Blue ribbon

“ The whole of those colours come off together, and that ribbon is white because the whole of the colours of the spectrum are reflected at the same moment. Why is that ribbon green? The white light falls upon the ribbon—the violet, the indigo, the red, the blue, the orange, and the yellow, are absorbed by the dye of the ribbon, and you do not see them. The ribbon, as it were, drinks in all these colours, but it cannot drink in the green. And reflecting the green of the spectrum, you see that ribbon green because the ribbon is incapable of absorbing the green of the white light. ”

“ A sapphire blue demi-saison with a satin stripe, sack and petticoat trimmed with a broad black lace; crape flounce, etc.; leaves made of blue ribbon, and trimmed with white floss; wreaths of black velvet ribbon spotted with steel beads, which are much in fashion, and brought to such perfection as to resemble diamonds; white ribbon also in the Vandyke style, made up the trimming, which looked very elegant; a full dress handkerchief, and a bouquet of roses. 'Full gay, I think, for my aunt.' That is true, Lucy, but nobody is old in Europe. ”

“ To give an idea of the order which reigns among them, I may point out, among many other peculiar customs, that the different conditions of the women are indicated by differently colored ribbons worn upon the head. Girls wear a bright rose-colored ribbon until the age of ten, a red ribbon until eighteen, and a pale red one until their marriage; married women wear a blue ribbon, and widows a white one. ”

“ Blue had been for centuries the colour of opposition to tyranny. The Scotch Covenanters chose it because the Lord ordered the children of Israel to wear a ribbon of blue that they might "look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and seek not after their own heart and their own eyes, and be holy unto their God." ”

“ Give two coats of colour, and let the fan dry. Buy some ribbon half an inch in width; in colours, black, vivid green, sky-blue, and yellow-pink. Make a wide vandyke running down one of the lengths of ribbon by taking the running thread in diagonal lines across the ribbon from edge to edge. Draw the ribbon up so that it forms a number of pointed vandykes, sew the strips down the ribs of the fan at equal distances apart, and use black ribbon more than the other colours. Sew on a line of red gold tinsel between each strip of ribbon, and finish the handle with a knot of coloured ribbons. ”

“ When the ribbon is worn in undress a miniature V.C. is placed on it, and should there be clasps to the V.C. for each one a miniature is added. Until recently the Navy had a blue ribbon, but when the Air Force came into being the King thought it better to have one and the same ribbon for all.
In precedence the Victoria Cross ranks before all decorations and medals and is worn on the right of all. Thus in addressing a letter to one who has the Victoria Cross the letters V.C. precede all others, even if the addressee is a Knight of the Garter or a Grand Cross of the Bath. ”

“ What comes he this way for?"
"The river way is free to all, Joanna." And [Pg 61] Joanna looked sharply at her sister and remained silent.
But Katherine was merry as a bird. She chattered of this and of that, and sang snatches of songs, old and new. And all the time her heart beat out its own glad refrain, "My bow of orange ribbon, my bow of orange ribbon!" Her needle went to her thoughts, and her thoughts went to melody; for, as she worked, she sang,—
"Will you have a pink knot?
Is it blue you prize?
One is like a fresh rose,
One is like your eyes. ”

“ RIBBON FLAGS. Another way to make a flag is to use ribbon for the stripes and puffed blue silk with white knots of baby ribbon for the stars. I have seen some handsome flags made entirely of baby ribbons. You can make red, white and blue backgrounds by using these colors of Velvelette, which is easily applied. Velvelette is a “flock” which comes in various colors and can be had at paint stores. ”

“ Just an edge of gray blue and silver ribbon showing beyond the neck edge of a navy blue frock will tone it attractively.
For street wear you have quite a variety from which to choose. Navy blue, gray, henna and neutral shades such as taupe.
If your skin is clear and you have good color you can wear black well.
In cottons, there are lovely flower sprigged dimities in gray and blue tones which are becoming to an older woman. Gray swiss dotted in blue is another good choice for the gray haired woman. Black and white effects too in voile, dimity, and swiss are considered very smart. ”

