on than flat braid. There are two ways that coronation braid may be
sewed on. The one that I give preference to is stamping the design
on the wrong side of the material and holding the braid on the
right. A stiletto hole is made on the line and the end of the braid
brought through to the back and fastened securely so there will be
no likelihood of its slipping. Then, holding the braid with the left
hand, connect it to the material from the wrong side with fine running
stitches. The stamped line on the wrong side will serve as a guide for
the stitches. You can feel every time the needle touches the braid.
Now perhaps many of you are wondering what coronation braid is. It is
a braid that looks like fat grains of rice all strung together. There
are different sizes of the braid, varying from the quarter inch to the
three quarters of an inch size.
[Illustration: Fig. 104. Coronation braid]
The second way to sew it on is from the right side with little slip
stitches. At the small end it would be wise to take a stitch over the
braid to hold it firmly. Centre pieces, bureau-scarfs or even towel
ends are handsome when decorated with coronation braid, and do you know
it is a very easy matter to make designs for yourself, as there is
nothing prettier than daisies or wild roses for coronation braid. If
the petals are too fine to allow you to use the coronation braid, then
you must use one grain for each petal, cutting off the grains as you
require them.
Coronation braid comes in white, Delft blue, bright green, or red. The
braid is supple enough to turn sharp corners.
The daisy, as I have stated before, is one of the principal designs
used for coronation braid. Braid the flower with one piece of the
braid. It is not necessary to cut the braid but at the beginning and
the ending of the daisy. The very largest width of coronation braid
will be required for the daisy. Two grains will be sufficient for a
petal. Bring the narrow ends to the centre and connect them to the
material. In the centre make a cluster of French knots. The effect
produced is a daisy embroidered heavily and yet quite different from
satin stitch. (Figure 105.)
A belt decoration with five or six coronation daisies is very
attractive when used on a light summer dress. Sometimes the owner
prefers to couch the braid down with blue cotton and to work the centre
of the daisy in the same colour.
[Illustration: Fig. 105. A daisy in coronation braid]
A row of daisies is improved by working a fagotting stitch which is
explained in "Simple Lace Stitches," between the petals. See that the
braid is sewed on far enough apart that the lace stitches will not be
crowded.
Coronation braid is also used with crochet stitches for the borders of
centre pieces and towels.
X
SMOCKING, FEATHER-STITCHING AND LAZY-DAISY STITCH
Smocking is such a fashionable trimming this year that I am sure you
will not be contented till Sally Ann has a smocked dress. Why, one
cannot take a walk in the park without seeing several little children
and some grown-ups, too, wearing smocked dresses. Sometimes they are
made of fine lawn or pique and then again they are China silk, crêpe de
chine, or cashmere.
Stamped patterns can be had for smocking but they are not at all
necessary. Nearly every little English girl knows how to smock without
buying a pattern and why should not you?
The simplest form of smocking is the honeycomb or diamond (Figure
106). It can be any size you wish. A good size for Sally Ann's dress
is the half-inch diamond smocking. The beauty of the work lies in its
regularity. To keep it so, the dots must be spaced evenly. A good
way is to have a marking card. Take a piece of heavy paper or thin
cardboard about six inches long by an inch and a half wide. With a
ruler draw a faint line one half inch down parallel with the long
edge of the card. Draw four other lines below this at quarter-inch
intervals. Be sure that the space between each two lines is a quarter
inch, no more or no less. Along the top line measure in one half inch.
From this point make dots at quarter-inch intervals all the way across.
Each line is dotted in like manner, letting each dot come directly
under the upper one in straight rows. If mother has a card punch ask
her to lend it to you and where the dots are make holes. A stiletto
will answer the same purpose as the punch; or an orange stick may be
pressed into service. Your marking card is now ready.
