[A] See at the end of the concluding chapter, the table of numbers and
sizes and the list of colours of the D.M.C threads and cottons.
[Illustration: ORNAMENT AFTER HOLBEIN.]
Practical directions.
Hitherto we have been chiefly occupied with descriptions and
explanations of the different kinds of needlework; to render these
complete, it remains for us to give a few practical directions with
regard to the copying, adjustment and transposition of the patterns, as
well as to the different processes, often so essential to the ultimate
success of a piece of needlework. For this success will soon be found
not to depend on the stitches only but very largely on the proper
adaptation of the design to the space it is intended to fill.
Then, in the case of new lace, it is necessary to know the amount of
dressing it will require to give it the right stiffness and when this
dressing has worn off how to renew it; whilst in the case of appliqué
work more especially, it is indispensable to know exactly what the
ingredients are, of which the paste should be composed and how to make
and lay it on in the proper manner.
TRACING PATTERNS AGAINST A WINDOW PANE.—In order to copy a pattern in
this way, the first step is to tack or pin the piece of stuff or paper
on which the copy is to be made upon the pattern. In the case of a small
pattern, the tacking or pinning may be dispensed with and the two
sheets held firmly pressed against the window pane with the left hand,
whilst the right hand does the tracing, but even then it is safer to pin
or gum the four corners of the two sheets together, in case of
interruption, as it is difficult to fit them together again exactly.
The tracing may be done with a pencil, or better still, with a brush
dipped in Indian ink or water-colour paint.
The process of tracing is easy enough, so long as the hand does not get
tired but as this generally comes to pass very soon it is best, if the
pattern be a large and complicated one, to stick the sheets to the pane
with strong gum or suspend them on a string, fastened across the pane by
pins stuck into the window frame on either side.
TO TAKE OFF A PATTERN BY RUBBING.—If you want to take a pattern of a
piece of embroidery direct from the work itself, lay it, the right side
up, flat upon a board or table and cover it with letter or tissue paper.
The paper should be of a good medium thickness, if it be too thick it
will not take a clear impression of the pattern, and if very thin it is
apt to tear.
Fasten the paper down upon the embroidery with drawing-pins and rub off
the pattern with drawing-wax. In default of the right kind of wax, the
bowl or handle of a spoon, or a large silver coin will serve the purpose
equally well, as will also some powdered graphite or charcoal. The
outlines will not of course, in any case, be very clearly defined upon
the paper and will have to be gone over and carefully supplemented
afterwards with a pencil.
Taking off the pattern with charcoal or graphite is less injurious to
the embroidery than rubbing it off with wax or metal, as the pressure
required in the latter case flattens the needle-work very considerably.
As soon as you have fixed the lines of the pattern by drawing them over
with ink, it is ready for use.
TO TRANSFER A PATTERN DIRECT ON TO THE STUFF.—Patterns cannot be
copied by either of the above methods direct on to the stuff and can
only be used when the stuff on which the embroidery is to be executed
is transparent; in the case of thick close fabrics the drawing must be
made on the stuff itself. The following is the simplest way of
transferring a pattern on to a transparent stuff; begin by going over
all the lines of the drawing with Indian ink so as to make them quite
thick and distinct, and tacking the paper with large stitches on to the
back of the stuff. Then, mix some very dark powdered indigo diluted with
water, in a glass with a small pinch of sugar and powdered gum arabic,
and using this as ink and a fine pen very slightly split, trace the
pattern that shines through on the stuff.
The tracing must be very slight, for if the embroidery be not done till
some time afterwards the lines get so firmly fixed in the stuff that one
washing will not obliterate them; the tracing ink moreover makes the
work unpleasantly sticky.
TO COPY WITH OILED PAPER.—Another rather expeditious mode of
transferring patterns on to thin and more especially smooth glossy
stuffs, is by means of a special kind of tinted paper, called
autographic paper, which is impregnated with a coloured oily substance
and is to be had at any stationer’s shop. This you place between the
pattern and the stuff, having previously fastened the stuff, perfectly
straight by the line of the thread, to a board, with drawing-pins. When
you have fitted the two papers likewise exactly together, you go over
all the lines of the pattern with a blunt pencil, or with, what is
better still, the point of a bone crochet needle or the edge of a
folder. You must be careful not to press so heavily upon the pattern
paper as to tear it; by the pressure exercised on the two sheets of
paper, the oily substance of the blue paper discharges itself on to the
stuff, so that when it is removed all the lines you have traced are
imprinted upon the stuff.
