TAPESTRY-WORK AND EMBROIDERY. not suited for fine work. It is dyed in some very rich tints, but not any great variety. FLOSS SILK is a very beautiful and expensive material; if largely used, care should be taken to economise it as much as possible. Generally speaking, if floss is used in cross-stitch, half the stitch is done with wool, and it is then finished with silk. It is chiefly employed in embroidery. CHENILLE is of two kinds. Chenille à broder (the finest sort), and chenille ordinaire, which is stiff, and about the thickness of a quill. The extreme richness of the appearance of chenille makes it suitable for any work requiring great brilliancy; as the plumage of birds, some flowers, and arabesques. Silk canvas is much embroidered with chenille; but it is extremely expensive, and very soon injured by dust. It should only be employed for articles intended to be glazed, such as polescreens, the tops of workboxes, and screens. BRAIDS are of various kinds. Russian silk braids are generally employed for dresses, slippers, &c.; but for many of these purposes the new ALBERT braid recently manufactured in England is much richer and far more effective. Russian silk braid is generally narrow, and the plait is of that kind which we term Grecian,-all the strands going from the edge to the centre. In French braid, on the contrary, you can distinguish the plait of every two strands over each other. French braid, in silk, is very little used in this country. Slippers and other small articles worked in braid, have the effect greatly improved by laying a gold thread on one or both sides of the braid. VICTORIA, ADELAIDE, or CORONATION braid (for the same article has been called by all these various names), is a cotton braid, which, when laid on net or muslin, looks something like satin-stitch. It is composed of thick and thin parts alternately, and is made in only two sizes. ALBERT BRAID is a sort of silk cord, made in many beautiful colours. It 383 is intended for either application, in braiding, and being raised, looks extremely well, with very small outlay of time or money. Gold and silver braids are often used in Mosaic-work, and for slippers, blotting-cases, &c. The MOSAIC braid, which is comparatively cheap, is generally used. A new material has just been manufactured for crochet, called Crystal Twine. It is made in gold, silver, and various colours, and is very brilliant. Canvas-work is always done by the thread, particular care should in all cases be taken that the size of the various materials is properly proportioned. Placing the canvas in a frame, technically termed dressing the frame, is an operation which requires considerable care. The frame itself, especially for a large piece of work, should be substantially made: otherwise the stress upon it will be apt to warp it, and drag the canvas. If this occurs to any extent, the injury can never be repaired. After herringboning the raw edges of the canvas, sew them, by the thread, to the webbing of the frame, that is, to the top and bottom. Then stretch the ends till the canvas is extended to its utmost length, put in the pegs, and brace the sides with fine twine. If the canvas is too long for the frame, and any part has to be rolled over the end, let the wood be first covered with a few thicknesses of silver paper. Sometimes, to save the trouble of grounding, a design is worked on cloth, over which canvas is laid. Whenever this is the case, the cloth must be carefully damped, to remove the gloss, before being put into the frame. Then, as cloth will always stretch much more than canvas, it must be cut a little smaller both ways. The raw edges of the cloth should be turned in, and tacked to the canvas before they are framed. Some people withdraw the threads of canvas after the work is done; but it has a much richer effect if the threads of canvas are cut close 384 ENQUIRE WITHIN UPON FANCY NEEDLEWORK. to the outer stitches; and if there are | lin-stitch, because the Gobelin tapestry any small spaces in the pattern, where is worked in it. It is not suited for the ground should be seen, they may coarse canvas; and, in working from a be worked in wool of the colour of the Berlin pattern, two stitches must be ground. counted as one square. Should a piece of work be a little drawn when taken out of the frame, damp the back well with a clean sponge, and stretch it again in the frame in the opposite direction. Whenever Berlin-work is done on any solid thick material, as cloth, velvet, &c., a needle should be used with an eye sufficiently large to form a passage for this wool. This prevents the latter from being crushed and impoverished as it passes through. It only remains for us to describe the different stitches used in tapestry-work. There are only five kinds, - CROSSSTITCH, TENT-STITCH, TAPESTRYSTITCH, GERMAN-STITCH, and IRISH STITCH. CROSS-STITCH is generally known. The needle is brought up in one pole of the canvas and down on another, two threads higher and more to the right. The slanting thread is then crossed in the opposite direction. Some workers do a line of half stitches, and then cross them; but this plan is apt to spoil the smooth even surface which the work should present. A crossstitch covers two threads in each direction. TENT-STITCH Occupies one-fourth the space of cross-stitch. It is taken from one hole to the next above, and on the right hand side of it. TAPESTRY-STITCH crosses two threads of the canvas in the length, and one in the width. It is sometimes called Gobe GERMAN-STITCH is worked diagonally, and consists of the first part of a crossstitch, and a tent-stitch alternately worked. IRISH-STITCH is worked parallel with the selvages 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 risefirst from the long and then from the short stitch, will produce the same appearance in others. With regard to wools, they should never be wound, as the least handling crushes the pile and spoils them. Chenille needs still more careful handling. To stiffen large pieces of work, wet the wrong side thoroughly with a sponge and dry it rapidly before a fire (the wet side nearest the