held. All the wire made in England was manu- factured by hand until the year 1565, when the art of drawing with mills was introduced. Jacob Momma and Daniel Demetrius first established a manufactory for wire drawing at Esher : and Anderson^ says, that the first flatting mill w r as erected at Sheen near Richmond, in 1663, by a Dutchman, who began to prepare fine gold and silver, such as could be used for spinning round * In the fifteenth century, there appear to have been flatting mills in several other places besides Nuremberg. In the town-book of Augsburg, under the year 1451, is the name of a person called Chunr. Tratmuller de Tratmul, as a wire drawer. Vide Beckmann, vol. ii. p. 241. t Nuremberg, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, attained the height of its wealth and prosperity. It was the chief mart and staple place for the produce of Italy and the Levant, which it received principally from Venice and Genoa, and distributed over the north and west of Europe. But commerce and the carrying trade of Europe, were by no means the only sources of its wealth ; since, in the extent and celebrity of its manufactures, it deserves to be considered as the Birmingham of the period. Its artisans — many of whom may more properly be styled artists, especially the workers of metals, smiths, ar- mourers, cutlers, casters in bronze, and goldsmiths— were esteemed the most cunning and skilful craftsmen in Europe, and their productions highly prized ; the cloth weavers and dyers were likewise in high repute. Vide Murray’s Hand book , Southern Germany. X Geschichte des Handels , vol. v. p. 484. 60 GOLD AND SILVER. silk for weaving, which, before that period, had been manufactured only on the Continent. The first object in the manufacture of gold thread, and one of the greatest consequence, is the choice of the purest gold ; for on this depends the beauty and durability of the colour of the articles prepared from it. With regard to the silver which forms the body of the wire, it is said to be greatly improved by being alloyed with a small quantity of copper. The proportion of gold to be used in the gilding was, until of late years, regulated by act of parliament. It is amazing to what a degree of fineness the gold is drawn, yet it still keeps firmly together without showing the least appearance of the silver beneath. The various names under which the manufactures of gold and silver, as employed for needlework,* will be found, are, — passing, cord, braid, bullion, (both rough, smooth, and checked), spangles, paillons, lames, and beads, f PASSING. Passing — of gold or silver — is a smooth thread, of an uniform size, closely resembling a thin metallic wire. It is the finest material of this kind manufactured, and peculiarly exhibits the perfection to which the art of making gold thread has been brought. It may be used in the same manner as silk for flat embroidery, the needle being threaded with gold in the usual way. Passing may also be employed for knitting, netting, and * The Chinese, instead of flatted gilt wire, generally employ slips of gilt paper, with which they interweave and embroider their stuffs, and twist upon silk threads. t There are various technical terms for some of these, with which it is un- necessary to trouble the reader. GOLD AND SILVER. 61 crochet. It is made of two or three different sizes ; and is dis- tinguished from gold cord by the closeness with which the flat- tened wire is spirally twisted round the silk, and from its being formed of only one thread. For embroidery with passing, the needle should be round, large in the eye, and of sufficient size to prevent the fraying of the gold as it is passed backwards and forwards through the work. The Turks embroider with passing on morocco leather in the most beautiful manner. GOLD CORD. Gold or silver cord is a twist composed of two or any other number of threads. The threads are formed by having the flattened wire wound round them in a contrary direction to that of passing, in order that it shall not ravel by the second process of twisting. For the purposes of needlework, it is seldom employed of a larger size than two, three, or four threads. Gold cord may be used for edging braid work and flat embroidery ; it may also be em- ployed for working patterns in a similar manner with braid. It should be sewn on with a fine silk o*f the same colour, taking care that the point of the needle does not penetrate the metallic surface so as to chip it, and betray the silk beneath. The needle should be held in as horizontal a position as possible, and passed between the interstices of the cord, slightly taking up a thread or two of the surface it is intended to ornament. Gold cord is much introduced with wool in some kinds of canvas work, but its applicability or merit must be determined by the approbation of those who use it. It is, however, to be admitted, that as a ground , for small articles of extreme luxury, it may be employed with beautiful effect; and, if properly managed, it is not so expensive as might be imagined. 62 GOLD AND SILVER. GOLD BRAID. Braid is a kind of plaited lace, made of three or more threads, the application of which is too well known to need comment. The judgment of the needlewoman must direct her in the selection of the quality and make, as best suited to the purposes for which it is intended. If to work on velvet, a round full close make is preferable. It is made of various widths and qualities ; mosaic, or copper-gilt, being the least expensive, but, at the same time, the least durable. BULLION. Bullion is manufactured in pieces of about thirty-eight inches in length. It is composed of a fine wire so exquisitely twisted, that it forms a smooth, round, elastic tube, which may be cut with the scissors into the lengths required. There are three kinds — the rough, the smooth, and the checked — and these are frequently used together in the same piece of work; for instance, suppose a large letter were to be embroidered in bullion, — the drawing is made, the surface raised with cotton, and 'the bullion cut into pieces of the requisite size ; three stitches might be made with the smooth, two with the rough, two with the checked, then again two with the rough, an^ three with the smooth ; this would form a kind of pattern, and very much enrich the appearance of the letter. — In some descriptions of embroidery, the stems of flowers are worked with gold bullion: but the exe- cution of a correctly twisted stem with this material can rarely be accomplished but by those who have devoted to it both time and attention. GOLD AND SILVER. 63 SPANGLES. Spangles, or paillettes, are small pieces of silver or other metal gilt or plated, cut into various forms, more generally rounded, and pierced in the centre with a hole, through which the silk is passed which attaches them to the work. The manufacture of spangles is a curious process ; they were formerly in great demand, but are now seldom used except for ornamenting fringes and tassels. The value of spangles depends on their brilliancy and colour and the quantity of gold consumed in the gilding of them. LAMA AND PAILLON. Lama, or lame , is a gilt or plated sheet of extremely thin metal, which may be cut into strips, or any shape desired, either with the scissors or a punch. It is employed for the ornament- ing of ladies’ dresses, and for various embroideries on crepe or net. The celebrated Indian muslins from Bengal are sometimes worked with it. An imitation of lama is well known under the name of tinsel. This material when cut into very small pieces by the punch is termed paillon , — the general form in which it is used for needlework. It is also manufactured of various colours. GOLD BEADS. Gold beads are either cut or plain; they differ very materially both in quality and value, according to the quantity of gold em- ployed in their manufacture. They are very pretty auxiliaries in all kinds of gold work, and when gold is introduced with 64 GOLD AND SILVER. wool and canvas, are the best and most suitable ; as they do not readily tarnish, and, if securely sewn on are very durable. Gold beads are used for all kinds of knitting, netting, and crochet work with silk; as also with beautiful effect when in- termixed with coloured beads,— a description of work we shall more particularly describe in a subsequent chapter. GOLD FRINGES. Gold and silver fringes are made of all widths and qualities; if applied with taste, they certainly form one of the most elegant fescriptions of trimmings for ornamental needlework. Even in this climate they will wear for a great length of time ; and they might be more generally applied, as on the Continent, in the houses of the wealthy, to the mounting of furniture, such as velvet cushions, and other articles of a decorative character. The above are the different materials employed for working in gold and silver which it is necessary to enumerate. The various kinds of laces and other manufactures employed for mili- tary purposes, together with this description of embroidery, form a totally different branch of the art, which does not come within the scooe of those who pursue needlework as an amusement. CHAPTER VII Cljeniln, Braiiis, etc. — “ Here they may make choyce of which is which, And skip from worke to worke from stitch to stitch.” John Taylor. ESIDES the principal materials, — wool, silk, gold, and silver, there are others which, although not so generally employed, must not be passed over in silence. We shall endeavour, therefore, ta give a brief notice of these, commencing with— CHENILLE. With the exception of the precious metals, chenille is the most costly material used in needlework. It derives its name from the close resemblance it bears to some species of caterpillars.* The most beautiful application of chenille is in embroidery on silk * Chenille: “Un tissu dc soie veloutd. qui imite la chenille.”— Did. d& V Acad . Fran 66 CHENILLE, BRAIDS, ETC. canvas, for flowers or arabesques: it is also well adapted for the representation of birds; and, if any extraneous article can be admitted with silk and wool, in the working of Berlin patterns, this appears to be the most appropriate, as velvet draperies can be well depicted with it. For table-cover borders, and pillows, the effect of chenille is extremely rich, both the design and ground being worked in Irish stitch. Silk grounds are also admired with patterns in chenille. Chenille is more commonly made of silk ; it has, however, been manufactured of wool, but as the process is equally ex- pensive, there is a very trifling difference in its cost. Two sizes of chenille are those usually employed : The smallest is termed chenille a broder ; the next size, which is principally used for coarse canvas work and crochet, is called chenille ordinaire .* BRAID. Braid is of three kinds, — Russia, French and round braid, — but union cord is more frequently employed than the latter. Braids are manufactured either of gold or silver, silk, worsted, or cotton : gold and silk, and silver and silk, are sometimes mixed together in the same piece. The application of braids in forming a most elegant and easy species of embroidery is well known, and, if well executed, can- not be too much admired, either for folios, bags, note cases, * The first process in the manufacture of chenille, is that of weaving; this is done in the same manner as plain weaving, with the exception that the threads of the warp are placed at short and regular distances from each other, according to the required size of this material. When woven, it is cut with scissors between the threads of the warp into strips, leaving a fringed edge, as it were, on each side. They are afterwards twisted with a proper machine. The more tightly chenille is twisted, the thicker and closer the pile becomes. CHENILLE, BRAIDS, ETC. 67 sachets, table cover borders, chairs, ottomans, and other pieces of furniture, besides various articles of dress. The quality , however must be good where nicety of work is desired. UNION CORD. Union cord is often employed with braid, and with the ad- dition of gold cord, serves as a pretty relief. Gold union cord is also very rich, — close braiding patterns, or a vermicelli pattern, being best calculated for its display. STRAW. A flat plaited straw, with both edges alike, has been introduced into worsted work, for carriage baskets, and other fancy articles. It is exceedingly pretty, and well adapted to these purposes from its bright appearance and durability. Embroidery with split straw has also been done on velvet and silk, and has a curious and beautiful effect. NACRE AND ECAILLE. Nacre, or mother of pearl, cut into paillettes of various forms, has been employed in a peculiar species of needlework with good effect; it is not, however, commonly to be met with, and is seldom practised in this country. Nacre is generally worked on velvet or satin, to represent birds or flowers, either in relief or flat; the stems and other parts being formed of gold bullion. It is some- times used for embroidering parts of the vestments of the clergy in Catholic countries. Another description, known by the name of ecaille work, is an imitation of the above. Pieces of flattened quill, cut into simi- 68 CHENILLE, BRAIDS, ETC. lar shapes, but by a much less expensive process, are used in the same manner. The ecaille (as it is improperly termed) is cut with a punch whilst the quill is in a soft state, which at the same time pierces the small holes by which it is to be attached. This species of work is perhaps more delicate and pretty than the preceding. Whether in relief, or in flat embroi- dery, its effect is best displayed on velvet when intermixed with gold. VELVET. Velvet flowers and leaves, cut with a punch, are used with most beautiful effect on white watered gros de Naples, the stems being worked in gold bullion. They may be worked either flat or raised, the same style of pattern being employed as for nacre and ecaille. Before the velvet is cut, thin paper should be smoothly pasted at the back to prevent the edges becoming rough by unravelling. BEADS. Beads are made either gilt or plated, or of glass, or steel. A detailed account of their manufacture and use, will be found in a subsequent chapter on bead work. Bugles are short glass tubes of various colours. They have of late appeared in worsted work, and in an inferior description of work on perforated cardboard, but their total inapplicability renders further notice of them unnecessary. PAILLONS AND PAILLETTES. Paillons and Paillettes of polished steel or coloured foils, may be beautifully introduced on velvet with gold braid and embroidery. CHENILLE, BRAIDS, ETC. 69 CREPE. Crepe flowers on satin, with leaves in chenille or silk em- broidery, are very delicate and elegant, particularly if entirely worked in white. The shape of the petals should be made in paper, from which those in crepe are afterwards to be cut by the scissors, and drawn together at their edges to the form required. The centres of the flowers, if of a fancy kind, may be worked on gold or silver ; but if natural, chenille or silk are preferable. The leaves are sometimes worked in China ribbon, or velvet applique. CHINA RIBBON. China ribbon is also pretty for flowers. By running a silk at one edge, the ribbon may be puckered up into a variety of pretty and fantastic forms. The great neatness necessary to produce a good and elegant effect with many of these materials, renders their use and applica- tion difficult. What can be more wretched than the attempts at ribbon work for instance, on a poor thin satin ; and what on the contrary, more delicate and simple than the neatly executed crepe flower, and well embroidered leaf? 8 CHAPTER VIII. datums. “ These are the gifts of Art, and Art thrives most Where Commerce has enrich’d the busy coast; He catches all improvements in his flight, Spread’s foreign wonders in his country’s sight, Imports what others have invented well, And stirs his own to match them or excel. ’Tis thus reciprocating, each with each, Alternately the nations learn and teach.” Cowper. ANVAS may be classed under four distinct heads, according to the materials of which it is com- posed. We have silk, cotton, thread, and woollen canvas: these are denominated fine or coarse, in proportion as they contain a greater or less number of threads within a given space, — the threads being stoutest where they are less numerous. Each canvas is further distinguished by a number corresponding to its size: thus, for in- stance, we have a number twenty, and a number twelve, canvas: these figures are, however, arbitrary, and vary conformably with the customs of the manufacturers in each country, ascending or descending relatively with their fineness or coarseness ; and as they CANVAS. 