Anne Knox Arthur

“ It is the stitches which—as they are well or ill-used—express the worker, and, if she is a wise worker, she can find out for herself most of the stitches she needs. Nor is it necessary to be at great expense in needlework, indeed, for those who take it up as a recreative craft half the interest may lie in the fact that no material is too common or too homely to be made into something fitting and, therefore, beautiful—since the truest art is to make a thing pleasing to the eye and yet entirely suited to the purpose. ”

“ These six bright colours, when used in conjunction with black and white, with each other, or with their complementaries, will strengthen, intensify and enrich each other without altering their true value—when such vivid effects and sharp contrasts offend the taste of the worker, when they appear too crude, too conspicuous and too obtrusive—which they are apt to do—they may be harmonised quite simply, either by modifying the complementaries or by using a tint or a shade, that is, a lighter or a darker tone of the same colour. ”

“ Some of the most interesting embroideries done during the last few years have been planned and carried out in some of our Scottish schools by untrained workers—designs so simple that the workers do not realise that they are designing at all—since they draw largely with needle and thread alone, and have little assistance from chalk and other markings. And it is this type of work, usually sewn in coarse yarns and on rough canvas, flannel or homespun, that is perhaps the most happy and most stimulating for a designer of needlework to begin on. ”

“ The bold, yet dainty treatment of the needlework is first-rate, and the whole arrangement of the design, colour and stitchery show that the purpose for which the embroidery was meant must have been continually in the mind of the worker. ”

“ But lace-making is not for the busy woman or householder, who has her day fully occupied, but rather for the few who possess skill, good patience, and many unoccupied hours—these must belong to the woman who would excel in the art of producing the delicate fabric. It is most interesting to trace the development of lace; how needle-weaving of the more simple, primitive type later became drawn-thread work or openwork, in which finer threads and materials were used ”

“ Many of the charming pieces of embroidery stored up in our museums give us an idea of what can be done in this way, and though we lack, perhaps, both time and patience nowadays, there is no reason why we should not, by cultivation of our tastes, raise the level of the art considerably above its present standard and [Pg 25] prove that we can still produce embroidery—of the modest, reticent type—adapted to our own conditions of life, which will reveal both refinement and artistic delight. ”

“ Some of the quaint pattern books of those days still exist, and they consist mostly of elements—dainty flower sprays, sprigs, fruits, birds, animals, fishes, border patterns and geometrical forms—all intended to assist the workers in the composition and building up of their designs and patterns.
In the busy world of nowadays, we cannot hope ever to attain to such perfection, nor to regain for embroidery the high position it once held in this country; but we still have many clever needlewomen who could produce beautiful work provided they had a better knowledge of how to set about it. ”

“ The work is so quickly achieved—so gallant and bright in colour—so utilitarian in purpose and of so little cost in outlay, that it is above all others to be recommended. It needs no experience in stitchery to work in bright wools, if the material is firm and strong, and the writer has pleasant experience of maid-servants and village wives in the north country making admirable rugs, garments, and other embroideries, which command good prices at the Artificers’ Guilds and other places where a high artistic standard of design is required. ”

“ The circular massed forms in rich reddish-orange are set, most successfully, the one against the other; the green masses, so simple in shape and satisfactory in colour, are clearly silhouetted against the dark background; the white oblongs with the little orange circles, the applied hem and bands in vivid blue, the interesting variation in stitchery, all go to make a charmingly harmonious piece of simple decoration. ”

“ Nevertheless, the sense of beauty is, in a greater or less degree, common to us all. Why, therefore, should a needleworker not develop her own ideas rather than those of other workers? The designer, for example, who may have as little knowledge of stitchery as the needlewoman has of design, and who, therefore, cannot realise the labour involved in its execution, may lose much of his effect and may waste the time of the embroiderer. It is generally agreed that no two people have the same ideas ”

“ Art and Craft.—Many women have an inherent instinct for needlework—that is, the craft of the needle—for the knowledge of how to use a needle and thread is generally easily acquired; but it is quite otherwise when the design, the artistic or imaginative part, has to be carried out, as it ought to be, by the worker. ”

“ Couching is a pleasant and most useful method of applying threads, cords or braids to materials of various kinds. For filling in forms, circles, or squares it is equal to chain stitch, and should be worked similarly—all forms, whether squares or curves, are better to be commenced from the outer edge and worked inwards, in order to preserve the shape. Special care is required for the outlining of squares or angular forms where the tendency is to tighten the applied material, whether threads or braids, in turning the corners. ”

“ When worked in floss silk, a favourite medium with Eastern embroiderers, it is a stitch par excellence for showing off the beauty and lustrous sheen of the thread, but it is not a very durable type of work, and is therefore only suitable for such articles as are not exposed to hard wear, unless worked in wools or thick cottons. All the threads on the surface are “laid,” as the term is, in parallel lines either vertical or in whatever direction is best, in order to allow the couching lines to accentuate the form or pattern ”

“ She need not fear monotony—the coloured threads will give sufficient variety. Let her take the simplest of all stitches to begin with—the tacking or basting stitch—and keeping it and its many varieties in her mind when planning out the pattern, she will find that she has many delightful ways of executing it. Tacking or basting stitch, worked in rows, becomes simple darning, a background stitch with which she may make charming patterns and fillings, ad libitum. ”