This blue tracing paper is however only available for the reproduction
of patterns on washing stuffs, as satin and all other silky textures are
discoloured by it.
TO POUNCE PATTERNS UPON STUFFS.—The modes of copying, hitherto
described, cannot be indiscriminately used for all kinds of stuff; for
cloth, velvet and plush, for instance, they are not available and
pouncing is the only way that answers.
The patterns, after having been transferred to straw or parchment paper,
have to be pricked through. To do this you lay the paper upon cloth or
felt and prick out all the lines of the drawing, making the holes, which
should be clear and round, all exactly the same distance apart.
The closer and more complicated the pattern is, the finer and closer the
holes should be. Every line of the outline must be carefully pricked
out.
If the paper be sufficiently thin, several pouncings can be pricked at
the same time, and a symmetrical design can be folded together into four
and all pricked at once.
The pricked pattern has next to be tacked upon the material, the side
from which the pricking was done next to the stuff and the little
funnel-shaped holes uppermost. Paper and stuff must be firmly fastened
down and kept in position by drawing pins, so that neither of them may
move during the process, otherwise you will have double lines on the
stuff which you will find very confusing afterwards.
For the pouncing, use either powdered chalk or charcoal, according to
whether the stuff be dark or light in colour. Dip the pouncing
implement, a thing like a small drum-stick, stuffed and covered with
cloth, into the powder and rub it lightly over the whole surface of the
pricked pattern, so that the powder penetrates through the pin-holes to
the stuff. In default of a proper pouncing implement take a small stripe
of cloth, roll it up round a stick and wind a string round, and dip this
into the powder.
When the powder has penetrated to the stuff, remove the paper and if the
pattern is to be repeated, lay it on again further on, taking care to
make the lines meet exactly so that the join may not be seen.
When you have finished the pouncing and taken off the paper, you proceed
to draw or rather paint in the pattern with water-colour paints:
Ackermann’s are the best for the purpose; no others, as far as our
experience has proved, adhere so well to even the roughest fabrics or so
little affect the brilliancy of the embroidery thread. Four paints,
blue, black, yellow and white are sufficient for all purposes, whatever
the colour of the stuff may be.
On a smooth surface the tracing may be done with a pen but a small
sable-hair brush is preferable under all circumstances.
The rougher and more hairy the surface, the finer the brush ought to be,
in order that the colour may sink well in between the fibres.
Before beginning to paint in the pattern, gently blow away all the
superfluous powder from the surface. This process may be objected to as
being an old one which has been superseded by new inventions; a resinous
powder for instance, by the use of which patterns can be fixed, as soon
as they have been pounced, by passing a hot iron over the stuff, a sheet
of paper having first been laid upon it to protect it; or else a mixture
of gum and powder which can be dissolved on the stuff itself by the
steam of spirits-of-wine, and various other processes needless to
mention here, as some are only useful in tracing patterns on a large
scale, whilst others require a variety of appliances, not as a rule,
within the reach of those to whom needle-work is a simple recreation.
THE PREPARATION OF THE STUFFS AND THE SUBDIVISION OF THE
PATTERNS.—Long years of experience and practice have brought us in
contact with a good many designers, many of them artists in their way,
so long as it was only a question of putting their own compositions on
paper but who yet found themselves confronted by real difficulties the
moment they were called upon to transfer them to stuff.
We shall, as far as possible, point out to our readers the precautions
to be taken in tracing patterns and must for that purpose go back to one
of the first operations, namely that of pricking.
To begin with, the paper on which the pattern is should always be large
enough for there to be a clear margin of from 4 to 5 c/m. all round the
pattern, so that the pouncing instrument may never come in contact with
the stuff beneath.
In transferring patterns to stuff, no lines of division should ever be
made directly upon it either with lead, chalk or charcoal, as it is
hardly ever possible entirely to obliterate them and they often become
very confusing afterwards.
Before beginning the tracing, divide your stuff into four, then decide
what the width of the border outside the pattern is to be; it is quite
an exceptional thing to carry a pattern right up to the edge. Stuffs
that will take a bend, such as all linen and cotton textures, can be
folded in four, like the paper, the folds ought then to be pinched and
pressed down so that the lines may remain clear and distinct until the
tracing be finished.
After dividing it into four, mark out the diagonal lines; these are
absolutely necessary in order to get the corner figures rightly placed.
