Although the foregoing chapter was devoted exclusively to the description and illustration of the stitches most generally used in gold-work, most of them can with equal propriety be worked in silk. But the reverse does not hold good: there are many stitches useful for silk and thread, &c., which cannot well be worked with gold, because the needle and thread are taken right through the material, from the upper to the under side and up again, in and out, all the time; whereas nearly all gold-work is done on the surface, the beginning and end only of the gold being taken through the material. It is true that in some of the old embroidery, flat strips of metal were sometimes worked through the stuff, also thin solid wire, and the fine tambour is still used in the same way; but it is not practicable to any extent with Japanese gold, or passing; while purl and bullion, being in the form of a hollow coil, are obviously unsuitable for being drawn through the surface as thread. It would also involve an unnecessary waste of gold to take it through the stuff and leave it behind each stitch.

The accompanying sampler does not include any of the stitches shown in the former one, except couching. Although, in principle and in method of working, couching is the same, whether it be carried out in silk or in gold, yet, the effect being very different, it seems desirable to repeat it here. It is introduced also for the purpose of pointing out clearly the difference between it and another stitch which in some circumstances looks very similar, but is worked in quite another way and is called ‘Laid-work.’

In both couching and laid-work the principal threads lie on the surface and are sewn down with auxiliary stitches by means of a separate needle and thread. In couching, these stitches are planted at short intervals, all along the line, on each row of threads, while they are being placed; but in laid-work the whole surface is covered first, and the few stitches required to keep the mass of silk in place are added afterwards. Couching is generally worked in solid heavy threads, such as gold and silver, purse-silk, cord and filoselle, while laid-work is only suitable for floss, its chief merit being the perfection with which it shows the bright sheen of that beautiful silk. It is light and soft in effect and a very expeditious means of covering a large surface. It does not wear very well unless caught down at frequent intervals with the couching or other over-stitching, as in the example (p. 63) of a chalice-veil at South Kensington, where all the foliage is done in laid-work, the ‘laid’ stitches going across the leaves and the couching following the curves, indicating simple veining.

Both laid and couched work, when used as a filling, are best adapted to decidedly conventional designs, laid-work especially to broad and flat effects, and couching to outlines.

Although shading and even an appearance of modelling to a slight degree may be legitimately obtained by the placing of different shades of silk side by side and by the direction of the underlying and over-stitching silks, still it is not well to attempt too much in this direction, as there are many other stitches more suitable; and stitches, like other things, are much more beautiful when in their natural and proper place than when forced into a position for which they are unfit.

This sampler is intended to be worked in coloured silks. I will mention them by their numbers on Pearsall’s colour-card No. II., as it can be bought or referred to at any ordinary needlework shop, and therefore seems the most practicable means of explaining about shades, &c., to those who have never used floss silk before. While to others I would say it is certainly not necessary to use these particular colours, or this particular make of floss, so long as the silk is good, the colours harmonising with each other, and being sufficiently distinct in shade to avoid confusion.

Three shades of blue, Nos. 41, 42, and 43; four shades of a bronze-green, Nos. 112, 113, 113A, 113B; three shades of a greyer green, Nos. 113A, 134, 135; a soft reddish-brown, No. 105, and one of gold-colour, No. 92, are suggested for this sampler.

Linen thread may be used instead of silk, on a coloured or a white linen ground, for practice, but it is necessary for the embroidress to get used to working in floss[1] from the first, because it is always needed for the best and richest work, and it requires a great deal of practice before it can be dexterously handled. Ornamental rings, bracelets, &c., should not be worn when working with floss silk, particular attention must be given to keep the hands in good condition, clean and smooth; it is a good plan, if they are apt to get rough, to rub in one or two drops of pure glycerine after washing in hot water before drying them. The hands should then be rubbed perfectly dry with a linen towel. If, on the other hand, they are at all inclined to be moist, they should be frequently washed in water as hot as it can be borne, then dipped into cold water, rubbed dry, and lastly dusted over with boracic powder. Carbolic, sulphur, arsenical or other ‘complexion’ soaps should never be used before working with either gold or silver or very delicate silks; indeed, it is safest to use none but pure vegetable soaps as free from chemicals as possible. A fine white-linen apron with a bib and sleeves, or an ‘overall,’ should always be worn, and the work kept covered with a soft silk or linen handkerchief. Too much care cannot be taken with floss silk, as it is apt to catch in everything it comes near and is very easily damaged. For the same reason the needlefuls should not be long, and if the silk be bought in skeins it should be carefully wound at once, on smooth reels or cards, keeping a separate one for each shade, which should be duly named and numbered.