“ The work should always be held in a convex position over the fingers, and when working in wools—which are sometimes very elastic—the needle-worker should see that the threads lie easily over the surface. If the background appears rounded at the worked part on the under-side, the wools are too tightly strained. When mistakes are made it is always wiser to cut them out than to unpick—it does not harm the material in the same way, and it is not extravagant, as threads are generally too much roughened for use after unpicking.
Knots, as a rule, should be avoided ”

“ Good needles should always be used, with well-drilled, good-sized eyes. Care should be taken to choose them so that they may be exactly suited to the thread and to the material; the eye should be large enough to hold the thread easily, in which case it will make a hole in the foundation of a sufficient size to allow the thread being pulled through without roughening it. Scientific sharps are very pleasant to use—numbers four, five and six, are suitable for cotton and flaxes, crewel and chenille, and [Pg 11] long-eyed sharps for general embroidery and needle-weaving. ”

“ This form of open-work deserves to be better known in this country. The pattern is formed by means of blocks of stitches, which are not worked in the ordinary darning or weaving stitch but by the overcasting of laid threads; indeed, with the exception of the first and final rows—which are hemstitched—the entire work consists of the overcasting of threads; bars, strands or groups, all are worked from right to left. The Russian peasantry work most elaborate borders on handsome linen of an open texture ”

“ Finally, when worked with the same quantity of thread on the under and upper surfaces of the material, it attains a new dignity, and becomes satin stitch—the stitch beloved of the young modern needlewoman, who is generally inspired and stimulated by the wonderful skill and precision of the Eastern needleworkers. ”

“ It is the little simple contrivances, that are almost no more than a sort of loving finish to the actual construction of a piece of work, that give the highest standard of style in garments: and the best training a needlewoman can have is to make her seams, hems, openings and fastenings of garments or household fitments things of beauty, while, at the same time, she considers the uses and purpose of her work. ”

“ Good Taste and Common Sense.—To carry out a piece of work successfully, however, the embroideress must possess good taste and common sense; these are indeed important qualities, the possession of which will help the beginner enormously: add to these an eye for colour and form, a practical knowledge of the stitches commonly in use, some acquaintance with materials, their utility and adaptability, and the worker will find herself fairly well equipped to start her design. ”

“ How desirable it is that such gatherings of women and girls as church sewing meetings, guilds and clubs, should take up such new ideas in needlework and apply for a competent instructor. How almost more desirable is it that men might realise the pleasure a needle can give if applied to bold construction and original work. ”

“ The form of the stitch, occupying a square space, would enable the worker to make out patterns on squared paper; chair seats and cushions could be worked very satisfactorily in geometrical designs.
Baskets and bags, worked on canvas in wools, cottons and raffia, can be very useful; the canvas should always be worked with a thread which fills the mesh. For fine embroidery it is often better to work it in a frame, particularly for fine cross stitch or petit point, or when worked over two plies of cloth—the frame prevents the under cloth from puckering. ”

“ Frames are not necessary for the simpler types of work, but for wide borders in needle-weaving, particularly for the novice, a frame will fix the warp threads by keeping them taut, and prevent puckering of the material—little tambour frames which consist of a couple of rings, the one fitting into the other, will serve the purpose. ”

“ Materials.—Materials, threads, and needles are important items, and should be chosen carefully; to spend time and labour on embroidery on a poor foundation is an extravagance rather than an economy—the tendency being to make up for the poorness of the quality by the profuseness of the decoration. Materials need not be costly, but they should be good of their kind.
Homely Materials.—Charming things can be made out of homely cloths, remnants and oddments. Texture, tone and colour should be considered, both from a practical and an artistic point of view ”

“ The wonderful robe of colour which she displays for us throughout all seasons and in all countries, through the flowers and fruits, trees and foliage, sea and sky, the birds, animal and insect life, all under different aspects and ever-varying circumstances, increase our admiration and pleasure. ”

“ Needle-weaving is a form of decoration common to all countries; it was practised by primitive peoples and must have preceded embroidery. It was a means of adding richness and colour much in favour with the early Egyptians, who decorated their garments with fringes and bands of needle-weaving. ”

“ The Scottish Blanket.—Another pleasing material for wool decoration is the well-washed, worn-out Scottish blanket; with the smaller pieces one can make hassocks and cushions which look wonderfully well in strong colours in any flat stitch; the larger single blanket can be used for coverlets or hangings—with applied decoration where the material is too frail for general hard wear. Decorated with edgings of woollen braids, etc., these will look almost new, and certainly will give immense satisfaction to the worker. ”

“ We do not exaggerate its importance when we say that this faculty in human beings is what we can justly call the Holy Ghost, for it is that in us which comes, not of ourselves, but from direct inspiration, and the first principle of education ought to be to open our minds to it, in howsoever small and humble a fashion it comes, and to make clear the way for its development and growth towards greater things. ”

“ Pyramid Insertion.—An insertion of alternate pyramids, [Pg 108] with the bases at the centre, is more open and does not take so long to work. Make a foundation of faggot stitch, a single row this time, then carry the thread to the point of one of those stitches and weave over two threads to the centre. As these little cones should always be worked from the point, carry the thread to the top of the braid by overcasting the faggot thread; weave again towards the centre; when finished, the bases of the pyramids will form a central line. ”