71 are more particularly intended for the convenience of wholesale purchasers, it is not necessary for us thus to specify them, as it would perhaps be more perplexing than useful. The finest canvas, whether of silk, cotton, or thread, has acquired the general appel- lation of “Mosaic.” SILK CANVAS. Silk, more frequently termed Berlin , canvas, is generally used as a substitute for grounding : it is well adapted for flower, vignette, gem, and all kinds of set and arabesque patterns, and for a variety of small, useful and ornamental items, as also for articles of furniture ; for the latter, however, it is not so well calculated as grounded work, where durability is necessary ; but for screens and pillows, and many other purposes, it is far pre- ferable, much time and labour being obviously saved. Silk canvas can be obtained of most colours, — but white, black, claret, and primrose, are those generally employed. Working on this canvas requires greater neatness in finishing off the stitches at the back, than work intended to be grounded ; the wools or silks must not be carried across from one part to another beneath, but cut off as closely as possible, otherwise when mounted, they would show through the meshes of the canvas, greatly detrimental to the ap- pearance of the work. Berlin canvas being an expensive manufacture, is frequently made of an inferior quality ; it therefore requires care and judgment in its selection : — that which is clearest, and freest from knots, and of a firm and uniform texture, is to be preferred. It is made in widths, varying from half an inch to a yard and a half, but there is not that variety in its sizes as in other descriptions of canvas : four sizes in general are manufactured, 72 CANVAS. which severally count about 21, 29, 34, and 40 threads to the inch. # A very flexible canvas, made entirely of silk, was introduced a few years since, but it was an expensive article, and adapted principally for bead work and purses, and is now seldom to be met with. Silk canvas, with gold and silver threads interwoven, has also been made, but it does not suit the taste of the English. COTTON CANVAS. Cotton canvas is made of all qualities, sizes, and widths, and is manufactured both in England, France, and Germany. The patent, or French canvas, is superior, not only on account of its firmness, but from the great regularity and clearness of its threads, and, above all, the squareness of its meshes, — an object of very considerable importance to the needlewoman, whose work might otherwise become most singularly distorted, by the design being lengthened one way, and at the same time diminished the other, or the contrary, according as it might be worked on the length or breadth of the canvas : this, however, is an evil that may be taken advantage of for some patterns, when it becomes necessary to confine the work within certain limits, as designs may be oc- casionally used which would not otherwise count to the required dimensions. German cotton canvas, although of an inferior description, is as well adapted to some purposes as the above, and can be procured at much less cost : it is generally made with every tenth thread yellow, which many persons consider a great assistance in * The threads of silk canvas are formed by a fine silk wound round a cotton fibre. CANVAS. 73 counting the stitches. It is manufactured both limp and stiffened, and, like the French, may be procured of all sizes and widths j but in texture, it is not so strong as either the English or French canvas. It should not be used with light or white grounds, as the yellow thread will show through the work : nor should we advise it where much tension is required in the mounting. A cotton canvas, in imitation of silk, has been made in Ger- many, but it soon soils, loses its colour, and is otherwise very inferior.* THREAD CANVAS. Thread canvas, manufactured from hemp, is now seldom em- ployed, except for carpets and rugs, for which purpose its greater strength and durability peculiarly adapt it ; it is made of the usual sizes and widths. A fine thread canvas formed of flax is sometimes to be procured. PENELOPE CANVAS. Penelope canvas (so called from its having the appearance of a canvas from which the work has been unpicked) is much used . it is considered by some persons to be easier to work upon, each four threads being ready for the needle ; by others, how- ever, it is thought dazzling to the sight. For very fine cross stitch, it is certainly unobjectionable and more easily seen ; but generally speaking, the work produced upon it has not the * A canvas has been made purposely for tapestry-stitch, but it is not suitable for copying Berlin patterns. 8 * 74 CANVAS. even pearly appearance, of that done over the usual canvas, Penelope canvas has as yfct only been manufactured of cotton. FLATTENED CANVAS. Flattened canvas, both of thread and cotton, is much used in France, and differs only from the others, by its having been passed through the cylinders of a flatting machine; it does not possess any superior qualities, if we except the greater facility with which designs can be drawn upon it, — an object of some importance, where the old method of working with the pattern drawn is still adhered to ; but the work, when finished, is not equal to that executed on round thread canvas. This plan, how- ever, is still continued by one house in Paris, where the patterns are all drawn on the canvas, and afterwards traced with a fine silk or cotton, of the colours in which they are intended to be worked, — a process rendering the work more expensive, and which does not appear to be productive of any beneficial result. WOOLLEN CANVAS. Woollen canvas is an article of German manufacture, and may be employed, where the labour of grounding is sought to be avoided, but it is far from presenting the same rich appearance as grounded work. Claret, black, white, and primrose, are the colours generally used, but others may be procured. BOLTING. Bolting is a very fine description of woollen canvas, principally manufactured in England, but now seldom used except for chil- CANVAS. 75 dren’s samplers. An inferior kind of canvas, generally of a yellow colour, called sampler canvas, is also made for the same purpose : both are limited in width, but they are too well known to need further description.* * Bolting is woven after the manner of gauze, of fine spun woollen yarn. It was originally made for the sifting or bolting of meal or flour, whence it derives its name. CHAPTER IX JUrlin patients. “Learn hence to paint the parts that meet the view, In spheroid forms, of light and equal hue; While from the light receding or the eye, The working outlines take a fainter dye, Lost and confused progressively they fade, Not fall precipitate from light to shade. This Nature dictates, and this taste pursues, Studious in gradual gloom her lights to lose ; The various whole with soft’ning tints to fill, As if one single head employ’d her skill.” Du Fresnoy. ERLIN patterns have contributed more towards the advancement of needlework of the present day, than any improvement that has of late years been introduced into the art, — not simply from the as- sistance they yield the needlewoman, but from the aemand they have occasioned for improved and superior materials. Hence the beautiful wools we now possess, which would never probably have been manufactured, had they not been imperatively called for by the invention of these designs. We are indebted to Germany, for both these advantages; and it is BERLIN PATTERNS. 77 not a little singular, that the country which produces them ap- pears to be the least capable of appreciating their value, — as is evident from the greater portion of the needlework exposed for sale throughout Germany. The work of German ladies is of course an exception to this, as when taste and talent direct the needle, it will be equally beautiful ’wherever it may be found. England, and next to her, perhaps Russia, have profited most by these auxiliaries. The ladies of Sweden and Denmark work a great deal from them; the French, as yet, have used them but little, the old method of drawing the subject on canvas being still much in vogue. Great numbers of these patterns are exported to America, and to the various countries of the Continent.* Berlin patterns, although a production of recent date, have be- come an article of considerable commerce in Germany, where a large amount of capital is employed in their manufacture. They are either copied from celebrated pictures, or (as is more fre- quently the case) from the newest and most favourite engravings published either in England, France, or Germany. Many sub- jects, such as flowers and arabesques, are designed expressly. They are first drawn in colours on quadrille or foint jpajper^] and as the excellence of the pattern depends principally on the first de- sign, it may readily be imagined that artists of considerable talent are required for their execution. From this drawing, an engrav- ing or etching is made on a copper-plate, which has previously been ruled in squares of the required size, corresponding to the threads of the canvas : various marks and hieroglyphics are engraved on each check or square, which are to serve as guides * The proportionate demand in other countries may be stated according to the following order of their respective names: — Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. t Paper marked out into squares of a regular size. 78 BERLIN PATTERNS. for those who afterwards colour the impressions on paper ; the part for each colour, or separate shade of colour, being marked with a different figure. The pattern, when in this state, bears a very great resemblance to those published in old books on needlework, above two centuries since ; the present mode being, in fact, merely an improvement on the designs which have for years been used by weavers for their figured stuffs.* The process of colouring these patterns is curious ; the various tints are quickly laid on, commencing with each separate colour on severa* patterns at the same time, each check, or continuous line of checks, according to the engraved figures, being coloured by one stroke of the pencil, the point of which is kept very square, and of a size adapted to that of the check of the en- graving. Practice alone renders the touch perfect ; and it is surprising to see with what rapidity and exactness each tint after another is laid on. If we for a moment reflect on these different processes, and the time they must necessarily occupy, the expense of the design and the engraving, and that each square is coloured by hand, we cannot fail to be surprised at the small cost at which they are to be procured ; and our won- der will not be diminished when we are told, that in some of these patterns there are considerably above half a million of small squares, like those of a mosaic, to be separately coloured. All Berlin patterns are equally adapted for working either in cross or tent stitch, though great judgment is requisite in choosing them. Patterns intended to be enlarged by the working, should be closely shaded, or the colouring, being dispersed, will appear meagre. Difficulties frequently arise from working these designs * We have several impressions of the patterns in this first stage, which have been kindly presented to us by the various manufacturers. BERLIN PATTERNS. 79 without previously fixing on the colour of the grounding ; this should always be done in the first instance, as a pattern, to work well, must always be shaded, or sorted , with strict attention to the colour of the ground, — a maxim which is but too frequently neglected. Most of the figure patterns may, with a fair knowledge of painting, and a just idea of light and shade, be much im- proved, as many of them are extremely correct in the outlines, although the colouring of most is harsh and glaring in the extreme, — a defect which it is the province of the expert needlewoman to overcome ; in this respect, however, there is frequently a great difference even in the colouring of the same design. In sorting the wools for working historical subjects, attention to a few of the common rules of painting will be found useful in correcting some of the more gross of these errors, such, as for instance, the back and foreground being of the same depth of shade. — “ Know first, that light displays and shade destroys Refulgent Nature’s variegated dyes. Thus bodies near the light distinctly shine With rays direct, and as it fades decline.”* Black should never be used next a high light : one-eighth of every object has a high light upon it, one-eighth is darkest shadow, and six parts light and half tint. No objects in nature, are 'positively blue, red, or yellow, — owing to two causes : the one, that most objects reflect the sky; the other, that the atmosphere between the eye of the observer and the object, causes the bright- ness of the tints to be deadened: it hence arises, that care must be taken to avoid the immediate contact of bright colours with each other, where any attempt is made to imitate nature, — the Du Fresnoy, translated by Mason. 