Though most of our readers know how to make these lines on paper with a
pencil and ruler, few, easy as it is, know how to make them upon stuff.
You have only to fold over the corner of your piece of stuff so that the
outside thread of the warp or cut edge run parallel with the woof edge
which marks the angle of the fold-over.
This double folding over divides the ground into 8 parts. To arrange for
the outside border or margin, is easy enough if the stuff and the kind
of work you are going to do upon it admit of the drawing out of threads,
as then a thread drawn out each way serves as a guide for tracing the
pattern, straight to the line of the stuff. It is often better however,
not to draw out the threads for an open-work border till the pattern be
traced. If you do not wish or are not able to draw out threads to mark
the pattern and you are working on a stuff of which the threads can be
counted, follow the directions given on page 128, and explained in fig.
252.
You cannot mark cloth, silk stuffs or plush by folding them in the above
way, cloth and some kinds of silken textures will not take a bend and
others that will would be spoiled by it.
All such stuffs should be mounted in a frame, before the pattern be
traced and the ground be then divided out in the following way: take a
strong thread, make a knot at one end, stick a pin into it and tighten
the knot round it; with a pair of compasses, divide one of the sides
into two equal parts, stick the pin with the knot round it in at the
middle and the same on the opposite side, putting in a second pin by
means of which you stretch the thread; carry other threads across in a
similar way, in the width of the stuff and from corner to corner and you
will have your ground correctly marked out, in such a manner as to leave
no marks when, after pouncing in the pattern, you remove the threads.
Before finishing the pouncing of a pattern, see that it is the right
size for the purpose it is intended for.
Supposing that you are tracing a border with a corner, you should
measure the length it will occupy and then by a very light pouncing, you
can mark the points from which the pattern will have to be repeated. It
may be that a gap will be left in the middle, which, if not too large,
can be got rid of without altering the pattern by pushing the whole
thing a little further in and so shortening the distance between the two
corners.
Should the gap however be too large for this, you will have to make a
supplementary design to fill up the place. The same thing would be
necessary in the case of your having to shorten a pattern.
TO TRANSPOSE AND REPEAT PATTERNS BY MEANS OF LOOKING-GLASSES (fig.
885).—We have referred to the necessity that often occurs of adapting
patterns to certain given proportions; this can in most cases be done
easily enough without the help of a draughtsman, especially in the case
of cross stitch embroideries, by means of two unframed looking-glasses
(Penelope mirrors, as they are called) used in the following manner.
If you want to utilize a piece only of a straight border, or after
repeating it several times, to form a corner with it, you place the
mirror in the first instance across it at right angles, at the place
from which the pattern is to be repeated, and then exactly diagonally
inwards.
To make a square out of a straight pattern, you take two mirrors and so
place them that they touch at the point where the diagonal lines meet,
as represented in fig. 885, and you have your square at once.
This is all easy enough, but before beginning any large piece of work it
is necessary to consider carefully which parts of the drawing will best
fill the centre and which are best suited to form the corners, as it is
not every part of a straight pattern that is adapted for repetition.
A few preliminary trials with the help of the mirrors will better show
the importance of these explanations than anything further we can say on
the subject.
[Illustration: FIG. 885. TO TRANSPOSE AND REPEAT A STRAIGHT PATTERN BY
MEANS OF LOOKING GLASSES.]
TO ALTER THE PROPORTIONS OF A PATTERN BY DIVIDING THE GROUND INTO
SQUARES (figs. 886 and 887).—Cases will occur where it will be found
necessary to subject the pattern to greater modifications still than
those we have hitherto been dealing with.
You want, for example, to embroider a rather large running ground
pattern on a piece of stuff, that is relatively too small for the
subject; or a small and rather minute pattern on a large surface on
which it is likely to look, either too insignificant, or too crowded and
confused and the chances are, if you do not know how to draw, you will
either think it necessary to get a draughtsman to help you or you will
give up the piece of work altogether, deterred by the difficulties that
confront you. You need not do either if you will follow the directions
here given.
Take a sheet of large-sized quadrille paper which if necessary you can
prepare for yourself; trace your pattern upon it, or rule the squares
direct upon the drawing, as shown in fig. 886.
[Illustration: FIG. 886. DIVIDING THE GROUND INTO SQUARES BEFORE
COPYING.]
