Cross-stitch

“ Cross-Stitch is worked by bringing up the needle on the left hand, crossing two straight and two perpendicular lines, and putting in the needle on the right; bring the needle up on the right again, in the space which forms a right angle with the two already occupied; cross the first thread, and bring the needle under on the left hand again.
When grounding is done in this stitch, take care to avoid all appearance of lines and joins by using unequal length of wool, finishing each stitch before the next is begun. Grounding should be begun at the left hand lower corner and worked upwards. ”

“ Always point the needle to the left and make the cross-stitches encase the raw edges. The stitch is done from left to right. If preferred, these seams may be pressed open and catch stitched, working the stitches over the raw edge at each side of the seam, thus holding both down as shown in Illustration 139. ”

“ Of the first there are two varieties, the ordinary cross-stitch, known in later years as sampler-stitch, and the much neater kind, in which the crossed stitches form a perfect little square on the wrong side. This daintiest of marking stitches is rarely seen on samplers later than the eighteenth century.
The satin-stitch alphabets are worked in short flat stitches, not over padding, according to the modern method of initial embroidering, and the letters are generally square rather than curved in outline. The bird’s-eye-stitch, when used for alphabets, varies greatly in degree of fineness. ”

“ Every young girl should be taught to do the following kinds of stitch, with propriety. Over-stitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching, back-stitch and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning, gathering, and cross-stitch.
In doing over-stitch, the edges should always be first fitted, either with pins or basting, to prevent puckering. In turning wide hems, a paper measure should be used, to make them even. Tucks, also, should be regulated by a paper measure. A fell should be turned, before the edges are put together, and the seam should be over-sewed, before felling. ”

“ MAKING THE CROSSES ON THE CANVAS.
This, as you will see, completes the first cross, and brings the thread ready to make a second one in the same way.
The lower part of the illustration shows the dog’s tail commenced, and how you should place your needle when you want to make a cross on the slant below. One thing you should be very careful about when working in cross-stitch: see that the threads are always crossed in the same direction, and not sometimes one way and sometimes another. Your work will look so much better if this rule is always followed. ”

“ Begin to work a common cross stitch, then insert the needle through the canvas over 2 threads in height and 2 in width, downwards in a slanting direction. Do not draw the wool close up, but leave a loop hanging down about four-fifths of an inch long, and make 1 more common cross stitch to fasten the loop. This stitch can also be worked over flat meshes. Work a common cross stitch at the end of every row. When the work is completed the loops are cut open and clipped, as may be seen from illustration.
[569]
ILLUSTRATIONS 592 to 594.--Three Berlin wool work borders for trimming baskets, &c. ”

“ The stitches are taken alternately from side to side, and the threads cross each other naturally, without any intervention of the needle or thumb of the worker. It is a stitch well known to the neat-fingered housewife for keeping flat the cut edges of a seam where a hem is considered too clumsy. As a decoration it is seldom used in its simplest form; but I have seen many beautiful pieces of embroidery executed entirely in other forms of the same stitch, such as Swiss or Close herring-bone or Fish-bone. ”

“ Nos. 3, 4, 5, 10 and 15, [A] which gives quite as full and brilliant a stitch, as silk-twist. Finer cottons should be used for the finer stuffs, such as embroidery cotton (Coton à broder D.M.C) Nos. 6 to 200, [A] and lace thread (Fil à dentelle D.M.C) Nos. 30 to 150. [A] In many cases, even darning cotton (Coton à repriser D.M.C) can be used, as like Algerian silk, it can be split or taken double, to suit the stuff.
Plain cross stitch on auxiliary canvas (fig. 292) .—Plain cross stitch, commonly called marking stitch, has already been described in fig. ”

“ For the transverse stitching, for which also it is best to use floss, either split-stitch may be used, as in the leaf in the sampler, Illustration 46, or a thread may be laid across and sewn down—couched, as it is called—as in the flower. The closer the cross lines the stronger the work, but the less lustrous the effect. ”

“ Irish Stitch
Irish stitch is worked parallel with the selvedges of the canvas. None of the stitches cross the threads in the
width
. In the first row, take the thread alternately over four and two threads; in all future rows take the stitches over four threads,—which, as they rise—first from the long and then from the short stitch, will produce the same appearance in others.
1917. Handling Wool
With regard to wools, they should never be wound, as the least handling crushes the pile and spoils them. ”

“ There is a third and much simpler type of open-work occasionally found on seventeenth-century samplers, which is carried out by piercing the linen with a stiletto and overcasting the resulting holes so as to produce a series of bird’s-eye or eyelet stitches. All three varieties of open-stitch are frequently seen in combination with that short, flat satin-stitch, which, when worked in a diaper pattern with white thread or silk on a white ground, is sometimes called damask-stitch. ”

“ In this way stitches are also sometimes worked upon stitches, as shown on the sampler, Illustration 32. You will see, on referring to the back of it (33) , that only the white silk is worked into the stuff: the dark is surface work only. There is no end to such possible INTERLACINGS. Those on the sampler do not need much explanation; but it may be as well to say that A starts with crewel-stitching; B and C with back-stitching; D with chain-stitching; E with darning or running; F, G, and H with varieties of herring-bone-stitch; J with Oriental-stitch; and K with feather-stitch. ”