[Illustration: Fig. 106. Diamond smocking]
Measure the length you wish to make Sally Ann's skirt. Select a piece
of material that will show pencil marks, such as lawn, pique, China
silk, or crêpe de chine. It will not be necessary to gore the skirt,
as the smocking will form a sort of yoke for the dress. A little frock
smocked in blue or red will be nice enough for all occasions. Take
the material and smooth all the creases out after it is cut the right
length. You must allow about the same amount of material for the width
of the hem as you do for ordinary skirts. Place the smocking card so
that the edge of it is on a line with the top edge of the goods. The
smocking must be done before the belt is put on. Through each of the
perforated holes make a dot in lead pencil. After every hole has been
dotted, move the card so that there is only one quarter of an inch
space before commencing to dot again. In other words, place the card so
the dots have the appearance of being one continuous design.
Thread a No. 6 sewing needle with a piece of red or blue cotton. Make
a tiny knot at the end. Start from the topmost left-hand dot from the
under side of the material. Draw the first and second dots together.
Three stitches on the right side will suffice to hold them together.
Between the second and third dots let the thread span the material on
the wrong side without pulling it. The third and fourth dots are drawn
together and then the thread spans the space between the fourth and
fifth. Do you see how we are working? First a dot, then a space, a dot,
then a space, until the entire line is finished.
The second row is worked exactly the same only instead of starting on
the first dot of the second row, start with the second. The third row
corresponds with the first and now at last we have formed a diamond.
[Illustration: Fig. 107. Smocking in points]
If a little more colour is wanted than just the dot alone, pass a
thread along the edge of each diamond under the dots. A suggestion
which may prove helpful to you if the material has starch in it is that
it is easy to crease each line of dots before starting to smock. If the
material is soft the smocking should be stroked or gauged. There is a
new term to learn, "gauge." It is the same as stroking in sewing. The
English women have all sorts of complicated patterns in smocking, but
the one that is most popular is the diamond smocking I have told you
about. After you know the principle you can make the smocking as deep
as you wish and then try and smock in points. (See Figure 107.)
Feather-stitching is almost as simple as smocking. It has various other
names. Perhaps you know it by the name of "brier-stitch." The first and
simplest form is the single feather-stitching. A thread as fine as No.
60 sewing cotton or a heavy Germantown wool can be used for it. Baby
blankets or a blanket for yourself are pretty feather-stitched in wool.
[Illustration: Fig. 108. Single feather-stitching]
Like smocking, patterns can be had for feather-stitching. But the best
embroiderers never use them, as their mechanical correctness makes the
work too much like machine work. I do recommend, however, a faint line
drawn so as to have something on which to guide your line and gauge
your stitches.
[Illustration: Fig. 109. Double feather-stitching]
Let us thread our needle with a piece of coarse blue thread. On a
little piece of muslin draw a faint pencil line across it. Commence
from the upper right-hand side of the line. Take a short stitch about
three sixteenths of an inch on the right of the line, slanting to the
line. Let the thread come under the point of the needle in each stitch.
The second stitch is taken on the left side of the line the same
distance over and the same in slant (Figure 108).
[Illustration: Fig. 110. Triple feather-stitching]
[Illustration: Fig. 111. Four on each side]
Double feather-stitching is two stitches to the right, two to the left
and so on till the line is finished (Figure 109). In fact you can
make three, four (Figures 110 and 111), or five stitches or even more
if you wish on each side. The prettiest little border can be made of
feather-stitching in circles. Take a quarter or a fifty-cent piece and
draw a faint line around it on the material about one inch from the
edge. Move the piece till it overlaps the pencilled circle and draw
another circle. Repeat as many times as necessary to go around the
skirt, sleeve, or section you are decorating. A row such as this makes
a pretty decoration around the sleeves and neck of a night dress or the
ruffles of drawers. Marking cotton No. 20 or No. 25 should be used for
feather-stitching underwear.
Infants' dresses, bibs, or petticoats of lawn or any very sheer
material of cotton or linen should be worked in fine marking cotton,
either Nos. 25, 30, 40, or 50.
Just a word about threads. There are several different kinds. The
most popular and best known are D. M. C., Madonna, Royal Society, and
Utopia. The numbers run about the same. Some teachers recommend one
certain kind, but the result obtained from using any of them is almost
identical.
