570.--_Square in Guipure d'Art_.

Materials: Netted square of 26 st.i.tches; Messrs. Walter Evans and Co.'s Mecklenburg thread No. 12.

This pattern is worked in point d'esprit, edged with an outline of point de reprise. This outline may be worked in close b.u.t.ton-hole st.i.tch. Point de toile is used for the groundwork, upon which point de reprise is worked.

571 _and_ 572.--_Work Case in Guipure d'Art_.

Materials: Blue satin; Messrs. Walter Evans and Co.'s Mecklenburg thread No. 16; blue silk cord.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 571.--Work Case in Guipure d'Art (Back).]

This little work-case, of darned netting and blue satin, is five inches and four-fifths long, four inches wide, and is fastened with a loop and b.u.t.ton. The back, front, side, and the flap are worked all in one piece.

The netting is worked with white thread No. 12, over a mesh measuring at least two-fifths of an inch round. For the flap the netting must be slanted off on both sides; this is done either by decreasings, or by cutting off the corners of the work. The latter is then darned in linen st.i.tch, darning st.i.tch, and point d'esprit, from No. 572, which shows the front of the case, and from No. 571, which shows the back. The netting is then lined with blue satin, and sewn together at the sides with b.u.t.ton-hole st.i.tches on the right side. The flap is edged with b.u.t.ton-hole st.i.tch; sew on a small b.u.t.ton, and make a small loop to correspond. The case is edged all round with blue silk cord.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 572.--Work Case in Guipure d'Art (Front).]

573.--_Banner Screen in Guipure d'Art_.

Materials: Netting; Messrs. Walter Evans and Co.'s Mecklenburg thread No. 12; carved oak stand; glace silk; cords; ta.s.sels.

Banner-screens are used in two ways, either suspended from the mantelpiece or mounted as shown in ill.u.s.tration No. 573. The banner is 23 inches long, 19 inches wide, lined with coloured glace silk, and edged with a lace border of guipure d'art. The design for the banner is given in page 554. Work the netting for the groundwork over a larger or smaller mesh, according to the size you wish it to be. The pattern is worked in point d'esprit, point de reprise, and point de toile. When the pattern is completed, line the banner with coloured silk, edge with a gathered border of guipure d'art, finish with coloured silk cords and ta.s.sels. The banner may be finished off in close b.u.t.ton-hole st.i.tch, instead of adding the lace border.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 573.--Banner Screen in Guipure d'Art.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 575.--Border in Guipure d'Art.]

575.--_Border in Guipure d'Art_.

Material: Messrs. Walter Evans and Co.'s Mecklenburg thread No. 8.

This border is suited for couvrettes. It is worked in point d'esprit, point de reprise, or plain darning st.i.tch, edged by a row of b.u.t.ton-hole, and finished with a crochet edging.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 576.--Square in Guipure d'Art.]

576.--_Square in Guipure d'Art_.

Materials: Messrs. Walter Evans and Co.'s Mecklenburg thread No. 12; netted square of 20 holes.

This pretty square is worked in a pattern formed by point de feston, point de toile, and point de reprise, the star in the centre as that shown on page 514, omitting the alternate points; border of point d'esprit, ground worked in simple crossed bars.

Table of the right size of Mecklenburg thread to use in working:--

|----------------------------------|--------------| | | No. | |----------------------------------|--------------| | Antimaca.s.sars | 2 | | Borders | 4 | | Handkerchiefs | 20 | | Insertions | 8 | | Lace edgings and insertions | 16 | | Lamp shades | 16 | | Parasol covers | 18 | | Sachets | 12 | | Sofa cushions | 8 | | Toilet cushions | 10 | | Toilet mats | 10 | |----------------------------------|--------------|

FRAMES

May be obtained for large, middle-size, and small squares.

Oblong frames are used for working insertions and lace edgings.

BERLIN WORK

INSTRUCTIONS.

Berlin Work includes every kind of st.i.tch which is made upon canvas with wool, silk, or beads. The princ.i.p.al st.i.tches used are common cross st.i.tch, Gobelin st.i.tch, leviathan st.i.tch, raised or velvet st.i.tch, tent st.i.tch, and others. The materials and needle must always be carefully chosen of a corresponding size. For common cross st.i.tch and raised st.i.tch Penelope canvas must be used; for small articles, such as slippers, bags, or borders, single Berlin wool is preferable; for larger ones fleecy wool or double Berlin wool (the latter, however, is much more expensive). For Gobelin st.i.tch and tent st.i.tch undivided canvas (not Penelope) is required. Purse silk is often used for the latter; it is more brilliant than floss silk or filoselle. Floss silk is generally used for other st.i.tches because it covers the thread of the canvas better than purse silk; it is, however, often replaced by filoselle, which is a much cheaper material. Moss wool is hardly ever used. Before beginning to work upon a piece of canvas the raw edges must be hemmed or sewn over with wool. Care must be taken not to crumple the canvas in the course of the work. It is best to roll one end of the canvas upon a round piece of deal while the other end is kept down upon the table with a lead cushion. Handsome artistic patterns should always be worked in a frame. When you undertake to work a large pattern begin in the centre, and complete one half before you commence the other. Always work the st.i.tches in the same direction, from the top downwards--this is very essential to the beauty and regularity of the pattern.

Always begin with the colour which is used the oftenest; those colours that lose their dye in working must be put in last. When the pattern is finished begin the grounding. The wool must not be drawn too tightly, otherwise the threads of the canvas appear. If the wool is too coa.r.s.e for the canvas, one long st.i.tch is to be made from left to right as far as the particular colour is to be worked, and over this long st.i.tch, cross back in the usual way.

The plainest st.i.tch in Berlin wool work is the common cross st.i.tch; ill.u.s.trations 577 to 584 show varieties of the same.

We now proceed in the following pages to show, by description in writing and by most careful ill.u.s.tration, all the st.i.tches which are used in Berlin Work. These are numerous, but neither too great in number nor too simple or too elaborate in execution for those who aspire to become Berlin workers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 577.--Common Cross St.i.tch.]

ILl.u.s.tRATION 577.--The common cross st.i.tch is worked in rows backwards and forwards over 2 threads in height and 2 in width (square of the canvas) in straight lines; the 1st row is worked from left to right; the 2nd row, which completes the st.i.tches, from right to left. Ill.u.s.tration 577 shows 2 rows of completed st.i.tches and 1 row in course of working.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 578.--Long Cross St.i.tch.]

ILl.u.s.tRATION 578 shows the long cross st.i.tch. It is worked like the preceding one, only over 4 threads in height and 2 in width.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 579.--Long Cross St.i.tch.]

ILl.u.s.tRATION 579 shows a long cross st.i.tch, which is worked like the preceding one, except that 2 threads are missed between 2 st.i.tches, and in the next row the st.i.tches are worked between those in the preceding row. This st.i.tch is not worked in rows backwards and forwards; each st.i.tch is completed before beginning the next.