Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving | Page 7

taste to embroider with poor thread upon a rich
ground material, and, upon the other hand, gold thread and floss
demand silk or velvet rather than linen, though any rule of this kind
may on occasion be broken.
Velvet and satin make excellent backgrounds for rich work; they
should not be used unless of good quality. The pile of the best velvet is
shorter than that of poorer kinds, and so is easier to manipulate, which
is a further reason for using the best. It is in any case a difficult material,
so much so that work is often carried out on linen and afterwards
applied to a velvet ground. The modern velvets, even the best of them,
are for quality or colour not comparable with the old ones.
Silk of different kinds is largely employed, since it makes a suitable
ground for many kinds of embroidery. Twilled and damasked silks are
much used; in the last-named kind, patterns must be carefully chosen to
suit the particular purpose. A thick ribbed silk is rarely satisfactory for
embroidery purposes.
For working with silk thread, an untwisted floss takes the first place,
but it needs some skill in manipulation. Filofloss is somewhat similar,
but it has a slight twist in it, making it easier to work, though producing

a less satisfactory result. Filosel is useful for some kinds of work, but it
is a poorer quality of silk. The purse silks, and what is called
embroidery silk, are all excellent; they are tightly twisted varieties of
fine quality. There are various others in use; a visit to a good
embroidery depôt will probably be the best means of finding out about
these and about materials in general.
Wools can be obtained in various thicknesses and twistings, each good
in their way. Some workers prefer a but slightly twisted wool; however,
examples of old wool work are to be found in which a finely twisted
variety is used with most satisfactory effect.
Flax threads can be obtained in very good colours, and are to be highly
recommended. There are various cottons procurable, either coloured or
white, that are good for marking and other embroidery purposes where
an evenly twisted thread is desirable.
Pearls and precious stones take their place in rich embroideries, also
various less expensive but pretty stones may often be made use of
effectively.
Beads are a fascinating material to work with; all kinds of pretty things
can be done with them, either sewing them upon a ground, knitting or
crocheting, or making use of a small bead loom. A good deal of the
ready-made bought bead work, that only requires a monotonous ground
to be filled in around an already worked pattern of sorts, is not at all
suggestive of its possibilities. Beads of both paste and glass can be
obtained in much greater variety than is usually known, from the most
minute in size to large varieties of all kinds of shapes and patterns, the
colours of most of them being particularly good. The larger ornamental
beads are useful in many ways, sometimes taking the place of tassels or
fringes.
Many kinds of most curious materials are at times brought into the
service of embroidery, but the above-mentioned ones are the most
usual.
CHAPTER III

PATTERN DESIGNING
The Difficulties of Pattern Making--A Stock-in-Trade--Some Principles
upon which Patterns are Built Up--Spacing-Out--Nature and
Convention--Shading--Figure Work--Limitations--Colour.
A beginner sometimes experiences difficulty in preparing her own
patterns. A designer needs a wide knowledge of many subjects, which
necessitates much time being given to study; also drawing ability is
necessary to enable the worker to set down her ideas upon paper. For
much simple and pretty work, however, a slight acquaintance with
drawing and design is sufficient, and any one who can master the
requisite stitches can also acquire some knowledge of these two
subjects.
The word design frightens some who do not know quite what it means
or entails. Perhaps they do not realise that the design has already been
begun when the object to be worked has been settled, and the material,
thread, and stitches have been decided upon--the rest comes in much
the same way, partly by a system of choice; as it is necessary to know
what materials there are which can be used, so must the chief varieties
of pattern be known from which choice can be made. All patterns are
built up on some fundamental plan, of which the number is
comparatively small. The ability to choose, plan, and arrange is in a
greater or less degree inherent in every one, so there should be, after all,
no great difficulty in the design. The necessary underlying qualities
are--a nice taste, freedom from affectation, an eye for colour and form,
and, it might be added, a fair share of common sense.