ART IN NEEDLEWORK

TEXT-BOOKS OF ORNAMENTAL DESIGN

ART IN NEEDLEWORK

A BOOK ABOUT EMBROIDERY
BY
LEWIS F. DAY
AUTHOR OF 'WINDOWS,' 'ALPHABETS,'
'NATURE IN ORNAMENT' AND OTHER
TEXT-BOOKS OF ORNAMENTAL DESIGN
& MARY BUCKLE

LONDON:
B. T. BATSFORD 94 HIGH HOLBORN
1900

BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS,
LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.

PREFACE.

Embroidery may be looked at from more points of view than it would be possible in a book like this to take up seriously. Merely to hover round the subject and glance casually at it would serve no useful purpose. It may be as well, therefore, to define our standpoint: we look at the art from its practical side, not, of course, neglecting the artistic, for the practical use of embroidery is to be beautiful.

The custom has been, since woman learnt to kill time with the needle, to think of embroidery too much as an idle accomplishment. It is more than that. At the very least it is a handicraft: at the best it is an art. This contention may be to take it rather seriously; but if one esteemed it less it would hardly be worth writing about, and the book, when written, would not be worth the attention of students of embroidery, needleworkers, and designers of needlework to whom it is addressed. It sets forth to show what decorative stitching is, how it is done, and what it can do. It is illustrated by samplers of stitches; by diagrams, to explain the way stitches are done; and by examples of old and modern work, to show the artistic application of the stitches.

A feature in the book is the series of samplers designed to show not only what are the available stitches, but the groups into which they naturally gather themselves, as well as the use to which they may be put: and the back of the sampler is given too: the reader has only to turn the page to see the other side of the stitching—which to a needlewoman is often the more helpful. Lest that should not be enough, the stitches are described in the text, and a marginal note shows at a glance where the description is given. This should be read needle and thread in hand—or skipped. Samplers and other examples of needlework are uniformly on a scale large enough to show the stitch quite plainly. The examples of old work illustrate always, in the first place, some point of workmanship; still they are chosen with some view to their artistic interest.

In other respects Art is not overlooked; but it is Art in harness. Design is discussed with reference to stitch and stuff, and stitch and stuff with reference to their use in ornament. It has been endeavoured also to show the effect needlework has had upon pattern, and the ways in which design is affected by the circumstance that it is to be embroidered.

The joint authorship of the work needs, perhaps, a word of explanation. This is not just a man's book on a woman's subject. The scheme of it is mine, and I have written it, but with the co-operation throughout of Miss Mary Buckle. Our classification of the stitches is the result of many a conference between us. The description of the way the stitches are worked, and so forth, is my rendering of her description, supplemented by practical demonstration with the needle. She has primed me with technical information, and been always at hand to keep me from technical error. With reference to design and art I speak for myself.

My thanks are due to the authorities at South Kensington for allowing us to handle the treasures of the national collection, and to photograph them for illustration; to Mrs. Walter Crane, Miss Mabel Keighley, and Miss C. P. Shrewsbury, for permission to reproduce their handiwork; to Miss Argles, Mrs. Buxton Morrish, Colonel Green, R.E., and Messrs. Morris and Co., for the loan of work belonging to them; and to Miss Chart for working the cross-stitch sampler.

I must also acknowledge the part my daughter has had in the production of this book: without her constant help it could never have been written.

LEWIS F. DAY.

January 1st, 1900.