fire), before removing it from the frame. We have said but little of the introduction of beads in canvas work. They have the double merit of being at once brilliant and durable. The Germans, are, however, so tenacious of the monopoly, it is quite a favour to obtain from them the varieties of shades and colours. They are, however, scarcely less numerous than those of wool. We ourselves, as a great favour, have obtained all the colours made in seed-beads, a number considerably exceeding 300. SOFA CUSHION IN TAPISSERIE D'AUXERRE. Materials. A square of common black or white net; 2 oz. of apricot-coloured Berlin wool; 1 oz. of rich blue ditto; and two hanks of large steel beads. TAPISSERIE D'AUXERRE is the term applied to a new and very pretty sort of work with Berlin wool and net. The pattern is formed by darning the net in various forms, and with different colours; and, occasionally, beads are intermingled with the wool, as in the design now before us. It will he remembered that all the ordinary kinds of net have meshes or MISCELLANEOUS. holes of a hexagonal form, which affords peculiar facilities for radiating and star patterns. Begin by running threads in the net to mark the centres of the stars, using white cotton for black net, and some brilliant colour for white net. The first thread must be taken about fifteen holes from the selvage, and in the same direction. Run the needle in and out every second or third thread, and leave an inch or two of thread at each end. Miss thirty meshes, and run another thread along in the same way. The whole width of the net must be thus marked, by running a needleful of thread in every 31st mesh. Then do 385 the first clear mesh after the one the threads cross, and slip the needle up through the tenth hole beyond, making a knot in the wool to fasten on; let the wool cross nine bars of net, parallel with one thread, and slip it under one bar near the centre, so as to take a similar stitch across nine bars, and on a line with the next dividing thread. Observe, there is no crossing any other dividing threads, these two stitches forming the base of one point of the star. Slip the needle into the next line of net, taking it a stitch higher, and do two wool stitches across eight bars, on a line with and within the last. Within these two more must be [The accuracy of the following directions is guaranteed; the Vase Mat having been worked from the type, and all errors corrected.] Materials-A piece of white Cashmere large enough to cut a round of 30 inches in cir cumference; a small piece of ivy green velvet; one skein of gold cord: nine skeins Berlin wool, different colours (all light); two rows of pearls, No. 2; netting needle and mesh (half. an-inch wide); a little gold-coloured sewing silk; a piece of green sarsanet for lining the mat; and thick green silk cord sufficient to go round it. HAVING cut the round in Cashmere, | wool already prepared, commencing at line it with strong white linen; procure the outer edge, and finishing in the a small ivy leaf, by which cut nine middle with a velvet button. Now line leaves of velvet; brush the backs over the mat with the green sarsenet, and with thin gum and lay them on the sew the cord all round. cashmere in the form seen in the engraving, then lay the gold cord all round each leaf, fastening it down with the sewing silk, and passing the ends through the cashmere. Now on a strong thread net 120 stitches of one colour wool, which will be nearly the skein, thread a needle with white cotton, lift 8 stitches on it, pass a pearl on it and tie it, making the knot come inside the stitches, so as to be hidden when finished. Do the same with each skein of wool, then cut rounds of buckram one inch in diameter, on each of which tack one of the skeins of This mat may, of course, be made of a colour if preferred to white, but care must be taken that it is a colour which will harmonize well with the green leaves-pale pink, maize, or peach would look equally well; and if durability be an object, a rich light brown may be employed with good effect, when the wools chosen must also be darker. This mat, when made of light colours, forms a very acceptable and elegant little gift to a bride, its beauty consisting in its simplicity. TOILET CUSHION. [The accuracy of the following directions is guaranteed; the Toilet Cushion having ben worked from the type, and all errors corrected.] Materials.-A piece of very fine white Swiss muslin nine inches square; a little rosecoloured Shetland wool; a very fine rug needle; a half yard of narrow white braid and one yard of white silk fringe. THE design (which consists of sprays of leaves in the centre, surrounded by vandykes, having a single leaf in each), must first be drawn on paper thus: Draw a circle 5 inches in diameter, in which draw 4 sprays of 3 leaves, each spray occupying the space of one quarter of the circle. Let the stems incline towards the centre, as seen in the engraving. Now draw 8 vandykes round the circle, in each of which draw a single leaf to correspond with those in the sprays-the leaf running to the point of the vandyke, which should be about 2 inches deep. The design being thus prepared, place it under the muslin, on which trace it with a fine black lead pencil or a brush, and indigo mixed with thin gum-water. Now remove the paper, and with the Shetland wool chain stitch the sprays and single leaves in the vandykes very finely. Take a piece of white braid sufficient to go round the circle, and with the wool slightly and loosely work a row of open buttonhole stitches on one edge of it, and run it neatly round the circle, taking the two ends through the muslin, as it is difficult to fasten braid invisibly. Cut away the muslin between the vandykes, leaving sufficient outside each to form a narrow turning which must be made on the right side of the cushion. On this turning lay the white silk fringe, and run it neatly round each vandyke, making the edge exactly cover the mark forming the outline of the vandykes. Now make a cushion of strong white linen, sufficiently high to allow the fringed points to touch the table; |