Of all the stitches which are worked with silk, I think SATIN-STITCH, with its many offshoots and variations, is the foremost both for usefulness and beauty. The smooth brightness of the surface; the clean-cut outline it makes of itself, when nicely done, requiring nothing further to finish it off; the ease with which shades and colours melt and blend in soft gradations or bold effects, make it the stitch par excellence for floss-silk work, whether coarse or fine.

The Flower marked A on the sampler is worked thus:—

Take a needleful of the palest of the three shades of blue floss and run round the traced outline of the upper portion of one of the petals. Never begin with a knot, but run a few stitches into a part that will be covered afterwards; to fasten it firmly just take a back-stitch and do not cut off the end till you have worked a few more stitches; always begin and end a needleful on the ‘right side’ of the work so as to have no loose ends at the back. Then bring the needle up from behind to the surface near the centre of the petal; set it in just over the outline at the top; draw it down with one hand and set it in with the other. (It ought to become, by practice, a matter of indifference which hand is at any time above and which below.) The next stitch must be shorter, the next longer, and so on till the edge of the petal is reached. The other half of the petal is filled in the same way, beginning from the middle, and keeping the ends of the stitches even along the top and quite irregular along the bottom of the row. The stitches should be just so close together as to make a firm clear edge without either overcrowding or thin weak places.

The next row is done with the middle shade of blue; after fastening the end of the thread, take the needle through to the back, then bring it up between the two long middle stitches and about halfway from the top, set it in again to make a stitch about the same length as the others were, and continue working in the same way; the only difference between the first row and the second being that the second is worked from the upper part downwards and that both ends of the stitches are irregular in length instead of only the lower ends. Also there will be fewer stitches in each row as they get nearer the bottom.

The number of rows required will depend on the size of the petal, so will the actual length of the stitches. To give some idea of the proportion, I will suppose this petal to be an inch and a half in length and an inch and a half in width at the widest part; the stitches would then be from a half to three-quarters of an inch long at the longest; it would take four rows of stitches, and there would be about thirty of them in the top row of the petal when using the full thickness of Pearsall’s ‘Stout Floss.’ The central stitches should all be vertical, and all the others radiating—that is, slanting outwards, towards the edge of the petal; this direction of the stitches must be very carefully managed, not to be too sudden in change, and the rows of stitches should ‘dovetail,’ as it were, into each other. In this example two rows of the middle shade are used, and only one each of the lightest and darkest.

This application of satin-stitch is known by a number of other names, such as ‘Long-and-short’ stitch, ‘Plumage’ or ‘Feather’ stitch; the latter name is rather misleading, as there is a well-known stitch of that name, quite different in appearance and method of working, in common use in linen embroidery. In reading descriptions of silk embroidery one should bear in mind that when Feather-stitch is mentioned it may mean the one described above.

B is worked in the three lightest shades of the bronze-green—Nos. 112, 113, and 113A. The method is precisely the same as in A above, only the radiation is different and requires even more care in the arrangement of the stitches. Radiation of lines from a centre follows a principle of natural growth, as anyone may observe by taking the separate petals of any similar flower; all the lines and veinings, however much branched or netted, will be seen to converge towards the point where it is inserted into the calyx. In the leaf the place where they converge is the midrib—an extended centre, so to speak—and in ‘B’ the stitches are aimed in the same direction. Imagination has to be called upon to suggest where the lines should run in the part of the leaf which turns over, but it should always be done intelligently.