80 BERLIN PATTERNS. contrary of which, it would appear, was the point to be arrived at in some of the Berlin patterns. “ Chose such judicious force of shade and light As suits the theme, and satisfies the sight; Weigh part with part, and with prophetic eye The future power of all thy tints descry; And those, those only on the canvas place, Whose hues are social, whose effect is grace.”* In some patterns, when harmony of colour alone is to be sought, it is easier to avoid these defects; but a few of the more neces- sary rules to be observed, independent of the guidance of taste, may not be unacceptable. Scarlets and yellows assort very ill, and browns and lilacs are also lost upon a scarlet ground; blues and greens are bad together, as well as yellow and green ; on the contrary, almost all the class of drabs and fawns (called by the French ecrus, and used by them with such exquisite taste), are good with blue ; the colder and greener shades with lilacs ; the deep rich brown-toned drabs are beautiful with yellow ; pinks and greys are good ; scarlets and slates ; greens and red browns; greens, and maize, with some shades of salmon colour; blue with maize; lilac with green; and blue with claret, — will all be found generally to please the eye. The greatest difficulty which we have to encounter in selecting the colours for figure patterns, is the face ; so many totally dif- ferent colours and shades are here required to produce, when worked, what should appear to be almost but as one — and here the skill of the needlewoman will be fairly put to the trial. The skies and clouds are also difficult to manage; the greatest nicety * Du Fresnoy, translated by Mason. BERLIN PATTERNS. 81 being required in the blending of the various colours, and to avoid the liney appearance which will but too frequently occur. Berlin patterns can be copied on cloth, satin, or other materials, by stretching a canvas over them, and working through the threads, which are afterwards to be drawn out On cloth, however, it is better not entirely to withdraw the threads, but only to cut them off close to the work ; by this means, when mounted, it will have a much richer and closer appearance, and if intended for articles of furniture, will wear much better. In groups of flowers, the small interstices of ground which sometimes appear between the leaves, are better worked with a wool exactly corresponding to the colour of the cloth, than to cut out the threads, — an uniform surface being thus given to the whole work. For working these patterns on Berlin, or silk canvas, the same rules are applicable as for canvas intended to be grounded; but it may not be improper to remark, in this place, on a method of mounting small pieces of work on Berlin canvas, which has been copied from the Germans: namely, that of placing a painted sky behind the canvas. Good needlework requires no foreign aid for its display ; but here, on the contrary, instead of receiving any such, a mean and paltry appearance is frequently given to it. Vignette and flower pieces &c. even when worked on white silk canvas, may sometimes be appropriately lined with coloured satins or velvets, to take away from the otherwise cold appearance of the ground; but the lining should always be of one uniform colour. Coloured silk canvas should be lined with a coloured ground in accordance with their several tints. A few coloured paper patterns are published at Vienna; they consist principally of flowers, birds, and arabesques: some of these surpass in beauty of design and colouring (being more true to na- ture) any of those produced at Berlin, particularly when worked. 82 BERLIN PATTERNS. We may, for instance, mention the pattern of the Parrot and Basket of Flowers, the Cockatoo and Flowers, and a most beautiful Group of Flowers, principally tulips, in a basket. Attempts have been made, but unsuccessfully, to produce similar patterns at Dresden and Nuremberg, and also at Paris ; but nothing more wretched, either in design or execution, can be conceived. It may not be uninteresting to observe, that the work executed from these patterns in England, far surpasses anything of the kind usually done on the Continent. In Germany, the work done for sale from Berlin patterns is frequently more defective in point of colouring than the patterns themselves. We formerly procured the greatest part of our most beautiful needlework from France and Germany ; but the art has, within the last few years, so greatly improved in England, that ere long we must be the exporters. The French are behind us in all kinds of canvas work, — with their embroidery we can seldom compete.* * We are indebted to Mr. Wittich for the following facts relative to the history of Berlin patterns. — About the year 1805, a Mr. Phillipson published some patterns, which, being badly executed and devoid of taste, did not meet with the encouragement he expected. In 1810, Madame Wittich, — a lady of great taste and an accomplished needlewoman, justly appreciating the advantages the art would derive from such designs, and anxious that this species of amuse- ment for ladies should be more widely spread, — prevailed upon her husband, a printseller of note at Berlin, to undertake the publication of a series of these patterns ; which he did, got up in so superior a manner, that many of the first patterns which were issued from his establishment are now in as much demand as those more recently published : in fact, we very much doubt whether any, since published by other houses, have ever equalled, either in design or colour- ing, the earlier productions of Mr. Wittich. The designer and engraver of these patterns are of course paid as artists , in proportion to their talents ; the cost of the first coloured design on point paper varying from three to thirty or forty guineas, but, in some instances, as in the large pattern of Bolton Abbey, the Garden of Boccaccio, &c. it is considerably more. The colouring affords employment both for men, women, and children : a dozen or half-dozen copies are given to each person at a time, with the original BERLIN PATTERNS. 83 design as a guide. An industrious man seldom earns more than one thaler, or three shillings, per day; the children, from six to eight silber-groschen, or from sixpence to tenpence English. From the great increase of the trade of late years, and the number of new houses that have sprung up, it is impossible to give (as a statistical fact) any idea of the number of persons employed in their manufacture. Besides the hands engaged in the preparation of these patterns, they have been the means indirectly of affording employment to nu- merous other persons, by creating a demand for new and various articles in other branches of trade; such as in the preparation and dyeing of wools and silks, the weaving of canvas, &c. whilst others, principally females, are engaged in working the designs. CHAPTER X SDratoing patterns fotr (Embroiberg, BraiMng, etc. “ Artist, attend — your brushes and your paint.” COWPER. u Whether the shapeless wool in balls she wound, Or with quick motion turn’d the spindle round, Or with her pencil drew the neat design, Pallas her mistress shone in every line.” Ovid. ONSIDERABLE experience and skill are requi- site for the designing of suitable patterns for needlework, and drawing them on the material upon which they are intended to be worked, — the most essential, as well as one of the most difficult parts of the preparatory process. Any person with moderate talent for drawing, can easily accomplish the operation of tracing ; but it requires a combined knowledge both of painting and needlework, to perfectly adapt the design to the purpose intended, as the draughtsman might portray his subject in such a manner, that however beautiful and correct it might be, it would be impossible to imitate or express it in embroidery. DRAWING PATTERNS. 85 The design being carefully and distinctly drawn on paper, it must be neatly pierced with a steel point into holes : the pattern thus prepared must be laid on the cloth, velvet, satin, or whatever may be the material intended to be worked upon, care being taken that both are perfectly flat and even, and that the pattern is placed in the exact position it is intended to occupy, and firmly kept in its place by means of weights, as the slightest hifting of the pattern would entirely destroy the effect : pounce must then be rubbed over it, so as to penetrate equally through the pierced holes. On removing the paper (if the operation has been skilfully performed), the design will be found to be as beautifully and as distinctly marked out as if it were actually printed on the fabric. The design thus produced on the material must be traced over with the proper liquid, using a sable or goat’s hair pencil for the purpose, — a camel’s hair pencil, especially if it be for drawing on cloth, being too flexible. Drawing liquid is a preparation the best adapted for tracing these designs, as it can be prepared of any colour, and is equally adapted for every description of material that can be worked upon. All mixtures of gum and white lead, or other colours, should be especially avoided, as they produce a rough, uneven surface, and are so easily rubbed off, that they injure the silks used in em- broidery ; and in braiding, the pattern of one part is frequently worn off while working the other, by the mere rubbing of the fingers.* When large patterns are required to be drawn, such as for table-cloths, ottomans, and the like, where the same pattern, or * Drawing liquid is the composition made by pattern drawers to trace their designs ; and we conclude that each designer has some different preparation, the excellence of which is best tested by its tenacity, and the clearness of the outline which can be produced with it. 9 * 86 DRAWING PATTERNS. its reverse, is intended to be repeated, it will be found a great saving both of time and trouble, to draw one division of the design only on the paper, with certain corresponding guides or marks, which are also to be pounced, in order that the pattern may be again placed in its exact relative position, to continue or repeat the other portion of the design, which has been previously pounced. This method, jf followed with adroitness, will produce a more correct pattern when finished, than if the whole design had been drawn, and pounced at the same time.* In drawing a design on paper, when the two halves, or four quarters or corners, are intended to correspond, much time is saved, if, instead of repeating the drawing, the paper be folded in two or four portions, taking care that the folded edges be exactly parallel to each other : the pattern being drawn on one division of the paper thus doubled, the holes are to be pierced through the several portions at the same time. On opening the paper, a more correct design will be found to have been produced, than if each portion had been separately drawn and pierced. — This mode, when the design will admit of it, may be advantageously adopted, even where the paper would require to be doubled six or eight times, provided care be taken to keep the several parts exactly folded. MM. Revol and Regondet obtained a “ Brevet d’ Invention 7 for a method of pouncing and tracing patterns, which deserves some notice : — “ Elle consiste a remplacer la poudre de charbon, la craie, ou la chaux vive dont on se servait autrefois, par une poudre resineuse tres fine. On ponce avec cette poudre comme a 1’ ordinaire, puis on la fixe promptement, en passant * This process is similar to that employed for block-printing for calicoes, paper hangings, &c. where it is requisite to repeat the same pattern, or to print the different parts of the pattern with various colours. DRAWING PATTERNS. 87 l’etpffe au-dessus d’un brasier peu ardent, ou bien en promenant un fer chaud a repasser sur cette etoffe recouverte alors d’un papier blanc. Cette derniere methode, d’un usage plus sur, a 1’ a vantage de produire un dessin correct sur le papier, en meme terns que de fixer ce dessin irrevocablement sur 1’ etoffe. On conqoit aisement que la chaleur fond la resine, que celle-ci s’ attache au tissu, et que par consequent le dessin est solidement imprime. Les personnes soigneuses comprendront aussi combien il est im- portant d’e viter de repandre de cette poudre sur 1’ etoffe ailleurs que dans les endroits que la broderie doit recouvrir. Elies pensent avec raison qu’il en resulterait, par faction de la chaleur, des taches qui ne s’enleveraient que comme les taches resineuses ordinaires.” For embroidering in satin-stitch, the pattern, traced in black on paper, may be tacked under the material, when it is sufficiently transparent to admit of its being seen, as in muslins, cambric, & c. This seems the easiest and most delicate way of following the design ; but where the material is too thick, the pattern may be drawn upon it with indigo, mixed with a sufficient quantity of gum to prevent its “ running ■” The lighter these lines are drawn the better, as they are the more easily effaced by washing.* There is great difficulty in changing the proportions of patterns: those which are much admired when small, frequently lose all their delicacy and taste when enlarged ; and on the contrary, bold and elegant designs are quite lost when reduced. This should be pointed out by the designer, who should both consult and direct the taste and judgment of the embroideress. * The following preparation is frequently used for this purpose. A table T spoonful of spirits of wine, in which are dissolved sugar and gum arabic in equal parts, about as much as would lay upon a sixpence, coloured with indigo. For common purposes, however, a cake of water colour indigo will be found equally useful. 88 DRAWING PATTERNS. With respect to the various materials used as the groundwork for embroidery and braiding, on which the design is to be traced, little need be said. Satin, from the glossy smoothness of its sur- face, is perhaps the most difficult to draw upon ; the pencil being apt to follow the straight threads of the warp, thus rendering it less easy to produce with gracefulness the curved lines, as on other materials. In pouncing, velvet requires the greatest care, as from the elasticity of its pile, the paper pattern has a ten- dency to move ; great care, therefore, is required, in order to adjust it properly and firmly in its place, with the weights. The richer the velvet — the pile being closer and shorter — the greater is the facility with which it can be pounced, and drawn upon ; in fact, none but the best velvets should ever be used either for embroidery or braiding : — this latter remark is equally applicable to cloth. A good knowledge of drawing, and experience, will alone make a proficient in this department, which, at first sight may appear to be merely mechanical. To many persons, especially the artist, some of the above pro- cesses may appear tedious and unnecessary, as we frequently see some of the most beautiful patterns drawn on the materials at once, without any previous design or pouncing being required. Such patterns are of course the most valuable, as being unique.