ON GOLD-WORK
We will now proceed to describe some of the most useful stitches and how
to do them.
[Illustration: The Sampler]
Perhaps it will be best to begin with a Gold Sampler. Some of the richest
and most beautiful examples, both ancient and modern, have been worked
entirely in gold; and it is encouraging to the beginner not to have the
complications of colours and various silks, &c., to contend with at
the same time, as it leaves the mind free to concentrate itself on the
attainment of a good technique, which in embroidery, like everything
else worthy to be called art, cannot be accomplished without a good deal
of practice. A brilliant effect with bad workmanship is not a thing
impossible, but in work intended for the decoration of the Sanctuary
it is even more to be deplored than in more mundane things; though
embroidery of all sorts not being a _necessary_ work, there is no excuse
for doing badly in any circumstances. It is a mistake to think that time
and material spent on practice are wasted. If our first attempts were
looked upon as scales and exercises, as a means to an end, they would not
be so grudgingly performed as they too often are.
The SAMPLER I have prepared is intended to illustrate both the stitches
themselves and also the method of applying them to the forms they are to
fill. It is best to practise them first on simpler forms, and then, when
more expert, to fit them into the various curves and spaces.
The sampler should be drawn much larger than it is here represented—say
about 10 × 7½ inches—and might be placed on the linen in the frame as
sketched, leaving a good space below and at the side for practice. If the
frame is 20 inches long, or larger still, it will hold this sampler and
the next one. It is a good thing to have a nice set of samplers to keep,
as one often finds it necessary to be reminded of suitable stitches,
which will not always come to mind when wanted. They can be made up into
a blotter, book-cover, or work-bag, &c., when finished.
[Illustration: The Frame, with Sampler, &c.]
Simple COUCHING (_A_ in the illustration) is worked thus:
Loosen a yard or two of gold thread out of the skein and bend it in the
middle. Have ready an ordinary needle, threaded with gold sewing-silk
(the kind sold in large skeins by weight is the best), and with it sew
the doubled end firmly down; draw the needle down to the under side,
and bring it up again about a quarter of an inch from the beginning; lay
the two threads of gold evenly along, and put a stitch at right angles
with the gold over _both_ the threads together. This is repeated to the
end of the row. At the end each thread is sewn separately in place and
turned sharply back, then stitched at regular intervals as before, only
each stitch must be placed between the ones formerly done. If the space
to be filled is not very long, it is usual to take only one thread to
start with, instead of doubling it into two, and, after drawing the end
of the gold through to the ‘wrong’ side of the work, fasten it firmly,
and begin at the other end of the row each time. This method has the
advantage of making a less clumsy turning, and therefore a better edge
to the work, as there is only one thread to double back every time
instead of two. Also, the gold is more easily made to lie smoothly, as
the stitches cross it constantly from the same side and in the direction
in which the gold is twisted—from left to right when beginning from the
right at the bottom, as in _a a_; from right to left when begun at the
top left as in _A_. Gold and silver are nearly always sewn down two
threads at a time (the beginning and end only being drawn through the
material and sewn down at the back of the work), and unless otherwise
directed it will be so understood throughout. In a great deal of modern
gold work the gold thread is cut off close at the end of each row, and
the cut edge afterwards covered by two threads being sewn all round it.
I do not recommend this plan myself, as I have too often seen it in
after-years with the ends visible in a very undesirable manner. It is
true it makes a more even outline, but, if done well, the turned edges
can be covered evenly and without difficulty when required; and often the
slightly serrated edge itself is beautiful and characteristic, as for
instance in _o o_ and _i_, illustrated below. When very fine gold thread
is used it may be drawn through to the back at each end of a row (without
being cut off) and the turning done there. The way this is accomplished
is by bringing the needle up from the back, crossing the gold thread
over with the sewing-silk and sending the needle down again _through the
exact spot_ it came out at. The gold being held rather loose and the silk
pulled tight, it will carry it down through the stuff just below the
surface—the needle employed should be rather thicker than for sewing. In
the sampler all the edges are covered with two or three threads sewn down
closely over them, but in the detailed examples I have left them bare to
show the working better.
The gold thread must not be allowed to get untwisted so as to show the
inner core of silk; and it should lie quite smoothly, having almost the
appearance of wire, the silk stitches being drawn tightly enough to keep
it steady, but not so as to make indentations and destroy the smooth
evenness of the surface. If it wants stroking into position, a little
instrument called a piercer is used, but the large chenille needle used
for drawing the ends of the gold through the linen will answer very well,
or a good stiletto.
It will be seen, as soon as a few rows are done, that the silk stitches
make a sort of little brick pattern on the gold. This effect is made use
of by the ingenious embroidress to produce many a beautiful and fanciful
diaper. The patterns may be varied to almost any extent by means of
different intervals regularly left between the stitches. Here are a few
examples: _B_, _C_, and _D_ on the sampler. The middle of the pine is
filled with a diaper like _b_, and the two upper halves of the leaves
marked _D_ can be filled with _c_ or _d_.
It is desirable to work them with different coloured silks, such as red,
green, yellow, &c., in rather strong shades, that the full effect of the
diaper may appear, thus also will be demonstrated the very remarkable
effect of the different sewing silks upon the metal already alluded to
above. No. 98 (and others on the same screen) in the V. and A. Museum,
South Kensington, may be referred to as specimens of the amount of colour
that may be obtained in this manner. Some of the metallic threads are
also twisted over with fine coloured silks to intensify this effect.