C is more conventional, by which I mean less regard is paid to natural growth. It is a favourite method with the Chinese and Japanese, who work this form of satin-stitch to such perfection, that the ‘right side’ and ‘wrong side’ are almost exactly alike. This may be considered a test of good workmanship. It is best to begin with the part nearest the centre, with the darkest shade of blue. Each stitch of one petal is parallel with the others and in a vertical direction; there is no radiation in the working of individual petals, only in the arrangement of the petals themselves in the whole flower; and the edge of each shade is sharply defined by a voided line instead of melting or ‘shading’ into the next. A voided line is a narrow space of the ground left bare between the rows of stitches; it should be so narrow and so even as to look like a fine line or indentation in the silk. This kind of satin-stitch is equally suited to work done all in one shade or in white on white ground.

D is also worked in parallel lines, but the direction is horizontal, the shades lying side by side close together. In quite small flowers the stitches would go straight across each petal, but in larger ones, like these, half is worked at a time, a voided line being left down the middle of each. In the sampler it is also left to define each shade, but D is a simpler form for practice.

E is worked somewhat like A, only the stitches follow all along the curve equally as the veins do in lily-leaves, &c., instead of radiating. This should be begun with the darkest of the bronze-greens, No. 113B. Two rows may be worked with this, then one of the next shade, 113A, then three of the next, 113, then one of 113A to finish with.

The three berries marked F on the sampler are slightly raised. The preparation may be the same as that described in the chapter on gold-work; padding thread sewn across and across in several directions, or by layers of parchment cut to the shape. In any case the padding must be covered with stitches of silk, worked straight across, in the opposite direction to that with which it is covered eventually. The same shade, No. 105, may be used for all berries, but each should be worked in a different direction, to show the effect that such a change has on the tone of the colour.

The centres of the flowers, marked G, are begun with the brown silk, with surface satin-stitch, in which, as its name implies, nearly all the silk is on the surface of the material. It is just taken through and brought up again close to, but not exactly in, the point where it went down, leaving a very small stitch at the back, then taken across the space to be covered, and through again on the opposite side in the same manner. The stitches may lie either horizontally or vertically. Over this work a single thread of No. 92 is drawn diagonally, at regular intervals, to form a lattice. These overlying stitches, again, are sewn down by a small cross-stitch at each intersection.

This lattice-work may be used independently, without any under-stitching, showing the ground instead; it has a very pretty light effect among more solid work. Another pattern is shown at G2.

Split-stitch.—This is a stitch found much in use in the earliest specimens of ecclesiastical needlework. I believe that the faces and heads of nearly all the figure work done before the fifteenth century were in split-stitch. The effect is something like several others. When very fine and rather tightly worked it looks like satin-stitch; when looser, like fine chain-stitch; when coarse and rather loose, like crewel-stitch worked backwards and forwards. Each stitch is worked by making a small satin-stitch and bringing the needle up from the back through the middle of it, or by threading the needle with two strands of silk and bringing the point up between them. See illustrations of ancient Coptic work, where the frayed ends of silk show plainly that it was done in this way.

The silk is thus pierced through or ‘split’—hence its name.

H on the sampler is worked thus:—

With a needleful of No. 135 begin at the lower end of the inside half of the leaf and follow the inner curve as far as the point of the first lobe. Almost every alternate row of stitches is carried only halfway down, or less, to keep the radiation right. When the first lobe is filled, take the next shade (134) and work in the same manner up to the top point of the leaf. The other half of the top point and the upper part of the next lobe is worked with the lightest shade, 133A, and the last with 134; h shows the upper part of the leaf in course of being worked.

We now come to laid-work, the general character of which I have already described above.

The first process is to cover the surface with the silken threads, lying all in one direction—vertical at I, horizontal at J, on the sampler.

They can be laid at any angle, provided that the stitches are kept parallel with each other, and that due consideration is given to the direction the over-stitching will take. It ought to cross the laid stitches as nearly as possible at right angles to keep it nicely in place. Of course, it is impossible to keep strictly to this, but if the principal veinings are placed thus the others will naturally approximate sufficiently.

