Embossing

“ In this way irregularities in the design are less likely to occur than when the design is transferred with the carbon paper directly to the metal. The decoration may be pierced or embossed, according to one's choice. After the sawing or embossing has been done, it should be filed carefully and smoothed up with fine emery cloth to do away with crude and sharp edges. ”

“ When the embossing is sufficiently prominent, unscrew your work, and take it to a worker in metals, who will mount it in a narrow, strong, brass frame A jeweler would probably be able to do this himself or could get it done for you. ”

“ The garments worn by high personages in the embroidery, and meant to imitate a golden textile, were done in gold passing sometimes by itself, sometimes with coloured silk thread laid down alternately aside it, so as to lend a tinge of green, crimson, pink, or blue, to the imagined tissue of the robe, as if it were made of a golden stuff shot with the adopted tint. ”

“ This was the introduction of the wimple, of all attributes to feminine beauty surely the most becoming ever conceived or accomplished! It was made either in silk or linen, a covering for the neck, chin, and forehead at once disguiseful and provocative, coquettish and demure. At times the wimple was little more than an elaborated veil or kerchief, but in its most alluring form it was a separate article worn under the veil, as in a nun's dress of to-day, which, in fact, in all but colour, bears a striking resemblance to the thirteenth-century dress. ”

“ In as far as materials are essential to the art of embroidery, I must restrict myself to the history of silk, wool, flax, cotton, and gold. With these all the finest works have been executed for the artistic adornment of dress and hangings. All other materials have been occasional experiments, or else were resorted to in the absence or ignorance of the above five most important factors in our domestic civilization. The history of wool must take precedence as being that of the original, if not the first, of textile materials. ”

“ The silk is unwound, is carried to England or France, is there woven into a beautiful fabric, and after passing through many hands, enriching all, it forms part of the dress of some lovely woman, or the neck-tie of some gentlemanly scoundrel. Contact with a rough world, or a stiff shirt-collar, rubs off a minute fibre; the wind carries it away; and, after more wanderings than Ulysses, it comes to the stage of our Microscope. ”

“ I imagined that after so many years that the human race would have discovered fabrics to dress in more wonderful than a tissue of sun and silk, more pleasurable to touch than the exquisite tender skin of young virgins, of rose-leaves, of downy peaches. ”

“ Quick as thought, a slender knife leaps from the concealment of her dress, and flashes like a silver thread in the gloom. The arm is raised on high, the form drawn to its perfect height, the lip compressed, and the nerves braced, and then! ”

“ There is one distinction between ours and all other books on dress that have come under our observation, and that is, that we are dealing with the necessary and not the ornamental part of clothing. Most authors who have written upon this subject have confined their attention to the history of costume, or the absurdity or elegance of some particular fashion, or of the harmony of the colours and relation of the dress to the figure of the individual, and hence have dealt only with the exterior. ”

“ And yet it breathes, the bosom is there, the hips, the legs are indicated.—Then the material grows supple, becoming a delicate fabric of fine wool, a long divided garment that lends itself to every movement. ”

“ We have discovered many new fibers, but it is rather a question of process than material that I had in mind. This is not a textile fabric at all, but paper. That is the most common material for garments nowadays. ”

“ For the sake of expedition all the figures were sometimes at once shaped out of woven silk, satin, velvet, linen, or woollen cloth as wanted, and sewed upon the grounding of the article: the features of the face and the contours of the body were then wrought by the needle in very narrow lines done in brown silk thread. At times, even this much of embroidery was set aside for the painting brush, and instances are to be found in which the spaces left uncovered by the loom for the heads and extremities of the human figures are filled in with the brush. ”

“ Nature has taken care to suit the external envelope to the internal organs of the frame; has made even the bones of the chest so yielding that the soft and delicate organs which are encased in them may have a free develop­ment: but the designers of dress have ever been interfering with her method; and for this simple reason—because dressing has been an art in which the fashion and cost of the clothing have been the objects of display. ”