CONTENTS.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. TAPESTRY—to illustrate work on a warp not on a web. From Akhmin in Upper Egypt. Ancient Coptic. (In the Victoria and Albert Museum.)
2. DRAWN-WORK ON FINE LINEN, embroidered with gold and colour. Oriental. (From the collection of Mrs. Lewis F. Day.)
3. DARNING AND SATIN-STITCH on square mesh—The darning leaf, green, follows the lines of the stuff; outlined with yellow, veined with pink and white; stem, yellow, its foliation pink, outlined with white, and ribbed with blue and white. Italian. 17th century. (V. & A. M.)
4. CROSS-STITCH UPON LINEN. Hungarian. Compare Illustration 45.
5. CROSS-STITCH SAMPLER—A and B, solid; C, line work; D, stroke-stitch—called also Holbein-stitch; E, stroke and cross stitches combined.
6. CANVAS-STITCH in coloured silk upon linen. The band Italian, the foliated diaper Oriental. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
7. CANVAS-STITCH—Design comparatively free, but showing in its outline the influence of the rectangular lines of the weaving. Cretan. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
8. CANVAS-STITCH SAMPLER—A, tent-stitch; B, half-cross-stitch; C, cushion-stitch; D, Moorish-stitch, so called; E, plait-stitch; F, couching on canvas.
9. CUSHION AND SATIN-STITCHES UPON CANVAS—The Satin-stitches follow the lines of the stuff, and form a diaper built upon them. Compare Illustration 71.
10. TWO VARIETIES OF CANVAS-STITCH, the pattern in the bare linen, the background worked—A, plait-stitch, the ornament outlined; B, stitches drawn tightly together so as to pull the threads of the linen apart, giving very much the effect of drawn-work. Compare Illustration 2. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
11. CREWEL-STITCH SAMPLER—A and C, crewel-stitch; B and D, outline-stitch; E, back-stitch; F, spots; G and H, stem-stitch; J, crewel and outline-stitches in combination.
12. BACK OF CREWEL-STITCH SAMPLER.
13. CREWEL-WORK—the stem only worked in crewel-stitch. Embroidered in green, blue, and brown wools upon white cotton. Old English. (Coll. of Miss Argles.)
14. CREWEL-WORK, in which crewel-stitch hardly occurs. Embroidered in coloured wools upon white cotton. Old English. (Coll. of J. M. Knapp, Esq.)
15. CREWEL-STITCH IN TWISTED SILK. The scroll in green upon a brownish-purple ground; the smaller leafage upon the scroll in brighter green; the flowers and butterflies in blue and pink. Modern. (Mrs. L. F. Day.)
16. CHAIN-STITCH AND KNOTS—Part of the same piece of work as Illustration 24. Indian. (V. & A. M.)
17. CHAIN-STITCH SAMPLER—A, chain-stitch solid and in line; B, magic stitch; C, church chain; D, cable chain; E, Vandyke chain; F, Mountmellic chain; G, Mountmellic cable—all so called.
18. BACK OF CHAIN-STITCH SAMPLER.
19. CHAIN AND SURFACE STITCHES—the latter a kind of buttonholing, only occasionally worked into the stuff. Part of a lectern cover in white thread upon a thin, greyish white linen stuff. German, 14th century. (V. & A. M.)
20. HERRINGBONE SAMPLER—A, B, C, varieties of herring-bone; D, a combination of A and C; E, fishbone; F, a close variety of A; G, tapestry stitch, so called.
21. BACK OF HERRINGBONE SAMPLER.
22. BUTTONHOLE SAMPLER—A, B, C, ordinary buttonhole and variations upon it; D, two rows of buttonhole worked slanting one into the other; E, crossed buttonhole; F, tailor's buttonhole; G, ladder (called also Cretan) stitch; H, herringbone buttonhole; J, buttonhole diaper.
23. BACK OF BUTTONHOLE SAMPLER.
24. BUTTONHOLE, CHAIN, AND KNOT STITCHES—chiefly in white floss silk on dark purple satin, with touches of crimson at the points from which the stitches radiate. The rings on the outer ground are not worked, but done in the dyeing of the satin. Part of the same piece of work as 16. Modern Indian from Surat. (V. & A. M.)
25. FEATHER-STITCH SAMPLER—A to G, ordinary feather-stitch and its variations; G G, feather chain.
26. BACK OF FEATHER-STITCH SAMPLER.
27. ORIENTAL-STITCH SAMPLER—A to E, Oriental-stitch and its varieties; F, Oriental-stitch worked into buttonhole; G, not properly a form of Oriental-stitch, though bearing some resemblance to it.
28. BACK OF ORIENTAL-STITCH SAMPLER.
29. ROPE AND KNOT-STITCH SAMPLER—A, rope-stitch; B, open rope-stitch; C, what is called German knot-stitch; D, open German knot-stitch; E, Old English knot-stitch, so called; F, bullion-stitch; G, French knots.
30. BACK OF ROPE AND KNOT-STITCH SAMPLER.
31. A TOUR-DE-FORCE IN KNOTS—Worked entirely in the one stitch; the drawing lines expressed by voiding. In white and coloured silks upon a very dark blue ground. Chinese. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
32. INTERLACING-STITCH SAMPLER—A, Interlaced crewel-stitch; B, interlaced back-stitch; C, back-stitch twice interlaced; D, interlaced chain-stitch; E, interlaced darning; F, interlaced herringbone; G, herringbone twice interlaced; H, an interlaced version of C in Illustration 20; J, interlaced Oriental-stitch; K, interlaced feather-stitch.
33. BACK OF INTERLACING SAMPLER.
34. SURFACE-STITCH SAMPLER—A, D, G, various surface stitches; B, surface buttonhole; H and C, surface darning; E, Japanese darning, as it is called; F, net passing; J, surface buttonhole over bars; K, surface buttonhole over slanting stitches.
35. LACE OR SURFACE-STITCH AND SATIN-STITCH, much of it worn away. In straw-coloured floss upon pale blue silk. Part of a dress. French. Late 18th century. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