[Illustration: Fig. 112. Seaweed-stitch]
There is a pretty little stitch that can be made with a foundation of
double feather-stitching. We used to call it "seaweed-stitch" when we
were youngsters. I remember I made a white cashmere coat for my doll
and used the seaweed-stitch along the hem and above the opening, and on
the cuffs and collar of the coat. It was embroidered in rose coloured
filo silk. A row of double feather-stitching was worked in the usual
way. At the end of each stitch a little Van Dyke point or V was worked.
Try it yourself and see how dainty it is (Figure 112).
A good way and something new for decoration is the feather-stitchery
used like festoons on the hems. The way this is done is to take a
compass and make a circle about two and a half inches in diameter. Cut
it out in heavy paper or thin cardboard. Baste the hem in place and
then trace one-third of the circle. Repeat in like manner till the hem
has the appearance of large scallops. Along the lines work the single
or double feather-stitching in No. 20 marking cotton through the two
thicknesses of the material. Pull out the basting threads from the hem
and then carefully cut away the material within each scallop on the
wrong side of the hem. In other words, the upper part of the under hem
is cut close to the stitching. Cut right down to the feather-stitching.
Only thin materials are pretty worked like this, as the doubled
material gives a milk-white appearance, while the upper or single
parts are transparent. A lazy-daisy stitch worked in the centre of
each scallop adds further beauty to a feather-stitched hem such as has
been just described. The lazy-daisy has been aptly called because it
requires a stitch to connect each petal to the material.
Another name for this lazy-daisy stitch is the "bird's-eye" stitch
(Figure 113). It is used to represent clovers, daisies, or leaves.
The stitch is made, if for a daisy, from a common centre. Bring your
needle up from the centre of the daisy and take a stitch the length of
the petal. Let the thread come from the left under the point of the
needle. Pull the needle through the material on the right side. A short
stitch at the end of the petal catches it down to the material. The
needle is now brought back to the centre and the next petal made in the
same manner. Any size daisy can be made like this from the quarter to a
two-inch size. Remember that the larger your daisy is the more petals
it should have. As fine thread should be used for the little flowers
and the heaviest silk or lustre for the big ones, it is a wise plan to
faintly mark in pencil the daisy. One line will be sufficient for each
petal. If you do this, you can then be sure that each petal will be the
same length as the last.
[Illustration: Fig. 113. The lazy-daisy stitch]
A charming little yoke can be made of groups of fine tucks and rows of
the daisies.
XI
COUCHING, SHADOW WORK AND TURKISH STITCH HOW TO STAMP DESIGNS
The more one does of fancy work the more fascinating it becomes. Every
new piece presents an opportunity for new stitches and colours.
We have talked a lot in the first chapters of this book as to the
different implements necessary for sewing and by now I am sure you have
a well-equipped sewing box or basket. Now it will be necessary to add
considerably to your work box for embroidery.
The crewel needle which I mentioned in the ninth chapter is the most
important implement. Get a pack of assorted Nos. from 5 to 10. They
will answer every purpose unless you need a large tapestry needle for
couching. The most unfortunate thing about a crewel needle is that the
eye has the bad habit of breaking. This is caused from the steel being
so fine at the top that vigorous working snaps it off very quickly.
A tapestry needle is like a large crewel needle, only it is much
stronger and the eye is very large.
A stiletto of ivory, bone, or steel should also be in your box. An
orange stick can be substituted for a stiletto in case of emergency.
A small pair of scissors, too, should be included to cut the ends of
silks or pare away the material after buttonholing or making an eyelet.
I have kept the most important till the last. That is the embroidery
hoop or rings. Really you would be surprised to see how many different
kinds there are in this world. First there are the black celluloid ones
that have their good points, but they do not stretch over the material.