“ For the little ones naught can come amiss. Stockings of coarse white lace, with slipper tips of blue or pink, and a dainty knot of ribbon in front; all sorts of fancy ornaments made of stiff paper and covered with gold and silver paper; cornucopias, boxes and toys without end—their variety and name are legion. A pretty bon-bon receptacle is made in this way: Take a square of silk measuring from eighteen to twenty-seven inches, of any color desired—a bright handkerchief will do—and mark within it a perfect circle small enough to be three inches from the middle of the sides. ”

“ The blue cap for all enlisted men except chief petty officers, officers’ stewards and cooks, and bandsmen, is of the style known as the “flat cap.” It has a band two inches wide around which is sewn a black silk cap ribbon bearing the name of the ship or station of the wearer in plain gold letters, the ribbon being tied in a double-bow knot at the left side. ”

“ Very soon, as with the other contestants, it is made apparent that some of the drivers are more in favor than others; and then the discovery follows that nearly every individual on the benches, women and children as well as men, wears a color, most frequently a ribbon upon the breast or in the hair: now it is green, now yellow, now blue; but, searching the great body carefully, it is manifest that there is a preponderance of white, and scarlet and gold. ”

“ Readin' is a good thing in its place and I enjoy it myself, but sometimes it's pleasant to hear the human voice sayin' somethin' besides 'What?' and 'Yes' and 'All right' and 'Is supper ready?'
The Blue Hair Ribbon
"I've been lookin' over your things to-day and gettin' 'em ready. The moths has ate your Winter flannels and you'll have to get more. I've mended your coat linin's and sewed on buttons, and darned and patched, and I've took Barbara North's blue hair ribbon back to her—the one you found some place and had in your pocket. ”

“ There were satin ribbons, in weaving which only one thread in eight is taken up,—the gloss being given by the silk loop which covers the other seven. On entering, we saw some narrow scarlet satin ribbons, woven for the Queen. Wondering what Her Majesty could want with ribbon of such a color and quality, we were set at ease by finding that it was not for ladies, but horses. It was to dress the heads of the royal horses. There were bride-like, white-figured ribbons, and narrow flimsy black ones, fit for the wear of the poor widow who strives to get together some mourning for Sundays. ”

“ This shows the dress during the first half of the reign. The feature of groups of ribboning is shown, with the short sleeve, the full shirt, and the petticoat.
Our hats, broad-brimmed and stiff, are loaded with feathers; our little cloaks are barred with silk and lace and gold cord; our shoes are square-toed [Pg 367] and high-heeled, and are tied with a long-ended bow of ribbon.
Ribbon reigns triumphant: it ties our periwigs into bunches at the ends; it hangs in loops round our waists; it ties our shirt-sleeves up in several places; it twists itself round our knees. ”

“ Of course all members of the society should wear their white ribbons. All who serve on the reception committee should wear a large white ribbon rosette. Also have a white ribbon quartet for the musical part of the program, and have each one wear a large white ribbon bow on the left breast. Have plenty of white flowers for decoration, also use anything white that can be used in any way to help decorate. Have a large bowl or white dish in centre of dining-table with small white baby ribbons hanging over the edge, one for each guest you expect. ”

“ Skirts as well as bodices are ornamented with gathered ribbons. The prettiest effect is given by using two ribbons together, a narrow and a wider one. These may be of two different colours, or of black and white, the latter being placed on the top. Plain bands of ribbon edged with black velvet, or with baby ribbon gathered, are also much used; in fact there seems no style of design which cannot be turned to account in this decoration.
VARIETIES. Writing History.
Some people have very funny ideas about things. ”

“ And, in order to meet a law in heraldry, that colour is not to be placed on colour, or metal upon metal, it is directed that where the red crosses of England and Ireland come in contact with the blue ground of the flag, they are to be "fimbriated"—that is, separated from the blue by a very narrow border of one of the metals—in this case silver, or white. ”