36. SATIN-STITCH SAMPLER—Worked in floss, the stitch in various directions, to give different effects. Incidentally it shows various ways of breaking up a surface in satin-stitch. Compare with Illustration 38, which shows the effect of the stitch in twisted silk.
37. BACK OF SATIN-STITCH SAMPLER.
38. SATIN-STITCH IN COARSE TWISTED SILK.
39. SATIN-STITCH IN TWISTED SILK—Outlines voided. Worked in white and occasional red and yellow upon black satin. Indian. Modern. (V. & A. M.)
40. SATIN-STITCH AND, on the birds' bodies, PLUMAGE-STITCH—The ends of the stalks worked in French knots; the veins of the leaves in fine white cords laid on to the satin stitch. The outlines voided, and the voiding occasionally worked across with stitches wide enough apart to show the ground between. In white and bright-coloured silk floss upon a black satin ground. Chinese. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
41. SAMPLER—Showing offshoots from satin and crewel stitches, and incidentally illustrating various ways of shading. A, crewel-stitch; B, plumage-stitch, worked in the hand; C, split-stitch; D, plumage-stitch, worked in the frame.
42. BACK OF SAMPLER 41.
43. DARNING SAMPLER—Except in the background the stitches follow the lines of the drawing, regardless of the weaving of the stuff. The customary outlining of the pattern is here omitted, to show how far it may, or may not, be needful.
44. DARNING—DESIGNED BY WILLIAM MORRIS. In delicate colours upon a sea-green ground, outlined with black and white. Part of the border of a table-cloth, the property of Messrs. Morris & Co.
45. FLAT DARNING—Solid and open, following the lines of a square mesh, and stepping in tune with it; the outline voided; all in white thread. Old German. (Gewerbs Museum, Munich.)
46. LAID-WORK SAMPLER, showing various ways (split-stitch and couching) in which the sewing down may be done, and the various directions it may take—vertical, horizontal, following the ornamental forms, or crossing them.
47. LAID-WORK—The couching crosses the flower forms in straight lines; and in the eye of the flower where the threads cross, the two are sewn down at a single stitch. The spiral stems a sort of laid cord. Flower in blue, sewn with blue and outlined with gold; leaves, a bright fresh green stitched with olive. Japanese. (V. & A. M.)
48. LAID-WORK. The sewing down of the leaves crosses them in curved lines which suggest roundness. The stem in gold basket pattern. Part of a coverlet. Worked upon a cedar-coloured ground chiefly in dark blue and white, the blue couched with white, the white and other colours couched with red. Indo-Portuguese. 17th century. (V. & A. M.)
49. LAID-WORK AND SOME SURFACE-STITCH. The stitching which sews down the floss takes the direction of the scroll, &c., and gives drawing. The surface work in the stems is done upon a ladder of stitches across. Part of a chalice veil. Italian. Early 17th century. (V. & A. M.)
50. LAID-WORK SAMPLER—The straight lines of laid floss varied in colour to suggest shading. The stalk padded, and the pattern made by the stitching upon it thereby emphasised.
51. BULLION AND COUCHED CORD—A, The somewhat loose design of the border in bullion shows rather plainly the way it is done. B, The solid discs of spiral cord are unusual, but most characteristic of the method of couching. The stitches sewing down the cord are not apparent. Oriental. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
52. SAMPLER OF COUCHED SILK—The broad central band and the narrow beaded lines are in floss, and show the effect of sewing it more or less tightly down. The two intermediate bands are in cord couched with threads in the direction of its twist, not very easily distinguishable unless by contrast of colour.
53. COUCHING IN LOOPED THREADS—The effect is not unlike that of chain-stitch or fine knotting. Rather over actual size. Worked in bright colours upon a pale green crêpe ground. Chinese. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
54. REVERSE COUCHING—Showing on the face of it no sign of couching. (After the manner of the Syon Cope.)
55. BACK OF REVERSE COUCHING—Showing the parallel lines of couched linen thread which sew down the silk upon the surface (Illustration 54). The zigzag pattern of the stitching might equally well have taken other lines.
56. COUCHED GOLD SAMPLER—A, B, C, D, flat work; E, part flat, part raised; F, G, H, J, basket and other patterns raised over cords.
57. COUCHING IN VARIOUS DIAPER PATTERNS, OUTLINED IN PART WITH "PLATE." Silver on pale pink silk. (Coll. of Mrs. T. Buxton Morrish.)
58. GOLD COUCHING IN OPEN THREADS—A, The lines of gold which form a scale pattern on the dragon's body, are wide enough apart to let the red ground grin through. Elsewhere the couching, contrary to mediæval practice, follows the shapes, line within line until they are occupied. The floss embroidery, in white and colours, is in surface-satin-stitch. Chinese. B, The open lines of gold look somehow richer than if the metal had been worked solid upon the crimson ground. Old Venetian. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
59. COUCHED OUTLINE WORK; only an occasional detail worked solid; suggests damascening. The border is in gold, the filling in silver, thread on a greyish-green velvet. Part of an Italian housing or saddlecloth. 16th century. (V. & A. M.)
60. APPLIQUÉ—Satin upon velvet, outlined with two threads of gold couching.
61. APPLIQUÉ PANEL—Designed and executed by Miss Mabel Keighley, illustrating a poem by William Morris. (The property of the artist.)