On a second sheet of vegetable paper, rule squares, a fourth, a third or
half as small again as those on the first sheet. Thus, if the sides of
the first squares be 15 m/m. long and you want to reduce your pattern by
one fifth, the sides of your new squares should measure only 12 m/m.
If, on the contrary, you want to enlarge the pattern by one fifth, make
the sides of your squares 18 m/m. long.
Then you follow, square by square, the lines of the drawing, extending
or contracting them, according to whether the pattern is to be enlarged
or diminished.
To copy a pattern directly from a piece of embroidery and enlarge or
diminish it at the same time, proceed as follows: fix the embroidery on
a board, stretching it equally in every direction; then measure the
length of the drawing, divide the centimetres by the number of units
corresponding to whatever the proportions of your copy are to be, and if
there be any fractions of centimetres over, subdivide them into
millimetres, if necessary, into half millimetres and make your division
by whatever measure you have adopted; take a pair of compasses with dry
points, open them sufficiently for the opening to correspond to the
number and the distance obtained by the division; plant a pin with a
thread fastened to it, at the point indicated by the point of the
compasses and repeat the last operation all along one side of the
embroidery and, if possible a little beyond it, so that it may not be
defaced by the marks of the pins. All you now have to do is to pull the
threads in perfectly straight lines to the opposite side and carry other
threads across them in a similar manner so that the whole surface be
divided into squares.
[Illustration: FIG. 887. PATTERN REDUCED BY MARKING OUT THE GROUND IN
SMALL SQUARES.]
It is needless to say that if you have to trace a pattern from a mounted
piece of work you cannot stretch it on a board; with a little invention
however some way can always be found of planting the pins so as not to
injure the work.
[Illustration: FIG. 888. PATTERN IN SOUTACHE. Original size.]
[Illustration: FIG. 889. PATTERN IN FIG. 888 DRAWN OUT IN THE WIDTH.]
[Illustration: FIG. 890. PATTERN IN FIG. 888 COMPRESSED IN THE WIDTH.]
TO ALTER THE WIDTH OF A PATTERN RETAINING THE ORIGINAL HEIGHT (figs.
888, 889, 890).—Sometimes it is necessary to lengthen out a pattern
without however altering its height. In this case you modify the shape
of the square and make long or narrow squares, according to the general
shape of the design you wish to reproduce. Fig. 888 represents a
pattern in Soutache D.M.C, marked out in squares; in fig. 889 the
squares are lengthened out a third beyond their original size and the
pattern is expanded; in fig. 890, the squares are compressed to a third
less than their original size.
This method of subdividing patterns greatly facilitates the alterations
they have so often to undergo and we are sure that there are few amongst
those who have any real aptitude for needlework, who cannot draw enough
to be able to copy the contents of a square.
TO PREPARE THE PASTE FOR APPLIQUÉ WORK.—It may seem strange to devote
a separate paragraph to such an apparently simple operation; but in
appliqué work it is a most important one, as not only the stuff on which
the work is done but all the expensive accessories are liable to be
spoilt by paste that has been badly prepared.
Put some wheaten (not rice) starch into a vessel with a rounded bottom,
pour on just enough water to dissolve the starch and stir it with a
wooden spoon till it becomes perfectly smooth.
In the meantime put about ¼ of a pint of clean water on the fire to
boil and when it boils add to it a little powdered pitch or carpenter’s
glue, in quantity about the size of a pea and pour in the starch,
stirring it the whole time. When the mixture has boiled up several times
take it off the fire and go on stirring it till it gets cold, otherwise
lumps will form in it, which as we specially pointed out in the
preceding chapter, must never be allowed to get in between the stuff and
the paper.
This kind of paste makes no spots and does not injure even the most
delicate colours as it contains no acid. In winter it will keep for
several days, but in hot weather it very soon begins to ferment and
should then on no account be used.
Gum arabic ought never to be used for appliqué work, as it becomes so
hard that it is impossible to get the needle through, whilst the
saccharine it contains almost always causes ugly spots to appear in the
stuff when it dries.
When the work is finished it is a good plan to spread a very thin layer
of paste over the entire back of it with a fine brush made of hog’s
bristles, and not to take it out of the frame until it is perfectly dry.