* * Patterns may also be drawn on paper, and the lines cut out in a way similar to that adopted for stencilling plates, but the process is both tedious and difficult. CHAPTER XI 3 mpletneuts. “Implements of ev’ry size, And formed for various use.” Cowper. NEEDLES. HEN, as has been justly observed, we consider the simplicity, smallness, and moderate price of a needle, we should naturally be led to suppose that this little instrument requires neither much labour nor complicated manipulations in its con- struction ; but when we learn that every sewing needle, however inconsiderable its size, passes through the hand of one hundred and twenty different operatives, before it is ready for sale, we cannot fail to be surprised.* * It would be tedious to enter into the minutiae of the manufacture of these small but important implements, but a few cursory remarks on one or two processes through which they pass may not be uninteresting. When the wire which is to form the needle has been pointed, and flattened at the other 90 IMPLEMENTS. There are a great variety of needles, but it will be necessary for us only to mention those which are more immediately em- ployed for decorative needlework. These are known by the names of tapestry needles, sharps, and long-eyed sharps. The tapestry needle is blunt at the point, with a long oval eye ; it is made of various sizes ; those in common use, being from numbers fourteen to twenty-five, and are applicable to every de- scription of canvas work. They should be manufactured of the extremity to form the head, it is handed to the piercer. This is commonly a child, who, laying the head upon a block of steel, and applying the point of a small punch to it, pierces the eye with a smart tap of a hammer, ap- plied first upon the one side, and then exactly opposite upon the other. Another child trims the eyes, which he does by laying the needle upon a lump of lead, and driving a proper punch through fts eye; then laying it sideways upon a flat piece of steel, with the punch sticking in it, he gives it a tap on each side with his hammer, and causes the eye to take the shape of the punch. The operation of piercing and trimming the eyes is performed by clever chil- dren with astonishing rapidity, who become so dexterous as to pierce with a punch a human hair , and thread it with another , for the amusement of visitors. The next operation makes the grove at the eye, and rounds the head; they are then tempered, polished, &c. and thrown as a confused heap, into a some- what concave iron tray, in which, by a few dexterous jerks of the workman’s hand, they are made to arrange themselves parallel to each other. They are afterwards sorted and divided into quantities for packing in blue papers, by putting into a small balance the equivalent weight of one hundred needles, and so measuring them out without the trouble of counting them individually. It is easy to distinguish good English needles from spurious imitations; be- cause the former have their axis coincident with their points, which is readily observed by turning them round between the finger and thumb. The construction of a needle requires, as already stated, about one hundred and twenty operations ; but they are rapidly and uninterruptedly successive : a child can trim the eyes of four thousand needles per hour. When we survey a manufacture of this kind, we cannot fail to observe, that the diversity of operations which the needles undergo, bears the impress of great mechanical refinement. In the arts, to divide labour is to abridge it; to multiply operations is to simplify them; and to attach an operative ex- clusively to one process, is to render him much more economical and productive. — Abridged from Dr. Ure. IMPLEMENTS, 91 finest steel, but they are occasionally made of gold or silver for use in warm climates. The same kind of needle made with a sharp point, is employed for chenille embroidery, and for working on cloth through canvas. The sharps are the common sewing needles, with round eyes ; they are made of various qualities, both as to steel and work- manship. There is also a similar kind of needle, but shorter, termed blunts ; the first are useful for all general purposes, the latter are principally employed by the tailor, the glover, the shoe binder, and workers in leather. They are made in sizes numbering from one to fifteen. The truer the eye — whether diamond-shaped or round — the less it cuts the thread, and the easier it passes through the work. Needles called long-eyed sharps, having a long eye, are used for embroidery both in silk and wool — those most generally employed, number from one to ten. Darners are a similar kind of needle, but much longer than the former ; they are mostly applicable to domestic purposes. Aiguilles a F Y grec, are used in France for embroidering, but those familiarly known as Whitechapel needles, are better.* * The needles used in ancient times, were principally of bronze : Pliny mentions them of this metal. Sewing and netting needles have been found both at Herculaneum and Pompeii ; and several are preserved in the Hamiltonian and other collections. On the two marbles brought from the neighbourhood of Amyclae in Lyconia, by the earl of Aberdeen, are represented, among other requisites for the toilet of a Grecian female, combs, pins, needles, and bodkins. See Walpole’s Memoirs relating to European and Asiatic Turkey , p. 244. It is supposed that needles, similar to those now employed, were originally made in Spain, from the circumstance of their having been called Spanish needles when first used in England, although the art of manufacturing them was brought into this country from Germany. Needles were first made in England about the year 15G5, by Elias Crawse or Krause, a German, who settled in London. The reputation long enjoyed by Whitechapel needles, points out the particular locality in London where the manufacture was carried on. The principal needle manufactories are now at Redditch in Worcestershire, at Hathersage in 92 IMPLEMENTS. KNITTING NEEDLES, OR PINS. Knitting needles are manufactured of steel, ivory, boxwood, and whalebone, in sizes varying from that of a fine sewing needle to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and of proportionate lengths. Some have a very small ivory ball at one end to prevent the work from slipping off, but with this exception, they are always pointed. The size of steel knitting needles is designated by their numbers, which vary from 6 to 25, and are determined by a filiere or gauge ; but as all writers on knitting do not appear to employ the same gauge, it frequently leads to error, and will con- tinue to do so until there be some general standard. NETTING NEEDLES AND MESHES. For netting purses, and other small articles, steel needles and meshes are always employed, and those of the highest finish are to be preferred. The mesh or pin, which determines the size of the netting, is a plain polished piece of steel wire of any suitable diameter, and like the knitting-needles, measured by a gauge. The needle is of flattened wire, and cut into a fork of two prongs at each end, the ends of the prongs meeting and forming a blunt point, which will allow of it being passed either end foremost through a small loop. The silk is wound upon the needle, by passing it alternately between the prongs at each end, so that the turns of the silk may be parallel to the length of the needle, and be kept on it by the forks. Derbyshire, and in Birmingham and its neighbourhood. — Bush Lane in London seems to have been formerly famous for very small needles ; — “ And now they may go look this Bush Lane needle in a bottle of hay.” — Lenton's Leas , c. 9. IMPLEMENTS. 93 The excellence of the needle depends upon the points of the prongs being true and close together. CROCHET AND TAMBOUR NEEDLES. Crochet needles, sometimes called Shepherds 1 hooks , are made of steel, ivory, or box-wood. They have a hook at one end similar in shape to the barb of a fish-hook, by which the wool or silk is caught and drawn through the work. These in- struments are to be procured of various sizes, but their excellence depends more on the proper fashioning of the hook, than on the material of which they are manufactured. The smaller sizes, and those used for tambour work, must necessarily be of steel ; these are frequently made of the length of an ordinary sized sewing needle, that they may be fixed into a handle, which, by means of a small screw, is capable of holding needles of various sizes. The larger steel crochet needles, are sometimes made with a fixed ivory or ebony handle, — others, entirely of steel. They are generally about four or five inches in length. Ivory needles are also made of various sizes, and with differently formed hooks, accord- ing to the dimensions of the thread they are intended to carry. FILIERE. A filiere or gauge, is a steel instrument with graduated notches round its edges, distinguished by different figures. It is used by wire-drawers for ascertaining the sizes of their wires, and is ap- plied in a similar manner, for measuring the diameters of netting and knitting needles ; thus, — when speaking of the relative size of these needles, they are frequently designated by their correspond- 94 IMPLEMENTS. ing numbers; but, as has been before observed, there appears to be no universal standard. We do not acknowledge as an embroidery frame, any of a less simple construction than the flat or four-piece frame, composed of two bars, to which the webbings are attached, and two side laths, with holes pierced at regular distances for receiving the pegs to keep the bars in their right position. These are made of various sizes, varying from four inches to three yards in length, and are proportionably useful for very small pieces of work, — when they may be held in the hand,— or, for pieces of the greatest magnitude, when their size and weight become suf- ficient to keep them steady, placed upon trestles. Large frames are useful for working satin or velvet where it does not admit of being rolled. This description of frame is the least expensive, being formed principally of common mahogany, cedar, or beech. The knee, or table frame, has a flat piece of wood forming the stand, whereon two upright pieces are fixed to support the frame, which can be adjusted at any angle required, by means of thumb- screws attached to the joints. These frames are generally made F'iliere . EMBROIDERY FRAMES. IMPLEMENTS. 95 from eight to twenty-seven inches in the webbing ;* they are adapted for work of all widths within these limits, and of any moderate length, where it will not injure by rolling round the bars. The standing frame consists of two upright pieces with feet placed on the ground, connected together by a cross bar or stretcher ; these support the frame, which is fixed on the top in the same manner as that already described. They vary in size, from twenty inches to a yard and a quarter. Frames of this kind are sometimes made wdth toothed wheels and other contri- vances, for rolling and unrolling the work without taking it out; but they are apt to get out of order, and are more clumsy and less suitable for ladies, than those of a more simple con- struction. Both standing and table frames are frequently made of the finest and most expensive woods, when they may be rendered most elegant pieces of furniture for the boudoir. The upright frames have sometimes baskets attached at either side, — at once convenient and ornamental. • Embroidery frames are always measured by the length of their webbings. 96 IMPLEMENTS. Embroidery frames require to be well made, that when screwed together they may be perfectly firm and square . When of a moderate size, those in which the side-laths or cross-bars are formed into screws are preferable, as they can be more readily, and with greater precision, adjusted to the required width, by means of the nuts. The greatest essential in a good frame is, that the cross-bars, as well as the rollers on which the webbing is fixed, should be sufficiently stout to prevent its twisting or bending when the work is tightly stretched in it.* TAMBOUR FRAMES. Tambour frames, whereon the material is stretched like the parchment of a drum — whence their name — are now seldom em- ployed, although formerly much used when tambour-work was the fashion. They are formed of two hoops, covered with cloth or baize, the material being stretched on the inner, and kept in its place by the outer hoop, tightened by means of a thumb-screw; it is, however, impossible to secure it as firmly as in the square embroidery frame. SCREW EMBROIDERY FRAMES. These are sometimes made for small pieces of work, to hold in the hand. They consist of two rollers with webbings, and two side bars in the form of screws. By having an inside screw turned in the holes of the rollers, neither nuts nor pegs are re- quired. When the work is attached to the webbings, by merely turning the side bars it may be sufficiently stretched. The con- * When of a very large size, a moveable centre bar or stretcher may be found useful. IMPLEMENTS. 97 struction of this frame is similar to that of a purse stretcher, but it has no recommendation except in its neat appearance. d’oyley and shawl frames. These are made square or triangular, large or small, in accord- ance with the purpose for which they are intended. Brass pins are fixed at equal distances in a slanting direction on the top, round which the wool or cotton employed in making OOyleys, or other articles, is to be wound. meshes for raised work. Meshes for raised work — generally of bone or boxwood— vary from a sixteenth to two or three inches in width, and larger sizes are occasionally to be found. They are used for regulating the length of the looped stitches, which are afterwards to be divided ; they also greatly assist in rendering the work both tight and firm, by the resistance they offer. Meshes are sometimes made with a groove on one side, as a guide for the scissors to pass along in the cut- ting of the loops. For the more highly finished descriptions of raised work, a steel mesh, with a cutting edge on one part similar to the an- 10 * 98 IMPLEMENTS. nexed engraving, will be found the most convenient. Its use will be fully described when speaking of raised embroidery. PURSE STRETCHERS. The above engraving will convey a better idea of this little machine than any we are capable of giving. It is used for stretching knitted, netted, and crochet purses. The purse, when finished, before the ends are drawn together, should be sewn up at the mouth, and passed over the wooden cylinder, as represented above; it should then be slightly damped, and the screws tightened, taking care not to strain it too much. By this simple process, the stitches become more firmly fixed in their relative positions, and the purse assumes, and afterwards retains, its proper shape. PURSE MOULDS. The above engraving represents two kinds of purse moulds, of wood or ivory, on which short purses are worked. The one IMPLEMENTS. 