“ Authorities on dress go to obscure engravings, or to the brasses or sculptural effigies in our churches, for examples, which have, in every instance, been designed by a man unversed in the intricacies of dressmaking. They have failed to recognise the fact that these embroideries are the product of hands which very certainly knew the cut of every garment, and the intricacy of every bow, knot, and point, and which would take a pride in rendering them not only with accuracy, but in the latest mode. ”

“ We notice how simply the hair is dressed, brushed loosely from the face and knotted at the back, with a jewel gleaming at one side. Compared with the elaborate coiffures worn by great ladies in some historical periods, this style is delightfully artistic. Altogether the entire manner of dressing is perfectly suited to the wearer. ”

“ She evidently does not suggest wax, save in the texture of her fine skin, and one rarely finds in a child's face so much of steel as is ambushed in the creases of the rose leaves that serve her as lips. ”

“ They sit, waxen pale under the rouge, their poor painted lips twisted in agony. Slow tears have furrowed the powder on their cheeks. They do not even glance about to ascertain if some one has a newer coiffure than theirs, or is wearing a more daring gown. ”

“ In a climate so variable as ours, garments made of cotton and wool are to be preferred to linen. By careful selection they may be obtained as soft and agreeable to the wearer; and they are to be pre­ferred to all other fabrics, except silk, which, from its warmth, lightness, and beauty, is more desirable than any other article from which apparel can be made. ”

“ She bent low over her treasure, examining the blue embroidery, which was rendered still more fascinating with small stitches of pink silk, looking with ecstacy at the real lace round the neck and cuffs and finally pressing the delicate color against her blooming cheek. ”

“ Id est, many little points or blotches of color sprinklded over a costume produce a disagreeably pied and speckled effect, as of a monstrous robin's egg, or a plum pudding. One tint should prevail, relieved by a contrasting tint. No amount of fashionable prestige can make an unbecoming color becoming. ”

“ Oh, dear, what can we do? I must have this gown for this afternoon!
Here’s a pair of long lace sleeves, whole ones, I bought in case I needed them. Would they do? No—the lace doesn’t match that on the bodice. Dye them? No, thank you! I bought some dye once, and the package said on the outside in big letters: “Dyeing at Home! No trouble at all!” and it gave me such a turn, I never could think of wearing a dyed sleeve! What can I do? I believe I’ll wear them as they are. I hate long sleeves anyway. They get so soiled, and they bag at the elbows, and they’re terribly unbecoming. ”

“ Saw him then gaze upon the faded bouquet that he had taken from the beauty, who had probably forgotten to reclaim it—gaze upon it, press it to his lips, and place it, as some priceless treasure, in the breast of his coat. ”

“ Even the men,—especially the youthful swains, indulge in many bright ornaments on their dress, the breast of the shirt, waist-coat and breeches, and even sometimes the mantle thrown in graceful folds round the shoulder are ornamented with a fine display of lacing and embroidery. ”

“ Even granting that the stained face can keep its color for some time, suppose that not a drop of water should spot the skin, suppose that the garment did not stick to the ink, as it often does, where no gum is used, tell me! We can’t make our lips so hideously thick, can we? ”

“ Mind, good reader, it must be silk, not bombazine, or any of the cotton varieties of black, as the admirable effect of silk depends upon its gloss, which makes the garment full of those subdued and reflected lights which give motion and play to the drapery. ”

“ The absence of wrinkle or fold, alluded to in the above quotation, is commonly suggestive of the modern spirit in dress. The first thing an artist does in painting a figure in hose is to indicate the little wrinkles or folds at the knee and ankle. This, as serving two purposes, first as a decorative enrichment to the limb, and secondly as indicating, together with the colour of the material, the fact that the limb is clothed. ”

“ Each member should provide his or her own dress. To give the required expressions to the faces, a box of good water colors, some fine chalk powder, camel’s hair pencils, and rouge saucers, are wanted. To make frowns, scowls, or comical expressions, such as a broad grin, smirk, or simper, stand before a mirror and assume the desired expression; then trace the wrinkles produced, with a fine brush of the brown tint ”

“ The ground material is of the finest woven wool, of a deep violet or purple colour, enriched with application of another fine woollen fabric of a most brilliant green, worked down, outlined and embroidered in white, black, and gold-coloured wool, apparently in stem stitches. ”