TO STIFFEN NEW NEEDLEWORK.—In the chapter on Irish lace, page 441,
we said that new needlework of that kind had to be ironed; this should
be done in the following manner: when the lace has been taken off its
foundation, lay it, face downwards, on a piece of fine white flannel;
then dip a piece of very stiff new organdie muslin into water, take it
out again almost immediately and wring it slightly, so that no drops may
fall from it, and then dab the wrong side of the lace all over with this
pad of damp muslin and iron it with a hot iron which should be moved
slowly forwards so that the moisture which the organdie has imparted to
the lace may evaporate slowly. Not until you are quite sure that the
lace is dry should it be taken off the board.
There is no better way than this of giving new lace that almost
imperceptible degree of stiffness by which alone it is often to be
distinguished from old. Water only does not stiffen the thread
sufficiently and it is difficult with starch to hit upon exactly the
right consistency, whereas the organdie muslin supplies just the needful
quantity.
Embroidered network can be stiffened in the same manner and should be
damped in the frame on the wrong side and not taken off until it is
quite dry.
We even recommend embroidery on linen being treated in the same way but
when the linen is very creased, cover it with a damp cloth and iron upon
that first, then take the cloth away and iron the embroidery itself so
as to dry it completely.
TO WASH ORDINARY LACE.—Wind it round a bottle the same width top and
bottom and cover it entirely with muslin, fastened to the lace by a few
stitches. Fill the bottle half full of sand, so that it may not get
knocked about too violently when the water boils.
Immerse the bottle in a saucepan of cold water with a piece of soap the
size of a nut in it, and if the lace be very dirty, a small pinch of
salt, and let it boil for about an hour pouring off the water as it gets
dirty and adding clean.
When all the dirt has been boiled out of the lace, which you will know
to be the case when the water remains perfectly clear, rinse out the
soap before you take the lace off the bottle, by plunging it into cold
water.
TO WASH REAL LACE.—The process is the same as the above, but as real
lace is so seldom washed and is generally very yellow and fragile,
particularly if it has been roughly used, it is rather difficult to
clean.
If stained or greasy, it should be left to soak for some hours or even
days, in good olive oil. This restores to the thread that softness and
smoothness which use and bad washing had impaired. After the oil bath it
should be washed on a bottle in the manner already described.
TO STIFFEN LACE.—Dip the lace when perfectly dry in thin starch
prepared as follows.
Take as much fine wheaten starch, as you think you will require, divide
it into two portions and dissolve both in cold water. Boil the one
portion and when it has so far cooled as to have ceased to steam, stir
the cold starch into it and dilute the whole with cold water to the
consistency of thick cream. If the lace is to be slightly coloured, add
a few drops of black coffee, or dilute the starch with weak tea or
guimauve water; the coffee will give it a dark cream colour, either of
the latter a pale greenish hue.
Dip the lace in the mixture and squeeze it out gently without wringing
it to get rid of all the superfluous liquid, then lay it flat on the
left hand and beat it for a few minutes with the right to work the
starch well in; repeat the whole process twice, then roll the lace in
fine linen and leave it there till you are ready to iron or pin it out,
as the case may be.
TO IRON LACE.—After the lace has lain for an hour or two in the
cloth, iron it if it be machine-made and if it be Irish Guipure or real
point lace of any sort, pin it out.
Before you begin to iron, hold the lace tight in your left hand by the
footing and with the right hand pull out all the picots, along the edge
of the lace, to an equal length, then lay it out flat upon a board
covered with white flannel and iron it with a moderately hot iron,
passing the iron backwards and forwards over it until it be quite dry.
If creases should come in the ironing where they ought not to be, dab
them over lightly with a sponge moistened with water and a few drops of
starch and pass the iron over them again.
After ironing the whole length of lace, pull it out crossways from left
to right, and from right to left and iron it all over once more. This
does away with the artificial stiffness and gives it the agreeable
softness and pliancy of new lace.
TO PIN OUT LACE.—In order to pin out lace in a thoroughly
satisfactory manner, you should provide yourself with a wooden drum,
about 30 c/m. high and from 50 to 60 c/m. in diameter, large enough to
rest upon the knees.
The outside circumference of the wood should be padded and covered with
grey or white ticking.
The pins must be exactly the size of the picots they are to pin down;
you will require extremely fine ones for Valenciennes and coarser for
other kinds of lace: steel pins are of no use whatever, because of their
liability to rust. Cover the cylinder with blue paper (less trying for
the eyes than any other) and take only just as much lace out of the damp
cloth as you are likely to be able to pin out before it gets dry,
keeping the remainder covered up.
