Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving | Page 4

work it should be realised that it takes
no longer to execute one rather important piece than several of a less
ambitious character, and that the former is generally more worth the

doing. Whether the subject is a suitable one for embroidery or not
sometimes depends upon the method chosen for carrying it out; for
instance, anything that has to endure hard wear must be treated in such
a way as to stand it well.
Dress is a fine subject for embroidery; but, for the decoration to be
satisfactory, the art of designing dress must be understood, and the
dress must also be well cut, or the embroidery will be quite wasted
upon it. What is termed "art dress," proverbially bad, well deserves its
reputation. There is a great difference in the quantity of work that may
be put into dress decoration; this may be simply an embroidered vest,
collar, and cuffs, or it may be actually an integral part of the costume,
which as a much bigger and more difficult undertaking is
correspondingly finer in effect when successfully carried out.
Amongst larger objects that well repay the labour of embroidery,
hangings of various kinds, quilts, screens, furniture coverings, altar
frontals, church vestments, may be mentioned; amongst smaller, are
bags, boxes, book-covers, gloves or mittens, bell-pulls, cushions,
mirror frames, all kinds of household linen, infants' robes, and so on,
and for church use such things as alms-bags, book-markers, stoles,
pulpit and lectern frontals. Then a panel may be worked with the
deliberate intention of framing it to hang on a wall. There is no reason
why the painter should have the monopoly of all the available wall
space, for decorative work is undoubtedly in place there; a piece of
embroidered work might well fill a panel over a mantel-piece. There is
no need to discuss what not to do, but, if the attraction to embroider a
tea-cosy is too strong to resist, it should surely be of washable
materials.
Embroidery has distinct practical advantages over some other crafts
practised nowadays--no special studio need be devoted to its use, for
most work can be done in any well-lighted room, which indeed will be
rendered more attractive by the presence of an embroidery frame, for
this is in itself a characteristic and dainty piece of furniture. It need but
seldom interfere with one of our pleasant traditions, genial converse
with, and about, our neighbours, for it is a distinctly sociable

occupation. Work of this kind can be put down and taken up at leisure;
the necessary outlay in materials need not be extravagant, and so on.
Many other points might be thought of, but the claims of the art do not
demand any special pleading, for it is pleasant in the actual working,
and can produce an infinite variety of most interesting results.
CHAPTER II
TOOLS, APPLIANCES, AND MATERIALS
Needles--Scissors--Thimbles--Frames--Stand and Frame
combined--Tambour Frame--Cord-making Appliance--Requisites for
Transferring Patterns--Pricker--Knife--Spindle--Piercer--Suitable
Materials for Embroidering upon--Threads of all Kinds--Stones, Beads,
&c.
Good workmanship takes a prominent, though not the first, place.
Technical excellence in needlework, as in all other artistic crafts, is a
question of the worker's perseverance and her ability in the use of tools.
In embroidery these are few and simple, and are as follows:--
Needles.--For most purposes needles known as long-eyed sharps are
used. Tapestry needles, similar to these, but with blunt points, are
useful for canvas work and darned netting. For gold work a special
needle can be procured with sharp point and long wide eye. A bent
needle makes a crooked stitch; but needles if made of good steel should
not bend; they break if used unfairly. The eye should be cleanly cut, or
it roughens the thread. The needle must be just stout enough to prepare
for the thread an easy passage through the material.
Scissors.--Three pairs may be necessary; for ordinary work a small pair
with fine sharp points, for gold work small ones with strong points
similar to nail scissors, and for cutting-out purposes a large pair with
one rounded and one sharp point.
Thimbles.--Steel ones are said to be most serviceable, silver are most
usual; but whatever the material they must be neatly made in order not
to wear the thread.

Frames.--A common type of frame is shown at fig. 1. It is made in
various sizes; the one here represented measures 18 inches across. It
consists of four pieces of wood, two rollers for the top and base and
two side pieces. Each of the rollers has a piece of webbing securely
nailed along it, and its extremities are pierced with holes to receive the
side pieces. These are formed of two long wooden screws, fitted with
movable nuts, which adjust the width of the frame and the tautness of
the stretched work. The piece of material that is