“ In time the attaching media, as exposed in stitches, loops, knots, and the like, being of bright colors, were themselves utilized as embellishment, and margins and apertures were beautified by various bindings and borders, and finally patterns were worked in contrasting colors upon the surfaces of the cloths and other materials of like nature or use.
No other art so constantly and decidedly suggested embellishment and called for the exercise of taste. It was the natural habitat for decoration. It was the field in which technique and taste were most frequently called upon to work hand in hand. ”

“ The most delightful of all sewing is the making of these wee garments for an infant. Aside from the tender, loving thoughts sewn into each tiny article, there is the pleasure of feeling the softness of the goods and the daintiness of the texture. ”

“ The protrusion of their upper lip is more conspicuous than in any other race of men I have seen, and the women in particular consider it as so necessary a feature to beauty, that they take especial care to elongate it, by introducing into the centre, a small circular piece of ivory, wood, or iron, as an additional ornament. ”

“ The infant's robes, of which I have spoken, may also be ornamented to an almost unlimited extent with embroidery in washing crewels or silk, and can thus be made much more beautiful, artistically, than the ordinary babies' robe, which is simply a senseless mass of lace, insertion, frills, and fall-lals.Fig. 3. Boys should be breeched as soon as they begin to run easily. ”

“ When the stitch is used in its finest dimensions it is always white on white except for women's light-tinted underwear. When heavier thread and a larger stitch is used the captivating blues and pinks blossom forth on the little gowns and frocks. ”

“ Upon canvas fully imbibed with wax, you can neither use so great a body of colours, nor employ them with such freedom, boldness, or delicacy as you may upon cloth, whose texture is not pre-occupied with wax—the reason is obvious—the one has its pores and interstices filled up with wax ”

“ The next step is where the cords of gold enclose little touches of embroidery in coloured floss, as in Illustration 91. These have the value of so many jewels or bits of bright enamel. In fact, just as outline work in simple gold thread resembles damascening or filagree, so this outlining of little spaces of coloured silk suggests enamel. [140] The cord of the embroiderer answers to the cloisons of the enameller, the surfaces of shining floss to the films of vitreous enamel.
larger image
59. COUCHED OUTLINE WORK.
Appliqué embroidery is constantly edged with gold or silver thread. ”

“ If your silk or material painted shows a dampness beyond the line of color, let it remain until the color dries, and it will all evaporate dry, leaving no stain whatever on the material, placing the paint beautifully in rolls, to imitate what it is intended to, Kensington embroidery.
189 ARRASENE
AND RIBBON EMBROIDERY.
Ladies are turning away from the more laborious kinds of work, and seeking that which is artistic, useful, and beautiful. ”

“ On the same principle, and in the same order, must be placed the tints which compose the fleshy bodies of men and women, but so blended with each other, as to give the softness appropriate to the luminous quality and texture of flesh; paying attention, at the same time, to reflections on its surface from other objects, and to its participation of their colours. ”

“ When dry any bare patches of skin will have a dead appearance and require painting with oil colors thinned with turpentine to reduce the gloss. The end of the nose and lips are touched with varnish to produce the natural moist appearance. ”

“ By using fancy trimming-pieces, collars, yokes, etc., you can almost always model a waist so that the piecing will never show. Lace or net for yokes, chemisettes, etc., can be dyed the color of the dress either at home or at a regular dyeing establishment. ”

“ How well each in its way is calculated to serve the purpose for which it is designed, the simple cloth, tweed, or serge costume moulded to the lines of the figure, adapted to our changeful climate, and giving a cachet to the wearer, not always found in much more costly apparel, a rational costume in the best sense of the word, and one which women of all ages may assume with satisfaction to themselves and to those with whom [Pg 11] they come in contact. ”

“ Doth not a cloth suit become him as well, and keep him as warm, as all their silks, satins, damasks, taffeties and tissues? Is not homespun cloth as great a preservative against cold, as a coat of Tartar lamb's-wool, died in grain, or a gown of giant's beards? ”