The silk may either be carried through the material and the needle brought up a very little way further on along the outline, as in surface-satin; or the silk may be turned back on the surface, as in couching, with a stitch at each end. The middle and darkest shades of grey-green (134, 135) are used for the leaf, and the middle and darkest blues for the vase. The over-stitching of the leaf is in the lightest grey-green, done with split-stitch; the vase with the darkest blue in couching.

The band K at the bottom of the sampler may be worked in the same way, using back-stitching to keep it down. With back-stitching a pattern can be formed which is something like that made by couching, only it is softer-looking and more quickly done. If it is a border of any considerable length a number of skeins may be all begun together; then, pinning them all down with a long fine pin, the stitches are set in at regular intervals to make the pattern. The floss-silk in this case requires no needle, but, when once begun, is ‘paid off’ the reel or card by degrees as required.

Laid-work makes a beautiful background; the over-stitching may be either of split-stitch, couching, or back-stitch, and may be done either in a pattern or by simple lines, diagonal, vandyked, or at right angles with the silk laid down. Compare k, which is laid, with q, which is couched. Both may be worked with the middle shade of blue sewn down with gold-colour, No. 92.

M is worked in the same manner as B, but with the two shades of bronze-green, Nos. 113 and 113A.

N is filled with darning-stitch, the lines following the direction of the curve. Darning cannot be done in a frame in the same manner as when held loose in the hand. The needle must go in with one hand and be drawn down with the other, the same as with all work done in a frame. The stitches are about a quarter of an inch long and a very little of the ground is left between each. The rows of stitches also lie close together. The shading and proportion should be done to match E, and the different shades should ‘dovetail’ into each other as in the satin-stitch.

The parts of the leaves marked O are worked with the grey-green, No. 135, in radiating lines, not quite close together, showing about an equal quantity of the ground between. This partial filling, both in couching and in darning, is very effective for light work, but an outline is absolutely necessary, and is really the principal part of the work. The outline may be either couched or worked in crewel-stitch, like p.

Crewel-stitch, like darning, is not worked in the frame in the same way as in the hand. After fastening on the thread, bring it out at the bottom of the work and set the needle in about an eighth of an inch higher up on the traced line. Draw it down and bring it up again close to the place where it was brought out at first. Set it in again an eighth of an inch higher than the first stitch, that will make a stitch a quarter of an inch long: keep them about this length all the time. (In turning a sharp curve they should be shorter, and in a long straight line they may be a very little longer, worked in coarse silk.) Care must be taken not to pierce the stitch when bringing the needle through from the back; the method of working is the same as in split-stitch, with this exception, which makes all the difference! It may be necessary to hold back the stitch to avoid piercing it, especially on the inner side of a curved line, for the needle must always be kept on the same side of the stitch as it is begun, otherwise it will make a break in the curve. It has, moreover, a different name when worked on one side from that which it has when worked on the other—crewel when the needle comes out on the Left, outline when it comes out on the Right. There are other names given to this stitch, according to the many slight variations in the way of working it. When, for instance, instead of bringing the needle out on the line, it is taken a little way off it, so as to make a more slanting stitch, it is called stem-stitch (see stems marked R on sampler), but as this is in reality a narrow strip of satin-stitch, worked diagonally, it does not seem to require a name of its own.

U is couched with the dark grey-green silks, the shades being placed side by side.

S and T are narrow strips of slanting satin-stitch. All straight-lined Lettering looks well worked thus, outlined with an edge of couched gold or silver.

CHAPTER VI
ON OUTLINE AND APPLIQUÉ

Hitherto we have considered outline merely as it is traced upon the material to be enriched by embroidery—as a boundary for the needle to work to; or when an outline has been placed round the edges of the stitching, simply to make it neat. In this chapter I propose to deal with OUTLINE as a distinct method of ornamentation, used independently of any ‘filling’; as an adjunct to appliqué; and as enclosing portions of the background to be further enriched, but not entirely covered.

Outline work is often looked down upon by the expert embroidress as a kind of needlework quite unworthy of her serious attention, because it requires very little technical skill; while, as to APPLIQUÉ, it is not to be mentioned, being almost beneath contempt!