“ Conceits in shape or design and victory over technical difficulties are his delight. The soufflé decoration is characteristic. The color is inserted in a tube having one end covered with fine gauze, and when blown upon the piece to be decorated, falls in minute air-bells, which break into little circles. Red and blue are thus applied upon a pale grayish-blue, and the effect is beautiful and entirely unique. When, as frequently happens, the bubbles do not break, the result is hardly less attractive, the color running into the ground and giving it the appearance of jasper. ”

“ They were a favorite gift to children; and might be a simple flat strip of strong stuff, or might be richly worked like the leading-strings which Mary, Queen of Scots embroidered for her little baby, James. These are three bands of Spanish pink satin ribbon, each about four or five feet long and over an inch wide. The three are sewed with minute over-and-over stitches into a flat band about four inches wide, and are embroidered with initials, emblems of the crown, a verse of a psalm, and a charming flower and grape design. The gold has tarnished into brown, and the flower colors are fled ”

“ One Christmas, at an acute crisis when for some reason the list of presents expanded to twenty-eight, the advent into fashion of ribbon-work saved her from despair. She begged some odd pieces of silk and brocade from Her Majesty’s workroom for the purpose of making glove and handkerchief sachets. Ribbon-work is, as everyone knows who has done it, capable, especially the broad kind, of making the maximum of effect with the minimum of effort. ”

“ Flags are only printed when of small size, and when a sufficient number will be required to justify the expense of cutting the blocks. Silk is also used, but only for special purposes.
Flag-devising is really a branch of heraldry, and should be in accordance with its laws, both in the forms and the colours introduced. Yellow in blazonry is the equivalent of gold, and white of silver, and it is one of the requirements of heraldry that colour should not be placed upon colour, nor metal on metal. Hence the red and blue in the French tricolour (Fig. 191) are separated by white ”

“ From this splendid structure silken ribbons stream in all directions, and at the end of each ribbon is a little girl—generally a pretty little girl—in a white dress bedecked with green bows. And each little girl leads by the hand one smaller than herself, sometimes a toddler so tiny that you marvel that it can walk at all. ”

“ As even in a border, stayed between two lines of solid-coloured galloon, flowers and fruit do not stand forever upright without help, the weaver gave probability to his abundant mass by tying it here and there with a knot of ribbon and letting the ribbon flaunt itself as ribbons have ever done to the delight of the eye that loves a truant. ”

“ Often the pattern is in gold-and-white upon ruby or deep golden-brown, or in white-and-gold and green upon blue, and so on. In heraldry it is no uncommon thing to see the ground abraded and the charge left in ruby upon white. Sometimes a small head would be painted upon ruby glass, all of the colour being abraded except just one jewel in a man’s cap. ”

“ In some positions, particularly pilaster panels, the ornament is suspended, which is consistently rendered by the employment of knobs and ribbons. Ribbons are not only logical, but interesting on account of the variety afforded and are also of service in giving unity to a composition. Extremely amenable to harmonious arrangement and susceptible of great variation, the ribbon can be twisted, folded or arranged in groups of pleatings, the ends being occasionally scrolled or split. ”

“ At the present day we use in our wall-paper, upholstery, and wood-carving on furniture and mantels, and even on outside cornices, a certain form of garland or festoon tied with ribbon which we call “Colonial”; in a general way this resembles{56} the decoration features of the Ribbon and Wreath book-plate. From wall-pins with fancy oval or round heads, festoons of flowers depend above the shield; branches of holly and palm, often tied with a ribbon whose fluttering ends bear a motto or the name, are crossed beneath the shield, and their graceful sprays extend up either side. ”

“ The shape varies with the fancy of the artist; it is a small vase, a casket, a box, a cup with a cover; more or less ornamented, more or less graceful in form; but always there—the symbol at once of her conversion and her love, and so peculiar that it can leave no doubt of her identity.
Her drapery in the ancient pictures is usually red, to express the fervour of her love; in modern representations, and where she figures as penitent, it is either blue or violet; violet, the colour of mourning and penitence—blue, the colour of constancy. ”