Lay the lace upon the drum and pin the footing down first in a straight
line, sticking the pins in pretty closely and at regular distances
apart; then pin down each picot separately, taking care not to open them
if they have kept their original shape and to shut them up by twisting
them if they have got untwisted.
If you find the pinning out troublesome and cannot get it all done
before the lace dries, damp the picots with a sponge as you proceed.
Lace should never be pinned out when it is dry as the threads of the
picots are then very apt to break and torn picots destroy the value of
even the choicest lace.
Raised lace has to be stamped out from the wrong side with a lace awl or
kind of pricker of bone made for the purpose. Some professional
lace-cleaners use this implement even for Valenciennes lace but we
cannot recommend it, seeing that it is a lace that is by nature
perfectly flat.
Let the length of lace you have pinned out remain on the drum till it be
quite dry; if you have several yards to pin out, wind it round and round
the cylinder. Cover up the lace as you proceed and put each length away
as soon as it is ready in a blue paper bag, so as to keep the whole
perfectly clean.
In conclusion we may remark that the cleaning of lace should only be
undertaken when you are fairly sure of not being interrupted, as more
especially the pinning requires to be finished off as quickly as
possible.
TO WASH COLOURED COTTONS AND WORK DONE WITH THE SAME.—In order to
test the fastness of the dyes, untie the skeins and pour boiling water
upon them, leave them to soak for about a quarter of an hour, soap and
rub them lightly with the hand from end to end and rinse them out
thoroughly in as many changes of cold water as may be found necessary,
until the water remain perfectly colourless.
Squeeze out all the water you can and let them dry quickly without
exposing them to the sun.
Coloured cottons are often washed in vinegar, because it is supposed to
affect the colour less than water does. We have come to the conclusion
after several trials that this is a delusion, for the good dyes keep
their colour without the aid of vinegar and the bad ones wash out in
spite of it.
The fast colours lose none of their beauty in the process nor does it
affect the quality of the cotton; any excess of colouring matter which
the fibres of the cotton may have absorbed in the process of dyeing is
got rid of by this means.
If a piece of work has been done with unwashed cottons and the colours
run in the first washing, you have only to rinse it out in several
changes of tepid water to restore it to its original freshness and if
you want to give it a yellowish tinge, it should be dipped it in weak
tea or coffee.
MATERIALS.—It was stated in the preface that our readers would find
the choice of colours and material rendered comparatively easy to them
by the notes affixed to the illustrations, but these notes, in spite of
all the care bestowed upon them must still have remained very incomplete
had it not been for the following tables which we were fortunately
enabled to append to our work and which will help every one to choose
their own materials without having them actually before them. The
strokes that are affixed to each number indicate the exact size of the
thread, so that to find out the number you want to buy you have but to
lay your pattern thread, stretching it slightly, on the strokes, in
succession, till you come to the one that matches it in size.
With regard to the colours, the names and shades of which have been
classed in the second table with the greatest care, and of which our
workers have no less than 460 to choose from [3], all those referred
to in connection with our illustrations are quite fast dyes [4], save
in a few instances in which we were forced to make an exception in
favour of a doubtful colour to secure a harmonious effect.
A complete table of colours must of necessity include certain more or
less staring shades, which though they may not be to every one’s taste
cannot on that account be left out.
We conclude our work with the well-meant and by no means useless
recommendation to our readers, never to begin a piece of work of any
considerable size without first making sure that the colours they intend
to use are fast and providing themselves with a larger supply of
materials than even on a close calculation they think they are likely to
require, lest they should find themselves under the disagreeable
necessity of having either to leave their work unfinished or finish it
with materials that do not match. There is generally a slight difference
in tone between cottons that have been bought at different times, and
there is also a reasonable likelihood, considering their great variety,
of some mistake being made in the number by either buyer or seller in
ordering a fresh supply.
[Illustration: All of the above articles, excepting those marked with an
asterisk, are contained in the D.M.C colour card.]
[Illustration: Made in all numbers in écru, white, black and the 450
shades names of the colours, see next page.]