This attitude towards the simpler kinds of decoration merely shows a want of artistic perception. Walter Crane gives outline in general its true position when he says it may be called the ‘Alpha and Omega of art,’ being the earliest mode of expression among primitive peoples and children, and also cultivated for its power of expression, character, and as an ‘ultimate test of draughtsmanship by the most accomplished artists of all time.’[2]

Outline and appliqué go naturally together because they are very often mutually dependent upon each other, appliqué nearly always requiring an outline, and outline frequently being partially filled with appliqué.

Outline may really be considered more purely artistic work than elaborate embroidery, because it depends more entirely upon the merit of the design for its beauty, being unable to hide its defects under a maze of intricate stitchery or to carry away the mind of the beholder by the glory of various colours.

In early and medieval times needlework as an adjunct to weaving and outline work by itself was used with a most perfect artistic effect, done in couched metals or silken cord, or in simple chain-stitch or back-stitch, &c.; while, as for appliqué, many gorgeous vestments may still be seen retaining much of their original beauty, worked in satin on velvet, silk upon damask, &c., Botticelli and other great masters not disdaining to draw designs for such work with their own hands.

There are several reasons for the employment of special outline in embroidery besides the elementary one of marking out the shape. In a picture such lines are not only unnecessary, but objectionable in the finished work; why, then, are they admirable here? The object of art needlework is not to make pictures (however beautiful they might be), but so to decorate certain textile articles—of furniture, clothing, &c.—that they do not lose their natural characteristics, but become themselves more truly beautiful. Figures, foliage, inflorescence, &c., should not stand out from their background like real things, but become actually part of the textile itself.

This being the case, we are debarred from the employment of naturalistic half-tones, shadows and reflected lights by which a painter makes the different objects in his picture at the same time harmonious in colour, distinct from each other, and altogether life-like in appearance.

In decorative art the use of a good, bold outline separates the colours, defines the form, harmonises the general effect, and increases the appearance of flatness.

The isolation of various colours by means of an outline is especially desirable in work which is to be seen from a distance, because masses of colour when placed in direct contact with each other become blurred and lose their true relation and value.

In the same circumstances the form is also apt to lose its proportions to some extent on account of the propensity of white and all light colours to spread themselves and increase their apparent size.

A very happy use of outline is sometimes made as a softener of general effect both for appliqué and many kinds of embroidery by the addition of a secondary outline beyond the boundary of the ornament, sometimes of the same colour, but frequently of a paler shade, or altogether different.

Or again, in conjunction with appliqué, the outline frequently breaks out into more or less fanciful and luxurious scroll-work, which entirely does away with the hardness which is the besetting fault of this kind of work.

Illustration IV. shows a good example of this, one half of which I have drawn without scroll-work to show what a difference it makes. It is outlined throughout with four threads of fine gold, sewn down all together very closely with green silk round the leaves; the double set of four threads, meeting at the base of the leaves, form the stem, and are also sewn closely with green. On the white ornament the gold is sewn with yellow, and there is an inner line of blue all round; also stitches of blue silk are placed in pairs across the white satin all the way down. All the scroll-work is done in gold twist, the same thickness as the outline of four gold threads sewn together.

It is generally desirable thus to work all small detail occurring in appliqué designs; they should be done on the ground itself after the pattern has been transferred to it. The design used for this kind of work should always be bold and broad, unmistakable in its language and graceful in its expression, and so arranged as to make the best account of the materials to be employed. Several different textures may be used to enhance the richness and interest of the composition, but it can be made very beautiful with only two—one for the ground and one for the onlay. The same may be said with regard to the colours. Any two of sufficient harmony or contrast between the ground and the pattern are sufficient, and perhaps more certain of good result in the hands of the inexperienced than a variety of colours might be.

Appliqué is particularly suitable for altar-frontals and sanctuary hangings; the finer work and smaller patterns such as Figs. III. and IV., make very effective and handsome apparels for dalmatics and albes, and orphreys for chasubles.