99 called a moule Turc , has small brass pins fixed round the edges of its largest circumference. A purse may be made on this mould by fixing the silk by a loop over one peg, and twisting the silk separately round each of the others, — the silk being held in the right hand. When this first row is done, wind the silk once again round the peg with the loop, and with a steel point or needle pass the first stitch over the second, and continue the same over each peg as each successive stitch is made, and so on, row after row, until the purse becomes of a sufficient length. The work as it proceeds falls into the hollow of the mould. When all the rows are finished, draw the bottom together, and, as each loop is taken off the pegs at the top, pass a silk through them, which will prevent their unravelling, and strengthen the purse for sewing on the snap. A purse of this description will take a large sized skein of netting silk: — it may be mounted either with a snap or a dialled On the other mould or cup, a very pretty bourse en feston may be made, either with two coloured silks, or silk and gold. Since the introduction of crochet, however, these moulds have not been much used. CHAIN MOULD. The above small mould is for making neck chains. These are * Diables, or purse bars, are wires of steel, gold, or silver, with ornament? at the ends, over which a ring is passed to secure the mouth of the purse j the ring is attached by means of a chain. 100 IMPLEM ENTS. to be made with middle-sized netting silk, exactly in the same manner as that described for a purse on the moule Turc. FORK FOR A CHAIN. The above represents an ivory fork, used for making neck chains, which, if done with very fine silk, perfectly imitate the small French hair chains. If a coarse silk be used, a very strong watch guard may be made. / CHAPTER XII .framing toark. M All sortes of workes, almost that can be nam’d Here are directions how they may be fram’d.” John Taylor. REAT care and nicety are required in dressing a frame ; — much of the success of the work, and ease in its execution, depend on this preliminary arrangement, which, from it not seeming of im- portance, is but too generally neglected. FRAMING CANVAS. Having ascertained, by counting or by measurement, that the canvas corresponds with the size of the design, in order that the latter, when worked, may be of the dimensions desired, turn down the canvas about half an inch, and having herring-boned it, sew it by a thread to the webbing of the frame. Soft paper, six or eight times doubled, should be smoothly placed round the bars, if the length of the canvas render it necessary that it should be 102 FRAMING WORK. rolled, that part only being left extended in the frame, on which the work is to be commenced. By means of the nuts or pegs, it should be gradually stretched, and the selvedges braced to the side-bars with fine twine, tightening them by degrees until the canvas is strained perfectly tight and even * It is of great advan- tage that a small length only should be stretched at one time, as the work becomes less exposed, and the needle-woman is not obliged to reach over her frame, — a position both fatiguing and inelegant. A short time will suffice to change the position of the work, winding it gradually round the bars as it proceeds, and if this be carefully managed, it will rarely be found either drawn or un- even, when finished. It is advisable, as a general rule, that canvas work should be commenced at the lower part, on the left hand, more especially if the subject be one where a sky is to be introduced ; which, as being the most delicate, should always remain until the last. The working from Berlin patterns being rather more methodical than painting, it will be found that the stitch is truer if worked upwards in this manner. FRAMING CLOTH AND CANVAS. In framing these two materials together for working on cloth in cross or tent stitch over canvas, if the article for which the work is intended does not require the cloth to exceed in size the breadth of the canvas, the cloth should bo cut half an inch smaller each way, as, when framed, it w T ill stretch much more than the canvas. * The advantage of the side bars of a frame being made with a screw is here evident, as the canvas can be finally tightened by giving each nut a turn or two. FRAMING WORK. 103 The cloth must be turned down at the edges, and tacked to the two selvedges of the canvas ; and the raw edges of the canvas and cloth turned down together, and then tacked. If the dimen- sions of the work render it necessary that it should be rolled, it will be found that, from the turnings in at the side, it has acquired a greater thickness in these parts, and it will be requi- site therefore to put wadding or soft paper on the bars, to thicken the other parts equally with the turnings in. By this means, the cloth and canvas may be evenly stretched together without injury to the former; and the work will not be so troublesome to execute, as when the canvas is only stretched over the cloth after it is framed. When large squares or lengths of cloth are required to be worked, such as the centre of a table-cover or an ottoman, it will be found better to stretch a piece of thin holland in the frame, and tack the cloth evenly and firmly to it, round the part intended to be worked. If for embroidery, this will be found sufficient ; but if for canvas work, where the threads are to be drawn out, the canvas must also be evenly tacked over the cloth. Here a difficulty may appear to arise, from the extra thickness of the materials through which the needle will have to pass, but this is not so formidable as we should at first be led to imagine, — the firm tension of the holland readily admitting the needle. As pieces of work of the kind we have mentioned are of considerable magnitude, and occupy time in their execution, it will be worth while to pay some little attention to the ma- terials on which they are to be worked. The holland should be very thin and glazed ; the cloth properly damped, so as to deprive it of its glossy appearance, and render it softer; the canvas should be the white round-thread French canvas, — and here we may again observe that it is better to cut the threads off than 104 FRAMING WORK. to draw them out. Admitting there is no objection to a large frame, yet the cloth is more or less spoiled by being rolled, or sewn by any part except the edges. By the above plan, how- ever, a firm frame of a yard wide will be. found sufficient to hold a piece of cloth two yards square, or even five yards in length. FRAMING VELVET. Velvets must be sewn to the webbings of the frame by the selvedges, and, if less in width than the original breadth of the material, it should be framed in the same direction as the selv- edges run ; the pile being more easily managed when in this position. The sides must be carefully hemmed before bracing, to prevent unravelling. When the length of the velvet exceeds that of the frame, it is better to stretch thin holland, and tack the velvet to it with small stitches in any of those parts in- tended to be covered by the work; the velvet may then lie uninjured on the frame, and at any length of yards worked in a frame, three feet wide, substituting fresh holland as the work proceeds. If the velvet is to be embroidered in silk, or chenille, it will not, generally speaking, require any other material at the back; but if gold or silver are to be employed, or the work is very elab- orate, the velvet must be strengthened with holland, which will also make it firmer and more pleasant to work upon. In these instances, it will be found advisable to frame the holland, and fix the velvet, by carefully pasting or tacking it in those parts in- tended to be worked. The velvet is to be laid on the holland, and slightly pressed, but so as to avoid injury to the pile. Before taking embroidery out of the frame, a little paste made with size, should be slightly rubbed with the finger over the back of the work. FRAMING WORK. FRAMING SATIN, SILK, LEATHER, ETC. Satin, silk, cloth, and merino, may be framed in the same way; it is not, however, necessary to use holland when the work is the simple sprigging of a waistcoat, the embroidering of a bag, hand- screen, or other small article. Crepe should be laid on clear book-muslin, and sewn into the frame with the same attention that cloth requires. When the embroidery is done, the muslin should be cut close away. Morocco and chamois leather, and kid, should be carefully and flatly laid on a piece of thin white holland, and tacked down — the holland having been previously framed in the usual way, but there should not be any tension on the leather. The above engraving accurately represents an embroidery frame with a piece of work properly stretched and braced in it. CHAPTER XIII Stitcljcs. “ Fine Ferne -stitch, Finny-stitch, New-stitch, and Chain-stitch, Brave Bred-stitch, Fisher -stitch, Irish-stitch, and Queen-stitch, The Spanish-stitch, Rosemary-stitch, and Mowse-stitch, The smarting Whip-stitch, Back-stitch, and the crosse-stitch , All these are good, and these we must allow, And these are everywhere in practice now. John Taylor. IYE stiches are, in general, employed for canvas work ; viz. tent, and cross stitch, Gobelin or tapestry stitch, Irish, and German stitch. Various others might be enumerated, but they are all more or less modifications or combinations of the above. It is a difficult task clearly to describe these different stitches, and their application in the various departments of decorative needlework. There is, doubtless, a right and a wrong way of doing even the most simple. As a preliminary, it must be observed that it is requisite, for working with comfort and cor- rectness, to have the canvas the right way ; which is, it should be so framed that the selvedges are placed on the sides where it is braced. The commencement of almost all stitches should be by bringing the needle up from beneath on the right, and pass- STITCHES. 107 mg it down again on the left: this may be considered as holding good with regard to all stitches which do not require crossing; but in working Gross stitch , it should be done by bringing the needle up on the left, and passing it down on the right, then up again on the right, and down on the left, to finish the stitch. Too great attention cannot be paid to these simple rules ; the wool, by this means will always be to the left. TENT STITCH. In tent stitch, the needle is brought up from the right, and passed down on the left, commencing at the bottom of the work, in the left-hand corner. The stitches better accommodate them- selves to each other when worked upwards in this position. The wool or silk should properly cover the threads of the canvas ; they should be used either single, double, or treble, according as the size of the canvas demands. Regularity in this stitch will easily be acquired by a little practice ; its simplicity is such that the youngest child may accomplish it. When grounding is to be executed in tent stitch, much greater care will be found necessary than might at first . be imagined, as both the ap- pearance and durability of the work depend on its being done with the utmost nicety. In fact, it is more difficult to work a ground with a true and even stitch than to copy a pattern however elaborate. Grounding is more easily worked in straight rows from left to right, and from right to left alternately, than in diagonal lines, if care be taken to reverse the stitch in each row. When cor- rectly done, the back of the work should present an uniform ap- 108 STITCHES. pearance, each row of stitches resembling a twisted cord. Knots in fastening on or off should be avoided ; it is best to draw the wool through at a little distance from the exact spot, and cover it with the succeeding stitches. The fastening on from the same place in each row must be obviated by using the wool or silk in needlefuls of different lengths ; otherwise a liney appearance, which it will be impossible to get rid of, will be produced on the face of the work. CROSS STITCH. Cross stitch is worked over two threads in a diagonal direction each way. It is a double stitch, and made, first by bringing the needle up on the left, and putting it down on the right, which forms half the stitch ; it is then crossed, by bringing the needle up again on the right, and passing it down on the left. We would advise each stitch to be finished before another is com- menced, as the work will be more even, than if it were half stitched before crossing, — a method not unfrequently practised. Grounding in cross stitch should be done in alternate rows backwards and forwards, observing the same rules for reversing the stitches as in tent stitch. GOBELIN, OR TAPESTRY STITCH. STITCHES. 