_E_, _F_, _G_, and _O_ on the sampler are to show the effect of direction
in the lines of the gold—an important principle, which will be further
illustrated, in the case of silk work, by the direction of the stitches.
Difference of _tone_ is got by the _colour_ of silk with which the gold
is sewn down; an apparent difference of _relief_ by the _direction_ in
which it lies.
In _E_ a single thread is drawn through the linen (about half an inch
is enough to take through and fasten at the back) in the centre of each
petal (see _e_), and turned round to make as nearly a circle as possible,
the gold thread laid round this centre twice and sewn down, two threads
at a time, till the outline is reached. It will be evident, after a few
rounds are done, that if the stitches are placed in exact alternation
they will be getting so far apart as to fail in keeping the gold in
place. To obviate this, as soon as they are nearly twice as far apart as
the average distance, _two_ stitches must be put between each, instead of
one.
[Illustration]
_F f_ is just taken backwards and forwards as at _A a_.
The effect of _G g_ is obtained by placing the stitches at every round a
little to one side of the previous ones, instead of exactly between them.
_H_ on the sampler is shown at _h_ above. The gold thread is begun at
the base of one of the petals, and from thence taken straight up to the
top and worked over, putting one stitch in the centre of each row and
taking the thread backwards and forwards till the bottom of the petal
is reached, when it is taken up to the top of the next petal and left
to lie under the work as before. It is best to keep it to the same side
of each petal, or to place the central stitch between the two threads
of gold, as it raises the gold slightly, and when done with method it
looks intentional. It is convenient because there is less cutting off and
beginning again. At the edges of the petal the gold may be turned at the
back of the work in the manner described on p. 10 above.
This slight raising of the gold, as it were by accident or for
convenience, brings us to the consideration of raised work, and the
question of how far high relief in embroidery is desirable. This being
essentially a practical treatise, I cannot now enter into the arguments
for and against its use, but may just remark that relief, however slight,
accentuates the ‘value’ of the gold, as it draws extra light upon its
already brilliant surface, causing at the same time extra shadows, and
thus adds to the richness of the general effect, while it takes away
something of its delicacy. The designer must decide how and when it is
required.
The slightly raised foliation in the sampler, marked _I_, is done by
tacking down parchment or yellow cloth, cut carefully about the sixteenth
of an inch within the lines of the tracing, and then working the gold
thread over it (in the same manner as at _H_) with one row of stitching
only, to catch it down in the middle. See _i_.
_N_ is raised to the highest degree permissible by sewing down bits of
string (cut well within the size), first with fine silk, and then working
over them, to get a smooth surface, with stuffing cotton, and lastly,
covering all with yellow cloth before couching the gold. _n_ shows the
process for working the raised round; other shapes are done the same way.
There are various methods of padding for high relief. Cotton-wool is
used by some, and cork, &c., by others. I find the one I have described
the most satisfactory, as it can be made quite firm and in high relief
without being so hard and ‘unsympathetic’ as the more mechanical methods.
The padding should _always_ be _smaller_ than the finished work is
intended to be. It should be done as nicely and smoothly as though it
were not going to be covered over afterwards. The last layer of stitches
worked in the ‘stuffing cotton’ should be done in the opposite direction
to that in which the gold is to be laid (see _n2_, where the cotton is
shown nearly half done, _n1_ being the finished gold work).
_J_ is one of the most popular of gold stitches. It is shown at _j_ in
straight lines, and should be well practised thus before attempting
to apply it to curved ones. Rows of string are sewn down at regular
intervals till the space is covered which is to be filled with
basket-work. Note that in a curved figure the strings must be placed
nearer together on the inner line than on the outer. The gold is then
couched down over the string, being sewn with strong silk, which will
keep it down, between every two bars of string. The next row is done the
same. The two rows following have their silk stitches placed between the
former ones. The next two are like the first, and so on till the space is
filled.
_K_ is a little more complicated. The first two rows have three bars of
string covered at a time; then two and one alternately for one row; then
three again.
A great many variations of this can be made simply by covering more or
fewer bars at a time, or, again, by sewing down more or fewer rows of
gold at the same intervals. The principle of the basket-work is the same
in all.
The stem in the sampler, marked _L_, and the ornament at the bottom are
worked over string sewn diagonally over the space to be covered, as may
be seen at _l_. The stitches made in sewing down the gold go in steps,
_not_ diagonally, but at right angles, as in all the others, one stitch
on each side of the bar. The gold may be laid in single threads.
_Q_ is prepared by sewing small square pieces of yellow cloth or
parchment in chequers over the ground, and then covering with the gold,
sewing down the latter rather closely with silk stitches in the spaces
left, and putting no stitches on the raised part. Any shape may be placed
under gold in this way. In much of the medieval work architectural
surroundings and backgrounds to figures were very elaborately executed,
with the same gold threads used in the drapery of the figures themselves,
being carried straight across in horizontal lines over string, &c., and
sewn down very closely with different colours.
The raised veins in the leaves (_P_ in the sampler) are done with
‘plate.’ String is laid down first, cut to a sharp point, and sewn over
with stuffing cotton, worked diagonally or with several strands of it
laid smoothly over the string and kept in place with a few stitches of
fine silk. The plate is begun at the top, with a stitch to keep it firm,
and then with one at each side it is turned backwards and forwards till
it is finished.
The little bars across the stems are of bullion, sewn on with strong
waxed silk or thread.