62. A. COUNTER-CHANGE PATTERN, INLAY OR APPLIQUÉ.—Yellow satin and crimson velvet. The outline, which is in gold, falls chiefly upon the yellow, so as not to disturb the exact balance of light and dark, which it is essential to preserve in counter-change. Part of a stole. Spanish. 16th century (V. & A. M.)

    B. APPLIQUÉ, of deep crimson velvet upon white satin, outlined with paler red cord. The outlines, meeting together, form a stem of double cord. Italian. 17th century. (V. & A. M.)

63. APPLIQUÉ, with couched outline, and stitching upon the appliqué band or ribbon. The dots in the centre of the grapes are French knots. The pattern is in satin of various colours, upon a figured green silk damask, outlined with yellow silk sewn down with yellow. Italian. (V. & A. M.)
64. INLAY IN COLOURED CLOTHS, outlined with chain stitch. Magic stitch also occurs. A characteristic example of the kind of work done at Retsht, in Persia. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
65. CUT-WORK IN LINEN—A fret of this kind was often outlined with coloured silk, and the detail within the fretted outline further embroidered in coloured silk. (Coll. of Mrs. Drake.)
66. SAMPLER OF RAISED WORK, showing underlays: A, of cloth; B, of twisted cords; C, of parchment; D, of cotton wool; E, first of cotton cord and then of cotton thread; F, of cord; G, of string; H, of sewing.
67. RAISED WORK, showing underlay of linen, and the way it is sewn down—The work is in flax thread, red, yellow, and white, upon a blue linen ground. The stem is dotted with white beads, the ground with gold spangles. Part of an altar frontal. German. 15th century. (V. & A. M.)
68. RAISED GOLD BASKET PATTERNS, &c., upon white satin. The stalk in flat wire. Spanish. 17th century. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
69. QUILT, WORKED IN CHAIN-STITCH from the back—which has precisely the effect of back-stitch. Yellow silk upon white linen. Old English. (V. & A. M.)
70. RAISED QUILTING, in black silk upon pale sea-green satin. Part of the border of a prayer cushion. Old Persian. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
71. DIAPER OF SATIN-STITCH IN THE MAKING—Something between canvas-stitch and satin-stitch. The leafage is in tent-stitch. Compare with Illustration 9. (V. & A. M.)
72. STITCHES IN COMBINATION—Among them Oriental, ladder, buttonhole, chain, crewel, satin, and herringbone stitches, worked in dark blue silk upon unbleached linen. Old Cretan, so called. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
73. FINE NEEDLEWORK UPON CAMBRIC—the substance of which is apparent upon the upper edge of the work. In the ground-work of the pattern generally the threads are drawn together to form an open net. The stitches occurring in the collar of which this is part are, buttonhole, satin, chain, herringbone, cross, and back stitches. The outline is mostly in fine cross-stitch. Nothing could exceed the delicacy of the workmanship, which is in its kind perfect. Old English. (Coll. of Col. Green, R.E.)
74. PART OF A DESIGN BY WALTER CRANE, cunningly adapted to execution in needlework. Shows the direction of the stitch, and the part it can be made to play in expressing form. Worked in coloured silks upon linen by Mrs. Walter Crane, whose property the work is.
75. SHADING IN CHAIN-STITCH in silk and chenille upon a satin ground. The shading very deliberately schemed by the designer. In natural colours upon white. French. Louis Seize. (V. & A. M.)
76. SHADING IN SHORT STITCHES; picturesque to the point of a touch of white in the glistening yellow of the dove's eye. Chenille, in chain-stitch, is used for the wreath and in the leaves of the flower sprigs. These are in colours, the birds are in silvery greys, all on a white satin ground. French. Louis Seize. (V. & A. M.)