109 This stitch is worked over two threads of the canvas in height, and one in breadth ; but when Berlin patterns are copied, two stitches in width must be made for each square of the design, which bear exactly the same proportion as one either of tent or cross stitch. On coarse canvas, Gobelin stitch is decidedly in- ferior to either tent or cross stitch. Its effect is best on fine canvas, where it has the advantage over cross stitch, of a closer^ appearance of shading. Figures, flowers, and every kind of pattern, may be worked in Gobelin stitch, but it is certainly more suitable for patterns drawn on the canvas, than for count work . Either tapestry or cross stitch may be mixed with gold braid on canvas, to produce a very rich brocaded appearance. The gold braid should be cut in the requisite lengths, and fastened to the canvas at either end, and a Berlin pattern of plain damask taken for the design. The ground is to be worked either in cross or tapestry stitch over the braid, in one rich colour, leaving the damask part of the pattern in the gold. Blue, brown, or marron , form pretty contrasts ; and, for wedding presents, white and gold. IRISH STITCH. For grounding, Irish stitch may frequently be used in the place of tent or cross stitch, as it takes much less time in its execution. It is the best stitch for chenille work on canvas ; 11 * ♦ 110 STITCHES. and scrolls, gems, and even flowers, may be prettily worked in it. The above engraving will convey a much better idea of this stitch than any description we should be able to give. GERMAN STITCH. German stitch is exclusively a grounding stitch, — it is quicker done than either tent or cross stitch. Patterns worked in cross stitch, may be prettily grounded in German stitch. The above engraving accurately represents this stitch. IMITATION OF LACE. Numerous patterns in imitation of lace have been lately intro- duced, and where judgment is used in the application of them, they certainly have some merit ; — the best are principally adapted for small articles ; but lace and canvas work being somewhat at variance with each other, it must be doubtful whether they have much claim to good taste. The ground is worked in various stitches of fine silk, the pattern on it being in cross stitch of thicker silk or wool. VARIOUS FANCY STITCHES. These, as we before stated, are but modifications of the five stitches* already mentioned, and it will be only necessary for us STITCHES. Ill to name the principal recognised old English stitches ; — to attempt a description of them, would be alike tedious and Useless. They are, Feme stitch, feather stitch, basket stitch, mat stitch, bead stitch, braid stitch, plait stitch, diamond stitch, square stitch, star stitch, wove Irish stitch, reverse cross stitch, mosaic flat stitch, brick stitch, Venetian stitch, Peruvian stitch, Hungary stitch, plaid stitch ; — but this must suffice. Innumerable are the stitches which are to be met with on the samplers worked for sale, both in England and Germany, and numberless the names applied to them, and it is as easy to invent new stitches, as it is to invent new names for them. CHAPTER XIV ffimbroibsrg. “ Whether her needle play’d the pencil’s part, ’Twas plain from Pallas she deriv’d her art.” Ovid. “ In a curious brede of needle-work, one colour falls away in such degrees, and another rises so insensibly, that we see the variety without being able to distinguish the total vanishing of the one from the first appearance of the other.” Addison. E are indebted to the luxury and magnificence of the nations of the East, for the invention of embroidery, — an art that has not inaptly been termed the mother of painting, its discovery claiming the priority by many centuries. La more modern times, it has been called the humble sister of the latter art; and the aim of the needlewoman has been to imitate, as closely as possible, the productions of the pencil, a labour in which she has been assisted by some of the most celebrated masters, many of whose chef-d’ oeuvres have been executed for the express purpose of being copied in needlework or tapestry. EMBROIDERY. 113 The Greeks gave the honour of the invention of embroidery to Minerva : # by Pliny it has been assigned to the Phrygians ; hence, he says, the Romans called embroiderers “ Phrygiones ” and embroidered garments, “ vestes Phrygionice .”f The women of Sidon, before the Trojan war, were especially celebrated for their skill in this art : and Plomer mentions Helen as being en- gaged in embroidering the combats of the Greeks and Trojans — “ An ample web magnificent she wove, Inwrought with num’rous conflicts for her sake, Beneath the hand of Mars endured by Greeks.” Andromache also — “ She in her chamber at the palace top, A splendid texture wrought, on either side All dazzling bright with flowers of various hues.” * It is possible that the story of Procne, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, who informed her sister Philomela of her misfortunes by embroidering them on a veil, is fabulous; but be this as it may, the fable is of remote origin, and tends to prove the antiquity of the art. Vide Apollodorus , lib. iii. c. 14. t Lib. viii. c. 74. “ Pictas vestes jam apud Homerum fuisse, unde triumphales natae. Acu facere id Phryges invenerunt, ideoque Phrygionise appellatae sunt. Aurum intexere in eadem Asia invenit Attalus rex: unde nomen Attalicis. Colores diversos picturae intexere Baoylon maxime celebravit, et nomen imposuit.” We have been tempted to give the original words of this author, as the terms “ pictas vestes,” and “ intexere,” have been variously translated. In the Me- ncechmi of Plautus (act ii. sc. 3,) a young woman, desirous of sending her mantle to be embroidered, says : “ Pallam illam ad Phrygionem ut deferas, ut reconcinnetur, atque ut opera addantur, quae volo.” That the cloth of Attalus was embroidered, is proved by a passage of Silius Italicus (lib. xiv. 661): — “ Quaeque Attalicis variata per artem Aulaeis scribuntur acu.” And from the following lines in Martial (lib. viii. ep. 28), it is evident that the Babylonian cloth was also ornamented with embroidery: — u Non ego praetulerim Babylonica picta superbe Texta, Semiramia quae variantur acu.” 114 EMBROIDERY. The art of embroidery was greatly practised among the ancient Egyptians ; even the sails of some of their ships were wrought with fanciful devices, representing the phoenix, flowers, and various emblems.* * * § In the time of Moses, Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, was celebrated as “ a cunning workman,” and ds an embroiderer in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, f The curtains and ornaments of the Tabernacle, and the vestments of the priests, were decorated with embroidery. The prophet Ezekiel, reproaching the women of Israel with having abused the benefits of Providence, after mentioning their bracelets and chains, jewels for their foreheads, and earrings, and their crowns, still farther names their robes, dyed and embroidered of divers colours. J Attalus, king of Pergamus, is said by Pliny, to have invented the art of embroidering with gold thread. According to Diodorus Siculus, § Zaleucus, a disciple of Py- thagoras, and a lawgiver of the Locrians, forbade the use of embroidery, except to courtesans: and Dionysius Halicarnassus|| informs us, that Tarquinius Priscus, who first distinguished the monarch and senators by particular robes and ornaments, was the first Roman king who wore an embroidered garment. The term embroidery, as employed in the writings of the ancient historians, has reference to all kinds of ornamental work done with the needle ; thus comprehending within its meaning every * Cloth, of embroidered linen, appears to have been made in Egypt expressly for sails, and was bought by the Tyrians for that purpose (Ezekiel xxvii. 7), but its use was confined to the pleasure boats of the nobles, or of the king himself; ordinary sails being white. We are informed by Pliny (lib. xxx. c. 1), that the ship in which Antony and Cleopatra went to the battle of Actium was distinguished from the rest of the fleet by its purple sails, which were the peculiar privilege of the admiral’s vessel. t Exod. xxv. 35. t Ezekiel xvi. 13. § Lib. iii. c. 62. II Lib. xii. p. 299. EMBROIDERY. 115 description of decorative needlework, including tapestry, and some descriptions of weaving. At the present day, the term is much more limited, relating to one kind of needlework only, which, however, embraces an almost innumerable variety, both as to the materials employed, and the mode of using them. In the ex tended meaning of the term, therefore, nations and savage tribes unknown to the ancients, may equally claim the honour of a similar invention, as most of them have a species of embroidery peculiarly their own.* The Chinese have long been celebrated for the beauty of their embroideries ; indeed, it has been doubted whether the art was not originally brought into Europe from them, through the Persians. They use floss and twisted silks, also the bark of a tree spun into a fine thread.! The drawing of their embroideries is sometimes as uncouth as that of their paintings, but in that of some of their flowers (doubtless copied from nature) they are frequently even botanically correct; and their works are not more to be admired for their remarkable freshness than for the extreme labour bestowed upon them. Success, as gained by patient application, is nowhere so frequently exemplified as in China. The mere accomplishment of writing a good style, is the result only of many tedious years of study and self-denial. The beauty of the written character, the finished graces of their composition, the * The word embroidery is derived from the French broderie which some de- duce by transposition from bordeur ) becaise they formerly only embroidered the borders of their stuffs, whence the Latins sometimes called embroiderers limbu - larii. According to Du Cange, they anciently wrote aurobrustus , for embroidered with gold, or brustus brodatus, whence the French word broderie. t The fine muslins made at Manilla, with threads spun from tbe pine-apple plant, and afterwards so richly and delicately embroidered with the same mate- rial, are well known. 116 EMBROIDERY. excellence of their silk manufactures and embroidery, the wonders of their porcelain, and many other marvels in art and knowledge, are the natural results of untiring industry and perseverance. A Chinese uses no short cuts, resorts to no compendious methods for abridging labour : — he is not without ingenious resources to accomplish an end, but his aim does not seem to be to save time. We are indebted to Mr. Tradescant Lay for the following interesting account of the art of embroidery as at present prac- tised by the Chinese. “ For twenty-two cash or tseen,” he says, “ I purchased an elegant book, filled with choice subjects of the graphic art, as patterns for the use of the young needle-woman. She is assumed to be poor, and hence the little manual is priced at about one penny of our money. It has a cover of a fair yellow, studded with spangles of gold, and contains between two and three hundred figures, culled from the varied stores of nature and art. In fact, the objects are so well selected and so nu- merous, that they might serve as illustrations to a small encyclo- paedia. One acquainted with Chinese literature and natural history, might deliver several lectures with this book before him. The meadow, the grove, the brook, the antiquary’s museum, and the pages of mythology, with the adornments of the house and garden, are all laid under contribution. The book is said to be for the use of the person who belongs to the green window , which is an epithet for the dwelling of a poor woman: while the red gallery denotes the residence of a rich female. The industrious poor plies her task near the green lattice, which is made of earthenware, and lets in both the light and the breath of heaven ; while the rich dame leans upon the vermil-tinted balusters of the gaudy verandah, and gazes carelessly at the sunbeams as they sparkle among the flowers, or wooes the soft breeze which agitates the green roof of the Indian fig-tree. The title-page presents us EMBROIDERY. 117 with a venerable man, in the weeds of office, holding in his hand a scroll with this motto, c Heaven’s magistrate confers wealth.’ Over his head are bats disporting among the clouds ; the emblems, I suppose, of wakefulness, for these animals are on the alert, while men sleep. £ Her candle goeth not out by night,’ is what Solomon tells us of the needle-woman, whom he eulogizes in the last chapter of Proverbs. I once saw two girls at this work in the village of Mongha. They were seated upon a low stool, and extended their legs across another of twice the height of their seat. In this way a support was provided for the frame on which the piece to be embroidered was spread forth. Their faces wore a sickly hue, which was owing, perhaps, to close confinement and the unnatural position in which they were obliged to sit. The finest specimens of embroidery are, as far as my observation goes, done by men, who stand while at work — a practice which these damsels could not imitate, as their feet were small. They were poor, but too genteel, in their parents’ idea, to do the drudgery of the humble housewife, and so their feet were bandaged and kept from growing beyond the limits of gentility. Their looks were not likely soon to attract a lover, and hence they were compelled to tease the sampler from the glistening dawn till dewy eve. Much skill and labour are bestowed on the embroidery of a plaited skirt worn by ladies, which, with my partiality for what is Chinese, I think without .a rival for beauty as an article of female attire. In the little work before me, several patterns are given expressly for this purpose. A curious purse worn in the girdle of Chinese gentlemen, is also the subject of much of this kind of elaboration. Embroidery and figured textures were gener- ally in favour with the ancients, so that the discovery was thought worthy of a superior agency. In the Old Testament we have two kinds, the maase rokem , (opus phrygionicnm ), in which 1 18 EMBROIDERY. the figures were inserted by the needle ; and the maase choseb , (opus plumarium ), in which they were wrought in with the woof. The Chinese are fond of retaining what is old, and have preserved both these arts in their highest state of perfection.”* The beautiful embroideries on muslin with cotton by the Indians, are well known. Besides these, says M. de St. Aubin, “ ils emploient sur gaze, des joncs, cuirasses d’insectes, ongles et griffes d’animaux, des noyaux et fruits secs, et surtout des plumes d’oiseaux : ils entremelent les couleurs sans harmonie comme sans gout: ce n’est qu’une espece de mosaique bizarre, qui n’annonce aucune intention, et ne represente aucun objet — a description of embroidery which we should not be tempted to imitate. The embroidery practised by the Canadian women is much more simple and pleasing : they work “ avec leurs cheveux et autres poils d’animaux : elles represented assez bien les rami- fications des agates herborisees, et de plusieurs plantes : elles insinuent dans leurs ouvrages des peaux de serpents coupees par lanieres, des morceaux de fourrure patiemment raccordes.” According to M. de Busson, the negresses of Senegal, before their marriage, embroider the skins of various beasts, repre- senting figures, flowers, and animals, in every variety of colour. The Georgians, and particularly the Turkish women, are renowned for their embroideries on the lightest and most delicate materials, such as crepe and gauze, which they ornament with gold thread in a manner unequalled. Their embroideries on morocco leather have long been esteemed, on which they work the smallest objects in gold passing , without fraying the thread, in a way we cannot imitate. According to M. Savary, they * The Chinese as they are. EMBROIDERY. 