Appliqué can also be used for banners, where effect is really more desirable than over-much work. Quite beautiful is such a banner showing figures of saints or angels in bright raiment, well drawn, expressive, and with few details (something in the style of good stained-glass), where the full value of pure colour is obtainable and the changing light in a procession modifies or accentuates the tones alternately in a most delightful manner. Needless to say such designs must be fully coloured before the materials are chosen, and the greatest care must be exercised to see that they harmonise; nothing short of seeing the actual pieces of silk together will accomplish this; small snippings or threads of silk are useless for the purpose. And the outlines must be sufficiently thick and well marked to keep the colours distinct. A ‘cool’ dark brown or a ‘warm’ dark grey is preferable to black for this purpose.

The various fabrics used for appliqué may be prepared in the following manner.

In the first place embroidery paste has to be made, although many substitutes have been tried with more or less success. If there is a large quantity to prepare, it is better to make the paste than to try ‘cobbler’s paste’ or photograph mountant, though either will do very well for small pieces of work or to paste the back of embroidery which has been done in a frame to be mounted afterwards. In this latter case a small quantity of the paste is carefully rubbed on the back of the work with the tips of the fingers, and then thin tough paper stuck to it before cutting it out of the frame: the paper should be crumpled up and then slightly smoothed out before applying it to the work, or it is apt to contract in the course of drying, with disastrous results.

Embroidery Paste is made thus: mix 3 oz. fine wheaten flour (not ‘self-raising,’ ‘whole meal,’ or any fancy kind), 2 dr. finely powdered resin, ½ pint distilled water (cold). It must be perfectly smooth before putting on the stove to boil; it can be strained through a sieve if necessary. It must be kept well stirred, especially as it approaches boiling point, when it thickens and requires vigorous action to prevent it from burning or getting lumpy.

When once the whole mass boils, it becomes thinner and clearer, and must be kept boiling for at least five minutes.[3]

A piece of Bishop’s lawn (mounted in a frame) is next covered with as thin a layer of the paste as can be spread smoothly all over it; a large strong brush is used for this, a hog’s-hair tool such as house-painters use, round or flat. Then lay the material to be mounted upon the pasted surface, pat and stroke it down gently with a soft silk or linen rag to make sure that it is in contact with the paste evenly throughout, then pin or tack it firmly all round, and screw or peg the frame up taut. Air bubbles and creases would spoil it altogether. It is then left twenty-four hours to dry. If required sooner, it may be placed in a warm dry room, not too near the fire, but near enough to hasten the drying, or a warm flat-iron may be passed over the back; but the face of the silk or velvet must not be touched with anything; the iron must not be nearly so hot as a laundress would use; it is better, if possible, to let it dry naturally; there is less risk of damaging the material; and as it is rather a delicate process from first to last, it is advisable to experiment with something of little value to begin with.

Small pieces of stuff are much easier to mount than large ones. The whole of the pasted surface in the frame may be covered with different pieces, but they must all be put on while the paste is wet, and of course it is not necessary to paste the whole of the ‘backing’ if it will not be used, though it will dry more evenly if it is at least wiped over with a damp cloth where there is no paste.

When the mounted material is thoroughly dry, it may be cut out of the frame and laid, face downwards, on a board, when the shapes required should be marked out on the linen, and cut with a sharp knife or scissors. The appliqué should be accurately traced from the same drawing as that used for the whole of the work; but it must be remembered that whatever is drawn on the linen backing will be reversed when seen on the ‘right’ side. The shapes should always be cut out a trifle larger than the drawing, rather than smaller.

The ground for the appliqué being mounted in a frame, and the design traced, nothing remains to be done but to tack each detail firmly down in its place and couch round the edges with filoselle or gold, &c. The tacking stitches may be of fine white cotton taken right across and withdrawn after the work is finished; but in any case a small stitch of the same colour as the onlay should be placed through any sharp point there may be, to prevent it catching in the silk, or getting curled out of shape while being worked round. These stitches will not be taken out afterwards. A few stitches are also desirable down the centres of leaves, flowers, &c., so that they may keep flat as well as in place.