Then there are the common wooden ones that have sharp edges that catch
and fray the silk on every turn. There are some wooden ones that have
a felt lining and whose edges are an improvement on the cheaper kind,
but they also do not stretch over thick fabrics. The kinds that have a
spring and may be adjusted to any size desired have their advantage,
but the spring catches the silk also and of course that will never do
for fine work. The simplest, best, and cheapest kind is the pair that
is made at home. Get two pairs of the cheapest rings, even if their
edges are rough. One pair should be small enough to set inside of the
other. They vary from the smallest to the largest circular kind, each
one setting inside of the other. Select two pairs that come next in
size to each other. The most convenient size and ones that can be used
for all kinds of work are the six inch. Take the larger hoop of each
pair for your work. Now cut a piece of canton flannel in half-inch
strips, or if mother has the coloured selvage left from a piece of
flannelette, get that. The largest hoops should be wound over and over
like the hoops they use in schools for fancy drills. The other hoop
should be padded before winding it. To pad, lay strips two or three
thicknesses deep around the hoop and then wind thickly like the other
hoop. Hoops like these never leave marks on the material, as often
happens with the celluloid or wooden hoops. Another point is that the
sheerest material, such as chiffon, can be used in them, while if a
heavy burlap or crash is embroidered over them a little of the winding
strips can be removed for the time being.
There are other things you might find handy for your box, but it is no
use getting them till you have occasion to use them.
Now we are ready to make use of some of the things just described. The
tapestry needle will be brought into use for our next stitch, which
will be couching.
It is a beautiful old stitch that is often used as an outline. It can
be made as a heavy thick cord, or yet again it need only be the size of
a fine string. The expression is often used, "Couch a cord on." Cord is
used instead of threads and lustre on pieces where only the effect is
wanted.
[Illustration: Fig. 114. Couching]
To couch with a number of silk or lustre threads select a No. 2
tapestry needle. Cut the skein of silk so that you will have the
longest length of thread possible. Thread your needle with all the
strands in the skein, if the eye will carry them. Make a stiletto hole
in the cloth on the line of the design. Bring the tapestry needle
through to the back (Figure 114).
A crewel needle is threaded with a single strand of silk, the same
shade or lighter or darker if you desire. Fasten the silk ends down
neatly on the back of the material with the single thread and bring it
up one quarter of an inch from the hole and span the cluster of silk
threads. The threads are caught down in this manner at quarter-inch
intervals. When the end of the line is reached, the cluster of threads
is again taken through to the back of the material.
Couching is a stitch that you will hear more about in later chapters.
The Turkish or Ismet stitch is another name for cat-stitching or
herring-boning. See Figure 98. The stitch is taken vertically instead
of horizontally, as in cat-stitch. Turkish stitch gets its name from
the embroideries from Turkey (Figure 115). It seems to be the favourite
stitch of the Turkish ladies.
[Illustration: Fig. 115. Turkish stitch]
Have you ever noticed how many pieces of Turkish embroidery are worked
on coarse unbleached muslin or tan linen? The colours are generally
bright green, blue, coral pink, chestnut brown, purple and then
outlined in black or gold thread.
Shadow work, is not that a funny name for embroidery? But you can
understand why it is called that when you see a piece worked. It
gives the appearance of a design under the cloth, as all the stitches
are taken from the wrong side of the material. The design is drawn or
stamped on the wrong side. Lawn is usually selected for the background
of shadow work because of its transparency. A heavy cotton such as No.
16 or No. 20 marking cotton or D. fine lustre is necessary.
Daisies or chrysanthemums are most popular for shadow work on account
of the smoothness on their edges. Not that it is impossible to work an
indented edge, but it is more difficult.
[Illustration: Fig. 116. The right side of shadow stitch]
To work the shadow stitch, place your work over your embroidery hoop
with the design side up. Start to work a petal from the heart of the
flower. Do not use a knot. The stitch is like cat-stitching (see
Figure 98). First you take a stitch on one side of the petal, then you
pass over to the other side. Be sure you take the same length stitch
every time. The stems are worked in outline stitch. Shadow work from
the right side looks like back-stitching (Figure 116). It is used on
aprons, shirtwaists, or bureau scarfs where a good effect is wanted
with very little work.
There are two ways of working the leaves of daisies or chrysanthemums
in shadow work: First, and the best in my opinion, is to start and work
from the top of the leaf to where the midrib commences in the design.
Now work from the midrib to the outer edge on the right side of the
leaf. The left-hand side is yet to be filled in. Start from the base
of the leaf and instead, however, of putting the needle through the
material by the midrib catch one thread upon the midrib and then take a
stitch on the left-side edge of the leaf, up to where the midrib ends.