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Alphabetical list of the names and the numbers of the 450 shades |
| D.M.C Alsace Thread, Sewing and Embroidery Cottons, |
| contained in the D.M.C colour-card, in any of which shades the |
| knitting Cotton, Soutaches and Braids etc. are to be had. |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
| Couleurs | Très-foncé | Foncé | Moyen | Clair | Très-clair |
| Colours | Very dark | Dark | Medium | Light | Very light |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
| Bleu d’Azur | | | | 3325 | |
| Bleu-Canard | 3395 | 3306 | 3307 | 3308 | 3309 |
| Bleu cendré | | | 448 | | |
| Bleu de Ciel | 515 | 516 | 517 | 518 | 519 |
| Bleu-Fayence | 481 | 482 | 483 | 484 | 485 |
| Bleu de France | 337 | 338 | 339 | 340 | 341 |
| Bleu-Gentiane | 476 | 477 | 478 | 479 | 480 |
| Bleu-Gris | 3300 | 3301 | 3302 | 3303 | 3304 |
| Bleu-Indigo | 336 | 311 | 312 | 322 | 334 |
| Bleu-Lapis | 342 | 333 | 343 | 344 | 345 |
| Bleu-Marin | 505 | 506 | 507 | 508 | 509 |
| Bleu-Outremer | | 682 | 683 | | |
| Bleu pâle | | | | 668 | |
| Bleu-Prunelle | 486 | 487 | 488 | 489 | 490 |
| Bleu tendre | | | | | 709 |
| Bleu vert | 525 | 526 | 527 | 528 | 529 |
| Bleu violacé | | 674 | 675 | | |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Bronze doré | 585 | 586 | 587 | 588 | 589 |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Brun-Acajou | 300 | 400 | 301 | 401 | 402 |
| Brun-Cachou | 433 | 434 | 435 | 436 | 437 |
| Brun-Cannelle | 660 | 661 | 662 | 663 | 664 |
| Brun-Caroubier | 354 | 355 | 303 | 356 | 357 |
| Brun-Chamois | 416 | 417 | 324 | 418 | 419 |
| Brun-Cuir | 430 | 431 | 302 | 432 | 325 |
| Brun-Feuille-morte | 615 | 616 | 617 | 618 | 619 |
| Brun-Havane | 454 | 455 | 456 | 457 | 458 |
| Brun-Loutre | 438 | 439 | 440 | 441 | 442 |
| Brun-Marron | 403 | 404 | 405 | 406 | 407 |
| Brun-Myrthe | | | 463 | | |
| Brun-Puce | 459 | | | | |
| Brun-Rouille | 3310 | 3311 | 3312 | 3313 | 3314 |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Gris-Acier | 650 | 651 | 652 | 653 | 654 |
| Gris-Amadou | 329 | 383 | 384 | 385 | 386 |
| Gris d’Argent | | | 719 | | |
| Gris-Bleu | 590 | 591 | 592 | 593 | 594 |
| Gris-Bois | 610 | 611 | 612 | 613 | 614 |
| Gris-Brun | 408 | 409 | 410 | 411 | 412 |
| Gris-Castor | 645 | 646 | 647 | 648 | 649 |
| Gris-Cendre | 413 | 317 | 414 | 318 | 415 |
| Gris-Coutil | 387 | 388 | 323 | 389 | 390 |
| Gris-Deuil | 655 | 656 | 657 | 658 | 659 |
| Gris-Écru | | 704 | 705 | 706 | |
| Gris-Etoupe | | 707 | 708 | | |
| Gris de Fer | 600 | 601 | 602 | 603 | 604 |
| Gris-Feutre | 635 | 636 | 637 | 638 | 639 |
| Gris-Ficelle | | 460 | 461 | 462 | |
| Gris-Foin | 520 | 521 | 522 | 523 | 524 |
| Gris-Fumée | 640 | 641 | 642 | 643 | 644 |
| Gris-Lin | | | 716 | 717 | |
| Gris-Mastic | | | 718 | | |
| Gris neutre | 620 | 621 | 622 | 623 | 624 |
| Gris-Noisette | 420 | 421 | 422 | 423 | 424 |
| Gris-Perle | 625 | 626 | 627 | 628 | 629 |
| Gris de Plomb | 378 | 379 | 380 | 381 | 382 |
| Gris-Poussière | 630 | 631 | 632 | 633 | 634 |
| Gris-Souris | 425 | 426 | 427 | 428 | 429 |
| Gris-Tilleul | 391 | 392 | 393 | 330 | 331 |
| Gris verdâtre | 595 | 596 | 597 | 598 | 599 |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
| Couleurs | Très-foncé | Foncé | Moyen | Clair | Très-clair |