Some method should be kept to in cutting the appliqué a certain way in the stuff; there is a distinct difference in colour when it is cut with the warp or across it, or again, diagonally. Take satin for example: cut a leaf or the petal of a flower with the ‘smooth’ of the satin going in one direction, and then cut another exactly similar, with the satin in a different direction, and place them side by side; it will be evident at once that this quality of textile fabrics (i.e. the change of colour according to direction of warp and weft) must be reckoned with and used intelligently. It is common to all in a more or less marked degree, and follows the same principle which I have pointed out when speaking of the direction of stitches. Flowers (if more than an inch in diameter) look best with the petals cut separately, all one way of the stuff, and arranged so as to radiate from the centre. Leaves can be cut with each half starting towards the midrib; but too much cutting about is not desirable.

Appliqué is intended to have a somewhat flat effect. Quite sufficient variety can generally be obtained by varying the direction of the whole leaf, and by adding veins in couched, or crewel, or split stitch. A mass of French knots or a diaper over a different-coloured silk for the centres of flowers may combine very well with appliqué, but any other additional stitches should be resorted to but rarely. It should not look like an imitation of work done entirely by the needle, and much stitchery mixed with it or worked upon it is apt to give a false impression, besides weakening the character of the work, which should be simple and dignified, with no fussiness about it. If much variety is desired, it can always be produced by the judicious selection of different materials. There is great diversity of surface effect in satin, diaper, damask and corded silks, while velvet is indeed more different than any added stitch would be.

Inlay is something like appliqué in appearance. It is, however, worked differently, the decoration being set into the fabric to be ornamented instead of being laid upon it. It ought to be worked in cloth or some substantial kind of material not liable to fray at the edges when cut. It is eminently suitable for church hangings, dorsals or wings, &c., having a certain nobility and sincerity about it, while all it asks of the worker is accuracy in the cutting and neatness in the sewing. The hand and eye of women are so much more trained nowadays than they used to be, by means of various arts and crafts, that it ought to be a matter of course to follow a line perfectly with a sharp knife on cloth, &c.

The method of work is as follows: Two pieces of cloth of different colours and about equal thickness are tacked together and pinned down to a board with drawing-pins. The pattern is traced on the top one, and the two are then cut together with a very sharp knife (a leather-cutter’s knife is good for this purpose). The blade of the knife must be kept vertical, that ground and inlet may be of the same size. They are then taken off the board and tacked down to linen already mounted in a frame, carefully fitting the two colours into each other. If the pattern be a counter-change design, there will be absolutely no waste of the stuff, as the piece which is cut out of the one material is set into the other.

When the edges have been sewn together (which is done with plain over-sewing not going through the linen—and is best worked out of the frame) the linen is removed and the outline added if required. This may be of cord or gold or narrow braid, or chain-stitching answers this purpose very well, especially as it is done loose in the hand. If a thinner material, or one more liable to fray is used, it is better to keep it in the frame throughout, and work through the linen; but it is not such a perfect method, as there is a ‘wrong side’ to it, which there should not be in the other. Neither will it hang in such soft folds, especially if it is pasted on to the linen, as some recommend.

Chain-stitch, which I have mentioned as a suitable stitch to cover the join when working in inlay, may be described here, as it is very useful for any work that is not done in a frame. It has been so much imitated by means of the sewing-machine in modern times as to be somewhat out of favour, but it need not look mechanical if used with discretion. It makes a beautiful even line, following any curve with great precision and ease, and will always find its place at the hands of the competent worker, either as an outline stitch or a filling.

It is done by setting the needle into the stuff at the same place it came out, the thread lying under the thumb of the left hand. A small piece of the stuff is taken up by the needle in the right hand, and the thread drawn not too tightly (beginners always make their chain-stitch too tight); the needle is then set in as before, exactly in the same place where it came out. The ‘wrong side’ of the work should look like back-stitching.