77. SHADING IN LONG-AND-SHORT AND SPLIT STITCHES, with more regard to expression of form than to neatness of execution. German. 16th century. (V. & A. M.)
78. CHAIN-STITCH, showing in the figures of the little men what a draughtsman can express in a few stitches. Full size. Chinese. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
79. FIGURE WORK—The flesh in straight upright stitches, the drapery laid and couched. English. 15th century. (V. & A. M.)
80. CONSUMMATE FIGURE EMBROIDERY—Canvas ground entirely covered. Flesh in coloured silks, short-stitch; drapery coloured silks over gold, which only gleams through in the lighter parts. Architecture closely couched gold. Part of an orphrey. Florentine. 16th century. (V. & A. M.)
81. CHINESE FIGURES—The flesh in short satin-stitches, the rest in chain-stitch; chiefly in blue and white upon a figured white silk ground. About actual size. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
82. SATIN-STITCH, showing the influence of its direction upon the tone of colour. The pattern is all in one shade of yellow-brown floss upon white linen. The outline steps with the weaving, and so shows connection between satin and canvas stitches. Italian, 17th century. (V. & A. M.)
83. MEANINGLESS DIRECTION OF STITCH—Satin and herring-bone stitches. From an altar-cloth. German. 17th century. (V. & A. M.)
84. MORE EXPRESSIVE LINES OF STITCHING—To compare with Illustration 83.
85. SATIN AND PLUMAGE STITCHES chiefly, the bird's crest in French knots, the clouds about him in knotted braid. The direction of the stitch is most artfully chosen, and the precision of the work is faultless. The satin ground is of brilliant orange-red; the crane, white, with black tail feathers, scarlet crest, and yellow beak and legs; the clouds, black and white and blue. Japanese. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
86. RENAISSANCE CHURCH WORK IN GOLD AND SILVER, partly flat, partly in relief, upon pale blue satin, with touches of pink and crimson silk to give emphasis. Spanish. 18th century. Compare the stem with Illustration 66, B. (V. & A. M.)
87. GOTHIC CHURCH WORK—The flesh, &c., in split-stitch; the vine-leaves green, getting yellower as it nears the crimson silk ground. Part of a cope embroidered with a representation of the Tree of Jesse. English. Ca. 1340. (V. & A. M.)
88. MODERN CHURCH WORK ON LINEN, in long-and-short stitch. Veins padded with embroidery cotton and worked over with two threads of filo-floss, a green and a blue; the rest of the leaves worked in one shade of stout floss. All this applied to velvet with a couching of brown filoselle, and the tendrils added. Designed and executed by Miss C. P. Shrewsbury. (The property of the artist.)
89. SIMPLE STITCHING ON LINEN, the broader bands in a canvas stitch in yellow, the finer lines in back-stitch in pale grey silk. Italian. (Mrs. L. F. D.)
90. SIMPLE COUCHED OUTLINE WORK, in purplish silk cord upon linen. Part of an altar-cloth. Italian. 16th century. (V. & A. M.)
91. RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT—Most gracefully designed arabesque. The raised outline (couched) has somewhat the effect of cloisons, the satin-stitch (in colours) of brilliant enamel. It is upon a white satin ground. The foreshortened face in the picture is painted upon satin. Italian. Ca. 1700. (V. & A. M.)
92. APPLIQUÉ DESIGN, in yellow satin upon crimson velvet—Double outline; next the red, white, sewn with pale blue; next the yellow, gold. Midrib of the leaf couched silver. Spanish, 16th century. (V. & A. M.)
93. SATIN-STITCH—except that the heart-shaped features at the base and the lily-shaped flowers, of which only the tips are shown, are outlined with fine white cord. Part of a fan, worked by Miss Buckle, from a design by L. F. D. (The property of the worker.)
94. LEATHER APPLIQUÉ UPON VELVET—The stitching well within the edge of the leather.