119 formerly often ornamented their embroidery with pieces of money, the value of which they did not appear to understand : a circumstance, however, which the Genoese merchants, who had a considerable trade in the Levant, turned greatly to their advantage, as valuable and interesting coins and medals were frequently found in the old garments in which they sometimes trafficked. Besides the Turks, the Greek women of the present day, and the inhabi- tants of the islands of the Levant, are still celebrated for their embroidery, principally of gold and silver. The women of Thera- pia on the Bosphorus excel in a most beautiful description of work ; it can scarcely, however, be termed embroidery, being rather a species of exquisitely fine netting. They represent flowers in relief, every petal of which is worked with the utmost exactness. These extraordinary productions of the needle, unfortunately but little known in this country, cannot be sufficiently admired for their extreme delicacy and elaborateness. In the last and preceding centuries, when embroidery, as an article of dress both for men and women, was an object of con- siderable importance, the Germans, but more particularly those of Vienna, disputed the palm of excellence with the French. At the same period, Milan and Venice were also celebrated for their embroidery ; but the prices were so excessive, that, according to Lamarre, its use was forbidden by sumptuary laws. The art of embroidery seems to have attained a higher degree of perfection in France, than in any other country ; — it is not however, so much practised at the present day. Embroiderers formerly formed a great portion of the working population of the largest towns ; laws were specially framed for their pro- tection, some of which would astonish the work-people of the present day. They were formed into a company as early as 1272, by Etienne Boileau. Prevot de Paris, under their respective 120 EMBROIDERY. names of K Brodeurs, Decoupeurs, Egratigneurs, Chasubiters — their last statutes were framed in 1719. In Saxony, embroidery on fine muslin and cambric has been carried to great perfection. In the neighbourhood of Eibenstock, and the Erzgebirge, much of the tambour work is done ; this is generally sold at the Leipzig fairs, where it is bought by the Russian and West Indian merchants ; great quantities are also exported to Persia. At Plauen, in the same neighbourhood (celebrated for its manufactures in linen, cotton, and muslin), much figured lace is also worked, which may be met with at the shops in Dresden. The embroideries of Nancy and Paris of this description, have of late years attained great excellence, and are much sought after. With this brief sketch of the history of embroidery, we shall now proceed more particularly to mention in what the art consists and the various methods of practising it, as pursued at the pre- sent day. Embroidery is the art of adding to the surface of woven textures, a representation of any object we wish to depict, through the medium of the needle, threaded with the material in which the work is to be executed. This may be effected by various methods, and on most descriptions of fabrics. It will be our en- deavour to describe separately the different kinds of work in this department, although we greatly fear our want of skill adequately to convey the ideas and instruction we desire to communicate. shaded embroidery. “ Here the needle plies its busy task, The pattern grows ; the well-depicted flow’r, Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn, EMBROIDERY. 121 Unfolds its bosom ; buds, and leaves, and sprigs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos’d, Follow the nimble finger of the fair : A wreath, that cannot fade, of flow’rs that blow With most success when all besides decay.” Cowper. Shaded embroidery is the most elegant, the most imitative, and the most unlimited in its capabilities, — aptly portraying and ri- valling the productions of the painter, whether for historical subjects, landscapes, portraits, nature’s ever-varying flowers, or the Moorish arabesque.* It may also be termed the easiest, although the least mechanical, being less subject to rule than any other, as the most beautiful effects are often produced, where there appears to have been a total indifference, or ignorance, of any attempt at a regular embroidery stitch. We trust, nevertheless, that the following observations may guide, and be of some use to those who wish to commence this species of work. The frame being properly dressed (see chap. XII) with the material, upon which the pattern has been previously traced and shaded, attentively observe the position of the flowers, or what- ever the subject may be, and determine the surfaces on which the lights would naturally fall : this is more essential, before commencing the work, if the intention be to embroider as taste may direct, and without copying with a coloured drawing. The right hand should always be above the frame, the left beneath • and the rule, if any exists, other than what convenience dictates, * The arabesque, or moresque, is a style of pattern peculiarly adapted for needlework, and was formerly much introduced into pieces of Gobelin tapes- try, from the designs of Berin, Gillot, and Watteau. This description of ornament originated with the Arabians and Moors, who were prohibited by their religion from using human and animal representations. Many of the beautiful paintings on the walls of the Alhambra have furnished designs for needlework. 12 * 122 EMBROIDERY. is always to draw the needle upward from the right, and finish the stitch by putting it down to the left. It is better to commence with the smaller parts, such, for instance, as the stems, buds, and leaves, in a group of flowers : and the first care and attention should be bestowed on the obtaining and preserving a neat and clear outline. This, it will quickly be perceived, is essential, both to the perfection of the design, and to the execution of the work. The edges and rounder parts, both of the leaves and petals of flowers, embrace more surface, and are generally worked with the palest tints, as they naturally receive the light first, and more particularly attract the eye. In order properly to blend the shadows, as in painting, the stitches should be of different lengths ; and it is generally easier to put in the next colour, by bringing the needle up to the left, and putting it in again to the right, finding with tact the best hiding place for the blending shade. When one half of the leaf is done, commence and work the other in the same manner, and finish by veining it according to nature. When the leaves are all worked, the flowers should be done in a similar manner. The centres of many full-blown flowers, such as dahlias and roses, are sometimes represented by what is termed French knotting: this is done by forming a loop round the needle with the silk, which should be tightly drawn round it as it is passed from the upper to the under side of the work: it is better to begin with the centre knot, as a more perfect round can be formed than if commenced on the outer circle. The veining of the leaves, and the small stems, are formed by making a stitch about the sixteenth of an inch long, then, in the next stitch, putting the needle half-way back into the preceding one, and working it the same length as the first, forming a kind of finely twisted cord ; this demands great neatness in its execution, but it gives, if properly done, the best finish to the work. EMBROIDERY. 123 The stitches, in this description of embroidery, should be made as long as possible, where the work will admit of their being so, as the brilliancy of the silk is destroyed by crowded and short stitches. It is advisable, as much as possible, to avoid touching the silk by drawing it through the fingers when working. All flowers of the same kind should not be done with the same shades of colour : thus, suppose there are three white flowers of the same description, on the same spot, and that eight shades of silk are required properly to embroider them ; — for one, a greater portion of the five lightest tints would be used ; in the next, the middle shades might predominate ; and, in the third, a greater quantity of the dark, depending of course on their position, and the skill of the needlewoman. In shading, five gradations ol tint may usually be considered a sufficient number ; but more or less may be requisite. The veining of the leaves may be done either with light or dark shades, according as the light falls, and nature dictates, or as the colours demand for effect. Historical subjects, landscapes, and portraits, are best worked with wool, as greater varieties of neutral tints can be more readily procured; whilst the brighter, smaller, and more fanciful designs, can be successfully executed with silks. A mixture of these two materials, should always be avoided, when an endeavour is made to copy nature. German and English wools, are both equally applicable for the purposes of embroidery : but, where a variety of shades are re- quired, the former is of course to be preferred. Worsted and crewels were formerly much used, — the magnificent works of Miss Linwood are all done with these materials. When wool is used, the needle should be long-eyed, and threaded, by doubling the wool into a loop at one end, and inserting it into the eye of the needle. Embroidery with wool may be executed as beautifully and 124 EMBROIDERY. as minutely as with silk ; it may also be done, to produce a good effect, by a much coarser and less delicate mode of working, as applicable for the bangings of windows, and beds, table-covers, and other large pieces of needlework for furniture. For shaded embroidery, mitorse, Dacca, and floss silks are all used. For some fine descriptions of work, netting and dram silks are preferred. The French and Chinese, whose embroideries in silk far surpass those of the English, generally employ mitorse. The double embroidery done in China, with this material, is too well known to need description. Chenille may likewise be em- ployed, but this forms a description of work which we shall have to describe elsewhere. It is unnecessary for us to instance the almost innumerable variety of purposes to which this description of embroidery may be applied. To whatever end needlework has been, or is likely to be designed, it is equally suited ; although, since the intro- duction of Berlin patterns, it has not been sought after to the same extent as formerly; — but needlework, in common with other matters, is subject to the sway of fashion. FRENCH, OR FLAT EMBROIDERY. This species of embroidery is done without shading, the stitches lying smoothly in a diagonal direction close to each other, and little or no attention to light and shade being necessary. It is often executed with beautiful effect in one colour; and, for some purposes, it may be enriched by the additions of gold or silver, in the form of a cord, round the edges. The French excel in this kind of work ; it is also done very beautifully, and at a surprisingly small expense, in Scotland, for ladies’ dresses and other articles. Its excellence is best displayed when worked with EMBROIDERY. 125 mi torse silk; it is then, also, the most durable, not fraying in the wear, or so quickly losing its glossy appearance as when done with floss or Dacca silk. It is also very rich when worked with wool. When an imitation of gold is desired, netting silk of the proper colour may be advantageously employed. From the annexed engraving some idea of the direction of the stitches may be formed. Flat embroidery is suitable for articles of furniture and dress, and an almost endless variety of small ornamental works, — such as bags, folios, sachets, slippers, hand-screens, note and cigar cases, &c. EMBROIDERY IN CHENILLE. Chenille may be employed for almost every description of em- broidery, — whether shaded, flat, or raised ; it may also be worked on a variety of materials, but those which possess a smooth and glossy surface, best contrast with its velvet-like appearance. Che- nille may be used for embroidering on canvas, more particularly Berlin canvas: when it is well calculated for cheval, and pole- screens, as well as hand-screens. It is frequently used on wire canvas, but the wire frays the chenille too much in the working, and renders it poor when finished. When working with chenille on canvas, a needle with a round eye may be used, as a thick needle will pass through the interstices of the canvas without injuring it; but, if on a closer material, such as satin, for instance, a long-eyed needle is better, in order to avoid injury, by making too large a hole. 126 EMBROIDERY. Chenille being an expensive material, the study of a little economy in the mode of using it, may not be amiss. The waste at the back of the work should be avoided as much as possible: — this may be done, by bringing the needle close up to the last stitch, and not crossing it at the back. It is easy to measure or guess the length of the needleful requisite for working each particular part, and to cut it as short as possible, to prevent the using of the same portion again, and also to draw a very short piece through the eye of the needle. The necessity of making knots in fastening on may be obviated, by working a small stitch or two on the part intended to be covered. In shaded embroidery, matting the stitches too closely together should be avoided, or the veloute appearance of the chenille will be de- stroyed. In embroidering with chenille, the shades will be required to be much closer than with silk ; six gradations of shade, at least, should be used. In flat embroidery, the stitches should be regular, but not closer than will admit of the chenille lying roundly on the surface. In fancy patterns, it is pretty when edged, or mixed, with gold. Small chenille, called by the French chenille a broder , is the kind usually employed for embroidery, but for coarse canvas work there is a larger size. Chenille is best adapted for working such articles as are not subject to pressure, or liable to much exposure to dust, from which it would be difficult to free it. For work protected by glass, it is beautiful, but it requires extreme care in the mounting. There is another method of using chenille, which was formerly much the fashion, where effect only at a distance was required. The chenille, instead of being worked on with a needle, as in common embroidery, was only laid on the surface of the material and securely tacked down by a fine waxed silk of the same EMBROIDERY. 127 colour, the ends of the chenille being carried through with a needle to the back of the work. EMBROIDERING COATS OF ARMS. Heraldic displays may be embroidered in wool, silk, gold, and silver, but the stitches should always be placed in the direction of the lines by which the herald represents his colours. For instance, — in azure , the stitches should be laid parallel across the escutcheon ; in gules , perpendicular ; in vert , diagonally, from left to right ; in purpure , diagonally from right to left ; in sable , the position of the stitches is optional, provided they represent the field as formed of small close squares. The partition lines, whether horizontal, embattled, nebuly, rayonne, &c., as also those which divide the quarterings of the shield, may be formed by a line, in the same manner as the veining of leaves of flowers, or, with greater precision and effect, by using a round silk gimp, which must be neatly attached by means of a fine sewing silk • the size of the gimp depending, of course, on the magnitude of the coat of arms. When objects in heraldry are blazoned proper , they may be shaded as in other kinds of embroidery, as may also, in general, the supporters, the lambrequin or mantling, the badges, collars, scrollage, and other ornamental devices. Mottos may be worked in embroidery, like the partition lines, over that part which has already been worked. Coats of arms and crests may be executed entirely in fine black silk, and with perfect effect, by paying attention to the position of the stitches ; allowing the ground to be visible, as displayed in the old embroidery termed print work. They may be worked in this manner for the insides of covers of valuable books and albums. 