French Knots, which are placed in the middle of each of the grapes in Illustration I., are extremely useful, whether in masses, singly, or in lines following an outline; they may be used as a filling, or scattered over the ground, where they will break the colour in a very pleasing manner and add to the richness of general effect. Purse-silk, or some other kind of thick, firm variety of silk, is best for knots. Floss used double and twisted together is very satisfactory; in pale shades or white it has the effect of pearls.

After fastening the end firmly to begin with, bring the needle to the surface, take the thread up on it from right to left, holding the thread with the left hand, give the needle one turn and set it vertically into the stuff near the point it came out, but not exactly on it. The thread should still be held in the left hand till it has all gone through, leaving the knot on the surface. It should not be twisted more than once round the needle. If a larger knot is wanted, thicker silk should be used; knots made with two or three twists on the needle do not lie well in their place.

CHAPTER VII
ON FIGURE-WORK

In the last chapter, when speaking of appliqué, I had occasion to mention how well it lends itself to representation of the human form, to be worked on a fairly large scale. I consider it eminently suitable for this because of the slight amount of stitchery required to produce the desired effect, the features being merely outlined, with the exception perhaps of the eyes and lips, which might be worked solid.

Large masses of drapery, &c., are tedious to work and may very well be represented by a piece of beautiful woven material; while the features and limbs, if well-drawn to start with, may be outlined accurately by skilful fingers without calling for a greater knowledge of anatomy or artistic expression than the average embroidress may be expected to possess.

But now we have come to figure-work as a special branch of Church embroidery. My own opinion may be briefly stated that only those who can draw correctly ought to attempt it, because, of all methods of representation, needlework is one of the least direct, and therefore one of the most difficult.

It is possible, perhaps, to get a fairly satisfactory figure worked by a person who cannot draw, if the principal lines and shading are distinctly marked out on the material to be worked, as well as a fully coloured drawing provided by the designer. But stitching is not, so to speak, a natural medium for expressing ideas, and the slightest deviation from what is intended by the artist may result in something entirely different in character—approaching, possibly, very near the grotesque on the one hand, or frivolity on the other. And as we seem in these days of general but superficial education of the masses, to have almost lost the feeling of reverence for religious effigies, looked upon as symbols only, irrespective of any æsthetic properties they may or may not possess, it is more than ever necessary to do the best things in the best way we know of. This is why I would strongly urge all who wish to enrich their embroideries with the human figure to practise drawing first. I would further suggest that the drawing should be chiefly from the antique, and the study altogether more with regard to typical than individual forms, as this training is not for the painting of ‘pictures,’ but for the sake of knowing what are the elements of human beauty and how they ought to be applied or modified. Neither am I including the study of design, which, as I have before remarked, is a study in itself. I am suggesting only such a practice of drawing as shall enable the needlewoman to know what is required of her in following out the idea and intention of her design, and to be able to carry out the same intelligently; she will not then place an eye on the cheek-bone or an ear on the jaw, or allow the fold of a garment to suggest a dislocated limb.

It is taken for granted that the embroidress is already quite dexterous and proficient in the use of the finest floss-silks and has had a good deal of practice in the usual stitches. Her mind should be unencumbered with any thought of technique, and the hand should respond without effort.

There is no new stitch to learn for this work, but there are several ways of employing the old ones.

Each method being usually associated with some distinct style or date, it is well to be conversant with the various standards, and then the worker is able to choose that which appeals to her most, or which seems the right one for any special requirement.

The decoration and vestments of a church may very well be of a later date than the building, but it seems a sort of anachronism to have it distinctively earlier, unless it actually is a treasure handed down from past generations.

Among the earliest examples to which we have access are the remains of Christian Coptic embroidery, done, it is believed, in the fifth or sixth century (see Illustration I.)

It is all worked in coarse split-stitch or (which has much the same effect) by threading the needle with two strands of silk at once and bringing it up from the back between the two threads. The features are marked out with dark brown silk, and are formed in a somewhat rough-and-ready way by making almost every stitch express a feature by its direction and colour, the rest of the face being filled up as best it can. The hands in the same way; each finger is simply and crudely expressed by a single or double row of split-stitch. The garments are shaded, the rows of stitching following the direction of the folds.