CHAPTER X.
EMBROIDERY IN CHENILLE.
At one time chenille work was all the fashion. Its beautiful, velvety appearance, and the soft brightness of its colors, made it very effective; but it was an expensive material, and would only bear the most delicate usage.
Silk hand-screens were frequently embroidered with chenille; and in some old-fashioned mansions, such an article of the shape of Figure 62 may be found even now.
Fig. 62.—Hand-Screen in Chenille.
To do a “piece” in chenille was quite a necessary part of a young lady’s education; and these pieces were treated like Miss Linwood’s paintings in crewels. They usually represented landscapes; and handsomely framed, and protected by a glass, were hung in a place of honor, as a sort of certificate that the worker was entitled to be pronounced finished.
A performance of this kind that is now cherished as an heirloom, the work of somebody’s great-grandmother, consumed a hundred dollars’ worth of chenille. It is a mourning-piece: a tomb and two weeping figures in the foreground, the country church, and grave-yard. It is very smooth, beautiful work, and has the effect of a painting.
Chenille is still used in a measure for small, ornamental articles; and no material represents moss so well. It is suitable both for flat and raised embroidery; and it may be worked on a variety of materials; but those with smooth surfaces are best suited to its velvet-like appearance.
A needle with a round eye is the proper kind for embroidering with chenille, and this should be large enough not to fray the thread. As it is an expensive material, it should be used economically; and all waste at the back of the work should be avoided by bringing the needle close up to the last stitch and not crossing it on the underside. It is easy to measure or guess the length of the needleful required for working each particular part, and to cut it as short as possible, to prevent the using of the same position again, and also to draw a very small piece through the eye of the needle.
The necessity of making knots may be avoided by working a small stitch or two in the part intended to be covered.
In shaded embroidery, the stitches should not be matted too closely together, as this destroys the velvety appearance of the chenille. It should be more closely shaded than silk embroidery; at least six shades should be used in flowers and leaves.
In flat embroidery, the stitches should be regular, but not closer than to allow the chenille to lie roundly on the surface. It is always pretty edged or mixed with gold.