128 EMBROIDERY. RAISED EMBROIDERY. This kind of embroidery is extremely pretty in fancy pieces for working animals, birds, shells, fruit, or flowers ; it may be done with either silk, wool, or chenille. The pattern must be traced, and the material framed, as usual ; then commence a foundation for the raised parts by working, with coarse cotton or wool, layer upon layer, in long stitches, until the outline of the design is closely approached, paying attention at the same time to the shape of the object. When this is finished, begin the em- broidery over it with a long needle, and shade in the usual manner, passing the needle through the whole substance of the foundation, which will the more easily be done should it be formed of wool. Fruit and shells may be most admirably imi- tated by this mode of embroidery ; but it is not always successfully accomplished by ladies, as, besides taste and skill, it requires a certain knack , which few but the experienced embroiderer can attain. Needlework, as prepared for ladies, has generally the objects thus represented ready worked, the other portions of the design being left for them to execute. This kind of raised em- broidery may be done on canvas ; it may also be worked on holland, and afterwards transferred. Wool and chenille may both be used, but it can be done with the greatest perfection with silk. Floss, Dacca, and mitorse silks, are all suitable, appropriating them according as they resemble the objects to be imitated ; for some descriptions of shells, mitorse would be the best, for others floss silk. Flowers, such as roses, on a very reduced scale, for sprig work, may be beautifully and easily executed in this description of embroidery : floss or Dacca silk should be used. A small round EMBROIDERY. 129 must first be slightly raised with cotton ; then commence the centre of the rose with two or three small French knots, and form the flower by working round them in small stitches, keeping the middle of the darkest shades ; the stitches should partly cross each other, so as to give the appearance of one leaf over another. If skilfully done, the centre of the flower should have the sunken appearance which it has in nature. If worked too large, their beauty and effect will be lost. Four shades of silk will be found sufficient. RAISED CUT EMBROIDERY IN WOOL. Raised work of this kind has been brought to great perfection, particularly in France, both for flowers, birds, and animals. A peculiar kind of mesh, made of steel, should be used, which serves the double purpose of mesh and knife, as by merely drawing it through the looped stitches it cuts them more regularly than could be done - with the scissors. The stitch employed is the most essential part of the work, as it must neither unravel, nor pick out when finished. The design should be traced on the cloth or other material, which is to be firmly framed with holland at the back; a coloured drawing will be required for a pattern, as the work does not present its proper appearance whilst in progress. The mode of working is difficult to express in writing: — with the steel mesh on the surface of the material, pass the needle, threaded with the proper wool, from the upper to the under side, leaving an end to form part of the stitch; bring the needle up 130 EMBROIDERY. again on the farther side of the mesh, and crossing the wool over the mesh, put the needle in again to the left of the stitch first made, then, bring the needle up on the further side of the mesh as before, and repeat the stitch, taking care that the needle is always put in on the upper side, to the left of the preceding stitch. One row of stitches must be completed, before another is com- menced, fastening off, and changing the colours of the wool, ac- cording to the design. It must be worked as regularly and as closely as possible, in parallel lines, forming a kind of chain stitch at the back. When the row is finished, draw the mesh through, so as to cut the loops across. It will be found more convenient to employ two meshes, drawing them out alternately as the work proceeds. When the whole of the object is finished working, it must be thoroughly combed, so as entirely to separate the fibres of the wool; it will then most probably appear an unshapen mass, but this will be of no consequence, as the scissors must then take their part towards the completion of the design. These should be very sharp and pointed, and rather large, but otherwise, no particular kind is required. Commence by gradually shearing the centre, forming an even surface, and when the 'peluche is a little reduced, the distinct colouring, with something of the natural form, will appear: the shearing must then be slowly persevered in, cutting the edges and other parts where a less raised appear- ance is required, until the whole assumes the perfectly smooth and rounded form desired. In animals and birds, small glass eyes of suitable size, may be inserted, — these, partly buried in the wool, and not too prominent, produce a pleasing effect. This description of work is best adapted to succeed on cloth ; if properly done, it should be extremely firm and solid, so that if trodden upon, it will be but little injured. It is also very durable. Small birds in raised work, for hand screens, on white EMBROIDERY. 131 watered silk, have a very pleasing and pretty appearance, and may be easily executed. Raised work is adapted for a variety of purposes, but for chairs and pillows it is objectionable, on account of its hard uneven surface. The method we have described will be found the best, where perfection in raised v^ork is sought for ; but a more simple mode of working, over a common wooden mesh, and cutting with the scissors, in a similar manner to the raised edges of urn rugs, is frequently adopted with success, but the work seldom bears any comparison with the former, either in beauty or durability. EMBROIDERY IN GOLD AND SILVER. Embroidery as executed by ladies, with gold and silver, has not a very extensive range ; it consists principally of needlework for altar cloths, bags, sachets, folios, and smaller articles ; but it is frequently introduced intermixed with other materials, to heighten and improve their effect. For that description of embroidery technically termed gnimped embroidery, the pattern must be drawn on the material, and the figures of the pattern also cut in parchment, vellum, or cloth, over which the gold or silver is sewn with a fine silk thread. Embroidery on the stamp , is a similar kind, but here, the figures being higher and more prominent, are raised by means of wool or cotton, which gives them a much more rounded appearance. For embroidering with gold and silver, the frame should be dressed with fine holland, to which the material intended to form the groundwork must be carefully tacked. When gold passing is used, a round-eyed needle should be employed, and some pattern should be obtained to show the direction of the stitches, on the great regularity of which depends the principal excellence of the work. 132 EMBROIDERY. If the embroidery be in bullion, a small needle threaded with a waxed gold-coloured silk must be used, on which this material, cut into proper lengths, should be strung. The work is some- times greatly improved by the intermixture of rough, smooth, and checked bullion in the same piece. Embroidery with spangles is quickly done, and very showy where much glittering effect is desired. Coronets, initials, and mottos, have a very rich appear- ance when properly embroidered in gold, — the cap of the coronet being composed of velvet.* EMBROIDERY IN TAMBOUR. This is another description of embroidery, worked with a notched or tambour needle, which, although its value has been much deteriorated by the successful attempts at imitation with machinery, still claims our attention as a very pretty and easy- kind of work. We have seen patterns of arabesques and flowers very beautifully executed in tambour with silk, intermixed with gold, on satin. Braiding patterns are elegant when worked in * The art of embroidery with gold appears to a great degree lost, or to have fallen into disuse. From the few examples of ancient Catholic vestments that have escaped destruction, the generality of persons are but little acquainted with the extreme beauty of the embroidery worked for ecclesiastical purposes during the Middle Ages. The countenances of the images were executed with perfect expression, like miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Every parochial church, previous to the Reformation, was furnished with complete sets of frontals and hangings for the altars. One of the great beauties of the an- cient embroidery was its appropriate design ; each flower, each leaf, each device had a significant meaning with reference to the festival to which the vestment belonged. Such was the extreme beauty of the English vestments in the reign of Henry III, that Innocent IV. forwarded bulls to many English bishops, enjoining them to send a certain quantity of embroidered vestments to Rome, for the use of the clergy there. EMBROIDERY. 133 this stitch, especially in shades — a species of needlework executed with great elaborateness on cachemir and merino, in the Levant. Fine netting silk is the material best adapted for working in tambour : it is also very beautiful with gold passing on white crepe. The material on which tambour work is to be executed, must have the pattern traced on it, and should be stretched either in a tambour* or square embroidery frame. In working, the right hand, which directs the needle, should always be above the frame, and the left beneath, to supply the silk or cotton, which is caught by the hook of the tambour needle, and drawn up through the work so as to form a loop on its surface ; the needle should then be passed through that loop, and, piercing the material, be again drawn up with another loop on its hook, which is drawn through the first; a third and fourth, and so on, are then made, drawing each succeeding loop through the former. In flowers and leaves, it is advisable to work the outline of each first, and fill up the centres with successive rows of stitches. Round or oval leaves should be commenced on the outside, and worked one row within another, terminating in the centre. The points of leaves require great care in the disposal of the stitches, in order to give a neatness and finish to the work. The stalks may be worked either in single, double, or treble rows, as their size re- quires, and according to the coarseness of the material employed. The elegant embroideries and tambour work on net, muslin, and cambric, do not come within the scope of our department of decorative needlework, but the above directions are equally applicable to them. 134 EMBROIDERY. Chain stitch , an imitation of tambour work, is generally done on the hand with a common sewing needle, looping the stitches in a similar manner to that above described.* * It would have been supposed that embroidery, the work of ladies’ fingers, could never have been supplanted by machinery, yet such is the case. At the exposition of the products of national industry at Paris in 1834, a M. Heilmann, of Mulhause, exhibited a machine he had invented, by which a female could embroider with eighty or one hundred and forty needles, more accurately and expeditiously than she formerly could with one. This remarkable invention attracted considerable notice at the time; and several of these machines are now used in France, Germany, and Switzerland, and also at Manchester, where much of the sprigged embroidery for ladies’ dresses is done, at a price which human labour cannot compete with, as it only requires the superintend- ence of one grown up person and two children, to do the daily work of fifteen expert embroiderers. The latter are merely employed to change the needles when all the thread is used, and to see that no needle misses its pincers, which, in this machine, supply the place of the finger and thumb of the em- broiderer. We cannot here enter into a description of this machine, but the following short account by Dr. Ure may not be uninteresting: — “ The operative must be well taught to use the machine, for he has many things to attend to: with the one hand he traces out, or rather follows the design, with the point of the pantograph ; with the other he turns a handle to plant and pull all the needles, which are seized by pincers, and moved along by carriages, approaching to, and receding from, the web, rolling all the time along an iron railway ; lastly, by means of two pedals, upon which he presses alternately with one foot and the other, he opens the one hundred and thirty pincers of the first car- riage, which ought to give up the needles after planting them in the stuff, and he shuts with the same pressure the one hundred and thirty pincers of the second carriage, which is to receive the needles, to draw them from the other side, and to bring them back again.” Having so far trespassed, we cannot better conclude the subject of imitations of the needle, than by quoting the following beautiful lines from Barry Cornwall : — THE WEAVER’S SONG. “ Weave, brothers, weave !— Swiftly throw The shuttle athwart the loom, And show us how brightly your flowers grow, That have beauty but no perfume ! EMBROIDERY. 135 Come, show us the rose, with a hundred dyes, The lily, that hath no spot ; The violet, deep as your true love’s eyes, And the little forget me-not ! Sing, — sing , brothers ! weave and sing t ’ Tis good both to sing and to weave: *Tis better to work than live idle , 'Tis better to sing than grieve. “ Weave, brothers, weave ! — Weave, and bid The colours of sunset glow 1 Let grace in each gliding thread be hid ! Let beauty about ye blow ! Let your skein be long, and your silk be fine, And your hands both firm and sure, And time nor chance shall your work untwinq, But all, — like a truth, — endure ! So, — sing, brothers , Sfc. • Weave, brothers, weave !— Toil is ours ; But toil is the lot of men : One gathers the fruit, one gathers the flowers, One soweth the seed again ! There is not a creature, from England’s King, To the peasant that delves the soil, That knows half the pleasures the seasons bring, If he have not his share of toil ! So,— sing, brothers ,