| Colours | Very dark | Dark | Medium | Light | Very light |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
| Jaune-Citron | | 307 | 445 | 446 | |
| Jaune-Crême | | | 711 | 712 | |
| Jaune-Maïs | 575 | 576 | 577 | 678 | 579 |
| Jaune d’Ocre | | | 676 | 677 | |
| Jaune-Orange | | | 443 | 444 | |
| Jaune-Rouille | 363 | 364 | 308 | 365 | 366 |
| Jaune d’Or | | | 667 | | |
| Jaune-vieil-Or | 678 | 679 | 680 | | |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Lilas gris | 313 | 398 | 314 | 328 | 399 |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Noir grand-teint | 310 | | | | |
| Noir-Jais | 681 | | | | |
| Noir vert | 473 | | | | |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Rose-Eglantine | 570 | 571 | 572 | 573 | 574 |
| Rose tendre | | | | | 3326 |
| Rose vif | 565 | 566 | 567 | 568 | 569 |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Rouge-Aurore | 360 | 306 | 361 | 332 | 362 |
| Rouge-Bordeaux | 496 | 497 | | | |
| Rouge-Cardinal | 346 | 347 | 304 | 305 | 348 |
| Rouge-Cerise | 3315 | 3316 | 3317 | 3318 | 3319 |
| Rouge-Corinthe | | | 447 | | |
| Rouge-Cornouille | | 449 | 450 | | |
| Rouge-Ecarlate | | 498 | 464 | | |
| Rouge-Framboise | 684 | 685 | 686 | 687 | 688 |
| Rouge-Géranium | 349 | 350 | 351 | 352 | 353 |
| Rouge-Grenat | 358 | 359 | 326 | 309 | 335 |
| Rouge-Groseille | 605 | 606 | 607 | 608 | 609 |
| Rouge-Maroquin | | | 3327 | 3328 | 3329 |
| Rouge-Turc | | | 321 | | |
| Rouge-Vermillon | | | 666 | | |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Vert-Bouteille | 491 | 492 | 493 | 494 | 495 |
| Vert-Bronze | 669 | 670 | 671 | 672 | 673 |
| Vert-Canard | 545 | 546 | 547 | 548 | 549 |
| Vert-Corbeau | 665 | | | | |
| Vert doré | 580 | 581 | 582 | 583 | 584 |
| Vert d’Eau | | | 713 | 714 | 715 |
| Vert-de-gris | | 474 | 475 | | |
| Vert-Emeraude | 555 | 556 | 557 | 558 | 559 |
| Vert-Fauve | 689 | 690 | 691 | 692 | 693 |
| Vert-Lierre | 500 | 501 | 502 | 503 | 504 |
| Vert-Madeira | | | | 710 | |
| Vert-Malachite | 560 | 561 | 562 | 563 | 564 |
| Vert métallique | 465 | 466 | 467 | | |
| Vert-Mousse | 468 | 469 | 470 | 471 | 472 |
| Vert-Myrthe | 535 | 536 | 537 | 538 | 539 |
| Vert-Olive | 510 | 511 | 512 | 513 | 514 |
| Vert-Perroquet | 694 | 695 | 696 | 697 | 698 |
| Vert-Pistache | 319 | 367 | 320 | 368 | 369 |
| Vert-Pré | 699 | 700 | 701 | 702 | 703 |
| Vert russe | | 499 | | | |
| ----- | | | | | |
| Violet-Améthyste | 3320 | 3321 | 3322 | 3323 | 3324 |
| Violet-Evêque | 451 | 452 | 453 | | |
| Violet-Lie-de-vin | 370 | 371 | 372 | 373 | 374 |
| Violet-Mauve | 375 | 315 | 376 | 316 | 377 |
| Violet-de-Parme | 540 | 541 | 542 | 543 | 544 |
| Violet-Pensée | 530 | 531 | 532 | 533 | 534 |
| Violet-Prune | 550 | 551 | 552 | 553 | 554 |
| Violet-Scabieuse | 394 | 327 | 395 | 396 | 397 |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
| Couleurs | Très-foncé | Foncé | Moyen | Clair | Très-clair |
| Colours | Very dark | Dark | Medium | Light | Very light |
|--------------------+------------+-------+--------+-------+------------+
To avoid mistakes the public is urgently requested to designate the
colours by the number, never by name.
The colours whose numbers begin with 3 or 4 are the fastest.
* * * * *
Further information respecting mode of execution, materials and so forth
may be had by applying to the firm of