The other way of working a leaf is to outline the midrib first. Then
start from the base of the leaf and work across the entire leaf. The
former way is the better, because there is not such a wide stretch of
thread on the wrong side as in the latter method.
Batiste, organdy, and lawn are the usual materials used in America
for shadow work, but in England, where more substantial materials are
generally liked, tea cloths of linen in shadow stitch are often seen.
Tiger lilies are good for any large piece.
The effect of shadow work on linen is as if a padded design was placed
on the material.
White is the nicest for working shadow stitch on waists, especially as
colour is apt to cheapen the effect.
Remember that a design drawn out in pencil soils the cottons or silks
and necessitates the article being washed before it is used. You can
buy patterns for embroidery so cheap and in such excellent taste that
it pays one in the end to use them instead of drawing on the material.
There is the perforated design that can be had from five cents up.
It is the oldest and in some ways the most expensive pattern. The
perforated paper is laid, with the rough side up, over the material on
the ironing table or any other flat surface. An especially prepared
powder that embroidery shops sell for stamping designs is the best to
use. A pouncet is several layers of felt rolled together, or a piece
of wood covered with felt. Rub the pouncet in the powder. See that the
pattern is weighted down so that it will not slip while you are working
on it. Rub the powder in with a circular movement. Lift the weights
from the lower edge of the paper, and gently raising the pattern see
that the design is well on before removing the pattern. A hot iron
will be necessary now to set the powder. Every time you use the iron
just clamp it down on the design. Wipe it off on an old piece of cloth
before you press it again on another section of the design. Each time
the iron touches the powder, part of it adheres to the iron and the
design would be spoiled if the iron was used again before wiping it.
After the design has been set, the iron can be used freely over the
whole work.
There is another method of stamping with a perforated pattern, and that
is placing the smooth side of the design face upward and using a blue
paste that comes in cake form. The pouncet is dipped in kerosene or
naptha and then rubbed on the paste. Apply to the paper as directed for
the powder. This method requires no iron, but care must be taken not to
get the pouncet too wet or the design will run.
A third method for stamping is one that requires to be rubbed with the
back of a spoon. The fourth and newest method of stamping is by the
transfer designs. The patterns are in different colours. Place the
transfers with the bright or raised surface next to your material and
press with a heated iron. Some patterns require a very hot iron, while
for others a moderately heated iron suffices.
You can make a perforated pattern yourself by drawing a design on a
piece of paper and using a sewing machine to perforate along the lines.
XII
BUTTONHOLING AND WALLACHIAN EMBROIDERY
Embroidery buttonholing is a little different from the buttonhole
stitch used in sewing. It is a stitch that is most used to finish
the edges of centre pieces, scarfs, and, in fact, any article where
embroidery is wanted to finish the work. You know that it is possible
to use a fancy stitch, such as the Turkish stitch described in the last
chapter, but in that case the material will have to be turned back and
hemmed. The twill or purl of buttonholing, as the little ridge on the
edge is called, serves as a resistance for the material from fraying
out.
The buttonhole stitch is the most popular in embroidery. It is the
foundation for many other stitches. Feather-stitching is really an open
form of this stitch.
As a usual thing it is necessary to pad before working buttonholing. It
raises the work and makes it much more durable as an edge. The padding
can be done in either running-stitch or chain-stitching.
Let us take for our first example the straight buttonholing. It is the
simplest form. Cover the space between the lines with coarse, running
stitches. Let the background be medium weight linen. The padding
thread should be No. 16 or No. 20 marking cotton, or two strands of
white darning cotton makes an excellent padding. The stitches can be
fully one quarter of an inch in length. Take up a single thread of the
background so that the padding will be all on the top of the material.
This keeps the work well raised on the right side and perfectly flat
on the wrong side. An extra row or two toward the outer edge of
buttonholing raises the edge prettily. Chain-stitching is a more rapid
way of padding, but should only be used for coarse work. Remember that
the wider the buttonholing the more padding will be necessary.
The padding should be worked over your embroidery hoops, keeping the
work as near to your fingers as possible. The actual buttonholing gets
a rounder effect if done over the finger, though it is possible, of
course, to do it over the hoops.