“ A very good line of raised stitchery can be worked on to a foundation of herring-bone stitching. The threads are laced in, one row at a time, as shown in Fig. 25. See Plate XIV., where it is worked round the outer edge, also in the nightdress case (Plate XI.) , where it forms the narrow inner border.
[Pg 95]
“Point d’Alencon.”—Faggot or Russian is one of the stitches used in the making of point lace or Honiton point. As a lace stitch, it goes under the name of “Point d’Alencon.” It is used to join the braids; it also makes one of the principal filling stitches for leaves or oval spaces. ”

“ In every row, increasing stitches are to be made in the blue; and also, in the plain rows of black.
A Chancelière.
Four-thread fleecy with a steel needle.
It is impossible to give the exact number of stitches for the commencement of a chancelière, as each row varies; it is advisable, therefore, to cut the shape in stiff paper, as a pattern,—first of the top, and then of the border. In those parts where it is requisite to increase [104] the width of the work, it should be done by making an extra stitch on each side. ”

“ There are two rather different kinds in use; in both the stitch is a running one and done in much the same way that a thin place would be darned in mending.
One kind of darning is rather popular at the present moment, and examples of it may be familiar; it is a large, bold kind of work, often carried out with a coarse twisted silk. Upon the background, the lines of stitching usually run straight across or up and down, in the pattern, they radiate according to the shape of the form to be filled. ”

“ The broad band of needle-weaving is edged by rows of variegated chain stitch in brown and cream (for the working of which, see Fig. 1, p. 46) , and followed by rows of button-hole in orange (Fig. 11) .
The wide braid-like line in oriental stitch, along the top, is worked very closely; along the sides the same stitch is seen with wider spacing. This stitch is of the herring-bone type—the needle is inserted vertically, instead of horizontally, as in the case of the commoner and better-known stitch. It is effective and economical, as the bulk of the thread is on the surface. ”

“ A dividing, or seam stitch,—called also a raised stitch, is made by putting the needle through both meshes of the chain, and working two stitches in the same hole. These stitches must always be made exactly over each other. In crocheting circles they form a kind of star pattern, and serve the purpose of increasing stitches. They should not be employed when working with chenille.
To increase a stitch,—to make two stitches in the same loop.
To decrease,—to take two stitches together, or to miss one stitch. Decreasing is always done in the same ratio as increasing. ”

“ If it is a border of any considerable length a number of skeins may be all begun together; then, pinning them all down with a long fine pin, the stitches are set in at regular intervals to make the pattern. The floss-silk in this case requires no needle, but, when once begun, is ‘paid off’ the reel or card by degrees as required.
Laid-work makes a beautiful background; the over-stitching may be either of split-stitch, couching, or back-stitch, and may be done either in a pattern or by simple lines, diagonal, vandyked, or at right angles with the silk laid down. ”

“ The needlewoman should be absolute master of her needle, for there is a great charm in beautifully carried out stitching; also a good design can be made mechanical and uninteresting by a wrong method of execution. The simplest and most common stitches are the best, and are all that are necessary for the doing of good work. Work carried out entirely in one stitch has a certain unity and character that is very pleasing. ”

“ Work two rows of running stitches about three-eighths of an inch apart. Make the stitches about five-eighths of an inch long and the space between the stitches one-half an inch. Fasten your thread at the extreme right and bring the needle out at the lower left-hand corner of the space, near the running stitch. ”

“ A. Simple Darning Stitch.—The simple darning stitch is a short stitch on the back and a long one on the face "running" on a straight line, the second row alternating with the first in the positions of the long and short stitches, and lying parallel to it. Care and practice are necessary to make these rows of equal tension. They should keep their straight direction and terminate where they meet the outline. There are ways of accommodating them to the outline when they are used within the design. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This line can be arranged to show in part, in which case the material must be one presentable, such as a gold cord or narrow braid. The padding would be covered with stitching to form the background, and left exposed for the pattern, which would probably be a simple repeating form of some kind. Gobelin stitch is sometimes worked quite perpendicularly just over two threads in height.
Fig. 81.
Irish stitch is pretty and quickly worked. It is usually taken perpendicularly over [Pg 156] four threads of the canvas (fig. 82) , though the number over which it is taken may vary. ”

“ Use Coton à broder D.M.C for the transverse stitches and over the smooth surface which is thus formed, work close lines of satin stitch in silk or cotton; the effect produced, will bear more resemblance to appliqué work than to embroidery. The centres of the flowers are filled in with knot stitches, which are either set directly on the stuff or on an embroidered ground. ”

“ A few years ago, while embroiderers here in America were counting the spaces on pieces of canvas, or carefully pushing needles in and out of the holes in perforated paper, pupils and teachers of the new English school were studying out the many stitches they could find in old embroidery, and were introducing them into their work. The so-called "Kensington" stitch is merely a form of stem stitch, taken always in a manner to fit the leaf or flower to be wrought. ”

“ Continue these stitches long and short. This is the way to work round the circumference of a circle. Curved tendrils are very effective embroidered in the overlap stitch. See Fig. I c.
Fig. I d. Tapestry Stitch.
D. Tapestry Stitch.—A stitch similar to feather stitch except that its lines are all in one direction. The stitches do not slant to accommodate themselves to a form but are all straight and in all cases parallel and terminate abruptly as they come against the outline of the form whether they are within it or are used to fill the background. ”

“ Many ladies in working a pattern, copy on cards each row separately; this prevents confusing one row with another.
The stitches between the mark, thus (knit 2 together 3 times) are worked, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2 together; this prevents useless repetition.
The pins and meshes are all gauged by the standard or wire-drawer’s gauge.
To raise stitches—Put the pin in the selvedge or side of the knitting, put the wool round the pin as in knitting, and bring it through, so as to form a stitch. ”