570.--_Square in Guipure d'Art_.
Materials: Netted square of 26 stitches; 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 button-hole stitch. 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.
[Illustration: 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 button. 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 stitch, darning stitch, 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 button-hole stitches on the right side. The flap is edged with button-hole stitch; sew on a small button, and make a small loop to correspond. The case is edged all round with blue silk cord.
[Illustration: 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; tassels.
Banner-screens are used in two ways, either suspended from the mantelpiece or mounted as shown in illustration 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 tassels. The banner may be finished off in close button-hole stitch, instead of adding the lace border.
[Illustration: 573.--Banner Screen in Guipure d'Art.]
[Illustration: 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 stitch, edged by a row of button-hole, and finished with a crochet edging.
[Illustration: 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. ---------------------------------- -------------- Antimacassars 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 stitch which is made upon canvas with wool, silk, or beads. The principal stitches used are common cross stitch, Gobelin stitch, leviathan stitch, raised or velvet stitch, tent stitch, and others. The materials and needle must always be carefully chosen of a corresponding size. For common cross stitch and raised stitch 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 stitch and tent stitch 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 stitches 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 stitches 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 coarse for the canvas, one long stitch is to be made from left to right as far as the particular colour is to be worked, and over this long stitch, cross back in the usual way.
The plainest stitch in Berlin wool work is the common cross stitch; illustrations 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 illustration, all the stitches 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.
[Illustration: 577.--Common Cross Stitch.]
ILLUSTRATION 577.--The common cross stitch 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 stitches, from right to left. Illustration 577 shows 2 rows of completed stitches and 1 row in course of working.
[Illustration: 578.--Long Cross Stitch.]
ILLUSTRATION 578 shows the long cross stitch. It is worked like the preceding one, only over 4 threads in height and 2 in width.
[Illustration: 579.--Long Cross Stitch.]
ILLUSTRATION 579 shows a long cross stitch, which is worked like the preceding one, except that 2 threads are missed between 2 stitches, and in the next row the stitches are worked between those in the preceding row. This stitch is not worked in rows backwards and forwards; each stitch is completed before beginning the next.