Errata.

Page 30. Diagram belongs to G (Stem-Stitch) described on page 32, not C (Thick Crewel-Stitch).

Page 125, 2nd line. For "lower" read "upper."

ART IN NEEDLEWORK.

EMBROIDERY AND STITCHING.

The term is used in common parlance to express any kind of superficial or superfluous ornamentation. A poet is said to embroider the truth. But such metaphorical use of the word hints at the real nature of the work—embellishment, enrichment, added. If added, there must first of all be something it is added to—the material, that is to say, on which the needlework is done. In weaving (even tapestry weaving) the pattern is got by the inter-threading of warp and weft. In lace, too, it is got out of the threads which make the stuff. In embroidery it is got by threads worked on a fabric first of all woven on the loom, or, it might be, netted.

There is inevitably a certain amount of overlapping of the crafts. For instance, take a form of embroidery common in all countries, Eastern, Hungarian, or nearer home, in which certain of the weft threads of the linen are drawn out, and the needlework is executed upon the warp threads thus revealed. This is, strictly speaking, a sort of tapestry with the needle, just as, it was explained, tapestry itself may be described as a sort of embroidery with the shuttle. That will be clearly seen by reference to Illustration 1, which shows a fragment of ancient tapestry found in a Coptic tomb in Upper Egypt. In the lower portion of it the pattern appears light on dark. As a matter of fact, it was wrought in white and red upon a linen warp; but, as it happened, only the white threads were of linen, like the warp, the red were woollen, and in the course of fifteen hundred years or so much of this red wool has perished, leaving the white pattern intact on the warp, the threads of which are laid bare in the upper part of the illustration.